Volume 6 - Combatron Victorious
Beyond​

Shatterbolt, Benzuli Expanse
The Shatterbolt hung patiently, watching the scar tissue where Amalgus’ gate once was. Aboard its bridge, Rocket Plume stared at the scarred space, hoping for anything to happen. She would take any sign of Thunderhead, Crumble and Ignitor being alive and safe, but so far nothing. Behind her, Quickshadow entered the bridge, approaching Rocket.

“No sign of them?” Quickshadow asked as she entered.

“Nothing” Rocket Plume sighed. “But there’ll be something.”

“I wish I had your optimism” Quickshadow replied. “I’m not sure how long we can continue waiting for.”

“They’ll make it” Rocket Plume said. “Ginrai’d have the same faith.”

“Yeah, he would. But Groundshaker wants us back in the action as soon as possible. There’s only so long Peritus can say we’re monitoring the damage created by Amalgus’ machinations before they forcefully order us back. We have no idea what Overlord’s next move will be.”

“I understand that, but they’ll make it” Rocket Plume replied. “So has there been any improvement in Ginrai’s condition.”

“No” Quickshadow said. “He’s still not shown any signs of consciousness. Medics say his physical condition has shown no deterioration, they’re not sure why he won’t wake.

“This is not a good place to be in.”

“No” Quickshadow said, looking out at the scar ahead of them. “No it is not.”

The Dead Universe
Elsewhere, within the dead universe, Ignitor, Thunderhead and Crumble sat around a campfire made from Ignitor’s talent. The flames flickered weakly, but it was just enough to ensure that their joints didn’t freeze in this unusual cold realm.

“This is a strange place” Thunderhead said, looking up at the skies. “I don’t think there’s any stars up there.”

“If there were, they’d have been long devoured by this place” Crumble replied.

“How come it hasn’t devoured us, then?” Ignitor asked.

“By a guess, we’re just too small a meal, I guess” Crumble answered. “Though no one really knows how this universe operates.”

“Well, regardless, I’d rather find a way out of here sooner rather than later” Ignitor said, standing up.

“And do you have any idea how we could do that?” Thunderhead asks. “I mean, our way in collapsed with us on it, and we have no idea exactly how Amalgus even built his station in the first place.”

Ignitor looked out in the distance, towards a great metal arch in the distance. The remains of Amalgus’ almighty station, it stood out from the generally featureless landscape.

“Well, we should at least try and have a look at what’s left of the station” Ignitor said. “There’s got to be something there.”

“We should take our time” Thunderhead said. “Plan out exactly what we need to do.”

“Agreed” Crumble added. “We go in too hastily, and we could make our situation even worse. None of us have any clues about dimensional mechanics. For all we know, we could-“

Crumble paused as he looked at his arm. A small piece of his paintwork flaked off and drifted through the air. As it flew by, the flake turned black, before disintegrating.

“I think I might be wrong” Crumble said. “It’s not ignoring us. It’s savouring us.”

“Savouring us?” Thunderhead asked.

“I believe it may not have had much to feed on, so it’s trying to make the most of us.”

“How long do you think we have?”

“A couple of hours at most.”

“And that’s assuming it doesn’t get tired of savouring us” Ignitor added.

“Then I guess waiting isn’t on the table” Thunderhead said, standing up. “We have to find a way out of this realm.”

“Then let’s go check out the remains of that massive space station” Crumble said, standing up.

“Alright, let’s-“ started Ignitor. “Can I say the line?”

“Go for it, kid” Thunderhead said.

“Let’s roll out!” Ignitor said, excitedly.

The trio transformed into their alternate modes, driving off towards the remains of the Gate, a race against the hunger of the dead universe.

Medical Bay, The Shatterbolt
Doctors were rushing around the medical bay, tending to those who were injured from the recent battle. On one of the beds, Ginrai Convoy lay resting, still remaining inert. However, while on the surface, he was still, within his mind, he was very busy. Once more, Ginrai was conversing with the matrix. The matrix envoy stood in front of Ginrai, informing him of events he missed.

“Your allies in the real world were able to destroy the gate, however not before Amalgus was able to syphon enough energy for the next phase of their plan” the envoy informed Ginrai.

“So what do they plan next?” Ginrai asked. “What do they want to do with this energy?”

“Amaglus utilised the Benzuli Expanse to create a breach as it was a weak point in the wall between our reality and the dead universe. However, at this point in their plan, they didn’t have the ability to subdue the dead universe for their own plans. To do that, they needed to create another breach where they could create a countermeasure to the dead universe that would allow them to keep it contained.”

“And when they contain it, what then?”

“They become it. Their mind dominates and replaces its own.”

“I’m guessing they haven’t told Overlord that part of the plan” Ginrai mused. “He probably thinks they’ve found something they can use as a super energon.”

“It would seem likely, yes” the matrix envoy replied.

“So they’re planning to create another breach” Ginrai said. “One located in a more suitable place for him to enact their plans. Where would that be?”

“Cybertron.”

The Dead Universe
Ignitor, Thunderhead and Crumble drove across the barren landscape of the world they were on, finding little more than odd rock outcrop or decaying tree in their way. As Ignitor lead the group, speeding ahead in her nimbler sports car mode, she rolled into her robot mod and came to a stop in front of a strange device. As Crumble and Thunderhead caught up, Ignitor looked at the device.

“You guys know what this is?” Ignitor said, looking about.

“I’m not sure” Crumble said. “Although some of the tech looks similar to quantum technology. Let’s have a look.”

Crumble pulled off one of the panels of the machine and looked inside. Looking inside, he saw several familiar mechanisms, as well as a strange shard of metal, glowing with energy. Crumble removed the shard from the machine and held it up to the sky. The shard seemed to glow in tandem with strange energies webbing the sky.

“I’m going to assume this is the core part of the station that generated the portal to the dead universe” Crumble said. “Judging that this shard is glowing with the same energy as this universe.”

“So we have a way out?” Thunderhead asked. “We can use this to make a way home.”

“Not as it is. It’s too damaged. Not to mention the fact we’d just be exiting in space. We’d just be floating in a vacuum still with no way to call for help.”

“So what do we do?” Ignitor asked.

“Well…” Crumble said, ripping off a part of the machine. “If we can find a ship, I can use some of the tech from this thing to convert the weapons systems into some sort of dimensional breach opener. Then we locate the scar tissue of the breach on this side of wall of the universes. Then, hopefully, we get home.”

“So we have to climb through that hunk of junk up there?” Thunderhead said, turning to the remains of the gate. “I really hope it’s not sideways.”

“I guess we just hope there’s a working ship in the hangar” Ignitor shrugged. “Let’s go!”

Ignitor transformed into her car mode, waiting for the others to do the same. Crumble put the parts back into the device, before transforming into his crane mode. Thunderhead pulled Crumble’s crane cable out and wrapped it around the machine, before hitching the hook to it. Thunderhead then transformed into his own assault vehicle mode, and trio continued on their journey. As soon as they left, however, a figure manifested, watching the trio leave.

Matrix Realm
“So Amalgus wants to open the dead universe right above our home?” Ginrai questioned. “They want not just us, but their homeworld to be devoured by that creature immediately? What do they seek to accomplish by doing that?”

“There are some that believe the dead universe to be the embodiment of death itself” the envoy explained. “An opposite to life. It is for this reason that Amalgus believes that the dead universe can be subdued by creating a weapon fuelled by raw life energy. And the closest thing to that the matrix knows of…”

“A spark” Ginrai said, shocked. “But that’s insane. You’d have to cull billions of Cybertronians to fuel something of that magnitude, and that’s ignoring the fact that you would likely extinguish them in any attempt to extract them. I mean, how would you be able to collect- no.”

Ginrai’s face was flushed with distress as he realised what Amalgus was planning to do.

“No. Nonono. That’s abhorrent! To think a member of the firstforged would even consider it. Overlord’s extreme, but even he would shudder at the thought. Using the well of allsparks to fuel their weapon. Newly lit sparks!”

“Alas, yes” the envoy said. “Amalgus’ quest for ascension had lead them to achieve their goals by any means necessary, sacrificing whoever and whatever for their goals.”

“The damage would be irreparable!” Ginrai yelled. “To Cybertron, to the commonwealth, to the universe! And how do we combat a threat of that magnitude!”

“At this stage, the only way to stop Amalgus is to seek relics long forgotten” the envoy said. “You must locate ancient relics of his kin, the other firstforged.”

The Gate, Dead Universe
Ignitor, Crumble and Thunderhead climbed up the side of the massive base, the machine dangling from Crumble’s hook. As Crumble grabbed onto a bit of panelling, he pulled himself up. Turning around, he observed a strange, scarred sector of sky, similar to that found in the benzuli expanse.

“That’s our way out!” Crumble exclaimed, attempting to direct Thunderhead and Ignitor’s gazes towards it. “If we can pilot a ship towards it, we should be able to temporarily open the breach for enough moments to pass through.”

“Then let’s not waste time” Thunderhead said, pulling himself up. “Can anyone see a way in yet.”

“I think I do” Ignitor said, looking above them. “There seems to be an airlock above us. I think I can cut a way through.”

“Soon we I can stop climbing, the better” Crumble said. “It’s not easy to climb with this thing dangling behind me.”

“I thought we needed that stuff?” Thunderhead asked.

“We need some of it” Crumble said, reaching up to a metal pipe. “I’ll filter through it when we-WOAH!”

As Crumble grabbed onto the pipe, the end of the pipe broke, swinging downwards. As the swung, Crumble held on for dear life, trying to avoid being dragged down by his cargo. And he tried to pull himself up, the other end of the pipe began to creak.

“Guys!” Crumble exclaimed. “A little help!”

Thunderhead clambered towards Crumble, reaching his arm out to grab Crumble’s. Pulling as hard as he could, Crumble removed his other hand from the pipe and reached out to one of the metal ridges and pulled himself up.

“You alright?” Thunderhead asked.

“Yeah” Crumble said, breathing a sigh of relief as he let go of Thunderhead’s hand and grabbing the metal ridge. “Thanks Thunders.”

“No problem.”

After making sure her teammates were okay, Ignitor continued climbing up. Quickly making into the airlock, she began cutting through the first airlock hatch. Quicky making short work of it, she then cut through the second one as Thunderhead climbed in. Once Ignitor cut through the second airlock, she turned around and helped Thunderhead pull Crumble and his cargo up.

“Up you come” Thunderhead said as the pair pulled Crumble up.

“Thank” Crumble said, winding his cable in.

As the trio exited the airlock into a hallway, Crumble caught his breath.

“Good” Crumble stated. “I can get back to doing the heavy hauling in my alt-mode again.”

The trio transformed into their alt-modes, driving through the ruined station. As they drove, they did not find any surviving crewmembers, only their decaying remains, slowly being devoured by the universe. After several minutes, Thunderhead stopped abruptly, transforming into robot mode.

“What is it?” Ignitor asked, swerving to a stop.

“There’s… someone here” Thunderhead said, pulling out an energy pistol.

As Ignitor and Crumble transformed, Thunderhead turned around, leading with his pistol. The way behind them had since become cloaked in shadows, footsteps echoing from them.

“Identify yourself!” Thunderhead barked.

A figure stepped out from the shadows, clad in black and white armour plating. They possessed a pair of glowing orange horns, and a dusty grey beard.

“I said identify yourself.”

“I… am… devoid…” the figure said slowly. “Devoid… of… life. Devoid… of… food.”

Thunderhead and Crumble looked at each other, shocked. Though coarse, they recognised that voice from numerous broadcasts of public addresses before the war. Ignitor looked between them, perplexed.

“Arch Convoy? Nova Prime?” Crumble asked. “How are you here? How could you get here?”

“Arch… Convoy?” the figure questioned. “Nova… Prime. Nemesis… in… final… hour.”

“Why do you sound like him?”

“Imprint. Spark… bound… by… fragment. Destroyed… before… useful."

“What’s he rambling on about?” Thunderhead asked, his gun still levelled at the figure. “Look, we’ll be on our way. Don’t give us any trouble, okay?”

“Cannot… leave. Mustn’t… leave. You… must… be… savoured.”

“Oh…” Ignitor said. “So… this universe. Can it make itself Cybertronian?”

“Seems like it” Crumble said.

“That means I have something I can shoot!” Thunderhead said.

Thunderhead fired several shots at the figure, the energy bolts firing straight through. The figure was unphased as dead universe energy drifted from the holes.

“No… choice” they said. “Will… savour. Will… FEED!”

The figure began to mutate at this, hunching over. Its fingers became talons, its horns grew and curved, its teeth turned into sharp fangs. It grew far larger, its back pressing against the ceiling. Each of its optics split into three, and its mouth began tearing across its face. From its chest, a single eye burst through the armour, the organic optic standing out from the mechanical body.

“YOU.... WILL… NOT… LEAVE!”

“You know, I think that’s our cue to go” Ignitor said, taking a few steps back.

“Yeah, not a bad shout” Thunderhead replied.

The trio transformed into their vehicle, modes zooming off down the hallway. The colossal being behind them gave chase behind them, all manner of fangs and claws beared.

Matrix Realm
“The relics of the primes?” Ginrai asked, pacing back and forth, how can they help?”

“Amalgus will attempt to merge their mind with the dead universe” the matrix envoy explained. “But it would take time for the merge to complete. This is the time to strike.”

“Why not simply destroy Amalgus’ technology before he can open the breach?”

“While possible, it is risky. You must ask yourself, would you be able to get to Cybertron in time?”

“Then how do we stop them from merging?”

“There was an artefact. One belonging to Nexus Prime, drowned out by the Enigma of Combination. The Separation Blade. The very weapon used to divide his form into five.”

The envoy created an image of the very weapon, a calibur adorned with Nexus’ symbol on its hilt and a helix pattern along its blade.

“In the moment where Amalgus’ will battle the Dead Universe’s mind for control, you must use this blade to separate the two.”

“But doesn’t that leave the Dead Universe to feed on our universe?” Ginrai asked, raising an optic ridge.

“The feedback from the act should force its extensions back into its own body, its own universe, but only momentarily. Then you must use another of the relics to repair the damage before it breaks through again. The Forge of Solus Prime.”

The Matrix Envoy produced an image of a large hammer next to the separation blade. This, Ginrai recognised from the many legends and tales of the Solus Prime, if a little less ornate.

“When used in tandem with the machine Amalgus will use to break down the barriers, it will rebuild the walls between our realm and the Dead Universes’.”

“And where do I find these relics?” Ginrai asked. “They’re hardly in a museum or anywhere easy like that.”

“Alas, the Separation Blade itself was divided into two, and its parts hidden to prevent its powers from being abused” the envoy said, depicting the Separation Blade’s edge and hilt being separated. “But the Forge of Solus Prime… that is within our knowledge. We know it to be held in a ghost temple, one only perceivable to the matrix bearer. A monument found on a lost Cybertronian colony.”

“Caminus” Ginrai said. “I think I know the place.”

“There you will face a trial to test you of being worthy of Solus’ prized tool” the Envoy explained. “Should you succeed, the Forge will be yours till the crisis is passed. And perhaps the voice of Solus may know the locations of the halves of the Separation Blade.”

“The voice of Solus?” Ginrai asked. “What does that mean?”

“We have passed on all the information that we can” the envoy stated. “The rest remains up to you and your allies. Farewell, Apex.”

With that, the Matrix Envoy turned around and walked away, fading away into the darkness, leaving Ginrai on his own in this mindscape.

The Gate, Dead Universe
Ignitor, Crumble and Thunderhead rushed through the downed space station, pursued by the colossal beast. They zoomed past several doors and bulkheads, and as Ignitor lead them past another, Crumble transformed, rolling along the ground as the machine he was towing behind him swung about, clanging against the floor and door.

“IN HERE!” Crumble yelled, scurrying to his feet and running through a large entranceway to his side.

Ignitor doubled back and ran into the entrance with Thunderhead, and the group found themselves in a large hangar. Several Trident, Crossfire and Partisan fighters were smashed up against the walls, beyond repair, but at the far end of the room, nearly at the edge of the hangar, a solitary Dreska shuttle rested. Though scratched and scraped, the ship was still relatively intact.

“I can work with this!” Crumble said, running towards it. “Yeah, I can work with it!”

“How long you need?” Thunderhead asked.

“A few minutes” Crumble replied, pulling off the cover from one of the ship's concealed weapons. “Just hold whatever that thing is.”

As he said this, the monstrous being entered the room, crouching through the entranceway, before standing hunched. The entity stared at the group with its chest eye, before letting out an almighty roar.

“And how do you suggest we do that?” Ignitor yelled.

“I don’t know, improvise!” Crumble retorted, pulling out the ship’s energy repeater and dismantling it.

“Urgh, fine!” Ignitor said, firing a stream of flames at the creature.

The creature stumbled back at the jet, before sending Ignitor flying back with a swipe of its claws. As Ignitor slammed against a wall, the creature stormed towards her, only to be distracted by a number of energy blasts. Looking around for the source, the entity spotted Thunderhead in his assault vehicle mode, skittering about the hangar and firing blasts at him.

“TAKE THAT YOU UGLY CONVOY KNOCK OFF!” Thunderhead yelled.

Enraged, the creature rushed at Thunderhead, knocking him back with a powerful kick. Thunderhead smashed through the cockpit of one of the damaged Trident starfighters. As the creature turned its attention to Crumble and the shuttle, it was startled when several fireballs began flying at it.

“Hey!” Ignitor yelled, fireballs streaming from wrist cannons. “Not done here!”

The creature was stunned as the fireballs began erratically exploding around, keeping its attention from Crumble, and from the rocket that had just rolled to its feet.

“EAT EXPLOSIVE, MONSTER!” Thunderhead yelled, standing on the Trident fighter.

In his hands, Thunderhead held two more rockets from the starfighter, while at his feet several panels had been ripped off the ship, exposing one of its homing rocket bays. Thunderhead lobbed the two rockets at the creature, both of them bouncing off its legs. The creature glared at Thunderhead, now ignoring the firework display Ignitor was firing at it.

“KID, SEND THAT THING TO THE PIT!” Thunderhead yelled.

Ignitor fired a stream of flames along the ground at the rockets. The moment the flames struck the first rocket, it exploded in an incredible explosion, setting off the other two at the creature's fleet. The force of the explosion was enough to fling the creature back into the corridor, as the entire station shook.

“Guys, that may have been a bit too much!” Crumble said. “You may have just compromised this station’s integrity.”

From the corridor, the creature picked itself up, several parts of its body now blown off. As it regained its senses, the creature soon began regenerating its wounds.

“Well, are you finished?” Thunderhead asked.

“Nearly!” Crumble said, placing the shard glowing with dead universe energy into the now modified repeater. “Need a few more seconds!”

Ignitor rushed in front of the shuttle, producing a colossal stream of flames from her arm cannons to push the creature back. Thunderhead, meanwhile, began rolling the remaining rockets along the ground towards the entity.

“Didn’t Crumble just say not to keep doing that?” Ignitor asked as she continued firing flames from her cannons.

“Trust me” Thunderhead said. “Just don’t blow these ones up till I say!”

The creature began pushing forward through the flames. In front of the shuttle, Crumble slammed the weapon back into the ship.

“DONE!” Crumble yelled, running around to the other side of the ship and opening the entrance at the back. “GET ON!”

As Crumble ran into the ship, Thunderhead ran across the room and followed him in. As the creature got close to her, Ignitor broke off her stream of flames, running into the shuttle behind her fellow comrades before the creature could grab her. Crumble, meanwhile, got into the cockpit and powered up the shuttle, lifting it off the ground.

“TIME TO BAIL!” he yelled, as he lifted the ship.

“Okay Ignitor, light that thing up!” Thunderhead shouted, pointing at the rockets laying on the ground.

Ignitor launched a fireball at one of the missiles, detonating it instantly. In a chain reaction, the other missiles exploded, consuming the creature and the entire hangar in a mass of flames. The shuttle shot out of the hangar, fire streaming from the hangar behind it. As Thunderhead slammed the entrance shut, Ignitor looked through the small viewport. Behind them, she could see the Gate coming apart, large sections of it breaking off and crashing to the surface.

“Right, let’s get to that scar and get home!” Crumble said, bring the shuttle downwards.

“Uh… guys!” Ignitor called out. “I don’t think we’re out of the woods just yet.”

Thunderhead looked out the viewport, and shifting his gaze towards the ground. Along the planet’s surface, the entity was running across the ground, before leaping up onto the side of one of the nearby mountains. It began ascending it with frightening speed.

“CRUMBLE, TROUBLE!” Thunderhead said.

“Almost there!” Crumble replied as they approached the rippling scar tissue. “Opening the breach now!”

Crumble pressed a button, and a beam of dead universe energy launched from the shuttle’s weapons systems. The bean struck the scar, widening it to create an opening. As they approached the breach, the entity leapt up at the ship from the mountain. It landed on one of the thrusters, holding onto the back with its claws dug in.

“We can’t let it through with us!” Thunderhead exclaimed.

“I got it!” Ignitor replied, concentrating her pyrokinetic powers.

Using her powers, Ignitor boosted the flames coming from the thruster, creating a powerful blast throwing the creature off. The creature rolled along the ground as soon as it landed, crashing through rocky outcrops. As it picked itself up, the creature watched the shuttle disappear through the breach, before the breach sealed. The creature let loose an almighty roar of anguish.

“COULD… NOT… ESCAPE!” the creature yelled. “WILL… FIND… ANOTHER… WAY… THROUGH!”

With that, the creature dissipated, remerging with the rest of the Dead Universe, waiting for its next chance to feed.

The Shatterbolt, Benzuli Expanse
Rocket Plume still waited on the bridge of the Shatterbolt, looking out on the expanse around them. Quickshadow, meanwhile, was pacing around from console to console, trying to keep herself occupied as they waited for any sign of their allies. At the back of the bridge, Peritus Maximus entered through the elevator.

“I’m sorry” Peritus said, walking towards them. “We’re out of time. We have to regroup with the fleet.”

“We can’t just abandon them!” Rocket Plume exclaimed.

“We have no choice. We’ve waited as long as we’ve been allowed to. We have to fear the worst.”

Rocket Plume gave defeated sigh, turning around and looking at the expanse once more. As she stared, she swore she saw briefest flicker of light. Could it be…

“Sir, ma’am, we picked a brief burst of energy from the former site of the station” said a Vanguard Officer said. “And a spacecraft appears to have appeared at the centre of the burst. Looks Combatronian.”

“They’re hailing us” said a comms officer. “Should I patch them through?”

“Do it” Quickshadow ordered.

The comms officer tapped a few buttons, a quiet crackling sounded from the comms panel. After a few moments of twiddling to boost the signal, finally a voice came through the comms.

“Hello?” came the voice of Crumble. “Is anyone there?”

“Crumble!” Quickshadow exclaimed, relieved. “Are you alright!”

“We’re basically intact” Crumble said. “Maybe a little worn out. But our engines just failed. Would really appreciate a little help.”

“We’ll bring you over!” Quickshadow said, rushing from the console. “Peritus, pull them aboard with the tractor beam! We’ll meet them in the hangar!”

As Quickshadow and Rocket Plume rushed passed him, Peritus watched them leave through the elevator, before turning to the bridge’s crew.

“You heard them!” Peritus ordered. “Get them aboard.”

---

Quickshadow and Rocket Plume ran into the hangar just as the shuttle was being guided in by the tractor beam. Tailpipe was already in the hangar, watching as the shuttle was gently lowered to the floor. Moving round to the back, they watched as the door was kicked off its hinges. Slowly, Thunderhead stepped out, followed by Crumble, then Ignitor. The trio’s paintwork was blotchy, and all were battered, but they were alive.

“I have never been so happy to see other people” Thunderhead coughed.

Thunderhead and Rocket Plume quickly high fived as they reunited.

“Thought you’d lost me, huh?” Thunderhead chuckled.

“Knew ya’d make it out” Rocket Plume replied. “Besides, who else am I gonna find to be my covering fire.”

“Hey, I thought you were my covering fire” Thunderhead joked.

“In your dreams!”

“You lot look worse for wear” Tailpipe said. “You’d probably better see the medics.”

“It’s cosmetic” Crumble said with a cough.

“Like hell it is. Get your aft down there soon as possible.”

Ignitor looked around the hangar. No sign of a Ginrai anywhere.

“Hey” Quickshadow said, approaching her. “Must’ve been hell to have destroyed the gate and make it through the dead universe back here.”

Quickshadow put her hand on Ignitor’s shoulder. Ignitor smiled.

“He’d be proud of you.”

“Indeed I am.”

The group turned, their faces lighting up at the site of a still living Ginrai, patched up. Ginrai approached the group, happy to see them.

“I’m proud of all of you” he said. “I could not wish for a better group of people to fight alongside, nor to call my friends.”

“You gave us quite a scare” Thunderhead said.

“So did you” Rocket Plume said, bomping Thunderhead’s shoulder.

“Didn’t know if you were gonna pull through” Quickshadow said. “Even when we repaired you, you didn’t seem to rouse.”

“My apologies” Ginrai said. “In my slumber, the matrix wanted a word. The threat is not over, and we still have much work to do.”

“Do you know what Overlord and Amalgus are planning next?” Crumble asked.

“I do” Ginrai said. “And it begins with Cybertron. We need to be ready. But we are going to need to collect a few things if we are to succeed.”

“So what do you want us to do?” Ignitor asked.

“Rest” Ginrai said. “The past days have been trialling, and so will the coming ones. You will need all of your strength if we are to succeed.”

“And you?” Quickshadow asked.

“While the fleet prepares, I will be seeking information” Ginrai said. “Ready a shuttle for me. I need to speak to someone long lost to the annals of history…”

 

Volume 6 - Combatron Victorious
Chasing a Flame​

Caminus’ System
Caminus lay silently, orbiting its colossal gas giant. Even after so long, the planet remained untouched by the war, unaware of the scale of the chaos going on in the galaxy around it. Accompanied by a flash of light, a Cybertronian shuttle appeared in the system. Aboard it, Ginrai looked out on the colony in front of him.

“Still there” Ginrai said, piloting the shuttle. “Still safe.”

It was strangely quiet for Ginrai. No ships shooting at each other, no explosions, no crashes, just… peace.

“I’ve arrived” Ginrai said, turning on the comms. “Descending now.”

“Right” came Quickshadow’s voice over the comms. “Where have you arrived?”

“Afraid I can’t say” Ginrai said. “Matrix secret.”

“I’m not sure this is the best idea” Quickshadow said. “Peritus think we should all be organising a massive strike to stop the Combatrons.”

“In all likelihood, we will need to strike” Ginrai replied. “Tell him and Groundshaker to make sure our forces are ready. But the matrix is adamant we need these relics to stop Amalgus.”

“Okay… I trust you, Ginrai” Quickshadow said. “Just keep us posted.”

“Will do. Don’t worry, it’s safe space. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Understood. Talk soon.”

Disconnecting, Ginrai guided the ship down through the atmosphere, descending into the clear blue skies of Caminus. Flying down, he recognised the city of Serepis, though it had expanded outwards. Spotting some clear fields, Ginrai brought down the shuttle, landing in one of them. Ginrai shut down the shuttle, and disembarked.

As he walked off the shuttle, Ginrai found a red and silver carbot standing in front of the ship, staring at him.

“I’m sorry, can I help you?” Ginrai asked.

“Uh, it is you, right?” he asked. “The Convoy.”

“Uhhhh, yes?” Ginrai replied, confused. “Have we met.”

“Kind of… I’m Agnus. I was only a toddler, but you were there briefly. When Ignitor went off with you.”

“When Ignitor- OH!” Ginrai exclaimed in realisation. “You’re her younger brother, aren’t you! You’ve got quite the bit taller than the last time I saw you.”

“So, uh, is my sister with you?” Agnus asked, trying to look over Ginrai’s shoulder.

“Oh, I’m afraid not” Ginrai said, feeling bad. “I’m afraid things are getting hectic, and it’s all hands on deck.”

“Oh…” Agnus sighed. “So… what is the Convoy doing back here.”

“The matrix has sent me on a mission to look for a relic of Solus Prime” Ginrai said. “The forge, to be specific. I’ve been told it’s located in a monument only perceivable to one with the matrix. It lead me to Caminus, but it looks like I’m left to my own devices.”

“Hmm…” Angus pondered. “If you’re looking for old Cybertronian shrines, I think the Pyrias Archives is the best place to look. There’s bound to be several records on various locales.”

“Yes, I suppose that would be a logical starting point…” Ginrai replied. “Would you care to show me the way.”

Agnus transformed into his car mode, and as Ginrai prepared to do the same, he caught something out of the corner of his optic, a glimmer in the air. But as he turned to look at it, there was nothing there. Ginrai raised an optic ridge, before transforming and driving after Agnus.

After driving into Serepis, Ginrai and Agnus entered the city centre, where a colossal pyramidal structure stood. Colossal statues surrounded the structure, each in different poses, but always holding a flame in their hands. As Agnus walked in, Ginrai admired the architecture, before following him in. Inside, the pair found themselves in a large hall spanning several floors, with balconies overlooking it, Cybertronians looking at various records in the archive. In the centre of the room was a colossal statue of an ornate Cybertronian holding a large hammer in one hand, and a flame in the other.

“Solus Prime” Ginrai said, looking at the statue. “Quite the massive statue.”

“Course, our way of flame is founded on her original teachings” Agnus explained.

“I’ll have to look it up when things get less… hectic” Ginrai replied. “So where do we start?”

“Well, the best way would be to use the terminals” Agnus explained, pointing ahead. “They’re a direct link into all of the archives. They should let us filter what you’re looking for.”

The pair walked over to a table with several holographic consoles on them, several Cybertronians working using some of them. Finding a pair of consoles by each other, Agnus and Ginrai sat down on them.

“Right, let’s see what we can find” Ginrai said.

As he prepared to get started, Ginrai looked at Agnus, who was already typing at lightning speed. He was already scrolling through numerous data files, looking through each one before closing them again and moving onto the next one.

“Right” Ginrai continued, simply typing in the keyword ‘ruins’ into the console.

Ginrai too began scrolling through files, bringing up images of Camien ruins. Some were shrines to Solus, others to the titan Caminus, even some Camien deities Ginrai had never heard of. Yet none of them seem to match any sort of ghost shrine, and certainly were perceivable to others besides him.

“Nothing I’m finding here that matches what you’re looking for” Agnus said. “It’s all tourist spots and protected sights. Nothing only a Convoy can see. Then again, there’s still a lot of them to comb through.”

“Hmm…” Ginrai mused. “Perhaps narrowing the search to this area.”

“Bit of a longshot. Could be anywhere on Caminus. What makes you think it’s here?”

“Call it a hunch” Ginrai replied, typing on the console. “Let’s specify the outskirts. And… let’s make an educated guess this shrine is also a forge.”

“Okay, I think you’re being a bit specific now” Agnus. “I hate to break it to you, but I doubt-”

“Ahah!” Ginrai shouted. “The Ember Forge. A monument to Solus built when Caminus was forged, but soon lost to history.”

“And a myth” Agnus pointed out.

“A myth is what we’re chasing” Ginrai replied, pointing at the attached image. “And I recognise that building.”

Angus looked at the image. It was a crude drawing, but it at least resembled some sort of Cybertronian building. Agnus then looked at Ginrai, who was already out of his seat and running off.

“Come on!” Ginrai yelled back. “We’ve gotta get back to the outskirts.”

“You could’ve said where we were going” Agnus asked. “Do you do this to my sister often?”

“Apologies” Ginrai said. “But can you feel it?”

“Feel what?”

“There’s something here.”

Ginrai walked forward, looking all around him. He scanned the entire area, before yet again catching something at the edge of his site. Though when he turned to face it he couldn’t see anything, he could feel something, a rippling in the air.

“Are you sure?” Agnus asked.

“Positive” Ginrai said. “We just need to light the way in.”

Ginrai placed his palm on his chest, pressing the grill in. The grill began to slide away, exposing the Matrix of Light within. Agnus stared in astonishment at the sacred relic, the golden artefact glowing with blue light.

“Can… can I touch it?” Agnus asked.

“Okay, but quickly” Ginrai chuckled. “But don’t tell anyone.”

Agnus reached out and placed his hand on the matrix. The matrix flashed in response, reacting to his touch. Agnus stepped back, surprised.

“Now, shine your light, matrix” Ginrai replied.

The matrix glowed brightly as lines of energy shot out from it. The lines darted out, forming shapes, the outline of a building begin to come together. One the outlined had formed, it began to manifest as a physical building, a small temple decorated with flame patterns, adorned with several hammer symbols.

“Well, I think this is most definitely the place” Ginrai said, admiring the building.

“Where?” Agnus asked, looking confused. “Still nothing here.”

Ginrai walked up the steps of the temple towards a narrow doorway. He looked through and could only see darkness. Taking a deep breath, he stepped through the doorway.

“GINRAI?” Agnus yelled, startled as Ginrai seemingly vanished in front of him. “WHERE’D YOU GO?”

Ginrai found himself on a bridge suspended above a massive trench, the bottom filled with lava. The room alone was far larger than the temple Ginrai had entered, likely from the matrix’s light. On either side, lava spilled from massive drums attached to the wall, descending into the lava below. At the far end of the bridge, a colossal statue stood over a pair of large door, flames in each hand. Ginrai recognised the statue as one frequently seen throughout Serepis, depicting their great titan Caminus.

“Quite the realm you’ve built for yourself” Ginrai loudly said, certain someone was listening.

Silence. Yet one Ginrai took a step forward, the doors on the far side of the bridge slowly creaked open.

“I see I’m expected” Ginrai said, walking towards the door.

Ginrai crossed the bridge, observing the colossal statue of Caminus. With the scarcity of titans, it was rare to see a depiction of one in such detail. Perhaps the accuracy was simply on the matrix’s part. Ginrai walked through the large door, before ascending a large stairway.

Coming to the top of the stairs, Ginrai came through several corridors. Across them were several statues of numerous Cybertronians. However, Ginrai recognised several of them as titans, the statues simply scaled down to the Cybertronian size. Each time Ginrai passed one, the matrix identified them to him.

“Caminus” Ginrai said, observing the first statue, matching that at the entrance.

Ginrai then passed a bulky Cybertronian with drills across his body. Ginrai assumed this one was built to harvest the resources Solus used in her forgings.

“Metalwork.”

Next Ginrai passed a Cybertronian seemingly draped with lava falls, massive drums across her body. Ginrai had known of her from the legends of the factory worlds during the first expansion of Commonwealth, her mastery of lava heating the forges built across her body by Solus’ followers.

“Cauldron.”

Next Ginrai came to an avianoid with wings of flame. Though Ginrai initially mistook him as Chela, the matrix soon corrected him.

“Pyractilor.”

Finally Ginrai came to a pair of Cybertronians with starcruiser alt-modes. Though looking similar, these two titans were much younger that the others, possibly the last ones forged before the schism.

“Lodestar. Polestar.”

After passing several more statues of titans, Ginrai finally came to another set of stairs, these leading to a large chamber, looking like a large gladiatorial arena. A trench surrounded the outside of the arena, the bottom filled with the lava. As Ginrai came to the top of the stairs, he stepped onto the circular platform. At the far end, a Cybertronian clad in golden armour stood still, their hands resting on a large battlehammer.

“You have arrived” the figure said.

“I hope I’m not late” Ginrai replied, walking towards the figure.

“No” the figure replied. “You’re right on time.”

The figure picked up their hammer in one hand, before rushing at Ginrai swinging the hammer at him and sending him flying. Ginrai skidded towards the stairs, stopping right at the edge of the platform. Ginrai looked back and saw the stairs were no longer there. That didn’t surprise him.

Ginrai looked back up, and found the knight leaping at him, caping flying behind them. The knight swung their hammer down on Ginrai, who rolled out of the way just before it smashed into the ground.

“I didn’t come here for a fight!” Ginrai announced, standing up.

“You are the Convoy of War” the knight responded. “You of all Convoys should’ve anticipate this.”

“A test of strength, then” Ginrai said. “You know, you’d think that being chosen by the matrix would be enough.”

“This is not a test of strength. This is a test of character.”

The knight swung their hammer at Ginrai, but this time he ducked under it, allowing the hammer to pass over him. Ginrai then swung a fist straight at the knight’s abdomen, causing them to stumble back.

“Why does everyone seem to get those two things mixed up” Ginrai sighed.

The knight simply responded by striking Ginrai with the hammer again, causing him to fall back. The knight tightened their grip on the hammer, walking towards him.

“Perhaps the two are the same” the knight responded. “The way you fight gives you away. Your convictions, your purpose, your desire to succeed. A technique I’m sure you know all too well.”

“Should’ve guessed” Ginrai replied.

The knight swung their hammer once more, and this time Ginrai swung his leg at it, countering it with a powerful kick, knocking the hammer back. The knight swung again, their hammer meeting with another kick. The next time the knight swung, Ginrai instead caught the handle of the hammer, before ripping it from their hands.

“We done?” Ginrai asked. “You’re disar-“

The knight struct Ginrai with a punch, knocking him a few steps back, then sent him flying with a kick. As Ginrai flew back, the hammer fell out of his hands, clanging on the floor, while Ginrai landed on his back. As Ginrai sat back up, the knight ran at him, picking up their hammer and throwing it at Ginrai. The hammer clanged off Ginrai’s chest, slamming him down. As the hammer rebounded off Ginrai, the knight grabbed it in mid-air and swung it around themselves, before striking Ginrai’s head and sending him keeling sideways.

“Okay, I think the hammer hits a bit too hard” Ginrai said, as he watched part of his head crest dropping to the ground. “I’m not really sure what this is achieving.”

The knight charged once more at Ginrai, but this time he came prepared. Rotating his arm cannon, Ginrai propelled his fist with a powerful blast of energy from the cannon, striking the knight with force. The knight stumbled back, and Ginrai used the opportunity to slam into the knight with his truck mode, sending them flying. Ginrai circled around the arena, then drove in for another pass, only for the knight to bring their hammer down on Ginrai’s hood, crumpling it.

“GARGH” Ginrai yelled, instinctively transforming back to robot mode.

The knight proceeded to strike at Ginrai with their hammer, causing them to stumble back. The knight struck Ginrai again, and again, again, repeatedly smashing the hammer into Ginrai, each strike getting him closer and closer to the edge. With one final strike, the knight knocked Ginrai back, tumbling off the platform.

“Well, it was a good run” Ginrai said as he fell. “Just wish I could’ve stopped Amalgus.”

As he fell, Ginrai felt someone grab him. Looking up, the knight had grabbed Ginrai’s arm, holding him up above the pit.

“So… you win?” Ginrai asked.

“I think you’re ready to receive what you’re looking for” the knight said.

The knight pulled Ginrai back up onto the platform, helping him to his feet. The knight then rested their hand on the hammer once more as their golden form disintegrated to show a purple Cybertornian underneath.

“Solus Prime?” Ginrai said, surprised. “Real, illusion or concussion?”

“Shall we say a very thoughtful echo” Solus replied. “My apologies, but I think it’s easiest to read someone in combat.”

“I can relate, but normally I’m fighting people for a war” Ginrai replied, rubbing his optic. “But to business. I need to speak to you about-“

“About Amalgus” Solus said. “I am aware of the threat they pose with their own selfish ambitions.”

“I came looking for information” Ginrai said. “And a tool to under the damage they’ve done.”

“The Separation Blade and my Forge. The presence of the matrix makes me privy to these details.”

“Can you help?”

“Nexus was a friend. I was one of the few people he trusted with the locations of the halves of the Separation Blade. He feared what effect the blade might be had to divide someone too thinly, so much like his enigma, he hid it.”

“Where might I find these halves?”

“The edge was hidden on Quartex, amongst the crystal valleys of Toriz, though I must warn you, the native race are incredibly protective of their home” Solus explained. “As for the hilt, it was squirreled away in the Vexitrus Abyss, amongst the debris field of Anihilus.”

“That’s pirate territory” Ginrai said. “There’s every chance the hilt could’ve been taken long ago.”

“No, it still remains” Solus replies. “But I fear not for long. You may have to deal with these ‘pirates’ to attain the hilt.”

“And what of the forge?” Ginrai asked.

Solus held out her battle hammer to Ginrai. The gold hammer turned purple, taking on a more mechanical look. The handle shortened while the head became larger and bulkier. Ginrai took the hammer and looked at it.

“When Amalgus is safe and the dead universe no longer poses a threat to us, the hammer will be returned to me” Solus explained. “But as long as the threat is out there, the hammer will remain in your possession.”

“Thank you for your help” Ginrai replied. “I will keep the hammer safe.”

“I’m certain you will” Solus replied. “Farewell, Ginrai.”

“Wait, before you go” Ginrai interrupted. “There are many questions we can ask about the Age of the firstforged. The lost technologies, the histories not recorded the-“

Before he’d even finished his sentence, Ginrai found himself back on the outskirts of Serepis, the sun setting. Looking around, he found Agnus still there, looking wide eyed at him.

“What just happened?” Agnus asked, startled.

“I… I think I communed with Solus Prime” Ginrai said, still processing his recent experiences.

“Wait… you met Solus Prime? What was she like? Was she like the legends?”

“Well, uh… probably? Not read too many of your legends regarding Solus.”

“Wait…” Agnus said, eyeing the Forge in Ginrai’s hands. “If you met Solus, is that her Forge? The mighty hammer she used to forged Primal Armory?”

“Yes, that would be it.”

“Woah…” Agnus stuttered, stunned. “Amazing. Imagine if Ignitor saw this. Or mah!”

Ginrai pondered for a moment, thinking.

“Do me a favour” Ginrai requested. “Go back into town, get your mother, then both of you meet me at my ship.”

“Why?”

“Trust me, it’s something good.”

“Well, if you say so.”

Agnus transformed into his vehicle mode, driving off towards Serepis. Once alone, Ginrai looked at the forging hammer in his hands, looking it up and down. Admiring it, Ginrai began making the slow trek back to his shuttle.

Serepis Outskirts
Ginrai was waiting at the shuttle, standing at the top of the boarding ramp as Agnus arrived with Solanna.

“What did you require us for?” Solanna asked. “I understand my daughter isn’t with you.”

“Come aboard” Ginrai said. “You’ll like this.”

Ginrai turned around and headed back inside the ship, and Agnus and Solanna followed. Ginrai sat in one of the seats, and pressed a few buttons, before standing up and gesturing for Solanna and Agnus to sit in the pilot and copilot seats, they did so, and stood back. Inbetween, a hologram appeared of Ignitor.

“Yo, you asked for me, Ginrai” she replied. “What did you- MAH? AND… AGNUS, IS THAT YOU? LOOK HOW MUCH YOU’VE GROWN UP!”

“Oh my baby!” Solanna exclaimed, tears rolling down her optics. “Oh, I’ve missed you so much!”

“I’ve missed you too mah!” Ignitor gleefully replied.

“Are you safe?” Solanna desperately asked.

“Just a few bumps and scrapes, but I’m fine mah” Ignitor laughed, wiping a tear from her optic too.

“I’ll leave you three” Ginrai said. “Take as long as you need.”

With that, Ginrai went outside and left the family to reconnect after so long. As he left, he picked up Solus’ forge and took it outside with him. Ginrai sat at the bottom of the ramp, looking at the hammer. He smiled at the joyful voices coming from within his ship, glad to have achieved something other than battle. His gaze then turned to the sky. Once they were ready, Ginrai would have to leave, and quickly. He was going to stop Amalgus and Overlord, and halt their insane plans once and for all.

Cybertron Home Fleet, Cybertron Orbit
The space around Cybertron was rife with battle. Vanguard fleets were combatting Combatrons, and ships all around were falling into the atmosphere, flames streaming around them. Lasers and missiles flew everywhere while starfighters, gunships and fliers skittered in amongst the fleet. Aboard the Invincible-Class Dreadnought “Emancipator”, fleet admiral Ultra Major was talking via hologram to Groundshaker.

“I understand that our forces have been spread thinly, but if we don’t get reinforcements, Cybertron falls!” Ultra Major exclaimed.

“I’m sorry, we’re doing our best to form a fleet to go to Cybertron, but we’re scrambling for reinforcements as it is!” Groundshaker replied. “If we send the fleet now, they’ll be annihilated.”

“If we don’t get reinforcements soon, we’re dead” Ultra Major angrily yelled back.

“ADMIRAL!” yelled one of the officers on the bridge of the Emancipator. “Something large has just quantum jumped into our local vicinity!”

Ultra Major looked through the glass of the bridge. Outside, the colossal of the Quantum Leviathan appeared alongside the Combatronian fleet, glowing with energy.

“THIS BATTLE IS OVER!” the Leviathan announced, whipping raising its tentacles.

“SIR!” said another officer aboard the ‘Emancipator’. “We’re detecting a build up of quantum energy in the Quantum Drive!”

“What?” Ultra Major loudly asked. “Who started the drive?”

“No-one sir!” the officer said. “But it’s activating by itself!”

“We’re getting reports of the same from the entire fleet!”

“Turn it off! TURN IT OFF!”

“IT’S TOO LATE!”

In a matter of seconds, every ship was glowing with quantum energy, before streaking in beams of light. But instead of vanishing off into the distant corners of space, the beams of light collided with each other, creating explosion of quantum energy. More beams struck off them, shards debris flying off at lightspeed. Some of these caught Combatronians ship in their way, crippling them with strikes of incredible velocity.

Bridge, The Revenge
Aboard the bridge of the Revenge, Overlord and Amalgus watched the carnage play out, streaks of light shooting around the dreadnought.

“That debris will fly all across the entire Commonwealth” Amalgus explained. “Probably even beyond. Lightspeed debris creating kinetic strikes across hundreds of planets.”

“I just wish I could see it” Overlord smirked. “Such beautiful carnage!”

“Priorities, Overlord” Amalgus pointed out.

Overlord frowned. He disliked someone else trying to correct him, but this close to victory, he needed Amalgus alive.

“Are the parts for the Crucible of Sparks ready?” Overlord asked.

“All that’s required is to assemble the final parts once we get down to the surface” Amalgus replied. “Victory is so close…”

“Yes…” Overlord replied, before looking at one of the officers. “Broadcast me to the fleet.”

The officer nodded and pressed a few buttons. Soon, everyone in the Combatronian Fleet was listening to Overlord.

“MY LOYAL SOLDIERS!” Overlord declared. “THIS IS OUR MOMENT! CYBERTRON IS FINALLY OURS! BUT THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING! ONCE WE ANNIHILATE THE LAST POCKETS OF RESISTANCE, WE GAIN AN ENERGY THAT WILL MAKE US INVINCIBLE! THEN, NOT ONLY THE COMMONWEALTH, NOT EVEN SIMPLY THE GALAXY, BUT THIS WHOLE UNIVERSE WILL TREMBLE BENEATH US! VICTORY IS OURS!”

Combatronians across the entire fleet cheered. Overlord revelled in this, encouraging them. But as he did, Amalgus smiled. Victory was at hand… they just had no intention of sharing it.

 

Volume 6 - Combatron Victorious
Divided We Stand​

Hub-1, Olterhex
Olterhex. The Vanguard base of operations. It was a dark, tumultuous day. Storm battered the metal structures sticking out from the ocean as huge waves rapped against them. Within Hub-1, a large building that had once been the Space Station Defiant, Groundshaker entered a dark room, where holograms of Ginrai, Quickshadow, Peritus and Rocket Plume stood around a central table.

“It’s happened” Groundshaker said, stopping in front of the table. “Overlord’s taken Cybertron.”

“Then the time to act is now” Peritus said. “We have to retake the planet.”

“Our ships are still gathering for an all out assault” Groundshaker continued. “But we’re still waiting on more ships and any intel that can help us.”

“And for us to retrieve our relics” Ginrai added. “If we don’t, it won’t just be Cybertron in danger. Just first in the firing line of the Dead Universe.”

“What’s your status on those?” Peritus asked. “Because we could really use you here.”

“Ginrai, Thunderhead and I are approaching Quartex” Quickshadow informed them. “We received no opposition on our journey, so we have to assume Amalgus didn’t have any idea about this.”

“Me, Crumble, Tailpipe and Ignitor are also approaching the Vexitrus Abyss” Rocket Plume added. “Again, no resistance, but sensors have picked up a fleet of Cybertronian Pirate ships in the next sector over, but we won’t be anywhere near them.”

“See that you steer clear of them” Groundshaker said. “The last thing we want is to have to send reinforcements to fight them, given we need our fleet at full strength to retake Cybertron.”

“We’ll stay away from trouble” Rocket Plume said, rolling her optics. “Whether trouble stays away from us is another question.”

“Just try to expedite your mission” Peritus said. “I don’t like waiting around.”

“We’ll be as quick as we can” Ginrai replied. “We won’t leave Cybertron to be ravaged by Overlord and Cybertron. We’ll be back.”

With that, Ginrai, Quickshadow and Rocket Plume’s holograms vanished, leaving Groundshaker with Peritus’ hologram.

“They’d better” Groundshaker. “Otherwise I shudder to think what may happen.”

Quartex Orbit
Meteors fell through the atmosphere of Quartex. The fiery rocks smashed onto the crystal landscape as between them, a small shuttle dived to the shuttle. It swung from side to side, trying to dodge the meteor storm as it located a suitable landing zone. Inside the cockpit, Quickshadow was flying the shuttle with Thunderhead as her navigator, Ginrai watching behind them.

“Watch out for that one!” Ginrai exclaimed, pointing to a falling meteor.

“Yes, I see it!” Quickshadow said. “You don’t have to point out every meteor, Ginrai!”

“Sorry, just trying to help.”

“Backseat driving is distracting, I’m afraid” Quickshadow replied. “Thunderhead, can you find anywhere safe from the storm to land?”

“There’s a large opening in the valley below us” Thunderhead answered, looking at his instruments. “Scans show it’s large enough for us to land in, so we should shelter there till the meteors stop.”

“Alright, Quickshadow, bring us down” Ginrai said.

“Backseat driver, remember” Quickshadow said, steering the ship more steeply down.

“Right, sorry.”

The shuttle descended down through the storm, weaving around the falling meteors. Dropping into a valley, the ship flew low across the surface, before swerving into a large opening in the crystal wall of the valley. Ginrai, Quickshadow and Thunderhead disembarked, watching out the mouth of the cave as meteors struck the ground, shattering crystals.

“Any idea how long this storm’ll hold out for?” Ginrai asked.

“Another hour?” Thunderhead mused. “Couldn’t accurately say.”

“Well, we’re stuck in here till then.”

“Seems so” Ginrai sighed. “As soon as it stops, though, we go straight out.”

“If you say so” Thunderhead said, pulling a deck of cards out of one of his compartments. “Anyone for a few rounds of Triad?”

“Could help pass the time” Quickshadow relented.

As Thunderhead began shuffling the deck, outside, more and more meteors struck the ground. However, unbeknownst to the group, one of the meteors began moving in its crater. It rocked about, shaking left and right, before an arm burst out. The meteor changed forms, becoming a hulking monster of stone. The creature watched more and more meteors form, before looking to the cave opening, glaring at it.

Vexitrus Abyss
Tailpipe piloted the shuttle through a debris field. This space, once an entire star system, had been ravaged by planets and moons ramming into each other, leaving only its star to illuminate the ruins of it.

“Still nothing hostile in the immediate area” Tailpipe said.

“We seem to be in the clear” Crumble replied.

“That’s optimism” Ignitor says. “I’m still expecting those pirates to swing by.”

“Pirates looks for an opportunity for profit, not a fight” Rocket Plume replied, emerging from the back of the ship. “Especially this Cannonball.”

“‘This Cannonball’” Ignitor asked. “What do you mean by that?”

“Cannonball was the name the first leader of the Star Seekers gave himself after he founded his pirate group” Crumble explained. “Nobody really knows why, but his successor, the current leader, liked it so much he decided to take it on when he, ahem, assumed control.”

“Violently, we imagine” Tailpipe added.

“Anyway, the current Cannonball’s actions are guided by gain. If it’s not profitable, it’s not worth it. There’s no reason for him to see a benefit in attacking us.”

“Regardless, how close are we to the hilt?” Rocket Plume asked.

“Well, we’re approaching a temple on one of the pieces of debris” Tailpipe said. “Made of stone, but looks Cybertronian in construction. I’m bringing us down.”

“Understood” Rocket Plume said. “Hopefully we can make this a quick in-and-out mission.”

Tailpipe brought the shuttle down onto a large piece of debris, close to a temple. Small, the architecture of the temple looked simplistic, similar to that of ancient Cybertron. Lowering its boarding ramp as soon as it landed, Rocket Plume and Ignitor stepped out, Crumble and Tailpipe in tow.

“You know, honestly expected to just start floating off into space” Ignitor said.

“The ship generates an artificial gravity around itself, not just on board” Tailpipe explained.

“And thanks to my tinkering, it should be large enough to encompass the temple” Crumble added.

“Should be?” Ignitor asked.

“Just be thankful it’s got a roof” Rocket Plume said, approaching the temple.

Rocket Plume walked up the temple’s steps and through a doorway. She entered a mostly empty room, with a single plinth in the middle. Rocket Plume walked up to the plinth, then looked around.

“I don’t get it? Are there any secret rooms or something?”

“I’m having a look with my personal scanner” Crumble said, entering with a device in hand. “No cavities suggesting hidden rooms or any signs of mechanisms. Maybe if I try looking for other things.”

Still staring at his scanner, Crumble walked back out of the room without another word. A little confused, Rocket Plume followed him out, and found Ignitor and Tailpipe watch Crumble wander aimlessly around.

“Hmmm…” mused Crumble, staring at the scanner. “I’m detecting emission trails matching those of neutron engines. Best match is from Astroskiffs.”

“Astroskiffs commonly being used by Star Seekers” Tailpipe groaned.

“Hey, looks like we might make an adventure of this after all” Ignitor joked.

“Yep” Rocket Plume sighed. “If there’s no hilt here, they probably have it. You hope that they don’t come to us, but instead we have to go to them.”

“Let’s get aboard then” Tailpipe said, walking back towards the shuttle. “Shouldn’t take us too long to catch up to them.”

“You know I’ve never met pirates before” Ignitor said, walking up the ramp boarding ramp with Tailpipe.

“Trust me, we’re envious of you in this scenario.”

Abitis Valley, Quartex
Ginrai stepped out of the cave. The meteors had stopped falling, and smoke began to dissipate from the numerous craters from the storm. Ginrai surveyed the landscape. Several crystals had collapsed in from the wall, but there was still a way up. Ginrai looked out to the end of the valley, seeing a structure standing out above them.

“The storms passed” Ginrai said. “And I think I can see our destination.”

“Think we can make it in alt-mode?” Thunderhead asked.

“The way looks too rough for us to drive over it. We’ll have to make our way forward by foot.”

“Well, no time to waste” Quickshadow said, standing up and walking toward the cave entrance. “Let’s get a move on.”

The group left the cavern, and began walking across the valley fall, the sound of crystal fragments shattering beneath their feet following them. Meteors surrounded them, some in large craters, others embedded in the valley walls. As they got closer to the end of the valley, they came to a larger meteor blocking their path. Large scrape marks marked both sides of the valley.

“Great” Quickshadow said. “That’ll make it harder to get there.”

“Don’t worry” Thunderhead said, pulling out a device from his hip compartment. “I’ll blast it out of the way.”

“Plasma charges?” Ginrai asked. “What were you expecting?”

“Sealed doors. But a few of these should demolish this meteor and clear the way.”

“If you say so.”

Thunderhead approached the meteor, plasma charge in hand. As he placed the charge on the meteor, it shook. Thunderhead backed up as it continued to shake, rising from the ground. As it grew taller, a pair of legs revealed themselves beneath. The front of the meteor swung open, forming a pair of bulky arms that slammed against the crystal walls of the valley. Revealed behind them was an horned insectoid head, looking between the three Cybertronians.

“Uhhh… what the frag is that?” Thunderhead said, looking up at the colossal rock creature.

“You ever heard of a Rock Lord?” Quickshadow asked. “Because that’s a rock lord.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“How about that’s a big angry Rock Lord that’s not to pleased we just put a bomb on it” Ginrai answered.

The Rock Lord roared at the trio, before attempting its move in on them, only to notice its wide arms were wedging it between the valley walls. With a mighty swing of its arms it forced itself loose, raining crystal shards from the walls around it. The Rock Lord then raised its arms, before swinging them down at the Cybertronians. The trio dived out of the way as the massive arms fractured the ground.

“SHOOT IT!” Ginrai said, pointing his arm cannons.

Ginrai fired both cannons at the Rock Lord as Thunderhead and Quickshadow fired their own guns. Though pelting the Rock Lords with energy bolts, they succeeded in little more than chipping fragments of rock off.

“Dammit!” Ginrai exclaimed. “We need heavier ordinance!”

The Rock Lord sweeped its arm across the ground, knocking Ginrai and Thunderhead back. As Thunderhead landed on the ground, he noticed the plasma charged still attached to the Rock Lord’s arm.

“I think we might have some!” Thunderhead said, picking himself back up. “Get back!”

The trio ran deeper into the valley, the Rock Lord giving chase. As they fell back, Thunderhead pulled a detonator from his hip compartment, pressing a button on its side. The plasma charge exploded, destroying the Rock Lord’s right arm and knocking the creature into the valley wall.

“Well, we’ve disarmed it” Thunderhead grinned, before going silent at a glare from Quickshadow.

“Is it enough, though?” Ginrai asked.

The Convoy soon got his answer as the Rock Lord stood back up from the newly created impact zone in the wall, and turned back towards them. The Rock Lord roared once more at them, walking towards them.

“You got any more of those charges?” Ginrai asked Thunderhead.

“Plenty” Thunderhead replied. “But I doubt I’ll get close enough to it to place them.”

“We’re not bringing the charges to it” Ginrai said. “We’re bringing it to the charges. Throw those charges around the valley floor, then detonate only my word!”

Thunderhead nodded, before pulling several more plasma charges from his compartments and throwing them around the valley floor. Ginrai, meanwhile, fired several shots at the Rock lord’s head, aggravating it further. The beast roared, running at them.

“GO!” Ginrai yelled, running deeper still into the valley.

Thunderhead and Quickshadow did the same, Thunderhead still throwing plasma charges around the valley until he had used them up.

“THAT’S THE LAST OF THEM!” Thunderhead called over to Ginrai. “YOU WANT ME TO DEMOLISH HIS LORDSHIP?”

“A FEW MORE MOMENTS!”

Ginrai looked behind them at the rock lord giving chase, making sure it was right in the blaze zone of the charges.

“NOW!”

Thunderhead grinned, before pulling the detonator out and pressing more buttons on it. Beneath the Rock Lords feet, the plasma charged exploded with a large boom, first blasting the creature’s legs to pieces, before breaking apart, leaving nothing but a pile of debris.

The trio stopped running, turning to look at the scattered boulders where the Rock Lord once stood.

“We’re gonna have to climb over that, aren’t we?” Quickshadow bemoaned.

“Just be relieved it's dealt with” Thunderhead added.

As if summoned by Thunderhead’s words, several more Rock Lords of various sizes peered over the edges of the valley. Seeing their fallen comrade, they all roared in anger.

“Be honest, did any of us expect anything else?” Ginrai asked.

“Here’s an idea” Quickshadow suggested. “MAKE FOR THE TOWER!!”

The trio clambered over the debris of the rock lord as his comrade began scaling the side of the valley, looking to avenge their fallen brother.

The Blackwater, Cartirax Sector
A pirate fleet sat in the Cartirax sector, slowly meandering through one of its star systems. A fleet of various stolen ships, at its core sat their flagship, the Blackwater, a stolen Orothos-Class Cruiser-Carrier. Aboard it, pirates were hanging around, drinking, dancing, fighting, all in celebration of their recent raids. In the main hall, the higher ups of the crew were too celebrating, a fine meal in front of them, dancers of various species performing for them, and enough drink to send each and every one of them into stasis lock. At the head table, their leader, Cannonball the second, finished his meal and was sucking the energon sauce of his fingers.

“DELICIOUS!” he yelled. “MY COMPLIMENTS TO THE CHEF! I’VE NEVER TASTED A FINER TUNGSTEN-TURKEY! TELL THUNDERLANE AS SOON I GET THE OPPORTUNITY, I WILL STEAL HIM ANOTHER KITCHEN!”

Looking at his crew enjoying himself, Cannonball stood up, climbed onto the table, kick his plate off, before firing off both cannons to get his crew’s attention. Everyone turned to face him.

“MY LOYAL CREW!” Cannonball announced. “TODAY, WE RETURN TO OUR HOME TERRITORIES FROM OUR MOST AMBITIOUS RAID TO DATE! THE TREASURE OF THE GALACTIC COUNCIL’S VAULTWORLD OF KIX KADOR NOW FILLS OUR VAULTS! AND WHY? BECAUSE YOU ALL HAVE THE GREATEST PIRATE CAPTAIN LEADING YOU! AND I HAVE A PRETTY DECENT RAGTAG CREW OF ROGUES AND PIRATES!”

“YEAH!” yelled one of the officers, only to fall backwards in their chair.

“HE KNOWS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!” Cannonball said, pointing at the drunken pirate. “NOW, WE CELEBRATE AS WE RETURN TO OUR PIRATE HOMEWORLD! AND WHAT BETTER WAY TO CELEBRATE THAN GETTING BLACKOUT DRUNK?”

An almighty cheer rose amongst the pirates, before many of them took a deep glug of many of their own drinks. As Cannonball got off the table and just sat down, he was approached by a grey Cybertronian with colossal wings.

“Starquest, do you mind?” Cannonball angrily said. “I am trying to get absolutely wasted!”

“Apologies, Captain Cannonball, but we’ve had a ship requesting to dock” Starquest explained.

“A ship? What sort of ship?”

“Primal Vanguard, Captain. They say they’re interested in purchasing an item they believe we recently… acquired.”

Cannonball eyed his drink, before sighing and standing up.

“Let them aboard” Cannonball ordered. “But tell Gallows to get a few of my men to, shall we say, greet them. Well armed men. You know the deal.”

“Of course” Starquest bowed.

“Well, I suppose I should make my way down to greet them. But first.”

Cannonball grabbed his drink, and in quick action downed the entire glass.

“Now, let’s meet our guests!”

Hangar, The Blackwater
As soon as Rocket Plume set foot off the shuttle, she found herself surrounded by several pirates. While most of them shared the same white and seafoam coloured car body, their leader was a taller Cybertronian with characteristics of a stingray beast mode. One of their optics was covered by an eyepatch, while in their hand they possessed a whip with a hook at its end.

“Well, to be honest, I shouldn’t have expected any other welcome” Rocket Plume said.

Behind her, Ignitor descended, flames already in her hands.

“I can roast them if you want” Ignitor said.

“Try it, and we’ll tear you to shreds” said the group’s leader.

Rocket Plume sighed, before pulling out a pistol and pointing it at the pirate.

“We can test that theory, if you want” she said, levelling the gun at the pirate’s head.

“Now, now, now” came the voice of Cannonball. “Let’s be civil.”

Cannonball and Starquest entered the room, several other pirates in tow.

“Now, Gallows, let's put the weapons away” Cannonball said, approaching the stingray pirate. “You wouldn’t want to be on cleaning duty if things got messy in here, would you?”

“No sir” Gallow said, retracting his hooked whip.

“Now then” Cannonball said. “I understand you would like to make a purchase. Understand my prices are very, very high!”

“The Vanguard compensate you with whatever Shannix you- Rocket Plume began”

“No. Nono. Nonono. No shannix. I mean, do you know how poor the exchange rate is between shannix and other galactic currencies? Nono, you’ll have to find another form of payment.”

“We can sort something out.”

“So what is it you were after, anyway?” Cannonball asked.

“We’ve come to believe you recently raided a small temple in the Vexitrus Abyss. We have good reason to believe that the Hilt of Nexus Prime’s Separation Blade was situated there.”

“So that’s what it is…” Cannonball muttered to himself.

“Can we make a bid, then?” Ignitor asked.

“I’m sorry, but that item is too precious for me to give away” Cannonball replied. “However, I insist you stay as our… guest. Gallows! Take our guests to hospitality! And see if there’s anyone else on board that shuttle to also receive our hospitality.”

“Yes Captain” Gallows said. “Neurotoxin! Stormcharge! Wheellock! Check their shuttle for anyone else. Rest of you, escort them with me!”

Gallow pulled Rocket Plume and Ignitor forward, shoving them out of the hangar. Though Ignitor prepared a flame, Rocket Plume shook her head.

“So… hospitality?” Ignitor asked.

“His brig, I imagine” Rocket Plume replied. “He doesn’t want to sell and doesn’t want us to steal it either, so his solution: lock us up till he figures out a long term plan.

“And things are already going so well!”

Abitis Valley, Quartex
Ginrai, Thunderhead and Quickshadow ran through the valley as more rock lords descended upon them, though smaller than the one that they had just brought down. As one rushed them, Ginrai fired several blasts at its legs, destroying them. Ginrai dived out of the way as the rock lord fell forward and rolled towards him, crashing into the valley wall.

“Aim for the legs!” Ginrai said. “They don’t seem to be as sturdy as the rest of the body!”

“Are these guys guardians or something?” Thunderhead asked, blasting another Rock Lords. “Did they drop out of the sky because we were coming?”

“Unlikely!” Quickshadow exclaimed. “Rock Lords feed on the crystals the planet grows. However, in order to give the planet time to grow them, they hibernate in orbit. I think we arrived just as they came out of hibernation, and they aren’t happy about trespassers on their feeding grounds!”

“Cos we couldn’t have it easy, just this once” Thunderhead groaned.

“Focus on the fight!” Ginrai interrupted.

The group continued blasting at the Rock Lords’ legs, bringing many of them down, yet they kept coming. As a number of them descended the valley walls, Ginrai blasted several of the crystals jutting out, bringing them and the Rock Lords crashing to the surface.

“HAH! EAT CRYSTAL, SLAGGERS!” Thunderhead yelled.

“Thunderhead…” Quickshadow said, raising an optic ridge.

“I know, I know, I did listen, they do actually eat the stuff.”

Behind the trio, a small Rock Lord approached. It walked slowly towards them, occasionally hiding behind a crystal. As the trio were occupied fighting other Rock Lords, it crept up to Ginrai before leaping at him. Hearing it jump, Ginrai whipped around and sent the Rock Lord flying with a powerful backhanded strike.

“Quiet little blighter” Thunderhead said, looking back. “Didn’t see it scaling the wall.”

“I think there’s a reason for that” Ginrai said, pointing into the valley. “Look!”

Deeper into the valley, where the trio had fought off the initial colossal Rock Lord, the debris that once comprised its body began to shake, fracture forming along them. From one of the fractured sections, a smaller Rock Lord broke itself off, then another, and another. Soon a horde of smaller Rock Lords began forming and charging through the valley towards them.

“OH THAT’S JUST NOT FAIR!” Thunderhead yelled.

“Well, Thunderhead, a suggestion” Ginrai said. “Let’s not hang around for them to catch up! Let’s move!”

The trio forged on ahead, blasting through Rock Lords ahead of them, as the horde behind them closed in.

Cell Block, The Blackwater
Ignitor stood in her cell, annoyed. She had her face smooshed up against the energy shield, yelling at a sleeping pirate, supposedly their guard.

“HEY! I WILL ROAST MY WAY THROUGH THESE ENERGY SHIELDS EVENTUALLY!” she yelled. “YOU KO-SCO-RO-JO’S CAN’T KEEP US HERE FOREVER!”

“They can’t hear you” Rocket Plume said, sitting on the bench at the back of the cell. “Energy shield blocks out sound. We can’t hear them.”

“But they also can’t hear us” Tailpipe added. “So we can plan our escape without them listening in.”

“So how do we start?” Ignitor asked. “I can try cutting through the walls. We might end up going through a few cells first, but still.”

“And risk the chance of cutting our way out into space? Doesn't sound smart.”

“Besides, most ships have reinforced walls to stop us from cutting through, even a stolen one like this. We may not have a lot of people who have the ability to generate flames, but cutting tools are common.”

“What about blasting through? Surely they didn’t take your concealed weaponry?”

“They didn’t…” Rocket Plume said, deploying her arm-mounted missile launcher. “But any explosion in this tight space is gonna do more damage to us than the shield.”

“You got anything Crumble?” Ignitor asked.

Crumble was sat in the corner, minding his own business as he fiddled around with his crane hook. After a few moments, he looked up.

“Hmm?”

“Nevermind” Ignitor groaned, turning around. “Maybe if I get the right angle I can melt the shield projectors?”

“You’d have to be insanely precise” Tailpipe said, eyeing up the edge of the shield. “I mean, there’s no talent for that.”

“Really?” Rocket Plume said. ”Friend of mine said that a sharpshooter in Shadow Squad is getting tested for what may be an aiming talent. Said that she could have “Instantly Precise Aim.”

“That’s great and all, but that doesn’t help now” Ignitor bemoaned.

“Well, what else can we try? It’s not exactly like we can keep hitting it till the shield can’t take anymore.”

“I don’t know” Tailpipe said. “Sustained barrage and we can have the shield down in an hour. Two. Maybe three?”

“If our guns weren’t on the other side” Rocket Plume pointed out. “It’ll take closer to a month just punching it.”

“Well, then I-”

Everyone stopped as Crumble walked past them and stood in front of the shield. Holding his hook, he moved it towards the shield, sticking the hook's point into it. As the hook beganto pierce the shield, it began distorting. Crumble pulled the hook down, slicing through it. The shield distorted more, fluctuating erratically the further down Crumble got. As soon as he reached the bottom, the shield was now erratic, before finally freezing, then shattering. The other three looked stunned as Crumble showed his hook.

“Defla’s Flux” Crumble said. “Straight from the Malware Brigade. Refined by me, of course, and tweaked the parameters to account for the shield strength and density.”

“And you just had that on you?” Ignitor asked.

“I’ve been getting a number of malware viruses installed into my hook the last few months” Crumble explained. “Got a whole catalogue of them. Malware on the go.”

“Right” Tailpipe mused. “Did you not have anything for Combatronian doors?”

“They change their codes and update their antiviral software so frequently there’s never a guarantee it’ll work. Pirates, on the other hand…”

Crumble walked out of the cell to the door on the opposite side of the room. Meanwhile, Rocket Plume and Tailpipe walked over to the pirate and took their weapons back. As they did, the sleeping pirate began to stir.

“Hmm… wuzzat?” the pirate slurred, waking up.

“Too much to drink” Rocket Plume said to Tailpipe. “Back to sleep with him.”

Rocket Plume struck the pirate with the butt of her gun, knocking him to the ground, unconscious. Meanwhile, Ignitor was watching Crumble work.

“Nearly done…” Crumble said. “Just bypassing the codes to the door.”

“Good, I- wait” Ignitor said, leaning to the door. “You hear that? We might not need them.”

Crumble stopped, and pressed his audio receptor to the door. On the other side, he could hear voices come closer to them.

“I’m telling you Skyduster, he’ll be asleep” came one voice. “You know Boltcaster drinks like a zap pony.”

“I’m hoping not, Turbolift” came another voice. “I had a bottle of fermented engex stowed in there just in case I got lugged with one of the prison shifts. Took me ages to smuggle out of Starquest’s personal stores.”

“Seriously?” Turbolift exclaimed as the door opened. “Starquest’ll throw you across the ship if he finds out.”

“Hate to break it to you” Ignitor said stepping out, both arm cannons pointed forward. “But that’s happening now.”

With a mighty burst of flames, Ignitor sent the two pirates flying across the corridor. The pair slammed against the far wall, slumping down. Crumble, Tailpipe and Rocket Plume soon joined her at the door.

“There’s be more of them in our way” Tailpipe said.

“We can take them” Rocket Plume said, readying her rifle. “The hard part’ll be finding the Hilt.”

“Not so hard” Crumble said, walking over to a console and sticking his hook into it. “I can download a map from here. Maybe place a few dummy alarms to help cover our escape.”

“Does that hook do everything now?” Tailpipe asked.

“If I can help it” Crumble said, pulling out his hook. “Got it.”

Crumble projected a holographic map from his wrist unit. There was a dot showing their current position, while higher up, one of the rooms was glowing red.

“Looks to be a large treasury six floors up” Rocket Plume said, pointing at the glowing room. “Probably heavily guarded.”

“Good thing we don’t have to take the expected way” Crumble said. “This is a huge ship, and a huge ship needs a lot of ventilation, especially to keep its systems cool. And vent are very hand for getting around unnoticed. Tailpipe, if you mind.”

Looking behind him, Tailpipe saw a grilled panel on the wall. Pointing his pistol at it, he blasted around the edges, before kicking the panel in with his foot. He then crouched down, looking into the ventilation shaft.

“We’ll make it through” Tailpipe said, before looking back. “Crumble, you have the map, you’d better go first.”

“I suppose I must” Crumble replied, before crawling in.

As he climbed into the vents, Tailpipe crawled in after him, followed by Ignitor, then Rocket Plume. The group scurried through the vents, climbing through the floors before finally they made it to the right one. Eventually, Crumble came to a stop at another grilled panel above him.

“Tailpipe, pass me your pistol” Crumble whispered, stretching his arm behind him.

Tailpipe stretched his arm out, holding the gun to Crumble. After fumbling around his arm for a few moments, Crumble managed to grab the gun. He then pointed it at the grill above him, blasting out the corners, before bashing through it. Pulling himself out, he found himself in a room filled with all sorts of treasures.

“This is the place” Crumble said, looking around as Tailpipe crawled out. “Looks to be filled with all sorts of… well, I hesitate to call it all treasure. A lot worthless scrap, to be honest.”

“That’s not” Tailpipe said, pointing to the top of one of the piles.

Crumble looked up and saw, on top of a damaged chest and a damaged shield, what appeared to be the hilt of a sword. Behind them, Ignitor helped Rocket Plume out.

“I think that’s it” Crumble said, before scrambling up. “It’s likely the last thing they got their hands on, especially how close they were to the temple.

Reaching the top, Crumble grabbed the hilt with one hand. He looked over it, before slowly climbing back down to the floor.

“Yeah, has to be it. Seems Firstforged-ey enough.”

“Look at all this stuff, though” Ignitor said, pulling a broken pistol out of a pile. “They will just take everything without hesitating.”

“If it can be stolen, it can be sold” Rocket Plume said. “There’s probably a few gems around here, but that’s not our prerogative. We should get out of here.”

“Aww, but we just got out of those vents” Ignitor moaned. “Can’t I just stretch a bit first?”

“I’M AFRAID NOBODY WILL BE STRETCHING ANYWHERE!” came a booming voice from unseen speakers.

The group turned to see a large vault door opening. Behind it stood Cannonball, Starquest, Gallows and a number of other pirates, all pointing weapons at them.

“Or I add your heads to my collection!”

“Seriously?” asked Ignitor.

“Okay, maybe that’s a bit much, but there will be payback!”

Abitis Valley Edge, Quartex
Ginrai finally climbed out of the valley, pulling himself up onto the end of it. Turning around, he pulled Quickshadow, up then Thunderhead.

“Solid ground at last” Quickshadow said, relieved.

“And you know what that means” Thunderhead grinned.

“TRANSFORM AND ROLL OUT” Ginrai yelled as more Rock Lords closed in on them.

From a running start, the trio shifted into their vehicular modes and drove straight towards the temple. As Rock Lords ran at them, the trio simply drove straight through them, smashing them to the sides, all the while Thunderhead shot at them with his vehicle mode’s turret. As they reached the tower, they found the doors ahead of them shut. Although Thunderhead and Quickshadow stopped and returned to robot mode to fight off the Rock Lords while they pried the door open, only to notice Ginrai still driving on. Ginrai smashed straight into the door, busting it wide open. Thunderhead and Quickshadow followed him in as he transformed back to robot mode. As soon as they were all in the temple, Ginrai grabbed both of the doors and slammed them shut against the horde.

“That won’t hold them long” Thunderhead said.

“Wouldn’t matter anyway” added Quickshadow. “We have to go back through them.”

Ginrai turned around and held his back against the door, holding it shut as on the other side Rock Lords pounded against it. Observing the room around them, Ginrai saw a set of stairs spiraling upwards around the edges of the room.

“UPSTAIRS!” he yelled.

Quickshadow and Thunderhead didn’t hesitate to follow Ginrai’s orders, running up the stairs as he held the door shut. Ginrai felt the door shake every time the Rock Lords struck the door… and then they stopped. Ginrai paused, confused. He held onto the door a little longer. Nothing. Deciding not to stay and check, Ginrai followed his comrades up. As he ran up the stairs, he didn’t hear the doors open, nor the sound of a horde of Rock Lords following them. Ginrai soon found out why when he caught up to Thunderhead and Quickshadow staring out of a window.

“Ginrai, look!” Thunderhead exclaimed, gesturing out the window.

Outside, the Rock Lords were converging on each other, merging into a single colossal Rock Lord. The creature stood as high as they did already, and was growing still.

“That is huge” Quickshadow said.

“All the more reason to get to the top” Ginrai said, gesturing to keep going.

The trio made their way up the stairs to the top of the tower. The trio found themselves in a simple room, with a sharp blade resting upon a solitary pedestal. As Thunderhead ran over to the window, Ginrai and Quickshadow rushed towards the pedestal.

“The blade” Ginrai said, picking up the edge with both hands.

“Let’s safety secure it, then work on our exit strategy” Quickshadow suggested.

“Might be difficult” Thunderhead said, standing at the window. “What with that guy hanging about.”

“Maybe we could call a ship to orbital bounce us out?” Quickshadow asked. “Hold out here till they arrive.”

The entire tower shook. Outside, the Rock Lord was punching the tower, trying to bring it down.

“Might be a bit hard” Thunderhead replied. “That guy’s having none of this.”

“I’ve got a plan” Ginrai said.

Without another word, Ginrai ran across the room, edge in hand. Almost mowing down Thunderhead, Ginrai leapt out the window. Quickshadow rushed over to the window, before she and Thunderhead looked out.

“Thanks for informing us of the plan before leaping out the window” Quickshadow groaned.

Outside, Ginrai landed atop the Rock Lord, rolling before coming to a stop. The Rock Lord didn’t notice him, still busy punching down the tower. Ginrai raised the blade above his head, before thrusting it into the Rock Lord. Glowing, it began creating cracks in the Rock Lord. The crack spread across the being’s entire body, before forcing the Rock Lord to exploded into its small constituent Rock Lords. As Ginrai fell amongst them, Thunderhead and Quickshadow rushed down the stairs.

“That Convoy is an idiot!” Quickshadow exclaimed, running down the stairs.

“You just figured that out at this stage?” Thunderhead retorted.

The pair came back out the doors to find Ginrai lying on his front. Around him, hundreds of tiny Rock Lords also lay down, remaining still.

“Ginrai?” Quickshadow asked.

Ginrai gave a groan, before giving a thumbs up.

“What have we told you about telling us the plan?” Thunderhead asked.

“I showed you the plan” Ginrai countered, picking himself up. “And it worked.”

“Not the point” Quickshadow groaned. “So do you still have it?”

“Held onto it the entire way down” Ginrai said, holding the blade out. “I’m not letting it out of my hand till we get back.”

“That’s good, but are we gonna have to deal with them again?” Thunderhead inquired, gesturing to the Rock Lords around them.

“The act of decombining them seems to have given them a bit of a headache. I think they’re down for the count.”

“Then let’s go back to our ship and get this blade back to the fleet!”

Treasury, The Blackwater
“My friends, my friends, I am so disappointed” Cannonball said, walking around in front of his pirates. We offered you our hospitality, even accommodation, and you threw it all in our face. Worse than that, you even tried to steal it from me!”

“You locked us in a cell” Tailpipe yelled.

“It’s some form of accommodation! But a shame, I really liked you. I really didn’t want to do this. Partly because I didn’t want to clean up the mess.”

Cannonball pointed his pistol between the group. In response, Ignitor lowered her visor and pointed her arm cannons at the different piles of loot, flames dancing from the ends.

“Let us leave, or I burn your goods” Ignitor threatened. “All you’ll have left is piles of ashes and molten goo.”

“An interesting proposal” Cannonball mused. “But not very profitable for you when you leave the room. Not very smart, huh?”

“Thanks for the suggestion” Rocket Plume replied.

Rocket Plume grabbed Cannonball, wrapping her arm around his neck, before the end of her rifle against his head.

“We’ll take it into consideration.”

“This is despicable!” Cannonball yelled. “Treacherous! Downright dirty! If you weren’t holding a gun to my head, I’d hire you on the spot!”

“Well?”

“Alright, alright, you Vanguarders, always so impatient. Stand down!”

“I don’t think so” Starquest replied, still holding his gun up. “I think we’re all tired of you focused on your own gain. I think it’s time for a change of leadership.”

“What is this? A mutiny! I mean, come on Starquest, is this really the time?”

“Oh, just shut it, Cannonball! I think it’s my turn to be Cannonball! A better Cannonball than you ever were!”

“Oh sweet Pirate Queen of the old times, someone should shut you up. In fact, Gallows!”

With one swift action, Gallows punched Starquest, knocking him clean out.

“Ain’t nobody following that jackass” Gallows snarled.

“Thank you! That’s why you’re my favourite, Gallows! So anyway, what were we talking about again?”

“I have a gun to your head” Rocket Plume reminded him.

“Ah, of course! Of course, of course, of course! So, uh, I’m your hostage?”

“Just till we get to our ship.”

“Ah, Gallows, can you pour me a cold engex. Extra strong, leave it by my chair in the officers room.”

“Of course, cap’n” Gallows said.

Surprisingly, Gallows walked off, as the group of pirates just simply dissipated.

“So, the hangar?” Cannonball asked.

“I, uh, okay?” Rocket Plume replied, a little confused. “But no funny business.”

“Of course! You have my word! And a pirate’s word-”

“Means nothing” Ignitor groaned. “Let’s just go.”

The group began making their way to the hangar. Every time they passed a pirate, Ignitor would raise her weapons, only for the pirate to ignore them. A little while later, they found their shuttle in the hangar. Tailpipe and Crumble boarded quickly, as Ignitor watched Rocket Plume let Cannonball go.

“So is that it?” Ignitor asked. “You’re just letting us go. No tricks?”

“I see no reason to cause anymore trouble” Cannonball replied, stepping away. “Besides, you did me a favour, exposing Starquest’s desires to start a coup.”

“Yeah, well, we’re still watching you” Rocket Plume replied.

“You sure you don’t want a job here?” Cannonball asked.

“Oh sweet Primus no!” Rocket Plume exclaimed. “We’re going now!”

“Not even a drink?”

“No!”

“Okay, just being friendly.”

“Let’s go” Rocket Plume groaned at Ignitor.

Rocket Plume and Ignitor headed up the ramp to their shuttle. Retracting it’s ramp once they were on, the shuttle flew out of the Blackwater, quantum jumping away while Cannonball turned around and walked away.

“You try to threaten someone once and they give you the cold shoulder” he muttered to himself. “Anyway! Back to pirating and drinking!”

The Orion, Vanguard Fleet - Later
Ginrai stood on the bridge of The Orion, his new flagship. Around him stood Quickshadow, Thunderhead, Rocket Plume, Ignitor, Tailpipe and Crumble, alongside the holograms of Peritus and Groundshaker.

“We have the Forge and the halves of the Separation Blade” Ginrai informed his allies. “We have what we need.”

“That’s something” Peritus said. “We’ve scrambled enough a large enough fleet, but I’m concerned if they bring in reinforcements.”

“We’ll just have to hope our messages out to the rest of the commonwealth are heard” Quickshadow said.

“There’s another problem” Groundshaker explained. “When Overlord attacked Cybertron, he had the Quantum Leviathan on his side. He ravaged the commonwealth by destroying our fleet with Quantum Collisions.”

“We’ve drained the fleet’s quantum’s drums, haven’t we?” Crumble asked. “Without anything in them, the Leviathan can’t manipulate them.”

“Yes, but it does mean we’ll be travelling at sub-light speeds. It’ll take time to reach Cybertron again.”

“We have the Orion, the Tsunami and the Chromecoat though” Tailpipe said. “They use Transwarp Drives, not Quantum.”

“Three ships is hardly enough” Thunderhead replied.

“Which is why we're going to use an old technique” Ginrai explained. “A Transwarp Net.”

“Transwarping uses a lot of energy” Peritus explained. “A lot of which gets wasted. We’re going to use that excess energy to transwarp the entire fleet.”

“We’re going to have the entire fleet up with a web of tractor beams” Crumble continued. “Low power, but just enough that it’ll allow the transwarp energies to seep across the entire fleet. We can use that to power the Quantum Drives.”

“We can move faster than light” Ginrai said. “But the Quantum Leviathan can’t manipulate it for its own ends. Speaking of which, Peritus, do you want to give the order?”

“Of course” Peritus said, switching to a broadcast across the entire fleet. “ALL SHIPS, LINK UP AND PREPARE FOR TRANSWARP!”

Outside, the fleet formed a triangular formation. Dozens of ships began firing their tractor beams at each other, connecting together into a single shape. At its corners, the Orion, Tsunami and Chromecoat took their positions, glowing with transwarp energy. The energy began crawling across the tractor beams, spreading across the fleet ship by ship, powering up their Quantum Drives. Soon, the entire fleet was glowing with transwarp energy.

“IT’S WORKING!” Crumble excitedly said. “IT ACTUALLY WORKED!”

“Ginrai, on your word” Peritus said.

“Of course” Ginrai said.

Stepping away from the holotable, Ginrai walked towards the front of the ship as he was broadcast across the entire fleet.

“PEOPLE OF THE PRIMAL VANGUARD!” Ginrai announced. “TONIGHT, WE GO INTO WHAT MAY BE OUR MOST IMPORTANT BATTLE. IF WE FAIL, IT MAYBE OUR LAST BATTLE! TONIGHT, WE FIGHT FOR NOT JUST THE FUTURE OF THE VANGUARD, NOT JUST THE FUTURE OF THE COMMONWEALTH, BUT THE UNIVERSE AS WE KNOW IT! EVEN NOW, I FEEL WHAT IS TO COME! THE UNIVERSE CRUMBLING AROUND US, THE DEAD UNIVERSE CONSUMING ALL! BUT I KNOW THAT IS A FUTURE THAT WILL NEVER COME TO PASS! WHY? BECAUSE I HAVE YOU! EVERY ONE OF YOU! TOGETHER, WE WILL DEFEAT OVERLORD, WE WILL WILL DEFEAT HIS SO-CALLED FACELESS ALLY, WE WILL FORCE THEM OFF OUR HOME AND WILL SAVE THE UNIVERSE! ARE YOU READY TO FIGHT WITH ME?”

Ginrai waited. At first there was silence. Then came an almighty cheer of agreement. Across the ships, the Vanguard was ready to fight to their last servo motion to save Cybertron and beyond.

“THEN WE STAND TOGETHER! ALL SHIPS! WE JUMP AS ONE! LET’S GO SAVE THE UNIVERSE!”

At Ginrai’s command, the entire fleet moved as one. In a flash of light powerful enough to blind a star system, the fleet vanished, travelling towards Cybertron. To a battle of liberation.

Probat
In a small Probat spire, several Probats gathered around a small communications device. From it played a Cybertronian message. The Probats listened intently.

“People of the commonwealth!” came the voice of Ginrai. “For so long I have given my life to protect you. The entire Primal Vanguard has done so. But today we fight a battle larger than any other. Combatron has taken our homeworld. But what they have planned is so much worse.”

New Covoxik
On the Covoxik’s new homeworld, the Covoxik Prime Minister sat in his office with his aides, listening to his radio device.

“Overlord intends to unleash a force from beyond our universe. A malevolent force, one that will tear not just Cybertron apart, not even just the Commonwealth, but the entire universe. As we speak, we have gathered as much of our forces as possible to retake our homeworld and stop this plan. But I fear this may not be enough.”

Eukaris
In their meeting room, Dragonicus and Storm Reign sat down, both listening to the broadcast in silence.

“It is with a heavy hearty I ask you all for your help. If we fail, it will be our final fight. Whoever wishes to fight, please join us at Cybertron. On behalf of everyting, I beg. We will give our all to protect this universe in this dark hour. We hope that you may as well. Thank you.”

Dragonicus turned the broadcast off, then looked at Storm Reign.

“What do we do sister?” Dragonicus asked.

“We must do what must” Storm Reign replied, standing up. “We must do what is right. “We must awaken the great guardian of our colony…”

 

Volume 6 - Combatron Victorious
Crucible of Sparks​

The Orion, Mid-Transwarp
*CLANG*

The sound of metal striking metal echoed through the corridors of the Orion. Many of those on board the ship stopped and turned to the source of the noise.

*CLANG*

Another strike, coming from inside Crumble’s workshop. Within, Ginrai was slamming the Forge of Solus Prime onto the Separation Blade, reforming the ancient sword. The mechanisms within the mighty forging hammer whirred, glowing with a mystical blue energy. Each time Ginrai struck the blade, strands of metal formed between the hilt and the edge, bringing the two closer together.

*CLANG*

Each strike caused a blinding flash of blue light. Ginrai had donned a pair of goggles for this task, as at the edge of the room, Ignitor and Crumble watched, visors down.

*CLANG*

With one final strike, the Separation Blade was finally reformed. Ginrai lifted his goggles, putting down the Forge and picking up the Separation Blade.

“It’s done” Ginrai said, holding the Separation Blade in both hands.

“You know I was honestly expecting it to turn out a little fancier” Ignitor said, lifting her visor.

“Functionality over aesthetic, Ignitor” Ginrai said. “As long as it works when we need it, the look doesn’t matter.”

“I’m just enthused to be here” Crumble said. “To see the Forge of Solus Prime, let alone witness it in action! I only wish I could use it myself.”

“The Forge only responds to the touch of a Convoy” Ginrai replied. “Were that not the case, there are plenty of better forgemasters who could’ve reformed the blade.”

Ginrai clipped the Separation Blade to his back, before picking up the Forge. As he walked to the door, it opened, and Quickshadow entered.

“The message has gone out” Quickshadow said.

“Has anyone responded?” Ginrai asked.

“Nothing yet. But we can’t rely on a response. We’re almost there.”

“Then we’d better prepare. Get all starfighters and gunships ready. We’ll head straight to the hangar and address the troops.”

“Waitwaitwait!” Crumble interjected. “One stop on the way. I’ve got something to show you.”

“Is it important?” Ginrai asked. “We are about to go to battle.”

“Exactly why it is important” Crumble said. “It’ll be a few minutes.”

“Well, we have time” Quickshadow mused.

“Okay Crumble” Ginrai replied. “Show us.”

The Well of All Sparks, Cybertron
Cybertron was now fully in the grasp of Combatronian occupation. Overlord had established his powerbase in Iacon, and now watched as his forces eliminated any resistance. Behind him, the Well of All Sparks, the place where it is said all sparks begin, was now being built over. Soon, Amalgus’ Crucible of Sparks would sit atop it, using the lifeforce of the yet to be forged as its power source.

“What is the status of the Crucible construction, S-229?” Overlord asked.

To his side, a Thinktank Vehicon emerged, receiving data from its subordinates across Iacon. The Thinktank looked at Overlord when he spoke.

“The primary building is complete” S-229 coldly stated. “Spark harvesting units are completed and synced to the command hub. The new dimensional breach is nearing completion, though has yet to be connected to the central hub.”

“In other words” came one of Amalgus’ many voices. “We are nearly ready.”

Overlord stared at the pyramidal structure that had been built upon the well. He looked to the spark harvesting units at its based, just visible at its base.

“Is it really necessary to utilise the Well of All Sparks to power it?” Overlord inquired.

“Squeamish, Overlord?” Amalgus asked, having taken the form of a multiple armed non-binary squidformer. “Does the thought of using these newly formed sparks scare you?”

“It seems a waste of potential warriors” Overlord scowled.

“Well it is necessary. If you wish to harvest Dead Universe energy to achieve the form of a Titan you desire, we need to subdue its consciousness. To do that, we need a constant stream of life in its rawest form in a high enough concentration it can’t devour. Sparks are the closest approximation for such a source.”

“A consciousness you didn’t make me aware of during our first attempt” Overlord snarled.

“I wasn’t intending to hold it open long enough for it to escape. Just long enough to get enough energy to open a long term breach we can harvest."

“I’m not fond of secrets being kept from me” Overlord warned, folding his arms. “It never ends well… for them.”

“Well relax” Amalgus replied, switching forms to that of a female Avianoid. “Soon, the Crucible will be ready, and victory will be irrevocable!”

The Orion, Mid-Transwarp
“It’s a trailer” Ginrai said.

“It looks like a trailer” Crumble said, walking around his creation. “But it’s more than that.”

“It’s a big trailer!” Ignitor exclaimed.

“This, my friends, is the Mobile Engagement Synchronous Armour System” Crumble explained, patting the trailer. “An augmentation unit designed to enhance a Cybertronian’s form, taking inspiration from-”

“MESAS?” Quickshadow asked. “You call it MESAS? Like the biome?”

“What? No, I told you, it’s the Mobile Engagement Synchronous Armour System.”

“And it makes the acronym MESAS” Ginrai explained. “Mobile Engagement Synchronous Armour System.”

“Why would I make an acronym that has nothing to do with what it is?” Crumble asked, confused. “It’s beyond belief. Anyway, like I said, it takes inspiration from the old tales of Nexus Prime. Our recent escapades for the Separation Blade gave me the nudge to finish the calibrations.”

“Combination armour?” Ginrai asked. “Like the Magnus Armours?”

“It uses some of the basic bodily magnetic systems and augmentations, but quite different. It was specifically been designed to work with your body-type, Ginrai.”

“Aww, don’t we all get one?” Ignitor asked.

“Years of work, Ignitor, years of work” Crumble said. “In the meantime, it’ll really help clear a path through the battle.”

“I appreciate the upgrade” Ginrai said. “What it’s got?”

“Heavy armour plating, flight capacity, shock stomp generator, an accompanying heavy particle cannon, fully synchronous combined mode hands. I had planned to further augment it to work with the… Ally Augmentation talent. The one Over Magnus has.”

“Well, should be interesting to see in action” Quickshadow mused.

“ATTENTION ALL PERSONNEL” came a voice over the comms system. “WE WILL BE EXITING TRANSWARP IN TEN MINUTES! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!”

“Well, we won’t have to wait long to test it out” Ginrai said. “Let's head down to the hangar.”

The Ruiner, Cybertron Orbit
Above Cybertron, numerous Combatronian ships held formation, weapons trained ahead of them. Aboard the bridge of the Ruiner, a Vanquisher-Command Vessel, a Thinktank Vehicon stood on the bridge.

“Any incoming quantum energy signatures?” the Vehicon asked.

“Negative, Admiral” one of the officers on the ship said.

“What about incoming craft?”

“Negative, Admiral.”

“Understood” the Vehicon said. “Reporting current status to command.”

The Vehcicon stepped back, having the ship produce a holographic screen for him. The holographic image of another Thinktank appeared on the screen, this being S-229, Overlord’s personal thinktank.

“Report, S-367” S-229 coldly stated.

“This is Defense Fleet Group 7 reporting” S-367 responded. “Sector is secure. Detecting no incursions by-”

S-367 paused. He squinted with his single optic through the holographic, looking through the windows at the back of the ship. He walked through the screen to the window. Outside, lighting began sparking from a point beyond the fleet. The lightning began rapidly moving before finally, in a flash of light, it was gone, replaced by an almighty Vanguard fleet.

“Amendment” S-367 continued. “A large Vanguard fleet has just… appeared.”

“Appeared?” questioned S-229. “How is this possible?”

“Unknown. No quantum energies were detected, and we did not get any prior alerts to incoming craft.”

“It’s possible…” came Overlord’s voice as he barged his way onto the screen. “...because Ginrai is tenacious like that. He knows what the Quantum Leviathan did to their defense fleet, and wasn’t going to let us send another Lightspeed Debris Storm across the galaxy again.”

“What are your orders?” S-367 asked.

“ARE YOU STUPID?” Overlord yelled. “Destroy them! Amalgus will send the Leviathan to aid you.”

The Shatterbolt, Vanguard Fleet
As the two fleets began exchanging fire at each other. Aboard the bridge of the Shatterbolt, Peritus Maximus was already barking orders at the ships in the fleet.

“All ships, spread yourselves out and move in close to their fleet!” he ordered. “Remember, they still have the Leviathan. They can’t manipulate our engines, but its other quantum abilities can still be devastating. If we nestle in amongst their fleet, it’ll be impossible for it to act without massive colossal damage to their own forces.”

“Sir, we’re detecting incoming!” one of his officers shouted out. “Thousands of starfighters, fliers and aerial beastformers coming at us.”

“Then we respond in kind! Launch all fighters and fliers! Be ready to protect the gunships when they launch! Bombers, focus on the capital and command ships up here, and be precise. We can’t risk any misfires striking the surface!”

Across the fleet, the hundreds of ships were following Peritus’ orders. Numerous responses were coming in, sounding off throughout the Shatterbolt’s bridge.

“Fleet Group Alpha is moving in!” came one voice.

“This is Group Omicron, we’ve launched all fighters!” came another.

“Fleet Group Nu responding, we’re in position and engaging the enemy at close range!” a third announced.

“Good!” Peritus said. “Fleet Group Omega, take point! Show these Combatronians slagheaps exactly what happens when they touch our home!”

In the fleet, the corner ships began to push to the front of the Vanguard Fleet. The Orion, the Tsunami and the Chromecoat barrelled straight in amongst the Combatronian Warships, blasting in all directions. Once they were tightly amongst them, the three ships began changing shape, transforming into colossal, Cybertronian forms.

“This is Captain Desire of the Tsunami!” said a Cybertronian with train vehicular kibble over her body. “Theta Supreme is transformed and ripping the aft of these Combatronian fraggers!”

“This is commander Nitroxia of the capital ship Chromecoat!” a maroon triple changer said, baring jet and racecar kibble. “Kappa Supreme has assumed robot mode and is moving in to take out the Sledgehammer Warships at the back of the fleet!”

“THIS IS OMEGA SUPREME!” said one of the colossal Cybertronians, a grey giant with reds, oranges and yellow detailing. “CODENAME ORION! TRANSFORMED AND READY TO SAVE CYBERTRON!”

As his two fellow Omega Sentinels began tearing through the other Combatronian ships, Omega Supreme reached for the Ruiner, grabbing it with his claw arm, ripping it apart with a blast of energy from the cannon on his palm. As Kappa Supreme waded through Combatronian ships towards their heavy weapons ships, Theta Supreme rampaged through the Combatronians, clearing a passage through the fleet.

“I HAVE CREATED A GAP IN THE ENEMY FORMATION!” Theta announced.

“You hear that?” Desire said over the comms. “You ain’t gonna get a better time than now to start landing.”

“Understood” Peritus replied from The Shatterbolt. “Ginrai, the time is now! Get down there and reclaim our planet!”

Hangar Bay, Omega Supreme
Ginrai stood in the hangar bay of Omega Supreme, watching as the ships in front of him were laid waste to. Around him, Cybertronians and Autotroopers were rushing aboard gunships.

“So this is it, huh?” Rocket Plume asked, as she and the others approached.

“So it seems” Ginrai said. “I really wish we could have kept the war from our home, but if we must fight to defend it, then I will do so without question.”

“Keeping the war from Cybertron was always gonna be a Syk dream” Tailpipe said. “Sooner or later, it was gonna happen. We got lucky it took so long.”

“And is it a Syk dream that we’re gonna kick their afts and send them packing?” Thunderhead asked.

“Well the odds are against-” Tailpipe began, before noticing everyone staring at him. “I mean, yeah, we got this in the bag… as long as the super space squid is taken out of the equation quite quickly.”

“Easy” Thunderhead grinned.

“Alright, you lot get on the gunships, I’ll see you down there” Ginrai said, eyeing his new trailer behind them.

“You’d better promise that” Quickshadow said.

“You’d better believe it.”

“He’s in good hands” Crumble added. “With my MESAS, you’ll be perfectly safe. Frag, you got me saying it now, Ignitor.”

“Your own fault” Ignitor joked. “But seriously, be safe.”

“Trust me, we’ll make it down there, we’ll stop Amalgus, and save the universe from getting eaten by another universe” Ginrai said, before pausing. “You know, that sounded more normal in my head.”

“I bet it did” Rocket smirked.

“Anyway, we will do this” Ginrai said. “I promise.”

“We’ll see you down there” Quickshadow nodded.

The group began to disseminate from Ginrai, heading to their craft. While Quickshadow, Thunderhead, Rocket Plume and Crumble boarded one of the gunships, Tailpipe climbed into one of the escort starfighters. Ignitor paused, before giving Ginrai a hug, then rushing over to join the others in the gunship.

“Ginrai Convoy, sir!” came a voice from behind Ginrai.

Ginrai turned to see a group of bulky fliers walking towards him. At their front was a white shuttlebot with red detailing and a gold faceplate, who stood in front of Ginrai.

“Ah, you must be my squadron” Ginrai said.

“We are indeed” the shuttlebot said. “Name’s Planetfire, and this here’s the Clear Skies Squadron.”

“Clear Skies?” Ginrai inquired.

“Cause when the Combatronians attack, the skies are clear when we’re done!” a tall silver bot excitedly said.

“Indeed, Steel Wind” Planetfire agreed. “They’re the best of the best. The greatest flier squadron in the Vanguard Flier Corps.”

“Then I look forward to seeing you in action” Ginrai said. “Shall we get started?”

“On your command” Planetfire replied.

As the Clear Skies Squadron transformed into their jet modes, Ginrai transformed into his truck mode and linked up to his trailer.

“Alright, then Clear Skies Squadron… LET’S ROLL OUT?”

“Roll?” Steel Wind asked.

“Sorry, I'm used to working with bots with wheels” Ginrai awkwardly replied. “Fly… out?”

“Let me” Planetfire intervened. “LET’S ROCKET!”

Planetfire and his squadron zoomed out of the hangar, as around them the gunships began launching towards Cybertron. Ginrai’s wheels spun, before driving out of the hangar. The back of his trailer shifted slightly, a pair of thrusters revealing themselves, pushing him through the space battle.

“What was the trigger phrase Crumble said to activate it…” Ginrai mused. “GINRAI CONVOY! SUPER MODE!”

Ginrai detached from his trailer as it began to shift, folding inside out to form a pair of gigantic legs, as a pair of golden hands rocketed out with a large blaster. Ginrai himself transformed to, forming a large torso from his cab while the back of his alt formed a pair of arms that swung to the side. The golden hands slotted into the end of Ginrai’s newly formed arms, before grabbing onto his particle blaster. Ginrai’s torso section connected to his trailer’s leg section, sparks flying from it. Finally, a head emerged from the top of Ginrai’s new form. Though similar, it lacked Ginrai’s distinctive hornplate, and donned a gold faceplate. A pair of gold wings flipped out from the side of his head, and Ginrai’s optics glowed a bright blue.

“Alright Overlord” Ginrai said, flying towards the surface in his new Super Mode. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

The Crucible of Sparks, Iacon
Overlord and his personal Thinktank looked between feeds from his fleet. The battle above was in full swing, and Overlord couldn’t tell who had the advantage. Yet as he looked, he kept coming to the same screen.

“Ginrai” Overlord muttered.

“I calculate that in his new form, he will be able to exceed your current power levels” S-229 stated, not looking away from the screens.

“Is that a fact?” Overlord growled.

“I am only constructed to deal in facts.”

In a fit of rage, Overlord lunged at the Thinktank, grabbing its neck and, in a single motion, snapping it clean off. Overlord tossed the head to the side, before turning to Amaglus, who was working at a command console. Behind them stood a large machine, with a chair at the base, a strange set of headgear hung over it.

“Not my stuff, but I wouldn’t waste them” Amalgus said, not looking up from their console.

“Let that be a lesson of what happens when people cross me” Overlord snapped. “Even the slightest bit.”

“Noted” Amaglus said.

“When is your pet getting here? My forces need reinforcements.”

“It’s getting them” Amalgus sighed, before pressing several buttons. “But I have more important news. We’re ready for the activation of phase one of the endgame.”

“The Crucible of Sparks-”

“Is ready to harvest sparks, yes. Would you like the honours?”

Amalgus gestured to the console. Overlord walked round and looked at the single button Amalgus was gesturing at.

“Victory…” Overlord stated as he pressed the button.

The entire room shuddered, before machinery began humming and whirring. Pipes along the central machine began glowing all shades of blue and green.

“...is assured” Amalgus finished, grinning from audio receptor to audio receptor.

Gunship Wolfhound-29, Cybertron Atmosphere
As Vanguard and Combatron fleets clashed in the space above them, the Vanguard landing force finally breached the atmosphere, descending towards Cybertron’s cloudline. Aboard one of the gunships, Rocket Plume and Ignitor watched the battle outside, through the cracks shutters, while Quickshadow, Thunderhead and Crumble made contact with Ginrai.

“We’re through the atmosphere” Ginrai said through the comms. “A few of their fliers have strayed after us, but we’re mopping them up.”

“How’s the MES- Mobile Engagement Synchronous Armour System treating you?” Crumble asked.

“Still getting used to it. Not used to seeing things through a new set of optics. Not going to complain about the power boost though.”

“It’s the magnification I included” Crumble explained. “Takes little use to properly sync them.”

“Well, maybe you can put them to use doing some spotting of the surface” Quickshadow suggested.

“Okay, let’s have a go” Ginrai responded. “And… oh… oh dear. Lots of fliers incoming, and… BRACE!”

The entire shuttle was shook by an explosion. Several Autotroopers were flung to the floor as Rocket Plume and Ignitor held onto the shutters.

“Anti Air batteries on the surface!” Ginrai explained. “And long-ranged Marauders!”

“Then we’re fighting our way down” Quickshadow said.

“Hey, Ignitor, race ya down there!” Rocket Plume said as the shutters on both side opened.

“You’re on!” Ignitor exclaimed.

“But she doesn’t have a jetpack!” Crumble exclaimed.

“Who needs a jetpack?” Ignitor asked, leaping out and flying off with a stream of flames.

“Hey, I didn’t say go!” Rocket Plume yelled as she leapt out, flying into the fray with her jetpack.

“You lot waiting for an invitation?” Quickshadow asked the Jet Autotroopers in the gunship. “Let’s move!”

The Autotroopers nodded, before leaping out and flying off to fight against their Combatronian counterparts. Quickshadow too leapt out, firing a grapple from one of her pistols to the next gunship.

“Well leave us behind, why don’t you?” Thunderhead huffed.

“Don’t worry, plenty of action on the surface” Crumble replied, patting him on the back. “Besides, you still got a gun, you shoot out of the gunship.”

Outside, the battle was in full swing. Quickshadow grappled onto a gunship as an Afterburn Vehicon threw one of its occupants out. As she dove towards the gunship, she kicked the Vehicon out, before grappling back in, firing a few shots behind her to finish her foe off. Quickshadow didn’t stay long, grappling from ship to ship as she began clearing the fliers attempting to attack them. Landing in another gunship, she blasted away a pair of Combatronian flies, before helping the Autotrooper they had been attacking within to his feet. Turning around, she saw Ignitor going head-to-head with a Leaper, unable to breach its armour. Leaping out and grappling onto a higher ship, Quickshadow swung by the Vehicon, getting its attention with a few shots to the head.

“FRAGGER!” the Leaper yelled, turning around. “WHO DID THAT?

“Hey cyclops” Ignitor send, a pair of flames in her hands. “Don’t get distracted or this might happen!”

Ignitor shoved he flames into both of the Leaper’s thrusters, and within just a few seconds, the Leaper was blown apart by a large explosion.

“Thanks!” Ignitor said as Quickshadow grappled to the next gunship.

Ignitor leapt off her own gunship, leaping on top of an incoming Afterburn-Vehicon. She pulled at its nosecone, forcing it to turn around.

“HEY, GET OFF!” the Vehicon yelled, transforming into robot mode.

As the Vehicon transformed, Ignitor leapt off, leaving the Vehicon to be smashed by an incoming Vehicon. Ignitor began hopping between Afterburns, slashing at them with blades of fire as she stepped between them. Next Ignitor leapt onto an incoming Trident Starfighter. She ran across its nose, slicing across it with one of her blades, then leapt over the cockpits. Ignitor then proceeded to launch a pair of fireballs at the fighter’s engines, destroying them. Ignitor leapt off the now crashing ship, managing to land on Ginrai’s back.

“You going my way?” Ignitor asked.

“Down?” Ginrai asked.

“Same way as them!” Ignitor said, gesturing to a horde of fliers coming straight for them.

“Get clear! I’ll deal with them.”

Ignitor leapt onto another Vanguard gunship as Ginrai sped up, now leading with his foot. Striking one of the Vehicons towards the centre of the grup, the strike created a powerful shockwave in the air, flinging the rest of the fliers in all directions. Descending with the Vehicon beneath his foot, Ginrai crushed it when he hit the surface of Cybertron, all the while the other fliers crashed to the surface around him in fiery explosions.

“I’m down” Ginrai called out on his comms. “I’ll see what I can do about clearing the area while you land.”

“YOU AIN’T GOING ANYWHERE, CONVOY!” came a booming voice.

In front of Ginrai, a colossal quadrapeded Gigantion approached, staring at Ginrai with large, insectoid face. On its back sat a pair of colossal missiles, while it pointed a pair of underslung miniguns at the Convoy.

“Is that a challenge, Deathcon?” Ginrai asked, recognising the giant creature.

“No” Deathcon replied. “Just a statement.”

“An inaccurate one!”

Ginrai rocketed forward, striking one of Deathcon’s legs with a powerful kick, enhanced by the inbuilt shock stomp generator. The blow snapped Deathcon’s leg, and as the Gigantion fell forward, Ginrai flew up onto his back, pulling the missiles off one by one, before finally bringing down the Gigantion with a volley of shots from his particle cannon. Ginrai didn’t have long to celebrate, however, as more Combatrons advanced on him, firing.

“GET HIM!” one yelled, firing at Ginrai with a pulse rifle.

More and more Combatrons attempted to advance on them, though were soon stopped in their tracks by a volley of attacks. From above, Rocket Plume, Ignitor, Planetfire, Quickshadow and a number of fliers and jet Autotroopers descended to ground.

“I take it we were just in time then?” Quickshadow asked.

“I had it under control” Ginrai replied, gesturing to Deathcon.

Around them, dropships and shuttles began landing, while tanks and walkers were deployed onto the streets. Thunderhead and Crumble disembarked from one gunship, soon joined by Goldbug from another. Nearby, Tailpipe landed his damaged starfighter, joining the group to.

“We’re all here” Thunderhead said, looking around.

“What’s our plan of attack?” Planetfire asked.

Ginrai turned to look at the pyramidal structure in the centre of Iacon, standing atop where the Well of All Sparks once was.

“Planetfire, you take to the skies” Ginrai explained. “Goldbug, your battalion’s with us. While the other battalions push to liberate key areas, including the senate buildings and highly populated areas, we push towards Overlord’s new base.”

Ginrai turned around to directly address the large force forming behind him, more and more joining with each ship landing.

“We’ve made it home” Ginrai said, punching his fist upwards. “But the hard parts just begun. We stand together. Now, we charge together. PRIMAL VANGUARD! FOR CYBERTRON!”

The Crucible of Sparks, Iacon
Overlord continued watching the feeds of the battle, still following Ginrai and his forces as they charged through the streets of Iacon. Overlord smiled a little. It gave him joy to see Ginrai as a warrior. Then his thoughts turned to the idea that Ginrai could stop their planet. This would not do.

“Where are my reinforcements coming?” Overlord asked.

“Momentarily” Amalgus replied. “And in brighter news, we have harvested enough spark energy to safely counter the Dead Univere’s mind.”

“Then we can open the breach and finally mine out the dead universe energies?”

“Yes… we can breach through to its domain.”

Amalgus pulled a lever, and a powerful beam launched from the peak of the pyramidal structure. The beam shot through the sky, out of the atmosphere and beyond the clashing fleets. The beam seemed to rend the very fabric of space, causing glowing fractures to form. A strange energy emanated from the cracks, drifting down towards Cybertron.

“My word” Overlord said, watching from the Crucible.

“Yes, it is impressive” Amalgus replied.

Unbeknownst to Overlord, Amalgus had taken a seat on the chair in the central unit, attaching the headpiece to their head.

“This is what it’s all been for” Amalgus cackled. “It’s time for the endgame, Overlord.”

Cybertron Orbit
Vanguard and Combatron fleets clashed in the space above Cybertron. Ships were being ripped apart by a hail of laser and rockets, while starfighters and fliers were blasting each other apart, crashing onto the larger ships. From the Shatterbolt, Peritus watched the battle, giving orders to his crew.

“Concentrate fire on that destroyer!” Peritus ordered. “Contact Electro Squadron and see if they can disable its shields with an ion bombing run!”

“Sir!” called one of his officers. “We’re picking up a massive spike of quantum energy behind us!”

“Behind- REAR UNITS, TURN AROUND NOW!” Peritus yelled in a panic.

As a number of Vanguard ships began to turn around, a flash of light came behind them. When the light dissipated, it revealed the form of a colossal fleet, behind them the Quantum Leviathan.

“YOU WILL ALL BE DESTROYED IN THE NAME OF THE FACELESS ONE!” the Leviathan roared, swinging its tentacles.

With powerful slashes of raw quantum energy, the Quantum Leviathan tore through a number of Primal Vanguard ships, several Combatronians ships also getting destroyed in the process.

“REAR UNITS, CONCENTRATE FIRE!” Peritus ordered.

Though the ships fired, their energy weaponry could not even dent the colossal creature as it continued ripping through ships. With its untempered energies.

Iacon Central Highway, Cybertron Surface
Ginrai lead the charge across the highway with a hail of gunfire missiles. Combatrons and Vehicons fell around him. Behind him, Quickshadow, Ignitor, Thunderhead, Rocket Plume, Crumble, Tailpipe and Goldbug lead the ground forces in mopping all those who survived Ginrai’s assault, while up above, Planetfire lead the aerial units again Combatrons fliers and starfighters.

“CHARGE THE FINAL LANE!” Ginrai yelled, leaping off as the highway turned and stomping on a pair of Overdrive Vehicons. “WE PUSH THROUGH MONUMENT ROAD!”

Ginrai’s charge was finally put to a stop by a flash of light. Halting, Ginrai watched as a legion of figures appeared in front of him. At their head stood a trio of legendary Combatronians. Scrash, general of the Elite Combatron Jet Corps. Macabre, leader of the Combatronian commando brigade. Hatchet, general of the Special Operations unit. The trio of distinguished warriors bared their weapons at Ginrai, and their legions of subordinates did the same.

“Sorry, Convoy” Scrash said, holding a double ended spiked mace in his hands. “You’re not going any further.”

“Doesn’t matter anyway” Hatchet added, looking up. “You’re too late.”

Ginrai didn’t need to look up to know what was going on. The beam of energy from the Crucible was tearing through the walls between universes, paving the way for the consciousness controlling the Dead Universe to pass through. The fractures were growing, multiplying. If they were to continue, the end would soon be upon them.

“You’re too late” Macabre pointed out. “Any chance of hope is dead.”

All across Cybertron, Combatrons were appearing out of nowhere, catching the Vanguard off guard. What had once been an almighty final push had stalled completely, and every division of the Vanguard was pinned. Firefights turned into massacres, dogfights becoming target practice.

Above Cybertron, Vanguard ships were cut through like they were nothing. Those that were able to survive the Quantum Leviathan’s strikes were still cut down by the surrounding Combatronian fleets.

And finally, from the original fracture, the form of the Dead Universe emerged. It took the form of the head of a large carnivore, purely composed of Dead Universe energies. It snaked down with a neck of these energies, ever growing the further it gone. It moved towards the Crucible of Sparks, looking to ensure its travel between universes would succeed, looking to feed on life in it.


Crucible of Sparks, Iacon
Overlord watched as the avatar of the dead universe breached the Crucible. It slowly descended through the room, let loose an audio receptor splitting roar, before looking at the room around it.

“Amalgus, you moron!” Overlord yelled, stepping back. “YOU’VE LED IT-”

“I’ve led it exactly where I want it” Amalgus calmly replied from their seat. “Watch.”

Several Pylons deployed from the walls, sparkings of white energy shooting off them. Charging up, the pylons pointed at the dead universe’s avatar, firing beams of concentrated spark energy at it. The avatar roared in pain, the energy beams trapping it in place.

“That was close” Overlord said. “I feel you didn’t need to let it get close in order to harvest its energy.”

“I’m sorry, Overlord” Amalgus said, a wide grin appearing across their face. “The plan has changed. I’m not going to harvest the dead universe. I’M GOING TO BECOME THE DEAD UNIVERSE!”

“YOU WHAT?!” Overlord snapped, baring his cannon. “YOU DARE TRY TO STEAL AWAY MY VICTORY!”

“Oh Overlord, this was always my victory” Amalgus smeared. “It was always my plan. While it’s true the idea began with the form of a titan, once I found there was a greater form of life out there, a greater apex being than them, I knew that it was my goal.”

“WHY?” Overlord yelled.

“I am the living embodiment of the Cybertronian race, our core ability to transform. Transformation is the very fibre of our being, it only makes sense that I should be able to take on the ultimate form. The ultimate transformation. I envied the titans for having a colossal form I could not take, so I wished to match them. But my goal changed when I found out about the Dead Universe. Why become a living city, when I could become a living universe?”

“No” Overlord retorted, priming his weapon. “Why did you think that you would get a chance to complete your little betrayal?”

“Oh it’s a pretty big betrayal” Amalgus replied, beginning to shake. “Because you’re too late.”

Amalgus’ body began convulsing, shaking and writhing in the chair, switching between Cybertronian forms of all shapes and sizes. Finally, the transformations ceased, and Amalgus’ optics and biolights went dark.

“Because you’re going to kill yourself trying?” Overlord said, looking at the inert body.

Overlord slowly approached, only to be startled when a sphere of energy burst flew out from Amalgus’ head.

“Because I have no need of that form” came a voice from the orb.

“What have you done to yourself?” Overlord asked, watching the orb fly around.

“I’ve transformed my mind into a temporary form of cerebral energy. I will usurp the primitive mind that lives with the dead universe and assume its great form for my own. I am far more deserving of such a form than that mindless beast.”

The orb of energy moved towards the dead universe’s avatar, and bolts of lightning started bouncing between the two. The electrical energy slowed Amaglus’ approach, but still his mind moved towards the dead universe.

“NNGHHHH” Amalgus growled in pain as they thought the Dead Universe’ repulsing energies “That cesspit you believe to be a mind will soon be extinguished! Your form is mine! I… WILL. BE. ULTIMATE!”

The Shatterbolt, Cybertron Orbit
The battle had turned for the worst. Peritus felt the Shatterbolt shake as another of the nearby ships was destroyed by the Quantum Leviathan.

“THAT WAS THE CONSTITUTION, SIR!” one of his officers said.

“Sir, we need to retreat!” another yelled, panicked. “We’re overwhelmed!”

“There’s nowhere to go!” Peritus retorted. “We can’t risk using our quantum drives, and the Omega Sentinels are spread across the fleet, so we don’t have the option of syncing a mass transwarp. If we try to flee on sublight engines, we’ll be destroyed regardless. We stand and fight!”

“Sir!” said a third officer. “We’re picking up a new source of transwarp energy, behind the Quantum Leviathan.”

“A new source?” Peritus questioned. “But that can only mean…”

“Sir, multiple craft Transwarping in!”

“Put it on screen, now!”

Behind the Quantum Leviathan there were numerous flashes of light as ships began appearing behind them. At their head was a colossal golden ship, massive wings spread across the fleet. Its form looked regal, yet also like it was built as a fortress.

“The Eukarian Warbirds!” Peritus said in disbelief. “They heard our message! They came! But- but that’s the Golden Citadel! The Golden Citadel is their flagship! How is that possible?”

The Golden Citadel
Standing at the front of the citadel-turned-warship, Storm Reign and Dragonicus looked at the battle ahead of them.

“We have arrived, and none too late it seems, sister” Dragonius said, her two swords in her hands.

“Yes” Storm Reign replied. “It seems you were right to suggest we muster our full forces.”

“Then to battle! When you give the order.”

“You are Eukaris’ fang, sister. It is only fitting you rally them.”

“Of course, sister.”

Dragonicus walked to the very end of the golden citadel, broadcasting to the entire Maximal Attack Force.

“WARRIORS OF EUKARIS!” Dragonicus roared. ”FOR TOO LONG WE HAVE WATCHED THIS WAR AND DONE NOTHING! WE HAVE WATCHED PLANETS FALL AND CIVILISATIONS CRUMBLE! BUT TODAY, NO MORE! WE NO LONG SIMPLY WATCH! WE STAND ALONGSIDE HE CONVOY AND FIGHT UNTIL TOTAL VICTORY, AND NOTHING LEFT! ARE YOU WITH ME?!”

A cacophony of roar, shrieks and screeches filled the comms, also sorts of beastformers making whatever Eukarian sound they could in agreement.

“FOR EUKARIS! FOR CYBERTRON!” Dragonicus roared, pointing one of her swords.

Swarms of flying mechanical beasts flew from all Eukarian ships, straight towards the Combatronians. Birds, bats, pteradons and more flew at the Combatrons, ripping through their fliers and starfighters with ease.

“Domitus Major” Storm Reign said over her own comms. “It is time for our great one to join the fight.”

“Understood” came the voice of Domitus over the comms.

“As it is for us” Dragonicus said, holding her sword out.

“Yes” Storm Reign replied, touching the sword with her stave. “Yes, it most certainly is.”

In a flash of light, the two merged, once more forming the mighty Dragonstorm. The Dragon of Eukaris flew from the Golden Citadel, biting through a Combatronian Bomber before spewing a barrage of fire and lightning from its mouths, destroying a Combatronian Dreadnought’s engines.

Meanwhile, within the heart of the Golden Citadel, a brachiosaurian Dinobot stood at the centre of a Titan Master command unit, sitting at its controls.

“Great lord” the Dinobot said in a well mannered voice. “The time has come to slay that foul abomination.”

“THE MONSTER WHOSE SPARK WAS STOLEN FROM MY KIN!” a voice echoed through the chamber. “TITANMASTER DOMITUS MAJOR… IT WOULD BE A PLEASURE! I WILL ENJOY DESTROYING THIS ATROCITY IN THE NAME OF MY FALLEN SISTER!”

The entire golden citadel began to change. Its wings reformed into a new position, as its rear fins transformed into a plumage of metal feathers. The main section of the ship reshaped its, dropping a pair of large taloned feet from its rear. The bow of the ship too reformed, taking on the form of an avian head - that of bird of prey.

“I WAS THE FIRST OF ONYX’S. THE FIRST OF THE FLOCK. HIS TALON! I AM HE WHO SLAYED THE FIRST GREAT DESECRATION OF A TITAN! AND IN THE NAME OF TECHTRONIC, I WILL SLAY THIS ONE TOO! I AM CHELA, THE INDOMITABLE WIND!”

The Quantum Leviathan turned to face Chela, the colossal titan bearing down on it. The Quantum Leviathan’s tentacles crackled with quantum energies as it backed up from Chela.

“YOU TITANS ARE A DEAD RACE” the Leviathan roared. “IT’S TIME YOU CAUGHT UP WITH THEM!”

The Leviathan whipped one of its tendrils at Chela, only for Chela to catch it in its beak. With one tug, Chela ripped the tendril from the Leviathan as energon spewed from the wound. The Leviathan roared in pain, before lunging at Chela with several more tentacles. The tentacles slashed across Chela’s chest, leaving several scorch lines across it.

“YOU DARE SCAR A TITAN!” Chela yelled in anguish. “THIS WILL NOT GO UNPUNISHED.”

Chela lunged its head forward, grabbing another of the Leviathan’s tendrils with his beak and pulling it off. Chela repeated several times, before finally grabbing the Leviathan’s head with both talons, and pulling. The Leviathan was torn in half, energon and fragments of metal drifting off in all directions.

“WARBIRDS OF EUKARIS!” Chela called out. “OMEGA SENTINELS! WE CLEAR THE WAY!”

Chela charged forward, its wings glowing with an amber energy. Its wings cut straight through numerous Combatronian ships, tearing them asunder with razor sharp feather plates. Omega, Kappa and Theta Supreme followed through the gap, widening it with a barrage of energy weapons and missiles. Eukarian carriers and gunships flew through the gap, barreling towards the surface after Dragonstorm and her initial wave.

Monument Road, Iacon
Ginrai fought Scrash as the flier ripped his particle gun away from him. Throwing the gun to one side, Scrash stuck Ginrai with one of the heads of his mace, causing him to stumble back, allowing Hatchet to leap at Ginrai in his robot mode. Hatchet slashed Ginrai several times, occupying him long enough for Macabre to swoop in with his sword, slicing Ginrai’s waist. Ginrai returned to his regular robot mode, while his super mode legs crashed to the ground. Hatchet, Macabre, and Scrash stood over Ginrai.

“So, who wants the finishing blow?” Macabre asked.

Ginrai looked to his allies. Thunderhead, Rocket Plume and Tailpipe were pinned down by a Gigantion. Goldbug and Ignitor were being thrown about by several of Macabre’s commandos. Quickshadow and Tailpipe were fending off hordes of Leapers, Tankors and Overdrives. In the sky above them, Planetfire and his squadrons were being harassed by Mother-Vehicons. They were outnumbered and outmatched.

“I’ll do it” Hatchet said, pulling out a pair of spears. “Always wanted to skewer the guy.”

Hatchet raised his spears, preparing to strike Ginrai with them. Before he could, all present were distracted by a powerful roar, rippling through the air. Hatchet looked up, only to be pulled from the ground as a beast grabbed him.

“Steelbane?” Ginrai questioned, confused.

Ginrai watched his Dragomaton friend carry Hatchet off, then slamming the Combatronian against the wall of a building. Eukarian carriers flew overhead, and various beastformers dropped from the ships, immediately setting to work tearing the Combatronians apart.

“What is happening?” Scrash asked as a Eukarian Tyrannosaurid picked up Macabre in his jaws and smashed him into the ground.

“The reinforcements have arrived” Ginrai said, picking himself up.

Before Scrash could react, Ginrai punched the flier, before pulling the double-headed mace from his hands and striking him multiple times. Scrash topped onto his aft, before Ginrai knocked him back. Above him, he could see a familiar form descending.

“EUKARIANS!” the voice of Dragonstorm echoed. “CLEAR THE ROAD!”

As she descended, Dragonstorm crushed the head of the gigantion in front of Thunderhead, Rocket Plume and Tailpipe’s optics, then releasing it to allow it to lifelessly crumple to the ground. Dragonstorm then unleashed streams of fire and lightning around her, forcefully grounding various Mother-Vehicons around her. As she came towards the surface, Dragonstorm directed her barrage downwards, vaporising Vehicons and Combatronians with her elemental attacks.

“Dragonstorm!” Ginrai said, knocking out Scrash with a final punch. “You heard our message!”

“We may have been hasty to have rejected an alliance” Dragonstorm said. “If this is what our inaction has led to… then we have made a mistake.”

“The point is you're here now” Ginrai said. “And there’s still time to make a difference.”

“What do you wish us to do?”

“The Crucible!” Ginrai said, pointing to the Pyramidal Structure. “We need to get in there, and the Combatronian reinforcements are blocking the road. If we don’t stop Amalgus from assuming control of the Dead Universe, then we’re all done.”

“If we don’t- that’s a lot to take in” Dragonstorm replied, following Ginrai’s finger. “But it will be done. EUKARIANS! WE LEAD THE WAY!”

Dragonstorm rose to the air once more, flying above the road, flame and electricity hailing on the Combatronians. Steelbane dove among them and began cutting several up with his sword, while Gredator too joined the assault, tearing through the enemy with sharp fangs.

“Well, we gonna let them have all the fun?” Thunderhead asked. “OR ARE WE GONNA WRECK SCRAP?”

“Go on, say it!” Ignitor egged Ginrai on.

“Cybertronians, one last time…” Ginrai loudly stated. “CHARGE!!!!”

Ginrai lead the Vanguard and Eukarians forward, pushing through the combined might of the enemy. Together, they forged on, and slowly the street fell to the Vanguard and Eukarians, blow-by-blow, step-by-step. Finally, as the last Vehicon fell, Ginrai stopped, panting as he stood over the carnage.

“We’re here” Quickshadow said. “We made it.”

“True, but there’s a lot of panicking Combatronians that are likely converging here to protect Overlord” Gredator pointed out.

“I imagine there’s a lot more out here than in there” Rocket Plume suggested.

“Then we hold the line” Goldbug said, turning from the door. “We’ll buy you the time we need.”

“Then you will not do it alone” Dragonstorm said. “Eukaris will stand with you and give you the time to end this madness, Ginrai Convoy.”

“Thank you” Ginrai replied. “But I’m not going in completely alone. Quick? Thunder? Rocket? Crumble? Tail? Ignitor? Will you stand with me?”

“Like you needed to ask?” Quickshadow replied.

“Hell yeah!” Thunderhead exclaimed. “You can’t leave us out of the big finale!”

“Besides someone’s got keep your exhaust pipe safe” Rocket Plume added.

“I’ll do whatever I can, Ginrai” Crumble answered.

“They’ve all said yes, so no really isn’t an option now” Tailpipe stated.

“Ignitor?” Ginrai asked again.

“Of course” Ignitor replied. “Let’s go fraggin’ save the universe!”

“Heh” Ginrai mused. “For the universe!”

The Crucible of Sparks, Iacon
The group pushed through the pyramidal structure, charging through its cold metal hallways. What little resistance remained inside were easily dealt with, and after much searching, they came across a large, sealed metal door.

“Well if this doesn’t scream heart of the machine, I don’t know what does” Rocket Plume said, looking up.

“I’ll see if I can bypass the door’s security systems” Quickshadow said. “This may take about every trick in the book, if it’s as secure as I imagine. Luckily, I had Crumble create a system program just for that.”

“Just like his magic hook” Tailpipe asked.

“Oh, he finally showed you that?” Quickshadow chuckled.

Ginrai watched Quickshadow plug a device into the door controls, before turning to Thunderhead. Thunderhead had his hand on his head, and seemed to be in some discomfort.

“You okay?” Ginrai asked.

“Yeah, just a headache” Thunderhead answered. “Must’ve been hit on the head by one of the fragging Combatrons.”

“You sure you don’t need any repairs?”

“Nah, it’ll pass.”

“If you say so…”

Quickshadow continues working on the door, typing at the console, before stopping and turning back.

“It’s started working on the door” Quickshadow said. “It should take a few moments to unlock-”

Before Quickshadow lunged at her, Thunderhead lunged at her in a frenzy. Quickshadow jumped out of the way, and Thunderhead lunged at her again.

“THUNDERHEAD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!” Ginrai yelled, rushing to Quickshadow’s aid.

“SO… CLOSE!” Thunderhead rabidly growled. “TIME… TO… FEED!”

“DEVOID… WILL… FEED!” Ignitor snarled, leaping at Rocket Plume.

Rocket Plume avoided Ignitor, before trying to grab her and keep her still. Crumble too attacked, striking at Tailpipe and knocking him to the ground.

“What’s happening?” Tailpipe asked, getting out of the way of Crumble’s attack.

“I… THE DEAD UNIVERSE!” Ginrai realised. “They were in the dead universe! It may be using that link to use them to protect itself.”

“But we can’t let them get any further or they might allow the Dead Universe or even Amalgus to destroy us all!” Rocket Plume said.

As Tailpipe, Quickshadow and Rocket Plume struggled to hold their compatriots back, the massive door slowly began to open. Crumble, Thunderhead and Ignitor all tried to run to it, but they were held back by their friends.

“You’ll have to go on alone, Ginrai!” Quickshadow exclaimed. “It’s all down to you!”

“But what about-” Ginrai began.

“Nnnngh!” Tailpipe growled. “No! You have to go!”

“Ginrai, you’re Convoy” Quickshadow continued. “You have the Separation Blade, and you are the only one able to use the Forge. You are the only one left who can save the universe.”

Ginrai gave a sad nod, before running through the doorway. He ran down a dark corridor, as machinery in the walls loudly hummed.

“No…” Ginrai said. “There’s one person who can help me save the universe, as much as he is the last person in said universe I would ask.”

Ginrai looked ahead of him. There was a bright light coming from the other end of the corridor.

“Overlord…”

Inside the heart of the crucible, Overlord watched Amalgus’ mind clash with the Dead Universe’s. He was dumbstruck in awe, simply staring up at the battle.

“OVERLORD!” Ginrai yelled, bursting into the room. “YOU HAVE TO STOP AMALGUS!”

“And why would I do that?” Overlord said. “You’re my sworn enemy. I’m going to destroy you and your Vanguard. Amalgus gave me the means for me to do that definitively.”

“They used you!” Ginrai retorted. “Amalgus saw your ambitions, and saw someone they could manipulate. You. And now they’re using you to ravage the universe.”

“My kind of universe!”

“No! Don’t you see, this isn’t your style! You’ve prided yourself on every victory, every world you conquered. But this isn’t a victory, this is wiping the board.”

“What’s the difference?” Overlord asked, now looking to Ginrai.

“There’s no more fighting, no more sides. Everything you’ve done means nothing. And what’s more, it’s not even you that’s responsible. You were just Amalgus’ help.”

“DON’T YOU DARE!” Overlord snapped at Ginrai.

“Enough of your cacophony of a dischordial” Amalgus interrupted. “Overlord! This is your chance to destroy him! Stop him from interfering!”

“You’re just the stooge of a Prime” Ginrai gloated. “One of the very things you hate. So go on. Obey your master.”

“I HAVE NO MASTER!” Overlord yelled.

“SILENCE!” Amalgus yelled. “I AM A FIRSTFORGED, AND YOU ARE A LOWLY WARLORD WITH IDEAS ABOVE HIS STATION! NOW QUIT YOUR WHINING AND DESTROY HIM!”

“I DO NOT RECOGNISE THE FIRSTFORGED AS ANYTHING MORE THAN OIL WASTE!” Overlord roared back. “I’VE LET YOU ABUSE MY RESOURCES LONG ENOUGH!”

“MORON! WE ARE AT THE FINAL PHASE! I HAVE ALMOST OVERWHELMED THIS PRIMITIVE MIND! THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO!”

“There’s always something we can do” Ginrai said, pulling out the Separation Blade.

“The Separation Blade?” Amalgus queried. “Nexus’ Folly? It’s far too late for that! Even if you used it, it would only serve to permanently sever me from my original body.”

“What do we do?” Overlord asked. “I will not allow this disgusting stain on my great war to win. It is inconcievable.”

“He’s right” Ginrai said. “He’s overpowered the Dead Universe’s mind. But he’s only doing it with assistance.”

“The Crucible of Sparks” Overlord mused. “How fitting we turn it against him.”

“You have to reduce the flow of energy to it! Not completely, but if we can balance the minds, force them to a stalemate, we can separate them before one overpowers the other.”

“What exactly would the Dead Universe do if it overwhelmed Amalgus’ mind?” Overlord queried.

“It would assume control of Amalgus’ body and use it as an anchor to our universe” Ginrai explained. “With it anchored, there would be no way to close the breaches from our universe to it’s. It would be free to feed.”

“Then only a perfect balance of minds would allow for my victory” Overlord said. “Then, just this once, I will take your suggestion into consideration.”

“You will need to constantly manipulate the energy levels to assure cerebral equilibrium. You have to be focused on it entirely.”

“Believe me, Ginrai, I have no intention of allowing either of those atrocities from winning” Overlord said, assuming control of the energon levels from Amalgus’ work station.

“NO!” Amalgus yelled. “HE IS USING, YOU MINDLESS FOOL!”

“No” Overlord snarled. “I see now that where I thought that I was using you for my victory, you used me for your own ends. AND NOBODY USES OVERLORD!”

“NNGH! NO!” Amalgus snarled in pain. “YOU… CANNOT… DO THIS!”

“Oh, I absolutely can, and I absolutely WILL!”

Amalgus’ mind was pushed back from the Dead Universe’s avatar, the bolts of lighting between them becoming more prominent. The Dead Universe let out a noise akin to a laugh, before advancing on Amalgus’ mind. Overlord turned a dial, and the Dead Universe backed off, wincing. It roared in pain, as more life energy was beamed at it.

“No you don’t, you primitive atrocity!” Overlord cackled.

“This beast is no match for me, I have seen every extremity, watched worlds twisted and burned” Amalgus hissed in pain. “I have bent titans under heel and races to my will. I. WILL. NOT. DIE!”

The lightning was soon no longer bound between the two, now striking around the room. One errant bolt stuck one of the pylons pumping life energy into the Dead Universe’s avatar, destroying the device. The Dead Universe once more began advancing on Amalgus.

“NO!” Overlord barked. “YOU WILL HALT AT MY HAND!”

Pushing more energies through the pylons, they began sparking, their ability to channel the life energies failing. Though the Dead Universe’s advance was stopped, it eyed the pylons, knowing it would be only a matter of time before they failed.

“GINRAI!” Overlord yelled out. “IT’S NOW OR NEVER!”

“UNDERSTOOD!”

Ginrai held the Separation Blade with both hands, before running towards the clashing minds. He leapt as he got close, raising the sword above him.

“NO!” Amalgus yelled, realising what Ginrai was doing. “NO!!!!!”

Ginrai plunged the blade into the bolts between Amalgus’ mind and the Dead Universe’s avatar the sword wedging into them. Suspended in midair, Ginrai clung to the sword, pressing it in. The sword began glowing with light, the lightning now bouncing back off it. Then, in an explosion of light, the fighting ceased. Ginrai was flung against a wall, while the Dead Universe’s avatar disintegrated into nothing. Amalgus’ mind shot back into their body, the device around him sparking. Amalgus biolights came back online as they fell from their chair.

“No… nono… nononoNO! Amalgus stuttered, crawling on the floor. “How did you? HOW DARE YOU!”

Erratically shifting forms, Amalgus clutched their head, pain shooting through.

“ARGH!” Amalgus growled, their voice fluctuating as their voice box constantly changed with their form. “The cerebral backlash!”

“Well…” came Overlord’s voice. “Won’t be the worst thing that happens to you today.”

Overlord stood over Amalgus, grinning. Amalgus tried to crawl away, but Overlord grabbed them by the head and picked them up.

“Have you heard of the triple tap?” Overlord asked. “Spark, Processor and Cog. True termination.”

“No…” was the only word Amalgus could muster.

“Let’s start with what’s most precious to you.”

Plunging his hand into Amalgus’ chest, grasping onto something. Amalgus instinctively changed forms before ceasing with a snapping sound. Overlord pulled out Amalgus’ transformation cog, crushing it in his hand.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Overlord smiled, taking pleasure in Amalgus’ pain. “Now, the other two.”

Overlord thrust his hand into Amalgus’ chest, grasping their spark. At the same time, he began to clench more tightly onto the Firstforged’s head.

“No…” Ginrai weakly said, unable to stand up as energon dribbled from his wounds.

In a single motion, Overlord simultaneously ripped Amalgus’ head from their shoulders, while at the same time pulling her spark from her chest. The rest of their body flopped to the floor, energon spilling out as it clanged against the surface.

“Thanks for nothing, Prime” Overlord mocked as he crushed Amalgus’ spark in his hand, before turning to their severed head. “But I think I’ll keep this. A trophy of sorts. To remind me never to trust strange people who come looking for me.”

Overlord looked at the weakened Ginrai. For a moment, he considered finishing the job. Then he looked to the surviving monitors. His forces were being overwhelmed. If he did kill the Convoy, he would still not win. This would not be his victory. Not today.

“This is not a victory nor peacetime” Overlord addressed Ginrai. “This is a mere cessation of hostilities. We will return, our forces restored, and we will rain down fire on the commonwealth."

Overlord vanished in a beam of light, orbital bounced to one of his ships. Ginrai looked up to see Combatronian ships fleeing, leaving the Vanguard and Eukarian ships alone above Cybertron, the cracks to the dead universe behind them.

“One last thing to do” Ginrai said, weakly standing up.

Ginrai limped across the room to the machine breaking through to the dead universe. With what strength he had left, Ginrai tore off the metal plating on the machine, breaking his way through to a chamber where a beam was running through several containers of dead universe energy. Ginrai pulled the containers out, tossing them to the side. He then reached for his back, pulling open a hatch. From it, he pulled out the Forge of Solus Prime, and grasped it with both hands.

“I hope this works” Ginrai said, holding the head of the hammer into the beam.

The Forge whirred to life, the mechanisms glowing blue. As the beam passed through it, it became a pale blue, rising into the skies. In the skies above, the beam struck the cracks, causing them to recede, shrinking away till nothing remained. The walls between realities were restored, and the dead universe was once more sealed away. Ginrai limped out of the machine, before slumping against the wall.

“It’s over…” Ginrai sighed, the forge disappearing from his hands.

He looked at the remains of Amalgus. He sighed at how far they had fallen from their status as Firstforged. He then looked at where Overlord once stood before he teleported out.

“...but the war still continues.”

Monument Road, Iacon
Goldbug looked up at the sky. It was clear. Dawn was breaking, and the battle was over. He breathed a sigh of relief, before sitting down on some debris, blasted off from a nearby building. He watched as the doors of the Crucible opened, and Quickshadow, Rocket Plume, Tailpipe, Ignitor, Crumble and Thunderhead emerged.

“Urgh, my head…” Thunderhead moaned. “Next time someone tries to get in my head, I’ll knock them out.”

“Hard to knock out a universe” Tailpipe replied.

“Urgh, that was… not something I want to experience again” Ignitor sighed. “I never thought that something would try to… creep on my mind. It’s… urgh.”

“I’m afraid in this war, you never know what atrocity awaits next” Quickshadow replied. “Unfortunately, it seems to happen more common when you run with Ginrai.”

“Hey, don’t be so down” Rocket Plume replied. “We won! We stopped Overlord, stopped Amalgus, and stopped the dead universe!”

“Indeed” came the voice of Dragonstorm, approaching them.

Dragonstorm decombined to her two components, who assumed their robots mode. The pair walked over to the group.

“But where is the Convoy?” Storm Reign asked.

The group heard the door open once more, and Ginrai limped out, using the Separation Blade as a cane. He looked ahead of him at the Vanguard and Eukarian forces cooperating. Above him, Planetfire and his Clear Skies Squadron flew overhead, releasing coloured smoke in celebration of their victory.

Then Ginrai looked at the street. Buildings were in ruins, and smoke drifted up from across the cities. Crashed ships of all sizes stood out in the landscapes, and those that had fallen littered the ground. This might’ve been a victory, but it had come at a great cost.

“Ginrai” Dragonicus said. “We are glad you are alive.”

“Yeah” Thunderhead agreed. “We were worried you wouldn’t be with us to celebrate the battle being over.”

“It’s never over” Ginrai sighed. “It will never be over till we stop Overlord for good. He almost helped bring about the total destruction of reality as we know it. Who knows what he can do next.”

“Eukaris wishes to see this war ended” Storm Reign replied. “We’ll give whatever aid we can to put a stop to devastation like this.”

“What do you suggest we do?” Quickshadow asked.

“We get ahead of him” Ginrai said. “We get him, and we do whatever it takes to ensure he can never harm another living being again. We end this war, whatever it takes.”

Ignitor looked at Ginrai uneasily. He looked cold. Focused. Overlord was all that seemed to matter now.

“But hey!” Thunderhead interrupted. “We just went through hell and back. It’s about damn time we take a bit of time to celebrate kicking his tin can and stopping a lunatic from dooming everything.”

“Yeah, I think it might be a good idea to rest” Quickshadow said. “Take some time to breath before we go back out there.”

“Okay” Ginrai said, sighing. “Sorry. But believe me, when we get back out there, we will bring down Overlord and end this war for good. That’s a promise.”

Ashmar Citadel, Tuurok
Overlord sat in his quarters silently. He pondered the recent battle. The loss. So many assets, so many ships, so many warriors, all gone to waste. Overlord looked at the head of Amalgus, now displayed on a plinth.

“This is your fault” Overlord snarled. “You used me with your promises, and now you’ve broken my forces. I won’t be long till Vanguard and take advantage of this.”

Overlord walked to his balcony and looked out. His forces were already trying to repair their surviving ships as fast as they could. He knew around the Commonwealth the rest of his forces were setting about trying to do the same.

“No” Overlord snapped. “Your failure will not stop me. I will rebuild my forces, and destroy Ginrai’s Vanguard… even if I have to move the damn stars themselves!”

And with that, Overlord turned away, setting off to put his next plan in motion…

---

And as we continue onto Convoy of War's second year, I want to thank everyone for their continued interest support.
-A special thanks goes to @Stonecrusher for the still growing help and support he gives me with this.
-Thanks to @Dropkick for helping with getting Yharon's aspects right, and helping with the soundtrack.

And on the subject of soundtracks...

---

Convoy of War Soundtrack - Volumes 4-6
Ignitor’s Theme - The New Firestorm by Blake Neely
Amalgus’ Theme - Agents of Chaos by Hans Zimmer
-
Scrapping Drones - Bounty Droid by Ludwig Göransson
Battle on Musuumei - A Town Besieged by Joseph Shirley
Hunted - Ravenous Chase by Jamie Robertson
Battle of Kobas - Experimental Tactics by Kevin Kiner
Quantum Whirlpool - The Breach by Ramin Djawadi
-
Might of Yharon - Irwin on Reflection covered by Ferdk
Atlas’ Call to Arms - The Ruined Childhood by Murray Gold
Atlas’ Last Stand - Time of Conclusion from Professor Layton & The Eternal Diva
Open the Gate - Overture to Destruction from Professor Layton & The Eternal Diva
-
Devoid Chase - Cybermasters by Segun Akinola
Reunited - Gideon’s Always There/Rip is Back by Blake Neely
The Golden Fighter - Temple Battle by Alexander Borstein
Rock Lords Rise - Train Heist by Joseph Shirley
Omega Sentinels - Atlas Destroyer by Brandon Campbell
Homeward Down - Race You to the Surface
Gold Wings over Cybertron/Chela’s Theme - Rodan’s Theme
Thralls of the Dead Universe - Chip Disorders by Kevin Kiner
Ascension - Martha’s Quest by Murray Gold

---

Convoy of War will return in July with Volume 7 - Hostile Agendas.

​

 

Volume 7 - Hostile Agendas
Point Fyra​

Point Fyra
Point Fyra. A place where the territories of the Galactic Council, Solstar Order and the splinter alliance known as the Black Box Consortia met. An unimportant sector of space, nothing worth the territories squabbling over. That was until a signal began. Though of unknown origin, all parties quickly scrambled to identify and obtain the potential asset.

The Black Block Consortia were the first to arrive and surround their target. They soon followed a message, aimed at all those who would dare try to take the asset from them.

“THIS IS GREATER WARRIOR KITHAR OF 1123415!” the face of their commanding officer declared over an open message. “I, GREATER WARRIOR OF THE FOURTH CONSORTIA ENFORCEMENT FLEET, STAKE THIS CLAIM ON BEHALF OF LEADING FAMILIES OF THE BLACK BLOCK CONSORTIA.”

The Galactic Council was the first to see this message. Angry, they quickly hurried along the launching of their fleets to take what the Consortia had found, no matter how much blood it would cost.

“ALL ATTEMPTS TO DEFY THIS MESSAGE WILL ONLY RESULT IN A MASSACRE!” Kithar continued. “”TURN AWAY, OR WE WILL USE THE FULL FORCE OF OUR FLEETS FIREPOWER!!”

As the message reached the Solstar Order, they too mobilised. Though they knew that whatever the Black Block Consortia had found would be dangerous in their hands, they also knew that the Galactic Council wouldn’t hesitate to use it, no matter the risk.

“THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING! THE SOLAR HARVESTER IS OURS TO COMMAND!!!”

“Indomitable Protectorate”, Olympus-Class Starcruiser
The Indomitable Protectorate, an almighty Galactic Council Warcruiser, burst into Point Fyra in a flash of light, surrounded by several other Council cruisers and frigates. Aboard it, the Skirian Group Admiral Cor’Zivak stared at the Solar Harvester ahead of him. He glared at the Black Block Consortia ships hovering around it.

“That Solar Harvester is rightfully ours” he snarled through twin mouths. “The Black Block Consortia will regret thinking they can take it without a fight. Are they within range of our weapons?”

“Not yet, sir” said one of his officers. “Though unless we get at close range, we risk damaging the Harvester. Is that acceptable?”

Cor’Zivak let out a deep growl.

“Command has ordered us to ensure the Harvester isn’t damaged. We’ll have to capture it by other means. Perhaps starfighter squadrons to strike at it.”

“Shall I order squadrons to launch?”

“Belay that order” came a voice behind them.

Cor’Sivak turned to face a holographic image of one of the leading members of the Galactic Council’s military leaders.

“War Councillor Dra’zira” said Cor’Zivak. “What do we owe the honour?”

“This technology is of great interest to the Galactic Council” the councillor said. “As such, it is imperative that the Harvester is not damaged. All strategies to secure the machine must therefore be covert.”

“Understood” Cor’Zivak replied. “But if we are unable to secure the machine before the Black Block Consortia are able to activate it?”

“If that happens, then you will have permission to destroy it” Dra’zira replied. “But there will be repercussions if you allow such an eventuality to come to pass.”

“I understand. I will not fail.”

“See that you don’t.”

The hologram petered away as Cor’Zivak returned to his post. He then pressed a button, opening a commlink to one of his subordinates.

“Prepare a stealth unit” Cor’Zivak ordered. “Be read to infiltrate the Solar Harvester on my order. Prepare reserve stealth teams.”

“Understood” came a voice on the other end.

Cor’Zivak turned away from the comms, turning just in time to spot several flashes of light through the windows.

“Sir” said one of his officers. “We’re detecting-”

“Several craft arriving in proximity?” Cor’Zivak retorted. “The Solstar Order I imagine. Figured they’d be interested too.”

Croda Savant, Solstar Fleet
The Croda Savant warped not far from the Galactic Council fleet. Soon, several other ships of the Solstar Order warped in. Aboard the flagship, the Mikesu chief knight, Lo Karah, took a look at the Solar Harvester in front of them.

“What are our preliminary scans on that station?” Lo asked.

“Preliminary scan confirm our fears” said a Wyrmian Knight. “That station does possess facilities capable of a stellar drain.”

“Damn. What about the Black Block Consortia’s fleet presence?”

“Analysing now. From what we can tell, primarily composed of a large number of Cubis Frigates. Small ships, but in a large enough number to hold our fleet at bay. Picking up a lot of Bokis gunships too.”

“Then we can’t go in recklessly” Lo mused. “We need to analyse the most efficient way to destroy that station. I want detailed scans of the entire thing. And contact Elonia, see if they can pull up any plans for comparable stations. It’s a long shot, but if we do have something on record I want to see it.”

“Understoods, sir.”

“Sir” said a Velovan Knight. “What are your orders regarding the Council Fleet that has also entered the system?”

“Yes, that will make things difficult” Lo said, pacing back and forth. “They’ll likely have their own plans for the station. I think the best course of action is to hail them before they try anything rash. We can’t have them startling the Consortia. Who knows, we may come to amicable agreement.”

“Quite the dream, sir.”

“No lip, knight. Patch me through.”

Central Core, Solar Harvester
Kithar watched as his troops got to work setting up strange devices on the core sector of the solar harvester. All around the ship, other members of the Black Block Consortia were setting up similar devices. As Kithar watched, one of the grunts approached him.

“What is it, Duric?” Kithar growned.

“Sir, what are these devices?” Duric asked, looking up from a datapad. “I don’t see them on the manifest.”

“You wouldn’t. They’re Warp Coils. A gift from our friend.”

“Warp coils?” Duric asked. “That’s archaic technology.”

“So is this station” Kithar retorted gesturing around him. “It predates any sort of warp or quantum jump technology. Yet the power it holds is immense. To think people forgot how to build one of these.”

“Maybe because they realised how mad it was to drain entire suns” Duric muttered.

“What was that?” Kithar snarled, looking Duric straight in the eyes.

“I, uh, nothing, sir” Duric replied, hiding behind their datapad. “Sir, how do we know that your friend is trustworthy?”

“I don’t. Hence why I had had the coils disassembled and rebuilt to make sure there was anything suspicious on it. I mean, it was curious that he gave us the tip, but to provide us the means to transport it-”

“He told us where it was?”

“Yeah” Kithar replied. “What, you thought the fleet was just for the Council? For the Solstar Order? Please we could wipe them out for a small flotilla. I ain’t stupid.”

“I did wonder about the large number of ships” Duric mused. “The Solstar Order, maybe, but the Council are so inept they don’t realise that big ships don’t mean victory.”

“Yeah” Kithar mused. “As for our contact, well… dammit?”

“What?”

“I’m late for a meeting with them” Kithar answered. “Their one request was to just know our process on moving the Harvester.”

“And that doesn’t strike you as suspicious?” Duric asked.

“Ah, we got troops posted everywhere and all possible entrances to the harvester have been deadlock. If they want it, they ain’t getting it.”

“If you say so, sir.”

“I’ll be somewhere private to talk to him. Oversee things here. And just to be safe, double time patrols.”

“Of course” Duric acknowledged. “Enjoy the meeting.”

“Urgh” Kithar groaned, leaving the room to find a quiet place to talk to his mysterious ally.

Bridge, Indomitable Protectorate
The image of Lo Karah appeared on the bridge of the Indomitable Protectorate. Cor’Zivak frowned as he saw the Chief Knight’s image.

“Galactic Council, we have no quarrel with you” Lo announced. “I am Lo Karah of the Sixth Shield Fleet. Who might I have the honour of speaking to.”

“I am Group Admiral Cor’Zivak of the Karaxi Stormfleets” Cor’Zivak replied. “What business do you have, Knight?”

“We have come here in response to the Solar Harvester. We feared it getting into the wrong hands, and given the presence of the Black Block Consortia, our fears are confirmed. We wish to propose an alliance for the greater good.”

“The Galactic Council lay claim to this technology” Cor’Zivak firmly stated. “We made this claim before the Consortia took the station.”

“The Council feels that the technology is too dangerous” Lo countered. “We feel it is safer if the technology is destroyed without trace.”

“This technology is far too valuable to be destroyed. Besides, the Galactic Council is not like these Black Block extremists. We would use these technologies in moderation.”

“That still invites the possibility of the technology being replicated and misused.”

“Do you think the Galactic Council to be the wrong hands?” Cor’Zivak questioned.

Lo Karah sighed. He knew that the Council’s military commanders had a habit of reacting poorly to any implications of corruption, but he had never expected them to be defensive so quickly.

“Can we at least agree that the Black Block Consortia are currently a threat neither of our fleets have the capacity to safely deal with alone at present?”

“That is at least true…”

“Then would you be willing to form a temporary alliance?” Lo Karak asked. “For the sake of stopping the Consortia from doing something terrible.”

“That is…acceptable” Cor’Zivak answered. “To me, at least. I will have to request permission with my superiors.”

“Please do not take long. I do not know how long-”

“I am well aware of the circumstances” Cor’Zivak snapped back. “I will make this as brief as I can.”

Cor’Zivak shut off the communication, before patching through to high command. Hopefully they would be lenient on this, given the circumstances.

Private Room, Solar Harvester
Making sure he was alone, Kithar pulled out a small communicator from one of his pockets and activated it.

“Alright, I’m on the line” Kithar said. “Alone, as you requested. Seems ridiculous.”

“And it seems you’re late” came a garbled voice from the communicator.

“I’m here” Kithar snapped. “That’s what’s important.”

“If you say so. What is your progress?”

“We hold the Harvester and have completely flooded it with our forces. Our fleet surrounds it, and is poised to repel any opposing force.”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

“Well, it’s just that both the Galactic Council scum and Solstar order are here. I know you said it’d likely devolve into squabbling, but if they were to join forces…”

“You said your fleet would be enough.”

“I know, but-”

“No matter. I’ve organised a distraction to buy you further time. No doubt it’ll keep them squabbling long enough for you to retrieve the harvester.”

“That is… appreciated.”

“I suggest you finish setting up the remaining Warp Coils I provided you with. With great effort, I might add. I will join you soon.”

“I don’t mean to be ungrateful, but your presence is not required. We can extract the Harvester in the name of the Black Block Consortia. Your part in this is over.”

“Do not presume to order me about. I will see you soon.”

Kithar crushed the communicator in his hand, before angrily throwing it against the wall. He stormed out, looking to vent his frustrations by ordering about his lackeys.

Unbeknownst to Kithar, several floors down, one of the crates containing the warp coils began to open. Something inside was opening it. As the lid slammed against the floor, a hand grabbed the edge of the crate, and a hulking shadow emerged.

---

Behind the Council and Solstar ships, several objects began glimmering. The glimmers began to multiply, before taking form. Soon, they became large columnar grey ships, moving in on the two fleets. Aboard the Croda Savant, Lo Karah recognised the ships.

“It seems we have more company” Lo commented.

“The Shadow Proclamation” Cor’Zivak snarled. “This is not their territory. They have no jurisdiction here, nor any claim to this territory.”

“Well, they seem to want something” Lo said, looking at one of his screens. “They’re hailing my ship.”

“Mine too.”

“Shall I patch them through?”

“If we must.”

Lo Karah gestured to one of his subordinate knights, and they pressed a few buttons. For both parties, a hologram of an armoured Rhinoform appeared.

“Rho sco lo fo jro klo mo no do!” the being in the hologram said.

“Speak basic, brute” Cor’Zivak snapped.

The being held a red device in its arm, before plugging into a port on its chest. The device mimicked Cor’Zivak’s voice, though at a much higher tone.

“Language assimilated” the Rhinoform said. “Identify yourselves.”

“I am Chief Knight Lo Karah of the Sixth Shield fleet” Lo announced.

“Cor’Zivak of the Galactic Council” Cor’Zivak reluctantly answered. “And you are?”

“That is not important” the Rhinoform replied.

“It very much is, Judoon” Cor’Zivak snapped. “You have just encroached on territories that are not your own. You owe us more than your name.”

“Hrmm” the Judoon snorted. “I am Captain Phryso of the Shadow Proclamation. We are here to retrieve the detected Stellar Harvester-”

“Solar Harvester.”

“Hrrr” Phryso snarled. “We are here to retrieve the Solar Harvester, bring it to Shadow Proclamation territory, and destroy it.”

“Why do you need to bring it to your territory?” Lo asked. “Why not just destroy it here, as we planned.”

“Because they want to steal it for themselves” Cor’Zivak accused. “They think that if they tell us they’ll destroy it, we won’t bother looking into it.”

“We are protecting our worlds from the threat of the Solar Harvester” Phryso stated, annoyed. “And by extension, your worlds too. Our mission benefits you.”

“It benefits if we hold the solar harvester” Cor’Zivak retorted. “We are not maniacs! We will use its power for the good of those the Council Protect.”

“Accounts we have received say differently!”

“This coming from the thugs of the cosmos!”

“Right now it doesn’t matter” Lo interrupted. “While the Black Block Consortia holds the Solar Harvester, we’re all in trouble!”

Airlock, Solar Harvester
Within the lower levels of the Harvester, a flame started cutting through the bulkhead of one of the airlocks. It circled around the bulkhead, before disappearing. The bulkhead dropped to the ground, and a group of Galactic Council troops in armour entered. One of them activated a device, generating a shield around the now open airlock behind them.

“Pressure shield’s in place” one of the soldiers said. “They won’t notice more than a second of decompression.”

“Good” said the lead soldier. “We need to locate a console to download specific schematics of the facility, then locate a way to disable the harvester… till we can get more troops here and capture it.”

“Sir…” said another of the soldier. “You need to see this.”

The group of soldiers walked into the corridor, looking to either side. There were scorch marks across the floor, some with lumps of charred material left over them.

“What are they?” one of the soldiers asked.

The lead soldier knelt down, looking at the strange material.

“It’s a body” he said. “Heavily charred. Something pretty powerful did this.”

“Since when did the Consortia have something this powerful?” a soldier queried. “Why would they need it? It’s grotesquely over the top.”

“I didn’t know we weren’t the first team” another said, confused.

“They’re not ours” the lead soldier said, pulling what remained of a badge out of the material. “They’re not even Solstar or Judoon. They’re Black Block Consortia.”

“What?” one of the soldiers asked in shock. “If that’s who these remains are…”

“Then who killed then?”

The group of soldiers turned around the sound of heavy footsteps. Raising their weapons, they all assumed combat positions.

“Well, well, well” came a terrifyingly familiar voice. “I thought I heard intruders.”

A colossal being, Cybertronian, strode into view. Though they’d never met the Cybertronian, they had all seen him on the holovids, and his name had become a curse word among them. Overlord.

“OPEN FIRE!” the leader soldier yelled.

The entire squad began firing on Overlord’s huge frame, yet Overlord didn’t even flinch. Overlord pulled his tank barrel from his back and pointed it at the soldiers.

“Oh you puny organics, how I wish I could meet one that was actually a challenge” Overlord mused, before firing several blasts at the soldiers.

It was instantaneous. No pain. No screams. Kind of made it dull to Overlord. He simply returned his tank barrel to his back and walked past the smoking remains of the squad.

“Now if you excuse me, I have an appointment to meet” Overlord said, walking away.

Private Room, Solar Harvester
Kithar paced back and forth as he waited for his contact to alert him to their arrival. As he paced, a pair of soldiers burst in.

“Sir!” announced one of them. “We’ve lost contact with our patrols.”

“Lost contact?” Kithar questioned. “Which ones?”

“All of them, sir” the other said. “We need to protect you.”

“I will tell you I will not abandon our endeavours here” Kithar firmly stated.

“Sir, with respect, I don’t think we’d make it to a craft anyway” the first guard added. “We’re going to have to hold up here.”

Several blasts echoed into the room. The Consortia troops looked around, some quivering at the sound. They raised their weapons as the shape of Overlord as he entered the room.

“SEALING THE DOOR!” the second guard yelled as he slammed his fist onto a button.

A heavy bulkhead slammed down as lasers began flying. The noise of energy blasts filled the air for a few moments, before stopping. Kithar backed against the wall as his guards hands trembled around blasters. Then the door began to creak and buckle. Fingers pierced through the edges of the door, grasping around and crumpling it. Two hands on either side crushed the door, ripping it out of the frame.

“Hello there” Overlord said, striding in the room. “Glad to finally meet in person.”

“OPEN FIRE!” yelled the first guard.

The two soldiers had barely managed to fire off a few blasts from their guns before they were annihilated by Overlord’s own cannon. Overlord approached Kithar as he backed against a wall.

“Oh, how rude, Kithar” Overlord said, stepping forward. “Is this how you treat your business partner?”

“Business partner, what are you-?” Kithar questioned. “No! That can’t be?”

“Who do you think got you those Warp Coils?” Overlord asked. “The Solar Harvester is Cybertronian technology, albeit ancient. Don’t you think it odd there was a gaping void in interested parties where Cybertronians should be?”

“But… but why?”

“Because it would’ve drawn too much attention to take this station by force” Overlord explained. “If my forces took this station and attempted to fit the warp coils ourselves, none of the forces present here would hesitate to annihilate us, no matter how much they wanted it for themselves. All our efforts wasted on us.”

“So you used us” Kithar realised.

“A small splinter territory broken off from the Council” Overlord chuckled. “The whining child who everyone tries to ignore. But when the territories saw you, those like the Council and the Proclamation figured it’d be much easier to take it for you than if it was, say, me. Throw in the Solstar Order’s precious morals and their bickering, and you get enough of a distraction to allow you to prepare the Harvester for relocation.”

“YOU THINK I’LL LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS?” Kithar yelled.

“Oh do shut up!” Overlord said, silencing Kithar with a final blast of his tank cannon.

Overlord exited the room and approached a console that had been connected to one of the Warp Coils. He pressed a few buttons, before stepping back. The warp coil began to glow with energy, as did all others around the Harvester.

“Good, soon I’ll have my harvester” Overlord said. “Now to cover my exit.”

Overlord pressed a button on his wrist, activating his comms.

“Hatchet?” Overlord said into his comms. “Sow discord.”

Void-Class Stealth Starfighter, Point Fyra
Nestled amongst Shadow Proclamation starships, a single starfighter seemed to appear from nowhere. Aboard the starfighter, a Combatronian pilot sat at the controls.

“Are you in position?” came Hatchet’s voice from the comms.

“Uncloaked and pointing at the Council flagship, sir” said the pilot. “On your command.”

“Then you may fire at will!”

The pilot pressed several buttons on his console, before pressing down on a trigger on his control sticks. Several pods deployed from the ship, a barrage of missiles launching from them. Across the other fleets, more stealth fighters appeared and fired their own barrages. The rockets exploded across all four fleets. Some ships were torn apart, while other took damage to critical areas.

“Direct contact” the pilot said.

“Then get out of there before they notice you” Hatchet ordered.

Before anyone could notice them, the ships vanished just as quickly as they appeared, activating their cloaking shields, and fleeing towards the Harvester.

Bridge, Indomitable Protectorate
The bridge of the Council Flagship was now bathed in a flashing red light. Officers were panicking all throughout, trying to figure out how to respond. At the hologram of the other fleet leaders, Cor’Zivak slammed his hands on the console.

“WHAT TREACHERY IS THIS?” Cor’Zivak yelled.

“YOU DARE FIRE ON US!” Phryso roared back. “YOU WILL FACE JUSTICE FOR THIS!”

“Gentlemen, wait!” Lo Karah tried to interject.

“JUSTICE?” Cor’Zivak shouted over Lo. “YOU ATTACK US AND THEN BLAME US!”

“LIES!”

Cor’Zivak struck the console with fist, ending the communication. Many of the officers turned to look at him, silently.

“FIRE ON THOSE FLEETS!” Cor’Zivak demanded, pointing at the enemy forces outside. “ANNIHILATE THEM ALL! WE’LL JUST HAVE TO BURN OUR WAY TO THE HARVESTER!”

Outside, the ships of the Galactic Council began firing a volley of lasers and rockets at any ship that didn’t bear their symbol. The Judoon and Black Block Consortia also started firing, tearing through each other.

Observation Deck, Solar Harvester
Overlord watched in delight as the fleets went at each other. He clapped as he watched one of the Judoon ships explode.

“BRAVO!” he yelled out. “GOOD SHOW!”

Amidst the fighting, Overlord could see the Solstar Order ships turning around and warping away, no doubt trying to avoid any losses in this battle.

“BOO!” Overlord heckled. “SPOILSPORT! WHY DON’T YOU SHOW SOME ENTHUSIASM RATHER THAN THAN RUNNING AWAY WITH YOUR TAILS BETWEEN YOUR LEGS!”

Overlord’s attention was drawn by his wrist beeping. Synced to the console, it showed that the coils were ready.

“And I was enjoying the show” Overlord sighed. “Ah well, till the next battle.”

As the fighting quickly escalated, the fleets were distracted from what was going on behind their backs. The Solar Harvester began glowing with spatial energies, wrapping around it, before vanishing completely.

Upper Ionosphere, Tuurok
The colossal solar harvester hovered above Tuurok’s surface, silently sitting in the sky. Ships circled the station, some ferrying work forces and troops aboard it. Among the ships, the Revenge moved away, getting a better view of the station as a whole. Aboard it, Overlord stood with Thunderhammer, Hatchet and Glowstrike, admiring the station.

“Quite the marvel of engineering” Thunderhammer observed. “To think the ancients were capable of making such impressive technologies.”

“And yet there were some that would think them too dangerous” Hatchet said.

“Limited vision, Hatchet” Overlord said. “They’re too scared to fully harness their potential.”

“And we shall be able to maximise its potential” Glowstrike added. “Once my loyal colonies are allowed to thoroughly go over the harvester and examine it, we will be able to reproduce the technologies.”

“I admire your enthusiasm, Glowstrike” Overlord replied. “But right now the technology is useless.”

“My lord?”

“You forget the technology is old. While once it’s activated it can sustain itself for quite some time, it still requires a considerable amount of energy to initially activate it. Incredibly concentrated energy. Very specifically, a form of energy not seen for eons…”

“Then… the harvester is useless?” Thunderhammer asked.

“No… I do happen to know somewhere that still retains this energy. Ready your fleet, Thunderhammer.”

“Of course, my lord” Thunderhammer said, turning around, only to pause. “To where are we going, sir?”

“Home…” Overlord said, wistfully. “Our ancestral home. We return… to Combatron!”

 

Volume 7 - Hostile Agendas
Progenitor​

Combatron, Cycle 4487 of the Age of Expansion
The fortress of Devron stood across the smoking desert plains of Tektus. Smoke billowed from craters surrounding the fortress as artillery units shelled the fortress with Magnetar Shells. Towers crumbled, walls collapsed and the warriors of Devron were either gunned down or fleeing in fear.

In his throne room, Warlord Devron himself rose from his throne. His massive wings arced behind his back as he stood up, tensing. A few short months ago, the Combatronian Civil Wars had been at a stalemate. But ever since the cataclysm on Obitus, the vanishing of Megabolt and Gigablast, the other warlords had been wiped out. Murdron, Gladiaron, Ghoulon, Floron, Dery. All of them had been wiped out. Now only Devron remained.

The doors shook as another blast shook the building. Devron clutched his colossal battle axe as what remained of his guards waited in front of him. The door shook again at another blast.

“READY YOURSELVES!” Devron yelled. “REMEMBER, MERCY IS FOR THE WEAK!”

The doors were knocked from their hinges as several opposing warriors burst in. Some fire energy blasters at Devron’s guards while others charged in with swords and axes. Then entered Overlord. Slicing through several of Devron’s guards as he walked across the room, he approached Devron.

“KNOW THE STEEL OF MORTILUS!” Devron yelled at Overlord as he swung his axe down.

Overlord batted the axe away from Devron with his own lance, before deflecting several further blows. Devron backed up as Overlord refused to flinched, only to stumble back on his throne.

“I WILL NOT GO QUIETLY!” Devron shouted, deploying a wrist-mounted blaster and firing a few shots at Overlord.

Overlord shrugged the blasts off, before grabbing one of Devron’s wings and tearing it off. As Devron squirmed, Overlord pulled the axe from his hand and used it to slice off the other wing.

“But you will go” Overlord said, both lance and axe in hand. “Like all the others, your time has come. This war was fun, but something greater wait. Combatron will no longer squabble amongst itself.”

Devron tried to squirm away, crawling on his front, but Overlord pressed his foot on his back, pinning him down. Overlord raised Devron’s axe up.

“The time of the warlords and their silly little factions is over” Overlord declared. “Combatron will be united under one leader. The time of Overlord has begun!”

“Glory to Combatron!” Devron spluttered in his final breath.

Overlord brought the axe down on Devron, separating head from body. Energon stained the floor as Devron’s head rolled away. Overlord through the former warlord’s axe aside, before picking up the severed head.

“Thank you Devron” Overlord said, staring at the head. “You may have been unable to win a war, but you have helped hone the people of our home into warriors. I will put them to good use. Now-”

Overlord paused. He noticed that the fighting had stopped, yet both his own and Devron’s forces remained. They all stared through the windows, looking to the sky towards… something.

“Out of my way!” Overlord ordered, shoving his soldiers out of the way to get a view. “What are you all staring… at…”

Overlord stopped. In the far distance, something was descending from the sky fast. It glowed orange as it fell, rapidly approaching the surface.

“What in the name of-”

The object struck the surface before Overlord could finish his sentence. A massive shockwave spread out from the impact zone, in a matter of moments it spread across the planet. Combatron was ravaged.

Combatron Orbit, Present Day
The Revenge appeared in the system in a burst of light, coming to a half where the moon would’ve long ago passed in its orbital cycle. Two Combatronian corvettes appeared soon after, flanking The Revenge. As the ships hung over the planet, a number of Cybertronians flew out of the Revenge, flying towards the edge of the planet, then transforming into satellite alternate modes.

Aboard the Revenge, Thunderhammer and Overlord observed a holographic globe. With each Cybertronian taking their place above the planet, the globe became more detailed, grid by grid.

“O-Class units taking their positions” Thunderhammer informed. “Soon we’ll have an up to date topographical map of the sector of the planet.”

“Good” Overlord said, folding his arms. “Can we identify a landing site near to the ruins of Devron’s fortress?”

“It’ll be difficult for us to even identify anything on this world” Thunderhammer grimaced. “When that monster landed, it ravaged every civilization on our homeworld with just its landing shockwave. Add to that the fact it’s been left on this world for so long, it’s probably ruined every last structure. It’d be impossible-”

Thunderhammer pauses as he noticed Overlord scowling at him.

“You know what happened at the Battle of Cybertron” Overlord said. “You should know by now the word impossible’s been thrown out of the lexicon. Have someone analyse the planet for any and all artificial structures, even partly intact.”

“Of course, my lord” Thunderhammer said apologetically. “Wireframe, analyse surface for artificial structures.”

Thunderhammer pointed at one of his subordinates, who quickly got to work. As they did, multiple dots started appearing on the holographic globe. Images started appearing around, showing an assortment of ruins at various locations on the planet.

“Ruins” Thunderhammer frowned. “Indistinguishable from what they used to be.

Overlord pondered as more and more ruins were located around the map. The search was going to take time, something he wasn’t keen on wasting. Then a thought entered his mind.

“Narrow down the search parameters” Overlord ordered. “Structures made of electrum.”

“Electrum?” Thunderhammer asked. “No-one on Combatron would’ve had electrum. You would never find it on the planet, and everyone would’ve been fighting over it to melt it down.”

“Tyrig’s Pyre” Overlord stated.

“I’m sorry, my lord?”

“Tyrig’s Pyre” Overlord repeated. “Built on the original landing location of the titan that founded Combatron. When that first titan left, it was believed to be disgusted in what it saw of our future, and fled. It was supposed to be a beacon for him to come back. Then, without a titan or a leading figure, the power struggle began. The very future that disgusted the titan.”

“And this Tyrig’s Pyre can help us find Devron’s fortress?”

“Tyrig’s Pyre was the centrepiece of the city of Kalturex” Overlord continued. “Kalturex was south east of Devron’s fortress. There are a few closer ruined owns, but the Pyre is the most likely to have survived, and so only place we can land on.”

“And will you know which direction is north west towards the fortress?” Thunderhammer asked.

“We’ll play it by audio receptor once I bounce there.”

“Why not bring the ships down?” Thunderhammer asked. “We could annihilate the titan roaming the surface and take revenge.”

“We could” Overlord mused “But I have a more fitting penance. And that requires the fleet up here. And besides, where’s the fun if there’s no challenge?”

Wasteland Ruins (Formerly Kalturex), Combatron
Overlord landed on the surface of Combatron. It had been a long time since Overlord had set foot on his homeworld. The howling winds still carried the dust and ash of battles long since over.

“It has been a while” Overlord said, looking over the torn landscape.

“You’ve made it then?” Thunderhammer’s voice crackled over the comms.

“Yes” Overlord said. “I’m home.”

“Are you sure you landed in the right place?”

Overlord looked around, before noticing something glimmering nearby. He squinted. It was a tall pillar, with an opening at the top.

“I’m in the right place” Overlord said. “Now I need to get a bearing of which direction the fortress was in.”

“I doubt we can analyse direction without another landmark” Thunderhammer informed. “They say that the impact that caused the ruination of our homeworld was so powerful that it completely changed the angle of rotation. It may be impossible to tell which way is north and which way the fortress is.”

“You can let me worry about direction” Overlord said. “Right now, see if you can locate the titan that caused the ruination. I know it remains on this world, and it would help to keep tabs on it.”

“Understood...” Thunderhammer groaned.

Overlord walked towards the gold pillar. As he approached, he recognised it. It was definitely Tyrig’s Pyre. Long ago, the opening would’ve been lit with a flame to try and summon their founder once more. Now it had been choked with dust, unable to be lit again. Standing in front of it, Overlord put his hand on the side of the pyre.

“Heh” Overlord said, sliding his hand along the pyre. “It’s been so long since I’ve been here.”

Kalturex, Cycle 4487 of the Age of Expansion
There was unrest in Kalutrex. Buildings had been demolished by the shockwave. People were fighting over resources, trying to take what they could from the debris, not caring who had to be trampled to get it. Overlord observed the squabbling and frowned. This was quite the battle he enjoyed. Time to change that.

Overlord walked in front of Tyrig’s Pyre, standing atop a collapsed wall that fell in front of it. Knowing yelling was not going to work, Overlord pointed his cannon up into the air and fired a single, deafening blast. The entire crowd stopped fighting and stared at Overlord.

“My fellow warriors!” Overlord announced. “It is time we stopped fighting amongst each other! There are no more Warlords! No more pompous fools dreaming so small as to fight over this wasteland. Look around you!”

Overlord gestured around himself at the dead wastes beyond Kalturex.

“We are the mightiest warriors the commonwealth has known! The galaxy! The universe! It is time we stopped fighting over a dead world and united over a greater goal.”

Overlord gestured in the direction of the impact zone.

“That thing! That incorrigible colossus that ravaged our world with just its landing! That set about tearing through the ruins! That is a weapon sent by Cybertron to destroy us! By Arch Convoy himself! Because they fear us! Because we are far stronger than they will ever be!

Overlord had no idea where the titan truly came from, nor why it was here. But right now it provided an opportunity for him.

“There is nothing left for us here! It is time we united out strength and showed the cosmos they are right to fear us! It is time we rise up and prove that power belongs to those strong enough to wield this! The colonies will kneel to us, or face a glimpse of our destructive potential!”

The crowd were now watching Overlord intensely. Some were even getting closer to get a better view.

“We will take vengeance on those that tried to destroy us! We will obliterate their precious Convoy, and take their homeworld as our own! Who will join me?”

There was silence for a moment. Then one of the closest Cybertronians stepped forward and knelt. They were a bulky truckbot, a pair of cannons on their back. Another stepped forward and knelt too. This one was a blackish-brown tank bot. A third joined them, this one a duobot, one side crimson, one side jade.

“What are your names?” Overlord asked, looking down at the first three of his warriors.

“Clench.”

“Turmoil.”

“Aperture.”

“Well, Clench, Turmoil, Aperture” Overlord said. “You see my vision. You see what we could achieve. What we deserve.”

More and more Combatronians began kneeling. Soon, they were joined by Overlord’s raiding party, having followed him from Devron’s castle.

“Good” Overlord said. “Now we spread the message planetwide. We unite! All of us! We find what ships we can and reestablish ourselves. We conquer. We take the commonwealth's resources, its worlds for ourselves, and we show Arch Convoy his attempt to destroy us will have catastrophic repercussions. We are Combatrons, AND WE SHALL HAVE VICTORY!”

“WE SHALL HAVE VICTORY!” the crowd chanted.

Tyrig’s Pyre, Combatron
Overlord removed his hand from the pyre and stepped back. His reminiscing was interrupted by the sound of his comms activating.

“My lord?” crackled Thunderhammer’s voice. “My lord, are you there?”

“Yes I’m here” Overlord replied. “What is it? Have you found our titan friend?”

“Yes, we’ve located it several dozen miles south of your location. But there’s a more immediate concern.”

“There’s never need for concern when I’m around” Overlord retorted. “Just spit it out.”

“There’s something else” Thunderhammer explained. “Strange signals. They seem to be semi-spark signals.”

“Semi-sparks? What on Combatron are you blathering on about?”

“It’s hard to explain. But they’re all over the planet and mobile. More pressingly, there's one advancing your position.”

“How close is it?” Overlord asked.

Overlord soon found his question answered when a shrill screech filled the air around him. Overlord turned around, looking to identify where the noise came from.

“We believe it just entered what would’ve once been the city limits of Kalturex” Thunderhammer answered.

“That does seem to be case…”

Overlord removed his cannon from his back, deploying its energy blade for its lance formation. He looked around, carefully. The dust on the wind was thick, making it hard to see far. This being could be anything and anywhere. It would not take long for Overlord to finally get his answer.

“SCREEE!” the creature yelled, bursting from the dust.

The creature tackled Overlord, knocking his lance from his hands. It forced Overlord backwards, into one of the debris piles that had long ago been a building. The creature pinned Overlord down, snapping at him with its jaws. As it pressed its claws on his chest, Overlord felt the ground cracking beneath him. The floor ruptured, and Overlord and the creature fell down below.

The pair fell into an old basement, empty of anything valuable. Both quickly recovered and backed up to regain some ground. The creature spewed flames from its mouth, but this time Overlord was ready. He quickly sidestepped the flames, before rushing the creature and striking its head with a punch powered by his kinetic exaggeration.

“SCREEEEEEE!” the creatures shrieked against as it head was knocked back against a wall, leaving an impact crater.

As the creature tried to regain its senses, Overlord wasted no time taking advantage of the opportunity. He charged it, grabbing the top and base of the creature's head, and twisted. With a sickening crack, Overlord snapped the creature’s neck. And yet when Overlord stepped back, the creature was still alive.

“SCREEEE! SCREEE! The creature yelled as its head dangled around its body, loosely flopping.

The creature spewed flames, widely charging around the room as Overlord tried to avoid it. Finally, Overlord stopped and faced it.

“Enough” Overlord said, pointing his weapon guns at it. “Time to put you out of my misery.”

Overlord unloaded a volley of shots through the creature, tearing holes through it till finally it dropped to the ground and stopped moving. Overlord stopped and looked over the creature. It seemed… draconic? Chiroptronian? Perhaps what some races might describe as a gargoyle. Whatever it was, it was dead.

“Barely a spark” Overlord said. “Primitive. Just enough to keep it going so it can hunt.”

“My lord?” Thunderhammer yelled over the comms. “My lord, are you okay? That signal was right on top of you.”

“That signal is very much dead now” Overlord explained. “It was a Cyber-Morphic Predator.”

“A what?”

“An antibody” Overlord elaborated. “Basic life form created by a Titan as a means of self-defence. The form can change depending on the titan, but their physiognomy lacks some of the key elements of our own body. Refuelling systems, stasis programs, even a transformation cog. They’re designed to protect, hunt or die trying.”

“It would be best to avoid them then” Thunderhammer suggested.

“No” Overlord replied. “If one found me, they’ll all know. They’re animals. Too stupid to know fear. Too stupid to know they are no longer the apex predator on this world. And if they’re coming, their dad can’t be too far behind.”

Overlord pulled himself out of the ruined building, picking his tank barrel back up from the ground and reattaching it to his back turret. He stared at Tyrig’s Pyre, staring at the opening at the top. Only exposed to two sides, Overlord recalled one side of the Pyre’s opening was smaller than the other. He was never sure why? Design flaw? Damage from the territorial wars?

“Let’s see” Overlord mused, circling the Pyre. “What was it they used to say… the flame faces greatest to the north. And if that’s correct…”

Overlord stood in front of the larger opening of the pyre. He then turned to the left, facing diagonally, and stared towards the wastes.

“Devron’s fortress should be in this direction!”

Overlord transformed into the desert, his tank mode driving along the dust and sand as his jet mode flew above, keeping an optic out for any more of these creatures. He knew it was inevitable more Cybermorphic Predators would come after him - after all, they were too mindless to know it was their funeral.

“Thunderhammer, I’ve got a beat on the Fortress” Overlord commed. “I’m moving in now.”

“Excellent, my lord” Thunderhammer reported. “But I have some bad news to report.”

“Let me guess, more of your ‘semi-sparks’?”

“Well, yes, but that’s not just it” Thunderhammer added. “That titan you asked us to keep tabs on? It’s making a beeline for you.”

“Heh” Overlord mused. “Looks like he’s out for blood. How close?”

“Well-”

“Actually don’t answer that” Overlord said, his alt-modes plowing ahead. “I know already.”

The ground was shaken repeatedly. Overlord’s tank mode turned its barrel to face the source of the tremor. In the distance, Overlord could see a pair of massive amber optics staring directly at him. The screeches of numerous Cybermorphic Predators filled the fair, followed by an almighty roar that shook the ground itself.

“Alright then” Overlord said, as his two alt-mode came upon some ruined walls. “Let’s see which of us shall come out champion, then?”

The draconic parasites burst out of the thick dust gales, rushing at Overlord’s alt-modes. Overlord tank mode blasted several out of the sky, as his jet mode unleashed a salvo of missiles, annihilating a group of them. More creatures emerged, their earsplitting shrieks filling the air.

“My lord!” Thunderhammer exclaimed from the Revenge. “That’s a large number of signals on top of you. We’re priming weapons to-”

“Don’t you dare” Overlord yelled as his alt-modes converged. “I want to enjoy this.”

“My lord, this is-”

“Sport. This is sport. You will hold your fire until I give the order.”

“Yes, my lord…” Thunderhammer growled.

Overlord’s alt-mode combined, reforming his robot mode. Overlord held his lance in hand, and with a few choice taps, extended the blade and increasing its intensity. Overlord took up a combat stance, daring the Cybermorphic predators to come at him.

“COME ON!” Overlord yelled, goading them.

One of the predators charged Overlord, only to be swiftly beheaded by a single swing of his lance. Another pair of them rushed after it, both leaping at Overlord. Though Overlord impaled one, the other managed to get a swipe in across Overlord’s waist with its claws. Overlord swung the lance around, throwing its dead compatriot at it, knocking the both against a pillar. Overlord fired a volley of blasts at the pillars base, allowing it to fall onto the two predators and crush them.

“SCREE!” yelled another as it leapt onto a ruined wall, more of its kind joining it.

Overlord leapt at one of the Predators, pulling it down from the wall and slamming it into the ground. Overlord stood over the creature, putting his foot on it, before destroying its head with a volley of blasts.

Overlord turned around to the other predators, who prepared to leap off. Pointing the cockpit on his arm at them, a pair of blades deployed from it. Overlord then launched the cockpit at the attacking Cybermorphic Predators, before following with his lance. The cockpit sliced off the legs of two of the predators, causing them to crash to either side of it. Following it, Overlord sliced through another of the predators, but was soon after knocked down by a fourth.

“SCREE! SCREE!” the predator repeatedly yelled at is it tried to snap its jaws around Overlord’s head.

“Bad… nnggh… bad abomination!” Overlord growled as he tried to hold it back.

The creature continued to bite, as behind it, Overlord’s cockpit began to fly back to its master. The cockpit flew straight through the creature, bisecting it along its waist and reattaching itself to Overlord’s arm. Overlord threw the dead creature’s upper half off of him, before kicking the lower half to the ground.

Overlord stood up to find himself surrounded. A dozen of the creatures had managed to get between him and Devron’s fortress, while another dozen approached from behind.

“You really think this is enough?” Overlord asked. “I could take a hundre- wait…”

Overlord paused, a noise buzzing. It sounded familiar. Like a reactor charging… or something else. Overlord looked behind himself, and saw a glow of blue becoming brighter within the dust storm. An atomic flame.

Overlord charged one of the creatures, taking it by surprise and knocking it away. Overlord rushed behind one of the ruined walls, leaning flat against it. The creatures attempted to follow, but didn’t get long to pursue as the entire area was swamped with blue flame. The fire immolated the predators, turning them to ash in a few short moments. Overlord could feel the intensity of the flames surrounding him.

“This is of no use” Overlord growled. “I can’t stay here and constantly dodge his atomic weaponry. I have to make progress.”

Overlord transformed, his tank mode attaching to the base of his jet mode. He took to the air, flying above the sea of blue fire, followed by more predators, flying behind him. Though the flames died below, soon streams of blue flame shot through the air. Overlord evaded the flames as best he could, as with each shot the fire incinerated the predators after him.

But Overlord’s efforts were not in vain. He could see the shape of something in the distance. Though at first looking like another mountain, piled with debris, he could make shapes out in its structure. Walls, pillars, even what remained of a spire. If he was right, this was what remained of Devron’s fortress. He just had to hope the vault beneath were in a better state.

Overlord's tank mode busted down some debris on the ground as its treads rolled over them, while it’s jet mode dived down. The components recombined into Overlord’s robot mode, and he readied his lance once more.

“Now let’s see where we are…” Overlord mused, looking around.

Overlord scanned the room over, or what remained of it. Though that remained was a scarred floor and the ruined fragments of wall, Overlord could tell he had been here before.

“Of course… the throne room.”

“SCREEEEEEEEEEEE!”

Overlord turned around to see the silhouettes of more predators flying through the dust, backlit by a blue glow. This time there wasn’t enough cover to duck behind. But there was one risk he could take. Overlord retracted the blade on his tank barrel, and pressed the end against the floor.

“Going down” Overlord said, blasting the floor beneath him.

Overlord dropped through the floor, one of the predator lunging after him. Overlord looked up as the creature vanished in a sheet of flames, consuming the entire level above. Safe, Overlord observed his surroundings, finding himself in a tunnel. One way was a dead end with some ladder rungs rising up to where Overlord assumed Devron’s throne might’ve once sat.

Down the other end was a doorway, which Overlord suspected might’ve been the vault. Overlord headed towards the door, the sound of screeches following him. Bursting through the door, Overlord found himself in a room of various equipment and tools of bygone wars. Overlord approached one of the items, lying unkempt on a plinth, though Overlord suspected it used to be suspended in a stasis field.

“What have we here?” Overlord said. “Not what I was after, but from the looks of it’s not Cybertron. Seems to be a cannon.”

Overlord’s concentration was broken when a group of Cybermorphic Predators burst through the door. Thinking quickly, Overlord pointed the cannon at them and fired. A beam of energy fired, targeting the nearest the Cybermorphic Predator, ripping through its “spark”. But the beam didn’t emerge straight out the back. Instead, it launched out towards the next nearest Predator and into its chest. The beam blasted between Predators, until it had tore through the sparks of the entire group.

“A Gemini Cannon” Overlord said, looking impressed at this new weapon. “Long used against us during Battle Convoy’s time by one of the invading armies. I thought they all destroyed, so how did you manage to get your hands on one of these, Devron you old dog?”

More Predators burst in, but Overlord quickly dispatched the group with another blast of the Gemini Cannon.

“Beautiful” Overlord said, looking at the weapon’s handiwork. “I wonder what other treasures Devron managed to horde for himself.”

As Overlord attempted to walk over to another of the plinths, the entire room shook. Overlord stopped, and another tremor rocked the vault.

“If he can’t incinerate me, it seems he’s decided he’ll try to bury me instead” Overlord mused. “Looks like I’d better get a move on.”

Overlord move to the far end of the room, busting through another door. Though it looked heavy, time had taken its toll on it, and with a simple bit of kinetic exaggeration, Overlord tore through it. He entered cylindrical room, with a single platform at the centre. The platform held a glowing object, bright orange in colour. It almost looked like a spark, but as he got closer, Overlord could tell it had a fiery aura.

“An Ember” Overlord said, approaching it with awe. “So beautiful. An experiment in creating a newborn spark. It might not have succeeded in that manner, but you have the raw power for my means.”

Overlord stowed the Gemini Cannon away, before picking up the ember, cupping it in his hands. He held it up, his eyes lost in the swirling energies. His focus was broken when the inner vault shook.

“Thunderhammer, I have the Ember” Overlord commed.

“Excellent my lord, but we’re barely reading you” Thunderhammer’s voice crackled through the comms. “We can try and bounce you out of there, but it’ll take a few minutes to fight the interference.”

“No” Overlord snapped. “I have unfinished business. Charge up all weapons. I have some very specific targets for you.”

Surface, Devron’s Fortress
Overlord broke his way out of the underlevel of the fortress and back onto the ruins. A huge shadow loomed over the Combatronian, blanketing the entire fortress in darkness. Overlord could see the titan clearly. A jet black titan, a colossal saurian form, bright orange biolights illuminating his body.

“TRYPTICON!” Overlord yelled. “YES, I KNOW YOUR NAME! AND I KNOW WHY YOU CAME HERE!”

Trypticon stared down intently, magnifying his vision to focus on Overlord. He quietly snarled as he stared.

“YOU CAME FOR ME!” Overlord announced. “I AM AWARE YOU TITANS ARE CAPABLE OF PRECOGNITIVE VISIONS THROUGH YOUR LITTLE TITANWEB! YOU FORESAW MY GLORIOUS CONQUESTS, AND SOUGHT TO STOP ME BEFORE I COULD SET OUT! BUT YOU MADE A MISTAKE!”

Trypticon let out a deafening roar, aggressively spewing flames into the sky.

“OH DON’T WINGE!” Overlord yelled up. “YOU TOOK A BLUNT APPROACH TO A PROBLEM! MESSY! YOU THOUGHT BLIND CARNAGE COULD SOLVE A PROBLEM! I RESPECT IT! BUT YOU MADE THE MISTAKE OF THINKING WE WERE A PRIMITIVE PEOPLE! THAT WE LACKED INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL! BUT I KNOW OF THE WARLORD’S SECRETS! SOME POSSESSED HIDDEN HANGARS OF STARSHIPS! BEFORE I FINISHED OFF DEVRON, I MADE SOME FRIENDS WHO COULD GET MY PEOPLE OFFWORLD.”

Overlord could feel the air around him heating up. He looked up at Trypticon, whose mouth was glowing blue, charging his atomic flame up.

“BUT I OUGHT TO THANK YOU!” Overlord smugly yelled. “BECAUSE OF YOU, I WAS ABLE TO RALLY THE REMAINDERS OF THE VARIOUS FACTIONS BEHIND ME! I CONVINCED THEM YOU WERE SOME GREAT WEAPON SENT BY CYBERTRON! OH HOW THEY FLOCKED BEHIND ME! THE GOOD OLD BOOTSTRAP PARADOX! YOUR ATTEMPT TO CHANGE HISTORY BECOME A PART OF IT!”

Trypticon glared at Overlord, the atomic fire disperser point directly at him.

“OH YOUR NUCLEAR BREATH DOESN’T SCARE ME!” Overlord declared. “YOU MUST’VE PREDICTED HOW MANY OF YOUR KIND I BUTCHERED! NOT TO MENTION FORCING YOU ALL OUT OF THE TITANWEB! BUT BECAUSE OF YOUR SERVICE TO ME CAUSE, I’M NOT GOING TO KILL YOU! WHAT I HAVE IN MIND IS MUCH WORSE!”

Overlord activated his comms, looking Trypticon directly in the optics.

“Thunderhammer, fire!”

Falling from the sky, a laser ripped through Trypticon’ throat, atomic fire spewing out through the tear. More lasers picketed through Trypticon’s throat, rupturing his atomic fire conduits.

“NO MORE ATOMIC FIRE!” Overlord yelled in delight, clapping his hands. “NOT A BIG MAN WITHOUT THAT, ARE YOU? WELL, YOU ARE, BUT- OH, THE JOKE’S LOST ON YOU!”

More lasers hailed down, this time blasting apart Trypticon’s massive back thrusters. The flames from the thrusters rolled down Trypticon’s back, as debris dropped to the ground, whipping up dust when they landed on the dust.

“AND THERE GOES YOUR PROPULSION!” Overlord shouted, swinging his arms in enjoyment. “YOU’RE NOT LEAVING THIS ROCK!”

As the laserfire continued to fall, a large blast tore through Trypticon’s abdomen. Debris fell from the ground, the remains of half-forged Cybermorphic Predators falling out and landing all around Overlord.

“AND THAT’S TAKEN OUT YOUR INTERNAL FOUNDRIES” Overlord yelled. “NO MORE OF YOUR MINDLESS PARASITES, NO FUTURE GENERATIONS OF CYBERTRON BORN FROM MUMMY TRYPTICON! YOU’RE ALONE, TRAPPED ON THE WORLD YOU RAVAGED IN THE NAME OF TRYING TO DESTROY ONE! ALL DONE TO YOU BY SAID PERSON YOU FAILED TO KILL! ME!”

Trypticon roared in pain as the bombardment ceased, falling to the ground. His head slumped beside Overlord, his optic staring right at him.

“Don’t worry, Trypticon” Overlord said. “I specifically ordered them not to target anything critical. Energon, spark, processor. I’ve made sure you’d survive this. Left alone to wander this world, your failure. You, yourself and your madness! All alone to contemplate your folly. And on that note, I bid you farewell!”

Overlord bowed, before vanishing a beam of light, returning to his ship. Trypticon looked up to the sky, before letting loose a sight and laying slack, unable to muster the energy to do anything else after his ordeal.

The Revenge, Combatron Orbit
“AHAHAHAHAHAH! AHAHAHAHA!AHAHAHAHAH!”

Overlord appeared on the bridge of the Revenge, laughing manically as the light of his orbital bounce dissipated. Thunderhammer and the bridge crew looked at him.

“My lord?” Thunderhammer questioned.

“Oh, just a delightful bit of vengeance” Overlord sighed, wiping a tear away from his optic. “Something I should’ve done millennia ago.”

“Was it… successful, my lord?”

“Very much so. First things first.”

Overlord pulled out the Gemini Cannon, and threw it over to one of the grunt.

“Take down to the vault, and have someone contact Skyquake” Overlord ordered. “I want a ship ready to transport it to the Ebon Arsenal. I very much would like it mass produced and killing the Primal Vanguard troops the moment we can. Now, for the main event.”

Overlord produced the Ember, having stowed it away in his cockpit for safekeeping. Thunderhammer and other crew members stared in awe at the fiery orb of energy.

“Could that be-”

“An Ember” Overlord said. “An experiment in life. During their experiments to create alternative methods of forging, they used Solar Harvesters to create these embers as sparks. They were never able to bring life, but the sheer amount of energy compiled into the Ember was enough to trigger the activation of a Solar Harvester in a matter of moments. Far more efficient than draining our entire energon stocks. Without it, it would’ve set us back further after Amalgus’ ventures, but with it… we now have an unlimited source of power.”

“And when Glowstrike’s hives finish their work, we can mass produce these Solar Harvesters for the war effort.”

“Oh my plans are even more impressive than that” Overlord said. “But for now, let us leave one home and return to another! Set a course to Tuurok!”

Once the O-Class Units had returned to the fleet, the Revenge and its accompanying ships turned around, before quantum jumping away, leaving Trypticon truly alone…

 

Volume 7 - Hostile Agendas
The Unknown​

Ashmar War Room, Tuurok
Within Overlord’s war room, Overlord, Turmoil and Thunderhammer stood around a holotable showing a map of the commonwealth. The trio were joined by holograms of Macabre, Hatchet, Skyquake and Clench, discussing the war effort.

“We’ve been having express trouble progressing to the Kordir System” Skyquake reported, pointing to one of the star systems on the map. “Eukarian warbirds have been holding formation, blockading that section of the Quantum Trail to the Knerax System there.”

“If we can start a battle to stall for time, I might be able to get some of my commandos into the system and have them infiltrate the ships” Macabre suggested.

“It is important we get that blockade annihilated” Thunderhammer said. “We can’t be cut off from our primarily shipyards.”

“What about the engagements of the Perdis Cluster?” Overlord inquired.

“We conquered Treyox and Ceta Lofre, but Impactus Major’s forces are matching us on the planets in Karak’s orbit” Clench reported.

“The planets are of no use to us” Overlord said. “Recall your forces to your fleet and have them destroy the planet. There’s no point to a battle with no purpose.”

“Understood, my lord. I will give the order immediately”

As Clench’s hologram vanished, it was soon replaced by the hologram of Glowstrike. Glowstrike bowed as she appeared.

“My lord” she greeted.

“Ah, Glowstrike” Overlord replied. “What news?”

“The hive’s work is done, my lord” Glowstrike informed. “As per your request, we were able to reproduce your design for the solar harvester.”

“Excellent!” Overlord grinned. “Excellent! I wish to see the weapon that will tip the war back in our favour, definitively.”

“We shall await your arrival, my lord” Glowstrike bowed, before her hologram vanished once more.

“I’m afraid I have important matters to attend to” Overlord said, addressing the others in the room. “We shall reconvene at a later time.”

“Of course, my lord” Macabre said as his, Hatchet and Skyquake’s holograms vanished too.

“I shall return to the front” Turmoil said. “The Vanguard Fleet over Devisun has had too easy a time anyway.”

“Excellent” Overlord said. “Thunderhammer, I want you to check on our projects in the Archaria Complex.”

“Of course, my lord” Thunderhammer nodded.

Thunderhammer and Turmoil exited the room, passing Scissorsaw, Forestock and Crucible as they left. Overlord turned to his imperial guard to address them.

“Inform my crew to ready The Revenge” Overlord ordered. “It’s time we checked in on our investment.”

Dor Zeyfa System
The Revenge burst into the Dor Zeyfa system in a flash of light, above a colossal gas giant. Ahead of the Revenge, an even larger ship faced it, a colossal dreadnought bearing the Combatronian colours. Its form was built around a pair of massive fixed cannons, a pair of bridges suspended over it, over the other. The rear section of the ship had a massive pyramidal structure, similar in shape to the Solar Harvester.

A shuttle left the Revenge, flying towards the larger dreadnought. Forestock was sat at the controls, piloting it, as Crucible stared out the window, looking at the Dreadnought.

“It’s quite the sight” Crucible said, staring onward.

“It should be'' Overlord said, entering the cockpit with Scissorsaw. “Insecticon engineering comes second nature once they get the schematics in their heads.”

A light on the console began beeping. After saying something in the Primal Vernacular, Forestock pressed a button on the console. An image of Glowstrike appeared on the screen.

“My lord!” Glowstrike said. “Glad you could make it! Do you like your warship?”

“It certainly looks the part!” Overlord grinned. “But we’ll see if it lives up to expectations.”

“Of course. We’re waiting for you in the hangar. We’ve sent a course to you.”

“Excellent.”

Forestock piloted the shuttle into one of the hangars of the gigantic warship, landing in one located on its starboard side. When the shuttle came to rest, a horde of insecticons approached, all standing to attention. Overlord and his retinue disembarked, approached by Glowstrike as they walked across the hangar.

“My lord” Glowstrike bowed. “How pleased I am to finally have you in attendance.”

“Quite” Overlord replied. “I’m pleased to see it finally realised.”

“The first Starstorm-class Star Dreadnought we've produced” Glowstrike said, gesturing around them.

“I take it you received the Ember?”

“Already placed in the harvester module” Glowstrike said. “At your command, we use the Ember to initiate it and perform a test drain of a star.”

“Then why waste time?” Overlord asked. “Let’s begin the test.”

“I thought you wouldn’t ask.”

Harvester Maintenance Decks
Several insecticons patrolled the maintenance looking at the internal mechanisms of the solar harvester built into the warship. A trio of them broke off from the group, walking up to the harvester.

“So much prospective energy” one of them said.

“You wonder what it tastes like?” the second one asked.

“We really shouldn’t” the other quietly muttered. “The queen would offline us.”

“Would any of them notice? If we syphoned a little bit off when they drained the star.”

“Nah! So much energy, they won’t miss a little bit.”

The trio heard a clang of metal behind them. They turned around, but couldn’t see anything having dropped.

“What was that?” the first asked.

“I don’t-”

The second insecticon was interrupted as a harpoon tore through it, before pulling out its spark. The other insecticons looked at it, panicked, before trying to ascertain the source of the attack.

“Where did that come from?” asked the third.

“How should I know?” the first asked. “All that matters is we kill-”

The harpoon shot through the insecticon’s head, and it dropped to the ground. The last remaining insecticons leapt back, before trying to make a run for it. It skulled along the platform, only for the harpoon to dig into its thorax. The insecticon was dragged from its feet, finding itself facing a strange face, with a massive, fixed grin.

“I won’t syphon the energy!” the Insecticon begged. “Please! I-”

The figure executed the insecticon with a hook-like blade, before removing its harpoon from the body. The figure then dropped down to the platform, heading further into the ship’s solar harvester.

Observation Deck
Overlord and Glowstrike arrived at the ship’s observation deck, overlooking the cannons, Overlord’s imperial guard not far behind.

“Quite the marvel of engineering” Overlord said, looking around him. “Did you have a name in mind for her?”

“Something of this magnificence?” Glowstrike asked. “Well, one name did spring to mind. ‘The Majesty’.”

“That’s what I like about you, Glowstrike. You share my grandeur.”

The two walked over to the viewing glass, where they could see the planet orbiting, and just beyond it. Coming to a stop by a comms panel, they stared through.

“So, will we be using this as our demonstration ground?” Overlord asked.

“Yes” Glowstrike, pointing towards the star just coming into view from behind the planet. “”We’ll be draining that star there, Omec Maxi, and use that to completely fill the Majesty’s power cores.”

“And the primary cannons?”

“There’s a planetoid composed of solid materials orbiting this gas giant. It’ll serve a good target before we move onto the inhabited ones.”

“Then why wait?”

Glowstrike pressed a button on the comms panel, contacting the crew operating the solar harvester.

“Are we ready to activate the harvester?” Glowstrike inquired.

“Star has just come into range, my queen” came a voice over the comms. “Shall we begin the draining?”

“Immediately” Glowstrike ordered.

“Yes, my lady. Dispersing the ember.”

At first, a mechanical sound filled the room. Then there was silence. The star continued on its rotation, unaffected by any of the ship’s processes. Overlord glared at Glowstrike expectantly, and she got on her comms again.

“Why isn’t the star harvester activating?” Glowstrike angrily inquired.

“We don’t know ma’am” replied the voice. “We’ve sent a team down to investigate.”

“See that you do” Glowstrike said, before turning to Overlord.

“I don’t take this failure lightly” Overlord warned.

“I understand my lord.”

There was an awkward silence as the two waited for a response. Finally, the silence was cut when the engineer responded.

“My lady…” the engineer nervously said. “The ember is… missing.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t dispersed incorrectly?” Glowstrike asked, awkwardly eyeing up Overlord.

“Negative… there’s no reading of its energy being released. And, there’s something else. The room is filled with bodies.”

“You didn’t think to mention that first?” Glowstrike snapped.

“I’m sorry, my lady.”

“My ember has been stolen?” Overlord snarled.

“My lord, we can-”

“My queen” came another voice over the comms.

“Soldier” Glowstrike replied. “Report.”

“We’ve got an intruder!” they said. “They’re a strange Cybertronian! They’re in the undersectors beneath the primary star cannons! They’re slaughtering our patrols! They’re- ARGH!!!!!”

The commline cut off with the scream. Overlord looked at the windows out towards the cannons. Behind him, his Imperial Guard approached him.

“My lord, you can’t be serious” Scissorsaw said, already working out what Overlord planned.

“Nobody steals from Overlord” Overlord snarled, preparing himself.

Overlord charged the window and smashed through, shattering it. Overlord transformed into his alt-modes, his tank mode underslung on his jet mode. As the energy shields activated to cover the breach, Glowstrike and Scissorsaw looked down as Overlord flew towards the cannons.

“The perks of having a jet mode” Scissorsaw groaned.

“Well, if we want to catch up to him, we’ll need to go now” Crucible said.

With that, Crucible and Scissorsaw ran out of the room, heading to the lifts to catch up to Overlord. Forestock, meanwhile, looked at Glowstrike curiously, before heading out to join his fellow Imperial Guard members. Glowstrike shuddered as she wondered what went through Forestock’s head.

Primary Weapons Undersections
Overlord landed under one of the sections beneath the starboard primary cannon. Behind him, he found a hole into the ship. Looking down, he saw a number of corpses, the remains of the security teams, all with puncture wounds through their body.

“Waste of good drones” Overlord sighed.

Overlord turned around and progressed along beneath the cannons. As he reached the end of the undersections, he could hear something, almost like the hum of a shuttle’s thrusters.

“What the-?”

Overlord looked up to see, upside down, a shuttle magnetised to the bottom of the cannons. Its engines glowed and the shuttle detached from the cannon, before the shuttle quantum jumped away. Overlord blasted back by the burst of Quantum Energy, clawing into the roof of the undersections to stabilise himself.

“You dare?” Overlord asked as he stood back up.

Overlord looked out towards where the shuttle had vanished, then got on his comms and made contact with Glowstrike.

“Glowstrike, I need you to trace a quantum signature” Overlord said. “Departed from beneath the starboard cannon.”

“The cannon?” Glowstrike asked. “Why-?”

“Are you questioning me? You are lucky to even be getting a second chance at all.”

“Of course. Your will be done, my lord.”

“Then meet me in the hangar” Overlord ordered. “Have my imperial guard join me, too. I want our intruder found and my ember retrieved.”

“Understood, my lord.”

Hangar

Overlord entered the hangar to find Glowstrike, Crucible, Scissorsaw and Forestock waiting for him. Around him, various technical experts were working on the various shuttlecraft in the hangar bay.

“You seem to have an awfully busy hangar” Overlord said. “One might think there’s also been an incident here.”

“There… has” Glowstrike groaned. “Seems our intruder sent a global virus. Locked down the systems of every craft aboard this cruiser.

“Urgh, how tedious” Overlord groaned.

“Well, all but one” Crucible pointed out.

The group looked towards the shuttle Overlord and his imperial guard had arrived on. Overlord rolled his optics.

“So it’s like that, is it?” Overlord huffed. “Did you get a look at their heading?”

“We think we have” Glowstrike said. “The signature has headed outside of Commonwealth territory.”

“Just like the last time” Crucible muttered.

“Zel” Scissorsaw reminded them.

“Which territory did you track them to?” Overlord asked. “Last time they tried they went across the galaxy to Shadow Proclamation space."

“They may seek shelter in Galvan territories” Scissorsaw suggested.

Forestock interjected, saying something in the Primal Vernacular that Glowstrike couldn’t understand.

“True, Forestock” Crucible replied. “Given how they fawned over the Solar Harvester, it wouldn’t be that surprising if the Galactic Council laxed their mechanophobia if they learnt what the Ember was capable of.”

“I’m afraid it’s more complicated than that” Glowstrike replied. “They’ve exited our galaxy altogether and are heading towards a planet in the space between this galaxy and the next one.”

Glowstrike produces a small holoprojector, and a map of the Cybertronian commonwealth’s border systems, as well as the nearest non-Cybertronian systems beyond, was displayed.

“The Null Trench” Crucible mused. “Where systems are and few between.”

“And fewer still show even the basic signs of sentient life” added Scissorsaw.

Forestock once again said something in his native tongue, though this time Glowstrike could make out what sounded like it translated into the word ‘trap’.

“Yes, it likely is” Overlord replied. “And I see no better course than springing it.”

Overlord walked towards his shuttle, his Imperial Guard following. However, as soon as Overlord stepped on the ramp, it lifted up, sealing him in the ship as his guard were locked out.

“Well, it seems that my ship wasn’t unaffected by whatever virus triggered this lockdown” Overlord mused. “More just had a different purpose for it.”

Overlord walked to the cockpit of the shuttle, The lights were still lit, and the systems were still active. Sitting down, he pressed a few buttons, checking what systems he had access to. After browsing through, he found that the comms were still active. He pressed a button to get through to those outside.

“My lord, are you okay?” came Scissorsaw’s voice over the comms.

“Yes, of course I am” Overlord responded. “It seems that the virus did affect this ship. Certain systems are locked down.”

“What systems, my lord?”

“Doors and weapons seem completely locked out. Navigation is locked onto a specific planet. You can guess which one.”

“What are your orders, my lord?”

“I still intend to spring the trap. I’m certain they’re listening to this conversation, so I’ll be brief. Continue on with operations in my absence. And make sure we don’t get another Delirious incident in the meantime. Make sure everyone stay the course so that we are ready for my return.”

“We understand, my lord” Scissorsaw replied. “Happy hunting.”

Overlord took the controls, flying out of the hangar. As his shuttle quantum jumped away, Glowstrike watched concerned.

“If this is a trap, should we not let him go alone?” she asked as Crucible, Forestock and Scissorsaw started walking past her.

“Our lord is all that is required” Crucible stated. “We have our orders, and continue with the operation. We need to inform the council of generals. They need to know plans are to proceed even in Overlord’s absence.”

“You should relocate this ship to somewhere else inconspicuous” Scissorsaw said.

“I do not take orders from drones” Glowstrike snapped.

Forestock stopped and glared at Glowstrike. He stared at her face, squinting it at it, before saying something in the Primal Vernacular.

“No, Forestock, not this time” Crucible replied. “She knows what Overlord would order her to do if he were here.”

“I will have my bridge crew relocate ‘The Majesty’ to another system” Glowstrike scowled. “On my orders, in the best interest of Overlord. You should continue with your master’s orders.”

“Of course, High General” Scissorsaw smirked.

Glowstrike glared at the imperial guard as they left, before adopting her insect mode and leaving the room herself.

Unknown Space, Null Trench
Overlord’s shuttle reappeared in normal space, in a star system very few had seen. A pair of stars rotated around the system, one of either side, between them, rotating around them in a figure formation were a trio of planets. Overlord looked at the nearest one, an icy world where colossal ice spikes pierced the atmosphere.

Inside the shuttle, the console sparked in front of Overlord. Overlord checked several of the systems over, and found a number of them had been shut down by the virus.

“Hmm, that’s the quantum systems shorted” Overlord mused. “Scanners, too. And it seems the fuel tanks are bleeding out. Just at the right rate that I’ll have enough to make planetfall. Funny that.”

Overlord took the controls, flying towards the icy planet. As he grew closer to it, he could see large portions of it were covered by storm clouds, ruptured by the icy spikes.

“Whoever you are, you’ve clearly made one mistake when you set this trap” Overlord said. “You built it thinking you could catch me. Let’s meet the soon-to-be corpses.”

Unknown Planet’s Surface
The surface of the planet was white with snow, as dead trees jutted out of the surface. Snow pelted down from the skies above, while the occasional lightning bolt flashed in the distance, the roar of thunder following it. A figure stood on a cliff face, looking out to the skies above.

“The storm is strong today.”

The figure was a well built mechanical, their burgundy and purple armour almost resembling that of a gladiator. Behind him, a second figure approached behind him. This one was bulky, with a pair of massive wrecking balls in place of his hands.

“Good” the new arrival said. “It will aid our work. Cover our presence when we don’t need to be seen.”

“But we can still see the glow of a craft” the first figure said, pointing to the sky with his energy sabre.

In the distance, amongst the clouds, the glow of a shuttlecraft’s energy trail could be seen, descending on the planet.

“He has come.”

Behind the two, a third figure arrived, walking up the slope towards the other two. They were a bulky metal figure with several spikes across their body, a fixed grin. One arm possessed a hook in place of a hand, while the other had a harpoon launcher concealed within the forearm. In his singular hand, he held something covered in a cloth.

“Overlord is in the trap, then?” asked one.

“He is” the new arrival said. “He arrived in The Cradle and is designing onto the surface of Gildra.”

The new arrival held out the clothed item, removing the cloth from over it. Beneath it was the ember, glowing a bright amber.

“While he seeks this, he will not leave.”

“Then we may begin.”

Gildra Surface
Overlord landed his shuttle onto a snowy bank, the landing legs sinking slightly into the snow. More systems began shutting off, and the shuttle boarding ramp opened up once more, burying into the snow.

“That’s nearly everything” Overlord muttered as he looked around. “Comms are fading fast.”

Overlord pressed a few buttons on the console, seeing if he could get through to anyone. The Revenge, Tuurok, one of the Warstations, it didn’t matter. So long as people knew he was still on this world, it would allow him to contact someone to make a return trip.

“Work you stupid machine” Overlord snapped, slamming his fist on the console.

The commline began crackling, and Overlord could hear faint voices, though couldn’t understand them. He tried to fiddle with the controls, but couldn’t make them any clearer.

“Crucible? Forestock? Scissorsaw? Glowstrike? Dammit, anyone? I’ve pursued our saboteur to the world outside the galaxy. Glowstrike has the coordinates to my location. I am going to continue with my hunt, but I will require transport off this planet.”

With that, Overlord disembarked the shuttle, and walked into the snowy waste. Snow battered down heavily between the crystal spires, as the flashes from lightning strikes were refracted through the ice.

“Where to start?” Overlord asked himself, looking out through the thick snow.

Overlord squinted, looking all about. Finally, he caught something in the far distance. An orange glow, flickering like fire.

“You really are making it obvious that it is a trap” Overlord muttered, as he stormed on ahead. “But who cares. Just so long as I get my ember, and give you some well earnt retribution.”

Overlord pressed through the storm, his feet sinking into the snow with each step he took. The snow began to pile up on his frame, and he shook his body to allow it to fall around him.

“Of all the worlds to choose, of course it’s a cold one” Overlord bemoaned.

“As cold as your spark.”

Overlord whipped around at the voice, but found no-one here. He paused, wondering where the source of the voice was.

“I am aware this is a trap” Overlord called out. “Stop wasting and show yourself.”

Overlord received no answer. After waiting a few moments, he progressed forward, continuing on towards his ember.

“You followed us here” echoed another voice, seemingly bouncing around the ice crystals. “Who’s wasting their time?”

“I came here to retrieve what is mine” Overlord retorted. “In the name of my great plan.”

“In the name of chaos. Such a curious purpose. Not unlike the Chaos itself.”

“Well, let me tell you, you’re the first disembodied voices I’ve heard, and somehow you’re already the most deluded I’ve met.”

“Then you’re among good company. Delusions of grandeur were what started your war. And now, as you hear us, you’re simply deluded.”

“We watch you for the Chaos. We see what you do. See how you react. All in the name of the Chaos.”

“Then I would like to meet your ‘Chaos’” Overlord said. “Once I rip apart the one who stole my Ember.”

“You wish to see us. You wish to recover your ‘Ember’? Then come!”

The voices stopped, and Overlord could see the glow of the ember in the distance. It was close.

Overlord emerged from the forest of ice crystals onto a ledge, looking upon a deep ravine. On the other side of the ravine, a trio of figures stood, the central figure holding the ember in his hand.

“You have arrived then” the central said, the voice being recognised as one of the ones echoing through the landscape.

“Yes, I followed your lure” Overlord responded. “Who are you?”

“We are the agents of The Chaos” said the second.

“We are here to test you” added the third.

“I am Hook” the first said,

“Line” said the second.

“Sinker” said the third.

“Hook, Line and Sinker” Overlord chuckled. “Very funny. So what’s the trap then?”

“This entire world is the trap” said Line.

“All on this world” added Sinker.

“Even the very ground you stand on” Hook said.

“Very poetic” Overlord said, before pausing.

Overlord looked at his feet, at the very snow he was standing upon. There was something buried in it. He looked around. All along his side of the ridge, there were numerous more objects buried in the snow. Overlord more closely at the object in the snow. He could just make out a flashing red light.

“Farewell, Overlord” Hook said.

Simultaneously, all of the devices exploded around Overlord. The entire ridge face was blasted apart and collapsed into the ravine, Overlord falling in with them. The last thing Overlord as he hit the base of the ravine was the debris falling atop him, before finally everything went black…

 

Volume 7 - Hostile Agendas
Hook, Line and Sinker​

Gildra, The Cradle
Overlord awoke at the bottom of the chasm. His lower half was buried by rocks, and the snow that made it to the bottom. His vision was obscured by something… a crack, crossing over his optic lens.

“How… how dare they…” Overlord groaned as he began moving debris off of him.

The sound of energy weapons powering echoed beneath the rocks, and a volley of lasers blasted out from where Overlord’s hips were buried. The rocks were chipped apart by the lasers, crumbling apart around Overlord.

“HOW DARE THEY!!!”

Overlord burst from the now broken rocks, swinging the remaining debris away from him as he stood up. Overlord looked up to the top of the chasm. It was a long way up, and he couldn’t see if his attackers were still there. Overlord attempted to fly upwards, but his thrusters simply spewed out smoke.

“The hard way then” Overlord snarled, walking up to the wall. “I don’t know where you’ve gone, but I’ll catch up to you.”

Overlord dug his hand into the wall, followed by his other hand. He then bore his first foot in, then the other, and began climbing up the wall, forcing grips into the surface of the wall, slowly ascending up.

Some time later, Overlord managed to pull himself up onto the opposite ridge of the chasm. This trio who attacked him, this “Hook”, “Line” and “Sinker”, were long gone, but their footprints lead into the dead woods behind them.

“What do you want with me then…” Overlord mused. “You want to test me, but for what reason…”

Overlord’s optics, though one was fractured, followed the footprints towards the forest. The footprints were shallow. The falling snow was already beginning to fill them.

“Hrrrrn” Overlord growled. “You’re not giving me much time, are you. This is either incredibly coincidental, or meticulously planned. Either way, I’m enjoying this less and less.”

Overlord began following the footsteps into the forest. As he got deeper in, three trails became one, and given how silly the idea they decided to go single file from here on out, then this must be something going on.

“Come on out!” Overlord called out. “We’re wasting time with this merry game of yours!”

Overlord received no response, not that he was expecting any. As the prints began to disappear in both directions, Overlord trudged on, the trees around him getting closer and closer together.

“What are you up to…?”

Without warning, a harpoon shot out between the trees, narrowly missing Overlord’s chest. Overlord stopped, turning to where the harpoon had come from.

“Is that the best you’ve got?” Overlord asked out loud.

“No…” came the voice of Hook, echoing through the woods.

Another harpoon pierced Overlord’s shoulder from behind, embedding itself straight through.

“GRARGH!” Overlord roared in pain.

Overlord grabbed onto the harpoon, ripping it out of his shoulder. Throwing it to the floor, a few drops of energon dripped down, staining the snow. Overlord was barely able to respond before more harpoons began firing from all directions, impaling him at various points of his body. Arms, legs, abdomen, even one through his hand. The lines at the end of the harpoons began to tighten, holding Overlord in place. Energon dribbled from his wounds, mixing in with the snow.

“Caught at last” Hook said, emerging from the woods. “How does it feel?”

“Make no mistake” Overlord snarled. “This is only temporary. I will be free, and I will destroy you.”

“Why though?” Hook asked.

“You dare question me? YOU DARE QUESTION ME? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?”

“Yes, I very much do, and that’s the problem. So tell me, what’s this war about?”

“For victory! For utter conquest!”

“But what’s it all for?” Hook questioned. “You don’t want to destroy everything, well, at least not the easy way. You backed out of that when you worked with the Firstforged.”

“What can I say, I’d rather put the effort in.”

“But what reason is there for this? At the end of the day, when your enemies are crushed, when you stand as Overlord of the Cybertronian colonies, what then? Will you rule? Will you make Cybertron into your vision? Or perhaps it already is.”

Overlord was silent at this. As Hook walked around him, Overlord simply followed him with his optics.

“I think you want the Commonwealth to constantly be at war. I think you need it to be. Because you know nothing else. You are nothing without this conflict. Just a brute who got too far up the hierarchy to vent out all their frustration.”

“I WILL NOT BE PSYCHOANALYSED BY A FREAK!!!!” Overlord roared.

Overlord swung forward from his position pulling on the embedded harpoons. The harpoon’s lines dragged the harpoon turrets forward, as well as the trees they were attached to, swinging wildly around Overlord. Snow was whipped up as Overlord wildly lashed out.

“THE ONLY THING THAT WILL BE ANALYSED WILL BE YOUR INTERNAL MECHANISMS WHEN I TEAR THEM OUT!”

But in Overlord’s frenzy, amongst the blur of snow and trees, Hook had vanished. As he calmed down, Overlord tried to see where Hook had gone, yet saw no evidence of where he had vanished to.

“That’s a promise” Overlord muttered.

As Overlord looked out, he saw smoke rising from the far end of the woods. Something was ablaze. Overlord began making his way further through the woods, ripping out the harpoons nonchalantly, allowing his wounds to dribble energon onto the ground. As Overlord walked, the woods transitioned into the fields of icy spears, the glow of the flames getting brighter and larger. Soon, he exited the clusters of spikes to find the source of the blaze.

“Ah” Overlord said, unsurprised. “Of course.”

Overlord found himself standing in front of what remained of his shell, now little more than a burning husk. Just by looking at it, Overlord could tell there was nothing that could be salvaged from his shuttle from just a glance.

“I figured you weren’t going to let me off this world from the fact you already grounded my shuttle. But the fact you aren’t even going to give me access to any of my systems to see if I could map out the planet… you really want me to be blind.”

Overlord looked from the burning ship to the ground. More prints, still yet to be covered by the snowfall.

“If I must play this ridiculous game I will!” Overlord called out. “But know when this is over, I’ll scatter your parts across this silly little world!”

Though there was no answer, Overlord knew they were listening. Looking back upon the flames, Overlord ripped another harpoon out of his arm, before throwing it onto the flames. Overlord then turned, following the footprints into a different direction.

Conference Chambers, The Majesty
Glowstrike entered the conference room of The Majesty, where she found Overlord’s Imperial Guard standing around the edge of the room, awaiting her. Standing more closely to the central holotable were the holograms of Skyquake, Yharon and Thunderhammer.

“Scissorsaw and Crucible have abridged us of the situation so far” Skyquake said.

“Have you received any further updates from Overlord?” Thunderhammer asked.

“Nothing” Glowstrike answered. “We’ve tried raising him but we can’t even establish a link.”

“Then what is to happen?” Yharon asked. “Is someone to assume leadership.”

“You’re already asking?” Thunderhammer asked. “You are aware what happened to your predecessor.”

“No, that is no the way I seek to ascend” Yharon snarled back. “I simply wish to know who is to ascend first so that I will crush them in combat for leadership once they take the role.”

“I would recommend not considering it just yet, considering what happened to your predecessor” Thunderhammer suggested.

“Enough” Skyquake interrupted. “So Overlord is isolated from us, and yet his guard seem strangely calm about it. As a I recall, a familiar situation arose on Gaol-3 yet you seemed much more active in your duties to recover him than this time.”

“Overlord knows what he’s doing” Scissorsaw said. “He will return.”

“I hope so” Glowstrike said. “Lest my work be wasted.”

Gildra
Overlord pressed on through the snow. The blizzard was getting stronger, and the tracks in the snow had completely vanished, yet still Overlord persevered. He would find this trio, and he would get answers from them. As Overlord continued, he noticed something in the snow. Something flashing. Quickly, Overlord grabbed the device and threw it, the device exploding in the air.

“I’m not falling for that play ag-”

Another explosion blasted Overlord off his feet. All around him, more and more explosions erupted from the snow around Overlord. Thrown about every time he tried to get to his feet, Overlord soon realised that the entire area was seeded with explosives. Finally, as the explosions began to subdue, Overlord rose to his knees, ash and snow covering him.

“I’ve had just enough of- ARGHHHH!!!!”

A steel rope launched straight at Overlord, wrapping itself around Overlord, binding his arms to his body. As soon as it bound him, electricity surged through Overlord. As he tried to resist the agony, Overlord could make out a figure walking towards him.

“Why do you even do this?” came the voice of Line. “Are you too stupid to accept death?”

“I don’t die” Overlord snarled through the pain, writhing in the rope.

“You fail though” Line replied, “Sure, you and your generals conquer planet after planet, but when you make an important move, a monumental play, it all comes crashing down, and you’re put back in your place.”

“HOW DARE YOU!” Overlord as the rope around him began to tear..

“And that’s what today is about. Today is about making sure you know your place.”

“WHO DO YOU WORK FOR!?!”

“That is none of your concern just yet” Line replied.

“GARGH!”

Overlord tore through the rope and lunged at Line. Line, in response, brandished a net in one hand, surging with electricity. With the other, he took out several more of his explosive devices, and threw them at Overlord. As he charged, Overlord knocked most of the explosives aside with a swing of his arm. The one that did make it through bounced off Overlord's chest, exploding right in front of him.

Overlord stumbled back as plating fell from his chest, dropping in the snow as energon dripped from the wounds. Seeing Overlord weakened, Line through his net straight at Overlord. The net expanded to cover Overlord, electrocuting him once more. Overlord roared in pain, trying to dislodge the net from his back.

“YOU WILL NOT CONTAIN ME!” Overlord roared as electricity surged across his body. “WHATEVER THIS TWISTED GAME IS, I WILL SEE IT THROUGH TO THE END!!!!”

“I don’t doubt it.”

Finally, Overlord was able to rise up, throwing the net off of his back. He began huffing, some small sparks still rolling over him. As Overlord looked up, much like Hook before him, Line had completely vanished. This time, there were no prints, but Overlord knew it wouldn’t matter which way he went now. He knew he would find them regardless.

“Well then, one more to go…” Overlord wheezed. “Sinker, was it? Let’s see what you have in store for me.”

Overlord continued forward, pressing on forward to wherever the last of his trio of foes was waiting for him. Overlord soon came to a river, one rapidly flowing past him. There were jagged rocks piercing through the water's surface. Overlord looked to the other side of the river. Yet another forest. Overlord looked around. There was no bridge, the rocks were certainly not fit to be stepping stones, and he had no propulsion units to fly across. There was only way across.

“Let’s just get this over with” Overlord bitterly said, putting his foot into the river.

Putting his other foot in the water, he slowly walked into the water, the water level getting higher up his body. As he waded through, he could feel the pressure of the water rapping against his body, threatening to drag him away. The farther in he got, the harder he had to fight to keep himself routed.

“You really don’t give up.”

Overlord looked up to see the bulky Sinker emerging from the forest, knocking trees with his wrecking balls.

“So you finally decided to show up” Overlord said. “I have to say I don’t really see any traps.”

“You’re already standing it” Sinker replied. “You just don’t know it yet.”

“The river?” Overlord questioned. “I see no cages, no nets, no spike, harpoons or electrified prongs.”

“You misunderstand. The river isn’t where the trap is situated. The river is the trap.”

Sinker raised one of his wrecks balls, pointing it at Overlord. As if by command, the water rushed against Overlord, pushing him off his feet. The water smashed Overlord straight through one of the sharp rocks. The rock shattered at the impact, jagged splinters cutting Overlord’s back.

“Hydro-” Overlord spluttered as water began to fill his mouth. “Hydrokinetic!”

“Yes” Sinker replied, following Overlord down along the bank. “Every molecule of that water is at my disposal. I can do whatever I wish with it.”

The flow of water suddenly changed direction, dragging Overlord back the other way. Yet again, Overlord smashed into one of the rocks. Suddenly, Overlord felt himself dragged under, the water forcing him on his back and scraped against the river bed.

“I can smash you against every rock, grind you to dust against the river bed, I could even force the water through every nook and cranny on your body till your spark is completely extinguished. So I ask you-”

Sinker raised his wrecking ball upwards, Overlord was lifted by the water, a spinning vortex of water keeping him trapped.

“Do you yield?” Sinker asked.

“I never yield!” Overlord roared. “No matter how damaged I am, no matter how little resources I am left with, I will always triumph! I will always survive. And let me warn you, that is a dangerous place for you to stand, because right now I am working out a thousand ways to kill you with just my bare hands.”

“No, that won’t happen” Sinker said, lowering his arm. “All that remains for you is your final judgement.”

The water vortex smashed Overlord into the bed of the river, before returning it to its natural state. Not seeing Overlord resurface, Sinker turned around, returning to the forest.

“Urgh…”

Beneath the surface of the river, however, Overlord remained still, his optics and biolights flickering. Though his vision was blurred, Overlord could tell the water was changing colour, his own energon diluting into it.

“I… I…”

Overlord clenched his fist.

“I DO NOT DIE!!”

Overlord managed to turn himself over, before reaching out and grabbing the river bed. Slowly, he dragged himself forward, towards the edge of the river. As he reached the side, he pulled himself up against the river bank, pulling himself up and out of the river. Lying in the snow, water and energon dribbled around Overlord.

After lying down for a few moments, Overlord forced himself to his knees. As he wiped snow and energon from his fractured optics, Overlord could make out multiple alerts coming into view.

<<Propulsion units disabled>>

<<Weapons systems compromised>>

<<Transformation cog jam>>

<<Energon loss at 47%>>

<<Recommended course of action: stasis lock>>

“Disregard” Overlord snarled. “I have never gone into stasis lock before, and I refuse to now.”

Overlord forced himself to his feet, looking towards the forest ahead of him.

“DO YOU HEAR ME?” Overlord roared. “THE PAIN ONLY SERVES TO EMBOLDEN ME! YOU’VE ONLY MADE ME STRONGER!”

Overlord limped forwards, walking through the forest. The snow fell harder, and Overlord could feel the sting as flakes drifted into his wounds, but still he persevered. He came out to an overlook, standing tall above the snow bank below. Overlord found himself facing all three of his assailants, Hook, Line and Sinker. Perhaps it was his fractures optic, or the sheer amount of energon loss, but the scene was almost unreal.

“You do look worse for wear” Hook said.

“What… what was the point of this?” Overlord wheezed.

“To push you to the brink” Line said. “To bring you to the edge.”

“To test me… to what end?”

“To see how far you can go before you break” Sinker said. “How willing you are to get your prize.”

Once more, Hook pulled out the glowing orange ember, holding it out for Overlord to see. Overlord’s optics narrowed, focusing on it.

“Give it” Overlord said.

“Take it” Hook replied.

Without a word more, Overlord charged at Hook, ignoring the pain shooting through his entire body. As he approached, Line swung his whip around Overlord’s neck and electrified it. As electricity surged through Overlord, Line used the whip to knock Overlord towards Sinker, who smashed Overlord’s face with one of his wrecking balls.

“Is this what the great Overlord is reduced to. A training dummy.”

“You dare.”

As the electricity continued to surge from Line’s whip into Overlord, Sinker began projecting water at the tyrant, conducting the electricity all across Overlord’s body.

“YOU DARE?”

Overlord reached out and grabbed both Line and Sinker by the neck, using his own conductivity to surge electricity through them. Overlord’s hands began vibrating rapidly as he held onto their necks. With a power blast of kinetic energy mixed with Line’s electrical energy sent the pair flying across the snow, crashing down into the ground.

“Found your second wind then?” Hook asked.

“This is no wind” Overlord snarled. “This is a hurricane. And it will destroy all of you.”

As Hook put the Ember away, Overlord charged at him, his fists charged with kinetic energy. Hook then pointed a pair of harpoons at Overlord’s legs and fired, piercing Overlord’s shins. Hook pulled Overlord over, before with an almighty tug swinging him off of the outlook. As the cables disconnected from Hook’s weapons, Overlord smashed into the ground below with an almighty clang.

Overlord lay against the floor, energon streaming all around him. As he lay there, something felt… the ground felt too solid. Overlord moved some of the snow with his hand. Metal. Overlord weakly rose to his feet as around him, metal pylons began rising from the snow. Electricity began firing between the pylons, encircling Overlord in a fence of electricity.

“A stasis cage…” Overlord said, confused. “ARGHHHH!!”

Lightning then shot from the pylons straight into Overlord, holding him in place. As he struggled to resist the stasis cage’s electricity, he could see the snow moving. Colossal bunker walkers were climbing out from beneath the snow. Overlord looked up at the overlook to see Hook, Line and Sinker looking down, removing their heads to reveal more conventional Cybertronian heads beneath.

“I should’ve guessed” Overlord growled. “It was too unusual. Keeping me distracted with the mysterious of it all while you prepared this little trap.”

The bunker walkers lowered as Snow Autotroopers poured out, beginning to surround the stasis cage. Behind them a familiar figure emerged from one of the walkers, thermal wraps around his body.

“Forgive the deception” came the voice of Ginrai as he approached. “Is what I would say if I wanted your forgiveness.”

Ginrai trudged through the snow, Thunderhead, Rocket Plume and Ignitor behind him. Ginrai walked right up to the fence of the stasis cage, looking Overlord right in the optics.

“I didn’t want you to know what was coming, so we made this trap to ensure your mind was distracted” Ginrai explained. “Using the old legends to inspire this certainly did the trick.”

“How incorrigible of you” Overlord replied. “Do you really think this means anything?”

“It means a lot, Overlord” Ginrai snapped. “We now have you in our custody. As of today, the Combatronian State is leaderless. The war is over.”

“Believe that if you will. It won’t make a difference. Lock me up in the darkest, farthest prison you have. It won’t hold me, and it won’t stop what’s coming.”

“This time, it will. You won’t be hurting anyone anymore.”

“If you say so. Just let the coming devastation be on your head, Ginrai.”

“I won’t allow any more” Ginrai said, pressing a button on one of the pylons. “Sleep tight.”

The last thing Overlord saw was the electricity firing into him increasing in intensity, before everything went black…

---

Yet again, another volumes ends... but the story's not over yet. I'd like to thank you all for reading, as well @Dropkick for letting me use his characters. I'd a massive thanks to @Stonecrusher for all the support he gives to this project.

Unfortunately, due to real world reasons, Volume 8 will have to be delayed, but we hope you enjoy it when it does come out!

---

Convoy of War will return in October with Volume 8 - The Hollow Victory​

 

Volume 8 - The Hollow Victory
Epicentre​

Gargantuan-Class Cruiser Carrier “Zagreus”, Gildra Orbit
In a distant system in the Null Trench, the Vanguard cruiser Zagreus exited the atmosphere of Gildra. Aboard it, suspended in an omni-gravitational stasis field, suspending him in his cell, unable to move his arms or legs. A pair of heavily armed Autotroopers stood outside the door, while watching through a viewport were a number of other Vanguard soldiers and technical specialists, making sure the field remained active.

Aboard the bridge, Ginrai stood with Ignitor as the pair looked out the windows to the space outside of them. Ginrai seemed very tense, despite having Overlord safely restrained on board. Ginrai’s attention was drawn by one of the bridge crew speaking.

“Ship is ready to jump to Starshadow Station” the crewmember said. “On your order.”

“Do it” Ginrai said.

The crewmember pressed a few buttons, and the ship was engulfed in light as it jumped towards it destination. As bright white lights zoomed past them, Ignitor looked to Ginrai.

“So is it really over?” Ignitor asked. “If we have Overlord captured… is the war really over?”

“Not quite” Ginrai replied. “His High Generals will still be out there. They may fight amongst each other for control, so they may do some of the work for us, but we’ll need to shut down the remnant factions that will spawn… but yes, with Overlord in custody the is much closer to ending.”

“So… what happens when it ends?”

“Rebuilding. Regaining what we lost. I must confess, this war has gone on so long, I hadn’t put a lot of thought into it. The only goal became to end it, figure out everything else when we got there.”

Ignitor gave Ginrai an unsure look.

“So what happens to me?” Ignitor asked.

“We continue your training” Ginrai said. “I still see your potential as a matrix bearer. I believe it would be safe in your hands.”

“Maybe learn something other than how to become a soldier..” Ignitor sighed.

“I’m sorry the war has meant I’ve only be able to teach you to fight” Ginrai replied. “It’s just been battle after battle after battle. But when this is over I’ll properly teach you. Prepare you for your destiny.”

“Right… destiny.”

Mess Hall, Zagreus
Thunderhead stood at one of the automated dispensers, holding a metal tray beneath it. Several cubes of energon dropped onto the tray with a light clatter. Thunderhead then walked over to one of the tables, sitting alongside Rocket Plume, Tailpipe and Crumble. On the opposite side of the table were Goldbug and several of those under his command, being Mindset, Salvage and an Autotrooper.

“So…” Thunderhead said. “We finally have him.”

“Yeah” Salvage said. “I don’t like the idea of sharing a ship with him.”

“Well, he’s locked completely up and under guard, so he’s very much secure” Rocket Plume replied.

“Still” added Tailpipe. “If something were to happen…”

“Nothing’s going to happen. This is it. We have the bastard locked up. The war’s over.”

“So… if that’s the case, what happens now?” Crumble asked. “Where do we go?”

“Well… it’s not like whatever jobs we had are gonna be waiting for us” Mindset said. “Best off sticking to the defence corps.”

“Well, they’re probably going to try to downsize the Vanguard, especially when the High Generals are dealt with” Thunderhead replied. “I’ll probably stick on as Ginrai’s quote-on-quote bodyguard, and if that doesn’t pan out, maybe get an instructor role in the corps.”

“I don’t really care what I do next” Salvage chimed in. “I just hope me and Wingblade get to settle down where it’s all over.”

“Yeah” Goldbug said. “I may hope to undergo the Conjunx Rites with my partner when we finally see each other again.”

“Nah” Rocket Plume stated. “Settling down’s not really something I’m down for. I’ll properly keep finding fights to fight. Crumble?”

“Oh, you know, Cybertron and the colonies are gonna need people to rebuild them. Then I suppose after that I meant time to start tinkering and inventing.”

“People are still gonna need pilots” Tailpipe said, chewing on one of the small energon cubes. “Maybe move into the public sector, but the jobs are gonna be there.”

“What about you, Barrier?” Goldbug asked, looked at the Autotrooper eating with them.

“Me?” the Autotrooper replied, a little surprised to be asked. “I don’t know. Never really thought about it. I mean, I was built for war. All I’ve ever known.”

“Surely there’s something” Crumble asked. “Surely you must dream of something.”

“I suppose…” Barrier mused. “I suppose to see what happens next once the war is over. Maybe once that happens, I’ll know.”

“Well…” Thunderhead said, raising an energon cube. “To whatever comes next.”

Holding Cell, Zagreus
Ginrai arrived in a control room. Several technicians were standing around, checking various screens, while a pair of heavily armed Cybertronians guarded the door. Ginrai approached the two Cybertronians, and with a nod, they opened the door behind them. Ginrai entered, and the door shut behind him, and energy field then proceeding to cover it.

“So, come to gloat.”

In front of Ginrai was Overlord, suspended in a gravity field above the ground, surrounded by a cube formed of energy shielding, cutting him off from Ginrai.

“No” Ginrai replied, looking up at the helpless Overlord. “I just came to make you’re secure.”

“Well, here I still am” Overlord replied. “Still being held in place by gravitational forces pulling in all directions just enough for me to not be able to move, contained a cramp little energy cube with an energy shield on the door. I’m not going anywhere. So, what happens next?”

“Well-”

“Sorry, allow me to rephrase that. What do you think is going to happen?”

“What happens next is you will be locked up and contained in a secure location.”

“Ah, the old put me in a box and never talk about me again routine. How dull. Why not just execute me?”

“Because the rest of the galaxy will want proof. They’ll want to send witnesses to personally see it.”

“Brutal. Though it does make me proud that my reputation precedes. I foresee my legacy to last an infinity.”

“There will be no legacy. When you’re dead, you will be forgotten, Overlord.”

“Promises, promises.”

Ginrai turned around to leave. He paused for a moment, then walked towards the shielded doorway.

“You know, I’m impressed.”

Ginrai paused, looking back.

“What a dramatic plan to catch me. Instead of a full-blown military campaign, you used deceit and deception, constructing an elaborate story to distract me from what was really going on. Oh, I get it, keep me occupied with something that doesn’t make sense to me. But I gotta say, must’ve been hard to keep this secret, the lies you must’ve had to tell your allies-”

“I didn’t lie to anyone” Ginrai retorted, turning back to face Overlord.

“Okay, okay, the truths you neglected to tell” Overlord smirked. “Same difference.”

“There’s a difference.”

“Now you’re lying to yourself.”

“No. All I’ve done is what is necessary for the greater good.”

"Let me tell you something Ginrai, my friend. The 'greater good' is the glass house you build around all the terrible things you do to get to the end, precariously balancing over a ledge. Sooner or later, that house is gonna tip, and when it does, the grand illusion of morality you've constructed will shatter, spewing all those nasty little necessities for all to see. Should've done what I did. Kick the house off yourself."

Ginrai stopped, before taking a few more steps back towards the energy shield.

“Why hesitate?” Overlord continued. “We’re already so alike as it is,”

“No, we aren’t. You’re a psychopathic tyrant.”

“And you’re not? How many people died by your hand? Sure, you lie to yourself and tell yourself the matrix restrains your urges, stops you from going too far, but in the heat of battle, does it stop you from firing each shot on the frontlines? Does it stop you from savouring each kill. That victory over that enemy soldier? In the heat of battle, how does its little morality lock tell the difference between self-defence and murder? Here’s a hint. It doesn’t. That’s all you.”

“No, Overlord. Every time someone dies it weighs on me.”

“A long time ago, that might’ve been true. But we’ve been at this for millions of years. Billions, perhaps. I never really counted, but long enough that eventually you stopped thinking about the deaths and just moved on because to stop think would drive you to madness. Can you tell me how many people have died? How many have died at your hand, at your orders?”

“Shut up.”

“How many more will?”

“SHUT UP!”

“We share a lot of things. We are incredibly alike. But there is one thing over everything that symbolises this. We are the leaders of the two warring factions. Every decision made, every body that hits the ground is our responsibility. We share every drop of energy shed because we are responsible for the kill and the killed. We share responsibility for every mortality in this great war, and if neither of our conscious’ have driven us insane, then that makes us the same.”

“WE ARE NOT THE SAME!”

Ginrai punched the shield surrounding Overlord with his full might. The shield fizzled and flicked before restoring to full functionality. Overlord simply smiled, his point having been made.

“THIS CONVERSATION IS DONE!” Ginrai snarled, storming towards the door.

Overlord watched the shield drop, before Ginrai passed through the door and the shield returned. He stared at the sealed door for some time.

“We’ll see.”

---

“Attention all crew, we are now exiting Quantum Jump” came a voice over the ship’s comms.

The Zagreus emerged from Quantum Jump above a blazing star, closely followed by its escort ships, their viewports darkening to withstand the intense light of the sun. Ahead of it stood a massive structure, suspended on a massive tower moored hundreds of kilometres below into the sun’s surface. The outside of the structure shimmered, a powerful heat shield protecting the station from the constant bombardment of solar energies.

From the Zagerus, a shuttle launched from one of its hangars, accompanied by several dropships and starfighters. Flying past several similarly shimmering warships, the group flew towards the structure, flying into an extended channel in the station and landing in a hangar. Several squads of Vanguard Troops were already waiting for them. At the front of the squads, a Magnus lead several Magni Autotroopers in generating shields in front of the other soldiers, forming a path to the doorway.

A pair of Autotroopers stepped out of shuttle, followed by Rocket Plume and Thunderhead. Behind them slid a platform, on which Overlord was suspended by a mobile version of the gravity field. Behind Overlord came Ginrai and Ignitor, the formers gaze locked onto Overlord. As another pair of Autotroopers followed them out, they moved through the crowd of soldiers, the Magni and Magnus Autotroopers moving about to block off from the ship. Moving through the corridors of the ship, the group continually passed groups of Cybertronians, armed and serving as checkpoints as the group escorted Overlord through the station.

“I must say, the guided tour is really lacking” Overlord, straining his optics about to look at his captors.

Overlord was met with nothing but silence and steely gazes. The silence continued at a set of large, metal doors, covered with all sorts of mechanical locks. Ginrai stepped forward, putting a hand on the scanner. As he did so, a beam of light pointed at Ginrai, darting around one of his optics, scanning it, before moving onto the other. With a ping noise, the doors began moving, revealing more layers of metal behind it.

“My new temporary abode?” Overlord asked.

Ginrai simply glared at Overlord and simply stepped aside to allow their prisoner to be escorted into the room, where several more armed Cybertronians stood. Overlord was moved to the back of the room. Once the other Cybertronians back up, one of them pressed several button, causing an energy shield to block Overlord off from the rest of the room, and several turrets deploying from the ceiling and pointing directly at Overlord.

“What, no housewarming gift?” Overlord asked.

Ginrai glared at Overlord for a few seconds, as behind him Ignitor, Rocket Plume and Thunderhead left the room. Ginrai paused for a few moments, before leaving with one of the soldiers. Outside, Ignitor, Rocket Plume and Thunderhead watched Ginrai leave, the metal bulkheads sealing shut behind him. Ginrai then walked off down the corridor, watched by his teammates.

“I’d better follow him” Thunderhead said. “Make sure he’s doing good.”

“Whatever Overlord said to him really riled him up” Rocket Plume responded.

“As if he hadn't been riled up a while ago” Ignitor sighed.

Thunderhead left the duo to go after Ginrai, while Rocket Plume looked at Ignitor, who was looking uneasy.

“Come on” Rocket Plume said. “Let’s talk on the observation deck.”

Rocket Plume and Ignitor began walking, heading down a few levels to a room with a large glass viewport, looking away from the sun. The pair entered, finding the room empty, before standing at the window.

“So, what’s eating you?” Rocket Plume asked. “Ginrai’s not the only one who’s been acting strange.”

“What do you-”

Ignitor looked up at Rocket Plume, who clearly wasn’t buying it.

“Ever since that slkre with Amalgus, I… I’ve been kinda wondering what I’m getting from Ginrai. When he took me on, he said I’d be learning all sorts, but… it just seems to be fighting. I don’t think we’ve ever stopped.”

“That’s war for you” Rocket Plume sighed. “When we’re fighting across the commonwealth, it’s normally just going from one battle going to the next. The only time you get, all you want to do is just switch off and forget for a few moments.”

“I’m… I’m tired of the fighting” Ignitor sighed. “I thought what happened on Cybertron might’ve encouraged the war towards an end… but it’s not changed. All that’s different is that Ginrai’s become so solely focused on stopping Overlord, he’s distanced himself from everyone.”

“Well, the war has turned in our favour” came the voice of Goldbug behind them.

Goldbug stood in the doorway, looking over at them, before walking over to them.

“I heard on the updates that they demolished Citadel Commotus on Garrdus, and they’re moving in on Citadel Rapax and Citadel Delere on Skomiloch and Lurian respectively.”

“Hey, that’s something positive” Rocket Plume said. “We’ve kicked Turmoil out of his house, and we’re well on the way to taking the High Generals down a peg.”

“And we have Overlord” Goldbug added. “We’ve done something we thought was impossible so long ago.”

“How long ago…?” Ignitor muttered to herself.

“Well, now we have him contained, the war should be close to ending” Goldbug said. “So let’s look forward to the coming end.”

Command Hub, Starshadow Station
Ginrai and Thunderhead entered a large room with numerous consoles, all circling a central holotable. Quickshadow was waiting for them there, alongside a hologram of Groundshaker.

“It’s done” Ginrai said. “We’ve locked him up in the cell.”

“Finally we can breathe a bit more easily” Quickshadow said.

“I don’t understand why we just put an end to him” Thunderhead said. “Why we had to go to effort of building this station and putting him on it.”

“Overlord’s atrocities aren’t just limited to the Commonwealth” Groundshaker explained. “The rest of the territories will want to be sure that justice is done, so we’re going to officially put him on trial for what he’s done.”

“He’ll be found guilty, that much is obvious” Ginrai stated. “But it will at least serve as some starting point to soothing relationships with them, showing that we recognise the damage inflicted on them.”

“Cos the council will appreciate that” Thunderhead replied, rolling his optics.

“We will be holding out on any action once we are sure this facility is secure” Quickshadow said.

“Not to mention that Overlord didn’t have a contingency in place for getting captured” Ginrai added. “What of the artefact we recovered from him? The ‘Ember’?”

“Safely stowed in the secure vault. We’re going to try and secure a transport to take it to a research facility to figure out what exactly it is and why Overlord wants it.”

“Good. Whatever it is, I want it as far away from Overlord as possible. He can’t have anything good planned”

Secure Cell, Starshadow Station
Overlord waited patiently in the gravity field, watching his guards monitoring the systems holding him up. His eyes occasionally glanced at the turrets pointed at him, before back to his captors.

“Gravity field holding strong” said one Autotrooper. “Energy fluctuations are within acceptable parameters.”

“Autoturrets are still pointed directly at his spark” said another.

“Energy shield still holding” a third said.

“Heh” Overlord muttered. “Showtime.”

As the guards were busy monitoring the systems, one of Overlord’s antenna began to change shape, taking on an insectoid form and detaching from Overlord’s head. The small insectoid leapt off, light enough to escape the influence of the gravity field, before scuttling along the floor towards a small panel. Cutting through with a small implement on its thorax, the insectoid slipped beneath the floor into a small mass of cables. Amongst them, the insectoid began cutting them.

“SIR, ENERGY FLUCTUATIONS DETECTED ON SEVERAL SYSTEMS!” one of the Autotroopers panickedly stated.

“DEFENSIVE POSITIONS!” a Magni Autotrooper said, deploying his arm mounted shield and a photon blade.

The Autotroopers began pointing their weapons at Overlord, ready for a fight. Above them, sparks rained down from the autoturrets as they began limps deactivating, dangling down.

“AUTOTURRETS ARE OFFLINE!”

As the Autotroopers steeled their nerves, Overlord dropped to the ground, the gravity field holding him up now deactivated. Overlord patiently waited on the other side of the energy shield, a sadistic smile on his face.

“HOW IS HE DOING THIS?” one of them asked

“IT DOESN’T MATTER! SOUND THE ALARMS!”

“It won’t save you” Overlord taunted.

The shield finally faltered, and in that moment, Overlord charged through attacking the Autotroopers, brutally tearing through them, ripping limbs off, smashing them against walls. In a matter of minutes, Overlord was already surrounded by a pile of energon and broken metal. Overlord walked over the console as his diminutive insectoid was already waiting on it.

“I knew there was a reason I allowed the geneticists to continue their Microcon project” Overlord said, observing his diminutive companion. “A spark so small my own spark signature would conceal it. But my are you useful.”

“What are your orders, master” the Microcon said.

“Well, Minitron, first you can open the door for me” Overlord ordered. “Then, your big moment to debilitate the entire Primal Vanguard. Release the Zero Virus!”

Command Hub
“Perhaps we could establish a garrison in the neighbouring system” Ginrai suggested. “Fleet tending facilities, early warning systems, the lot. If the defence fleet here gets compromised, they can be on hand sooner than any nearby active fleets.”

“We’d need to locate a suitable candidate” Groundshaker said.

“All this effort for just one guy who we’re planning to execute anyway” Thunderhead sighed. “I mean, how long is his trial gonna be on for? How long will it take for him to escape?”

As if triggered by Thunderhead’s words, alarms started blaring and red lights started flashing. Ginrai looked around the room, as Groundshaker was distracted by something on his end.

“SIR!” said one of the Cybertronians manning a console. “SOMETHING’S BRINGING DOWN ALL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS!”

“Ginrai, it’s not just you!” Groundshaker said, looking back. “Olterhex is-”

Groundshaker’s hologram cut out sharply, as more and more alarms began blaring. Cybertronians were hurriedly moving around the command room, trying to figure out what was happening and figure out how to stop it.

“Can you pinpoint the origin of the comms blackout?” Quickshadow asked the Cybertronian.

“Overlord” Ginrai interrupted, immediately running from the table. “Thunderhead! Find Crumble and see if you can find the source of the disruption and fix it! I’m going after him.”

“But-”

Ginrai was already gone out the door, pelting down the corridor as fast as his alternate mode could carry him. Thunderhead and Quickshadow looked at each other, before Quickshadow turned back to another Cybertronian.

“If they do get comms working, be on the ready” Quickshadow ordered. “I want everyone made clear that Overlord is currently at large, and, if need be, an evacuation order ready!”

The Autotrooper nodded, and Quickshadow and Thunderhead rushed to the door.

“What’re you going to do?” Thunderhead asked as they passed through the doorway.

“I’m going after Ginrai” she said. “He’s going after Overlord, and he think he’s planning to fight him alone.”

“Do you know where he’s going?”

“Or course. Where Overlord’s going. The vault!”

Corridor J31
Gunshots echoed down the hallway, accompanied by flashes down the line. Outside a massive bulkhead, a number of Autotroopers were fighting with Overlord. One of them ran at him, only for Overlord to grab them and smash their face into a wall. Overlord then proceeded to tear another Autotrooper in half, before grabbing the fallen soldiers’ weapons, blasting the next pair down with a volley of shots.

“YOU’LL PAY FOR THAT!” a Magni Autotrooper yelled, charging at Overlord with mace.

Overlord threw both of the guns at the Autotrooper, knocking them down, before grabbing their mace from their hand and repeatedly striking them till the mace was covered with Energon. Overlord then threw the mace aside, and turned to the door.

“Now, to get what’s mine” he said to himself.

Overlord punched the door with his kinetic exaggeration, before using the indent to get a grip on between the halves of the door. Pushing them apart, Overlord slammed them into the walls, before entering the vault.

“Now where are- there you are!” Overlord said, walking to the back of the room.

At the back of the room, sitting in a reinforced case was the Ember, still glowing bright. Walking to the case, Overlord picked it up carefully, admiring it.

“Magnificent” Overlord said. “Now then, what now…”

“OVERLORD!”

Overlord turned around and found Ginrai angrily standing in the doorway.

“WE END THIS HERE! NOW!” Ginrai angrily stated.

“Is that so?” Overlord asked.

Without a further word, Ginrai rushed at Overlord, and the two started fighting.

Corridor D7
Thunderhead, now joined by Crumble and Tailpipe, ran through one of the corridors. Leading the way, Crumble was looking at a holographic screen.

“NEXT DOOR!” Crumble said.

“Where are we going?” Thunderhead asked.

“Server hub of this sector!”

“And why are we going there?” Tailpipe asked.

“Overlord did not escape by himself” Crumble said. “Some agent was able to shut off the comms from the cell, somehow. I don’t know how he managed it, but he had to have had help. And if Overlord’s going to escape, he’s going to need someone to start disabling other systems. Namely, the defensie systems. And the nearest place to do that is this server hub!”

Crumble opened the next doorway they came to, and the trio filed in. The room was dark, quiet, wires everywhere. Some have cuts across them, occasionally shooting out sparks.

“No-one here” Tailpipe said, looking around.


“But there was someone” Crumble said, observing the wires. “Something’s been cutting systems.”

“Maybe they went elsewhere?” Thunderhead suggested.

“If they did, they must’ve done so recently” Crumble replied. “A lot of the damage is fresh.”

“Maybe they moved o-” Tailpipe started, but tensed up. “Wait, what’s that?!”

Something small scuttled along the floor, quickly darting past them. Tailpipe pulled out a pistol as Thunderhead pointed his rifle, and the pair fired several shots at the movement.

“CAREFUL!” Crumble yelled. “I want there to be something to actually repair!”

“Right” Thunderhead said, backing up to the door and shutting it. “Well, we’ve got a bug to hunt!”

Thunderhead and Tailpipe slowly walked behind some wires, following where the shape had gone. Crumble, meanwhile, began working on trying to reconnect some of the damaged connections.

“I’ll be lucky if they don’t destroy this room before I can do anything” Crumble sighed. “Now, let’s see if we can repair the comms, then get rid of whatever virus cut them out in the first place.”

As Crumble’s finger opened up to reveal a soldering tool, he was oblivious to the insectoid form of Minitron on the wall behind him, having evaded Tailpipe and Thunderhead. Its thorax transformed into a small, electrified weapon. Minitron prepared to leap, only to be smashed by a returning Thunderhead’s fist, startling Crumble.

“FOUND IT!” Thunderhead called back to Tailpipe as Minitron’s parts scattered on the floor.

“What is it?” Tailpipe asked, returning.

“Looks to me…” Crumble started, turning around to look at the remains of Minitron. “This is some sort of Cybertronian-like being. It has a spark chamber, but the size of it… it must have been hidden on Overlord’s person. A spark that small, Overlord’s own spark signature would have completely masked it.”

“I didn’t know that sparks could get that small” Thunderhead mused.

“They can’t. Not naturally. Must’ve been a Combatronian experiment. Infiltration units not even as big as a minicon.”

“You think there are more of them?” Tailpipe asked.

“No sure… en mass, they would’ve shown up on scans of Overlord, better to be safe than sorry. Just keep an eye out while I try to restore comms.”

With that, Crumble returned to his work as Thunderhead and Tailpipe ambled about the room, keeping an eye out for anything similar to Minitron.

Corridor J33
Overlord knocked Ginrai back with the back of his arm, throwing him against a wall. Ginrai quickly picked himself up against and rushed Overlord, this time getting a kick at Overlord’s legs. Overlord lost his balance, and Ginrai used this to punch Overlord back into the other wall.

“HOW MANY MORE TIMES?” Ginrai yelled. “HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO DO THIS?”

“Until I’m bored” Overlord said. “And believe me, you’re way too interesting to simply dispose of like Arch Convoy.”

As Ginrai rushed for another punch, Overlord smashed him over the head with the container holding the ember, shattering Ginrai’s left antenna. Ginrai stumbled back, clutching the side of his head Overlord took a few steps forward.

“You see, you always surprise me” Overlord said, panting. “You are just like me. You’re my equal. There’s no-one who could match you, besides me. So it pains me to have to leave our fight unfinished, but I have a rendezvous to make.”

With that, Overlord began sprinting down the corridor. Ginrai saw this and, deciding to ignoring the energon streaming down the side of his head, instead ran after him. Due to Overlord’s damaged state, Ginrai was easily able to catch up with him, and as he got behind, Ginrai slammed Overlord into the wall, before grabbing him by his scruff, and scraping Overlord against the wall. After a while, Ginrai pulled Overlord back, throwing him across the hallway into the opposite wall. Overlord slammed into it with immense force, crumpling it, before sliding down onto the floor, sitting against it, while the container rolled a little down the corridor.

“NO!” Ginrai yelled. “WE END THIS TODAY!”

Ginrai loomed Overlord, before delivering several brutal punches. Each punch struck Overlord directly in the jaw, both face and fists becoming stained in layer of energon.

“I’M SICK OF YOU COMPARING US!” Ginrai yelled as he kept swinging. “BECAUSE YOU KILL WITHOUT REMORSE! WITHOUT REGRET! BECAUSE YOU TAKE SOME PERVERSE ENJOYMENT FROM IT! BUT BELIEVE ME, THERE WILL ONLY EVER BE ONE DEATH I WILL COMMIT WITHOUT REMORSE! YOURS! BECAUSE I KNOW IT WILL MAKE THE UNIVERSE A BETTER PLACE! BECAUSE IT WILL REMOVE ONE WALKING ATROCITY FROM HERE! THE ONLY THING I WILL EVER REGRET IS NOT DOING IT SOONER, SPARING SO MANY MORE LIVES TAKEN BY YOU AND THOSE WHO FOLLOW YOU!”

“Hehehe” Overlord weakly laughed as energon rolled down his face. “How far have I brought you, Ginrai? How badly did I break you?”

Ginrai stopped punching, pausing for a few moments. He looked at Overlord, now at his mercy. Slowly, Ginrai placed his hands around Overlord’s neck, and squeezed.

“This ends today” Ginrai said.

“Hrrrkk…” Overlord wheezed. “Not… today…”

Overlord’s shattered optic began glowing bright red, before a powerful beam of energy shot from it. The shot struck Ginrai’s forehead, causing him to let go and stumble back in shot. Using this momentary reprieve, Overlord slammed his fists against the wall behind him, using the force of his kinetic exaggeration to push himself back up to his thief, leading himself into a powerful kinetic punch to Ginrai’s chest. Ginrai was sent flying, smashing through several walls.

“Sorry, but I enjoy our little encounters a bit too much” Overlord said, rubbing his throat. “And like I said, I have things to attend to.”

Overlord started making his way back down the corridor, trying to find his way towards a hangar with a stealable ship. Meanwhile, Ginrai pulled himself from one of the holes in the wall he created. As he stumbled about, taking a few steps to the side as he regained his composure. As he stopped to get his balance, Ginrai’s comms went off.

“Ginrai?” came Crumble’s voice. “We’ve managed to restore internal comms, but we haven’t been able to reach beyond, not even our ships outside. What’s going on?”

“Overlord’s escaped!” Ginrai exclaimed. “Crumble, we need to go straight to the contingency! Activate the Darklander Protocols!”

“The Darklander Protocols?” Crumble asked. “Ginrai, are you sure?”

“We need to stop Overlord, whatever the cost! Sink the station into the sun!”

Starshadow Station Exterior
At the base of the massive station, segments began to break off and drop into the sun. They soon sunk beneath the surface, disappearing forever. Soon, the mooring units had completely sunker into the fiery corona of the sun.

“ALERT” came an alarm throughout the base. “ALERT! STATION INTEGRITY COMPROMISED! EVACUATE! EVACUATE!”

The tower suspending the station above began descending into the star. The heat from the star rolled across the energy shield, the intensity causing them to falter. The station was slowly falling into the star.

Corridor C2
In one of the corridors of the calling station, Ignitor, Goldbug and Rocket Plume were making their way to the hangar, alarms blaring around them. Other Cybertronians were around, all heading the same way.

“What’s happening?” Ignitor said. “The entire staton’s shaking itself apart!”

“And the temperature’s rising!” Rocket Plume added.

“At a guess, we’re sinking!” Goldbug replied. “I think we’re getting closer to the surface of the sun.”

“If you know who’s actually escaped, you think he did this?” Ignitor asked.

“No, I think this was deliberate” Goldbug said.

“You don’t mean the Darklander Protocols?” Rocket Plume asked.

“What’s the Darklander Protocols?” Ignitor asked.

“Scorched Cybertron policy” Goldbug explained. “As a last resort, the station’s gravity moorings can be detached, allowing the sun’s gravitational field to pull the station into it, completely destroying it.”

“You can’t be serious!”

“We’re keeping Overlord here” Rocket Plume said. “We had to be serious.”

“And it didn’t work” came a gleefully psychotic voice.

The group turned around to see Overlord charging straight through several Autotroopers. Ignitor and Goldbug quickly whipped around, projecting a stream of fire and lighting at him. Overlord winced at the attacks but charged through as if it was nothing.

“INCOMING!” Rocket Plume yelled to her allies, pointing one of her wrist mounted rockets forward.

Rocket Plume fired one of her rockets at Overlord as Ignitor and Goldbug darted out of the way. However, Overlord simply responded by using his arm to backhanded away, powered by his talent. The missiles exploded against a wall behind him, and Overlord swung his arms together to create a vibrational way, sending them flying, before charging through them.

“Excuse me!” Overlord announced, kicking Goldbug out of the way as he ran through.

Overlord bolted away, leaving the Cybertronians to pick themselves up. As Ignitor pulled herself off the floor, Rocket Plume helped Goldbug up. As the returned to their feet around them, Ginrai came running in, concerned.

“Where did Overlord go?” he asked.

“He charged right through us” Ignitor said. “He kept going down the corridor. What-?”

“We have to stop him from getting away!” Ginrai interrupted.

Ginrai bolted through the group, running after Overlord. Ginrai emerged in a hangar, where he saw Overlord making a run for a shuttle as several Cybertronians fired at him. Looking across the room, Ginrai saw Thunderhead, Crumble, Tailpipe and Quickshadow emerge from another doorway. Ginrai was soon joined by Ignitor, Rocket Plume and Goldbug, emerging from the door behind him.

“OVERLORD!” Ginrai yelled. “YOU WON’T ESCAPE! EVEN IF YOU DO MAKE IT TO A SHUTTLE, YOU’LL BE DESTROYED BY THE FLEET!”

“Oh really?” Overlord asked. “I imagine they’re going to be very occupied soon.”

“What have you done?”

Sol Kaven Orbit
Behind the fleet of Vanguard warships, a flash of light heralded the arrival of something. Something colossal. Behind them, the gigantic form of the Majesty came into view, the first Star Dreadnought created by any Cybertronian faction. Its sheer size dwarfed any and all other ships present.

Aboard its bridge, Thunderhammer and Glowstrike stood at its viewport. Behind them, numerous Combatronians and Insecticons operated the ships systems. Thunderhammer smirked as he looked down at the enemy ships.

“Such puny vessels” Thunderhammer commented. “They have no idea what raw power we hold.”

“Will hold” Glowstrike corrected. “While the Solar Harvester aboard this ship awaits the energy to activate it, we are forced to power it with sheer masses of energon, and our primary weapons remain inoperative.”

“Yes, but soon this ship will be able to sustain itself” Thunderhammer replied. “And besides, we still possess a myriad of other weapons. And on that note…”

Thunderhammer turned around to face the crew of the ship, before opening a commline to all gunnery decks.

“FIRE ALL BATTERIES!” Thunderhammer ordered. “RAVAGE THAT FLEET! LEAVE THEM IN PIECES!”

Across The Majesty, numerous weapons emplacements whirred to life. They began pointing at the nearest ships and unleashed an entire fleet's worth of lasers. Though the Vanguard ships attempted to return fire, several were torn apart in moments. The onslaught was relentless, and Vanguard fire did little damage in return.

“Brilliant!” Thunderhammer exclaimed as he watched the carnage.

“To think you are amused by simple laserfire” Glowstrike groaned.

“It is raw power” Thunderhead counted. “Beautiful, raw, untempered power. It deserves to be admired!”

“Just wait till the real fireworks begin.”

Hangar, Starshadow Station
The entire station shook as debris from the destroyed ships began hitting it, even as station continued to sink.

“What have you done?” Ginrai yelled, pointing both his cannons at Overlord.

“For now, covered my escape” Overlord answered. “But in the long run… well, you’ll have to see. Till the next time!”

Overlord made a break for the nearest shuttle. Ginrai quickly pointed his arm cannons at Overlord, though his aim was skewed by the shaking station. Thunderhead, Rocket Plume, Quickshadow, Tailpipe and those around them began firing on Overlord as he ran up the ramp of an empty shuttle.

“Now, haven’t used one of their shuttles for some time” Overlord said as entered the cockpit, sitting himself down and pressing a few buttons. “Let’s see if I remember how they start it up”

The engines of the shuttle began to glow as it lifted off the ground. The Vanguard continued firing on it, slowly closing in and surrounding it from behind.

“STOP THAT SHIP FROM ESCAPING!” Ginrai yelled, pointing at the ship. “PULL IT DOWN WITH GRAPPLES IF YOU HAVE TO!”

Quickshadow fired one of her grapple guns at the shuttle, the end latching onto an exhaust grill. Several others also fired their own grapples and harpoons, attaching to the ship. Ginrai and Ignitor rushed over to help Quickshadow hold the cable, a number of other Vanguard troopers doing the same, their combined might holding the shuttle back.

“Ginrai!” Crumble yelled, trying to get his attention.”Ginrai!”

“A bit busy!” Ginrai retorted as he pulled.

“Ginrai, the station’s exceeding its tolerable stress levels!” Crumble warned. “It’s going to break apart at an accelerated rate at any moment!”

“NNNNGGH! We can’t let Overlord escape though!”

Within the shuttle, Overlord had taken notice of the force pulling him back. Pressing a few buttons, he upped the power of the engines, producing a powerful pulse of energy from the thrusters. The pulse knocked people back, causing them to let go of the grapples they were holding. As the shuttle began to pull away, Ginrai eyed the dangling grapples. Quickly, he ran towards them, scooping as many grapples up in his arms as possible. The shuttle stalled, slowing as Ginrai held it back as much as he possibly could.

“YOU’RE NOT GETTING AWAY!” Ginrai roared, holding back with all his might.

“Ginrai!” Crumble yelled. “We have to go!”

As Crumble tried to get Ginrai’s attention, Quickshadow and Goldbug looked at each other, before organising people to get to the remaining transports in the hangar. Ignitor and Crumble, meanwhile, tried to get Ginrai to relent.

“Ginrai!” Ignitor exclaimed. “You have to let him go!”

“I can’t let him get away!” Ginrai yelled, briefly turning his head at Ignitor.

“This place doesn’t have long!” Crumble yelled. “If you stay, you will die! There’s not even a guarantee you’d be able to hold Overlord long enough!”

“I have to try!”

“If you die, where does that leave everyone?” Ignitor shouted angrily. “You sacrifice the matrix and leave Cybertron leaderless just because you might be able to hold Overlord back long enough for the sun to kill you both!”

“I-”

Ginrai stopped, looking down, before letting go of the grapples. Overlord’s shuttle zoomed off, flying towards the colossal Majesty. Ginrai sighed, before he, Ignitor and Crumble headed to one of the last remaining shuttles, getting on board shortly before it took flight, the station sinking into the sun behind them as they fled.

---

The shuttle landed aboard the Zagreus, one of the few ships to survive The Majesty’s onslaught. As those aboard disembarked, Quickshadow and Crumble went over to talk to an officer that came to greet them, while Thunderhead, Rocket Plume, Tailpipe and Goldbug left the hangar to take a break after the ordeal. Ginrai and Ignitor were the last to disembark. Ginrai walked over to the hangar energy shield, looking out to see The Majesty vanish in a flash of light.

“RARGH!” Ginrai angrily yelled, punching the shield in frustration, watched by Ignitor.

As Ginrai walked away from the shield, Quickshadow and Crumble approached him, both with grave looks on their problem.

“Ginrai…” Quickshadow began. “We’ve got a problem.”


“The virus that knocked out our comms” Crumble escaped.”It didn’t just affect us. It affected everything connected to us.”

“The entire fleet?” Ginrai asked.

“Worse” Quickshadow continued. “We were on call to Olterhex when it happened, which means that they two likely succumbed to the virus. Given how many fleets, outposts and battles are currently linked to Olterhex…”

“Then the entire Vanguard is now blind” Ginrai sighed. “We’re on our own. Can we track Overlord’s ship’s signature?”

“Yes but-”

“If the commonwealth’s blind, then we cannot, under any circumstance let that ship vanish!” Ginrai stated. “If we do, it could mean that we may never know where it could strike next!”

“Are you sure? We’ve only got a small fleet, and even then we’re barely unscrambling communications between us. We’ll be on our own.”

“We have no choice” Ginrai firmly stated. “We must stop Overlord, no matter the cost.”

The Majesty, In Transit
Overlord disembarked his shuttle to find his Imperial Guard kneeling before him. With a gesture, Overlord ordered them to rise. Now flanked by his Guard, Overlord approached Glowstrike and Thunderhammer.

“My lord, it pleases me to see you alive” Glowstrike said, bowing.

“Was there ever any doubt?” Thunderhammer snapped.

“Quite” Overlord said, handing the Ember to Glowstrike. “Try not to lose it this time.”

“Of course my lord” Glowstrike said, taking the Ember. “What are your orders?”

“Mmm…” Overlord mused. “What’s the nearest star to our destination?”

“Kerberous Maxi, my lord” Glowstrike answered.

“Good, that will serve to energise this ship upon activation. And what’s the nearest Vanguard force?”

“A small task force of ships” Thunderhammer quickly exchanged.

“Good” Overlord grinned. “It will serve as good a test of our newest superweapons as anything. Let us show the Vanguard that we are to still be feared!”

 

Volume 8 - The Hollow Victory
Starstorm​

Shiruk System, Khodic Sector
Between the twin moons of Shirahg, a battle was raging. At the centre of it, a pair of Dreadnoughts, one Invincible, one Immolator, were passing each other, both unleashing a powerful salvo along each other's broadsides. Lasers and missiles rippled off the shields, sometimes piercing through the hulls of both ships. Around them, corvettes were surrounding both dreadnoughts, protecting them from starfighter strikes, and even clashing amongst each other.

Aboard the Combatronian Dreadnought, “Revenant”, the Combatronian Captain Scathe looked at the Vanguard’s own Dreadnought as the two ships left each other’s broadside range.

“Report!” Scathe ordered his underlings.

“Shields have failed on our port side!” said one crewmember.

“Multiple hull breaches reported!” announced another. “Severe damage to portmost engine!”

“Calculating crew losses now!”

“Don’t bother” Scathe ordered. “Turn us around. I want our starboard side ready for a salvo before they’ve come about! And contact the Torrent and tell them to move into position to cover our port side.”

As the Revenant turned around to face its enemy with its less damaged side as a Fellstrike Corvette moved in to protect its damaged port side. The Invincible dreadnought, known as the Redoutable, was already turning around to resume its attack. With its massive engines still intact, the Redoubtable was the quicker to face its foe, quickly unleashed another volley of weapon fire onto the Revenant, shattering its shields. Taking advantage of the exposed ship, several Flashfire bombers followed the Vanguard’s barrage, showering the Combatronian warships with ion bombs. The Revenant halted as lights across its starboard side.

“SIR, MULTIPLE ION SURGE’S ACROSS OUR STARBOARD SIDE!” one of the Combatronian officers yelled.

“I CAN SEE THAT!” Scathe snapped. “CAN WE STILL MOVE?”

“Starboard engine is inactive, and port side engine is close to failure under the strain!”

“Can we restore power to the port starboard side?” Scathe asked.

“It’ll take time, sir.”

“Have our remaining corvette’s form up along our starboard side and interlock their shields before the Vanguard can start their next attack!”

As several Fellstrike and Stormbuster corvettes formed up to protect the Revenant, the Redoubtable was now turning to look directly at it. As the squadron of bombers passed by its bridge, its captain, Grailsword watched the Combatronian corvettes formed up.

“This is Spark Squadron, direct hit on the cruiser!” came a voice over the comms.

“Good” Grailsword smugly responded. “Switch to conventional explosives and be ready for another run when we clear a gap in the corvettes.”

Grailsword then turned to his officers.

“Target the central ships” he ordered. “I want Teal and Amber Squadrons a clear run across the bow of that ship!”

“Sir!” said one of the officers, panicked. A massive ship is jumping into this region of space!”

“Identify it!”

“Unknown sir! It’s not on our databases.”

Grailsword rushed to the window at the front of the bridge of the ship. Looking out, he saw the massive shape of the Majesty quantum jumping into the system, its massive cannons pointing directly at them, glowing a searing orange…

The Zagreus, In-Transit
Ginrai stared out of the window, watching the spiraling lights as the ship quantum jumped. He had been silent the entire journey, only leaving his place to receive medical attention following his fight with Overlord. As crewmembers operated the bride of the ship, Ignitor and Quickshadow watched Ginrai staring.

“He’s not happy” Ignitor said.

“This war’s taken its toll on him” Quickshadow replied. “We had Overlord in our hands, and he escaped. It’s not surprising he’s taking it hard.”

“But is it wise to go after that ship? I mean, we’ve just got the surviving ships of the fleet that ship tore through, and now we’re going after it?”

“We’re trying to see if we can do something about our long-range comms” Quickshadow explained. “Crumble’s down there now, think he might be able to create a counter-virus that can be spread to ships within its range, but it’ll take time to boost the range. We can’t do much else, so Ginrai thinks we should keep tabs on Overlord’s new warship.”

“Yes, but we still, right now, have no method of communication. If we find Overlord, what then?”

“Then… well, then” Quickshadow started. “I suppose all we can do is see. But Ginrai’s right in the respect we can’t stand around doing nothing. That ship is massive, and it’s irresponsible to let such a powerful ship vanish into the ether.”

“If you say so” Ignitor sighed. “I don’t think I like where this is heading.”

“Sir!” one of the officers yelled to Ginrai. “We’re about to drop out of Jump.”

Shiruk System
The Zagreus and its few remaining fellow ships arrived in the Shiruk system to a field of debris, both Combatronians. The remains of the Revenant and Redoubtable drifted at the heart of the shattered husks of both ships. Quickshadow and Ignitor joined Ginrai, looking in shock at the carnage.

“Dear Primus…” Quickshadow muttered.

“I want a scan for life signs” Ginrai ordered.

“Already done sir” said another officer. “Negative. No life signs”

“We can’t let this ship escape” Girnai said, leaving the bridge. “Retrack its Quantum trace, and in the meantime, have some ships ready. I want a closer look at the damage.”

Soon, several gunships were launched from the Zagreus and scouring the debris. Aboard one, Tailpipe piloted Ginrai, Thunderhead and Rocket Plume towards the main portion of the Redoubtable’s wreckage.

“It looks just as grim up close as it does from the Zagreus” Tailpipe commented.

“Get us in as close as you can” Ginrai said. “I want to see the damage.”

“Looked to me like a fusion reactor explosion” Thunderhead stated. “Not uncommon. Push a ship to the edge, they do sometimes blow. I mean, it’s what the railgun’s on Overlord’s flagship were built for hitting.”

The shuttle stopped. Tailpipe opened the rear hatch, allowing Ginrai, Thunderhead and Rocket Plume to stare directly at the ship. They found themselves looking at a massive hole in part of the hull.

“That is big” Rocket Plume commented. “Must’ve been one of a laser Overlord’s new ship fired. The cannons looked large enough.”

“Look closely” GInrai said, pointing at the edges. “Whatever hit it melted the metal with an incredible temperature. Parts of the metal are still molten. And have you noticed? For the cold depths of space, it is incredibly warm.”

“Now that you mention it” Thunderhead mused. “Lasers do not have that kinda density.”

“You think it’s launching energy collected from the solar harvester?” Rocket Plume asked. “The amount of coolant it’d take to stop the entire ship from melting.”

“Well, they clearly have it” Ginrai sighed. “Which means we know it’s imperative we don’t let it vanish. Tell all ships to return to the Zagreus so we can continue this chase.”

Lun System, Khodic Sector
Elsewhere, Vanguard Warblocker was fleeing the Majesty, shielding several Sanctity medical frigates from the Majesty’s lasers. As it picked off several frigates poking into view ahead of the Warblocker, the Majesty’s main cannons warmed up. As it did, Overlord watched from the observation deck.

“FIRE!” Overlord gleefully ordered over the comms.

A colossal fireball launched from one of the Majesty’s main cannons, melting through the Warblocker with ease, leaving very little of the ship left. The fireball continued forward powering straight through the nearest two medical frigates, leaving no trace behind.

“Excellent!” Overlord grinned. “Remove the remaining medical frigates.”

“My crew report that the ship needs to harvest energy before we can use the main weapons again” Glowstrike said. “Lest we let it run dry, and have to utilise another ember to activate the harvester again.”

“If we must” Overlord groaned. “What’s the nearest star?”

“Tartara Kiye” Glowstrike replied.

“Then let’s get this over with” Overlord said. “We’ve had our fun, but we have bigger fish to fry.”

“Don’t worry my lord, we’ll soon be obliterating the Vanguard again” Thunderhammer encouraged.

“Quite. While we wait, I want you to check up with the Archaria Complex” Overlord ordered, before looking back towards the remaining enemy frigates. “Oh, and deploy some ships to finish them off. Have them clean up and reconvene with us.”

As the Majesty pulled away, a pair of Fellstrike Corvettes were deployed from the ship, firing on the frigates as they tried to escape. Behind them, the Majesty quantum jumped away, leaving the corvettes to finish the job.

---

Some time later, the Zagreus and its fleet arrived in the Lun System in a burst of light. It found itself surrounded by the debris of Vanguard ships. Ginrai, Ignitor, Quickshadow, Thundrhead and Rocket Plume looked at wreckage ahead of them.

“Hell” Thunderhead said. “Just like the last one.”

“Yeah…” Rocket Plume replied. “Doesn’t look pretty.”

“Sir” came one of the officers. “We’re detecting an incoming ship. It’s assuming an attack vector.”

Sure enough, one of the Fellstrike corvettes moved in around the debris and began firing on the Zagreus. The ship’s lasers began rippling across the Zagreus's shields.

“Return fire, but finish this quickly” Ginrai ordered. “We don’t have time to waste on a prolonged fight.”

“What’s a ship still doing here?” Ignitor asked. “I thought it was just the massive superweapon we were after.”

“Probably a support ship docked within it” Thunderhead suggested. “If Overlord’s trying to shake us, no surprise he’d not want to leave someone to tell the sale, so he leaves his own ship to clean up behind him.”

“So if we’ve caught them in the act, there could be survivors?”

“Possibly” Quickshadow said. “Only one way to find out.”

Quickshadow turned around to a crewmate and gave them a nod. The crewmate began pressing several buttons, activating a life sign scan. After a few moments, the crewmate perked up.

“Sir, we’re getting life signs aboard one of the medical frigates… though we’re also picking more life signs boarding from a docked ship.”

“Then there’s more than one Combatronian ship out there” Quickshadow realised.

“Then we’ve gotta help them outta there” Ignitor said.

“I’ll get Tailpipe to get some ships and rally some troops!” Thunderhead said. “We’ll have to act quick though.”

“Easy” Rocket Plume said. “Let’s not waste time.”

Thunderhead and Rocket Plume made their way out of the bridge, Ignitor following. As she reached the door, Ignitor paused, turning around.

“Ginrai?” she asked.

Ginrai watched as the enemy corvette succumbed to the Vanguard, before slowly turning around to look at Ignitor. He slowly walked over, before looking at one of the crewmembers.

“Let me know the instant we have another lock on Overlord’s trace” Ginrai said, before leaving with Ignitor.

Soon, a squadron of Staunch Dropships and Hammer Gunships were launching from the Zagreus’ hangar and flying towards the sparking medical frigate, another Fellstrike Corvette docked with it. From the cockpit of the frontmost dropship, Tailpipe looked at his scanners.

“I’m detecting action in the hangar” Tailpipe said. “Two large concentrations of life forms. One inside, the other in the adjoining corridor.”

“I imagine our survivors are inside, and the Combatronians are trying to push their way in” Quickshadow said.

“Tailpipe, have the dropships head straight into the hangar while the gunships hold position outside” Ginrai ordered.

“Will do!”

In the cockpit, Ignitor looked around. Everyone was tense. She looked at Ginrai, before noticing something. On his back, he had the Separation Blade holstered. She wasn’t sure why he had it, but she quickly looked away when Ginrai noticed her.

“Alright, coming in!” Tailpipe yelled. “Areas hot, so be ready!”

The squadron approached the hangar atop the medical frigate. As the gunships turned around to cover the hangar as the dropships landing in it, finding a platoon of Cybertronian soldiers with their weapons pointing at the hangar door. On the other side, the hangar doors was periodically opening. Several Combatronians trying to force it to stay open,while others were using the opportunity to force it open.

“COVERING FIRE!” Ginrai yelled, leaping out of the drop.

As the others followed him, Ginrai waited for the door to briefly open, before letting loose a volley of shots through the gap, taking down two of the Combatronians trying to get through.

“Ginrai Convoy, sir!” said one of the Vanguard troopers. “We’re glad you’re here! We were attacked, this mass ship attacked us, bigger than one we’ve seen attacked us.”

“I’m assuming it fled, leaving the smaller ships to pick you off” Ginrai said. “Get your men onto the dropships.”

“Yes sir!”

As the trooper began organising their soldiers onto the dropships, Ginrai saw the doors begin to open again. Someone was forcing them open with a considerable strength, a white, green and purple Cybertronian with a variety of kibble across his body, seemingly for different alternate modes.

“FORWARD!” the Combatronian yelled. “DESTROY THEM ALL!”

“YES CAPTAIN SIXSHOT!” several Combatronians replied, charging into the room.

One of the Combatronians was immediately downed by a laser shot from Thunderhead, as several more were scattered by Ignitor’s flames. More Combatronians pushed through the the doorway, they were kept at bay by the Vanguard as their forces backed up into the shuttles.

“THEY CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO ESCAPE!” Sixshot yelled, transforming into the form of an oversized blaster.

From his barrels, Sixshot fired a powerful pair of lasers at one of the dropships, destroying it instantly in a fiery explosion. Debris scattered everywhere as Vanguard troops tried to pull their comrades out of the wreckage of the ship. Ginrai observed as Sixshot lined up his barrels with the next dropship.

“Get everyone on the dropships!” Ginrai ordered, charging forward.

“What are you doing?” Ignitor yelled.

“Trust me, just go!” Ginrai yelled, running straight at Sixshot. “That’s an order!”

Ginrai charged in close to Sixshot, grabbing the end of his gun mode and lifting it as another pair of energy beams fired out of the barrel. Beams blasted through the ceiling, melting holes into them. Ginrai then lifted Sixshot off the ground and threw him to the door, knocking those trying to charge through back out of the hangar.

“GO!” Ginrai yelled. “DO NOT WAIT FOR ME!”

Ginrai rushed after the Combatronians through the doors, blasting the door controls as he went through. The others could watch as the metal doors slid shut, Ginrai vanishing behind them.

“We have to go after him!” Ignitor said.

“Only making it a few steps, Ignitor stopped as the entire ship shook. Everyone paused and looked around, before continuing to board the dropships.

“We can’t stay here” Rocket Plume said. “This place is coming apart.”

“But what about Ginrai?” Ignitor asked.

“Ginrai knows what he’s doing” Thunderhead said.

“People keep telling me that, but no-one explains what it is he’s doing!”

The entire ship shook again, this time more violently, knocking crates down to the ground. By now, the dropships were full, and Ignitor, Thunderhead and Rocket Plume were the only people standing on the hangar floor.

“Look, Ginrai will find a way off and when we meet up with him, he can explain the plan” Thunderhead said. “But right now we need to get clear before this breaks apart.”

“But…”

“No but’s Ignitor. We have to make sure we’re off this ship with the survivors.”

“I… okay.”

With that, Ignitor, Thunderhead and Rocket Plume boarded one of the dropships. As they boarded, Rocket Plume knocked on the metal separating them from the cockpit.

“Time to go, Tailpipe” she said as the metal shutter of the dropship lowered.

“Alright” Tailpipe said, pulling the ship out of the hangar. “When we get back we’ll have the Zagreus look for Ginrai, however he decides to jump off the collapsing ship.

As the dropships departed the frigate, inside Ginrai was fighting through Combatronian grunts. He blasted a pair of Combatronians as he threw a tankformer to the wall. Behind him, Sixshot stood up and immediately charged at him.

“A chance at a crack at the Convoy?” Sixshot shouted, rushing forward. “My lucky day!”

Sixshot swung a punch, but Ginrai sidestepped back. As he went for another punch, Ginrai grabbed his arm and threw him back, but unlike his underling, Sixshot instead transformed into a jet alternate mode.

“NOW DIE!”

Sixshot unleashed a volley of laser blasts, prompting Ginrai to leap up, blasting towards the floor with his cannons to get some extra air. Ginrai knocked Sixshot to the ground with a powerful kick. Sixshot’s jet mode screeched across the floor, stopping in front of his subordinates and reverting to his robot mode.

“Sorry, but I don’t have time for your wishes” Ginrai retorted. “Now, tell me where did your ship’s boarding tube breach?”

“KILL HIM!” Sixshot yelled, pointing at Ginrai. “KILL HIM NOW!”

Several Combatronians charged at Ginrai, only ending up on the receiving end of laser blasts from Ginrai’s arm cannons. As one got close, Ginrai grabbed one of the Combatronians and pulling them in close, before dispelling several others.

“Anyone?” Ginrai asked. “Anyone want to tell me?”

“CORRIDOR G” the Combatronian yelled, panickily trying to escape Ginrai’s grasp. “CORRIDOR-”

The Combatronian’s head was blown apart by a single shot from Sixshot, but he was too late to silence him. Ginrai through the inert body aside and transformed into his truck mode. His cannon rotated, pointing behind him, boosting him with a powerful stream of energy, bulldozing straight through the Combatronians forces.

“ARE YOU ALL STUPID?” Sixshot yelled, picking himself up. “GET AFTER HIM!”

Ginrai drove straight through the frigate, now more aggressively shaking as its hull started to give way. He fought his way through groups of Combatronian soldiers and Vehicons with ease, refusing to let them slow him down. He knew the other Combatronians wouldn’t be far behind, but he wasn’t going to stay to fight them. Soon, Ginrai approached the tube the Combatrons had used to board the ship, guarded by a pair of Tankor vehicons.

“LOOK!” one of them said. “THE CONVOY!”

“KILL HIM!” the other yelled.

The pair fired on Ginrai, only for Ginrai to swerve straight around the blasts and drive straight into the nearest one, throwing the Tankor into the other. Ginrai then took a sharp turn into the boarding tube, his smokestack cannons began turning wildly, firing shots to destroy the tube behind him. The tube broke apart as he drove, before finally he transformed and leaped into the airlock, slamming the door shut behind him. Ginrai then turned around, only to find a group of Combatronians, staring at him in shock.

“INTRUDER!” one of them yelled.

Quickly reacting, Ginrai fired a spread of laser blasts at the group, quickly taking them down. Ginrai stepped over them, looking around.

“Right, fastest route to the bridge” Ginrai mused.

Getting his bearings, Ginrai turned to his right and charged through the ship, wiping out wave after wave of Combatronian guards. He fought through floor after floor, corridor after corridor, before scaling his way through the elevator shaft to make it to the ship’s bridge. Ginrai ran inside, startling those controlling the ship. Ginrai immediately started firing on the crew, quickly ensuring that he was the only one left standing. Ginrai ran over to the captain's seat and began switching control of the craft’s systems to him.

“This is… oh for Primus sake, these names” Ginrai said, contacting his allies. “This is Combatronian ship Death’s Breath hailing Zagreus.”

“This is the Zagreus speaking” came a voice over the other end. “Identify your- Ginrai Convoy, sir, is that you?”

“Yes” Ginrai replied, looking through the ship’s databases. “I’ve commandeered the Combatronian cruiser and am using their comms to contact you.”

“Forgive us sir, we are going to have scan the ship to confirm that.”

“Don’t worry about that” Ginrai said, pressing a number of buttons. “I’m not coming to you.”

“Sir?”

“This ship is meant to rendezvous with Overlord’s new weapon” Ginrai explained. “Its been given coordinates to meet with it. This is the best chance to catch up with it.”

The entire ship shook as several loud noises echoed. Several screens appeared around Ginrai, indicating several attempted breaches of the energy shield. Outside, Sixshot and a number of fliers were shooting at the ship, trying to breach its energy shields and get back inside.

“And it seems that our Sixchanger wants his ship back” Ginrai said. “Which means I won’t have much time, so I won’t be able to wait. Inform the others what I’m doing. Head for one our bases, and hopefully I’ll be able to update you.”

“Sir-” the voice said before Ginrai cut him off.

“If I survive.”

Ginrai pressed a few buttons, pointing the ship towards the coordinates he had uncovered and activating the quantum drives. In a flash of light, he and the ship were gone, leaving behind Sixshot, his remaining soldiers, the Zagreus and his allies.

The Zagreus, Soon After
“HE DID WHAT?”

Quickshadow was angrily pacing up and down the bridge of the Zagreus. She could not believe that Ginrai had simply left without them in a stolen ship, all the while Thunderhead and the ship’s captain tried to calm her down. Ignitor, Rocket Plume and Tailpipe watched from the sidelines

“I’m sorry, ma’am, he just jumped away in the Combatronian ship” the captain said.

“Leaving us to fight Overlord by himself” Quickshadow grumbled. “I can’t believe he would be so irresponsible.”

“Well, it’s not like it’s the first time he’s gone off on his own” Thunderhead countered. “Remember when he went to get the Forge of Solus Prime?”

“And remember when he went after that mysterious signal and nearly got swallowed by a Quantum Whirlpool.”

“We were able to follow him though.”

“Because we were able to place a bug on his VANGUARD shuttle” Quickshadow snapped. “He didn’t spontaneously steal a Combatronian ship in the middle of a commonwealth wide communications blackout.”

“Why are you surprised?” Ignitor asked.

“Look, Ignitor, I’m not in the mood.”

“You’re not in the mood? I’ve been saying about his obsession with Overlord, and you’ve all brushed it off as ‘oh, he’s just focused on ending this war’, ‘oh he’s just taking it hard that Overlord escaped’. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been around as long as everyone else, maybe I haven’t become as complacent with wartime as well as you guys, but I tried to warn you.”

“Look, you were right, is that what you want to hear?”

“NO! DON’T YOU SEE IT!”

“See what?”

“Ginrai has just stolen a Combatronian ship. A Combatronian ship that as far as we know, was supposed to report in with Overlord’s new ship. They will know it’s not one of theirs as soon as he arrives.”

“Well, Ginrai would know that too” Rocket Plume added, joining the conversation. “And it’s obvious a corvette wouldn’t last more than a few minutes against a ship that size, even if it didn’t use its primary superweapons.”

“So he can’t infiltrate it” Quickshadow said. “He can’t attack it.”

“So what do you think it’s going to do?” Ignitor asked.

“Oh hell…”

The Majesty, Kol System
The Majesty sat in space, positioned above the world Varas Extrinsecus, its solar harvester pointed towards the system’s sun. A beam launched from the peak of the harvester, snaring the sun. Soon, glowing particles were pulled into the harvester, and tubes along were filled with a burning amber energy. As The Majesty leached it of its energy, Kol’s star began to contract, becoming smaller and smaller.

Within, Overlord and Thunderhammer watched in awe at the sight, a star bending to the will of Overlord’s new flagship. Behind them, Glowstrike monitored the process on a holographic diorama of the ship, as Overlord’s Imperial Guard waited in the corner of the room.

“It is most impressive, my lord” Thunderhammer said.

“Yes” Overlord replied. “It truly is. It is fitting that I be able to force stars to submit to… my majesty, shall we say? Appropriate, for the ship.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Stellar fusion core is at thirty-percent capacity” Glowstrike informed them, looking away from her hologram. “Once the star is fully drained, the Majesty will be fully re-energised.”

As she looked back, a hologram of scorpion-like beast Insecticon replaced her diorama. The arachnoid Cybertronian looked nervous, moreso when he saw Glowstrike.

“My lady, there’s a problem” the arachnicon nervously reported.

Overlord’s audio receptors perked up at this. He turned his head, looking at the hologram. Glowstrike looked at Overlord, before turning to her subordinate.

“What it is Chaerlo?” Glowstrike asked.

“We’re picking up a ship quantum jumping to our location” Chaerlo informed. “Reports show that it’s designation Corvette 377A80/B487Y.”

“The Death’s Breath. It was one of the ships we deployed with the Charybditron Maw to clean up the remnants of the Vanguard fleet we destroyed. Its arrival is to be expected.”

“We’ve tried hailing it, my lady. They’re not responding to us. Its comms array could’ve been damaged during the battle.”

“Destroy it as soon as it jumps into this region of space” Overlord ordered. “It’s likely been commandeered.”

“Order all batteries to fire on the ship as soon as it arrives” Glowstrike said, turning back to Chaerlo.

“Of course, my lady.”

Death’s Breath, In Transit
Aboard the Combatronian corvette, Ginrai sat in the captain’s seat, fiddling with several systems as he took the ship to its destination.

“Disabling gravity hitches” Ginrai said to himself as he tapped a holoscreen. “Maximising engine power.”

Ginrai then opened another screen, and pressed a few buttons. Several warnings appeared on the screen, but Ginrai disregarded them. He then pressed the screen a final time.

“Power lines fused to maximum.”

The ship began rattling as it approached its destination, and alarms started blaring, the bridge being bathed in red lights.

“Now or never.”

The Majesty
“Ma’am, the ship hasn’t emerged from jump yet, but we’re still picking it up on approach to us.”

“That doesn’t make any sense” Glowstrike said, confused. “It should’ve exited out of jump by now.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, ma’am, but they’re still in jump.”

“Then what are they doing?”

Overlord’s optic went wide, a wave of realisation flushed over him. He ran across the room, pushing Glowstrike out of the way.

“STRENGTHEN SHIELDS TO MAXIMUM OVER THE PROJECTED IMPACT ZONE!” Overlord yelled in a panic.

“Impact zone?” Chaerlo responded, confused.

“PUT SHIELDS TO MAXIMUM YOU IMBECILE! NOW!”

---

Outside, a streak of light smashed into one of the engines of the Majesty. A massive explosion of light consumed the engine, completely shattering it and rupturing the next engine along.

A shockwave of light rippled across the system, before fading away. Flames spewed from the wrecked engines, and The Majesty began being drawn into the . Several more explosions ripped across The Majesty, completely destroying the second engine.

The ship soon began falling into the atmosphere Varis Extrinsecus, unable to escape the gravitational pull of the planet. Around it, debris from a Combatronian corvette too dropped through the atmosphere. As it fell, in amongst the debris, something else fell. The body of a red and blue Cybertronian…

 

Volume 8 - The Hollow Victory
Breakpoint​

Igneo-Magmatic Plains, Varis Extrinsecus
The Majesty lay on a field of volcanic rock, smoke drifting from it. The terrain behind it had been torn up for several miles, while a volcano in the distance had collapsed thanks to the ships crash.

Within the observation deck, Overlord picked himself up off the floor, pulling himself up with a nearby console. The window of the deck had completely shattered, glass scattered across the floor of the room. Around him, Glowstrike, Thunderhammer and his Imperial Guard were pulling themselves from the floor.

“I want a status report of this ship’s state” Overlord growled. “NOW!”

Glowstrike slowly made her way to a console and contacted the bridge. A hologram of her underling soon appeared in front of her.

“I want a damage report, Chaerlo” Glowstrike demanded.

“Of course ma’am” Chaerlo said, rubbing his head. “The shields and the hull absorbed the majority of the impact, so crash damage is negligible, save for a few hull breaches on the port due to collision with a volcano. However, the initial collision from the commandeered ship destroyed two of the primary engine units. As it stands, we lack the ability to take off, let alone leave the planet in this cruiser.”

“Are comms systems still active?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Then the ship may be salvaged yet” Overlord mused.

“How do we do that, my lord?” Thunderhammer asked.

“We have a fleet utilising tractor beams to pull the dreadnought from the surface. A force of Type 3 Sledgehammer cruisers should have sufficient power to do so.”

“Understood” Glowstrike said. “Chaerlo, contact command and have them organise a fleet immediately.”

“More importantly, I want the Serol Fleet Group here” Overlord ordered. “I want them staging over this world before anything. I would hate to give the Vanguard a second chance to ruin our work.”

“My lord, surely if the Vanguard knew where we were, they wouldn’t have said one measly ship to stop us?” Thunderhammer suggested. “Besides, their comms are completely debilitated.”

“It will only be a matter of time before they counteract it” Glowstrike retorted. “They may have already begun partial restoration of contact.”

“We will not discount anything” Overlord said. “Including if our mysterious attacker survived.”

“That seems unlikely, my lord” Thunderhammer replied, unconvinced.

“Stranger things have happened” Overlord said. “Are there any signs of civilization nearby?”

“We picked up life signs 12 klicks northeast” Chaerlo answered. “We believe it to be a small colony of unaligned Cybertronians that refused to take part in the war.”

“You two take a force to their and take it” Overlord said. “But no collateral damage… at least to the buildings. If our attacker did in the unlikely event survive, then that is likely where they will head.”

“My lord, that seems a little… below our rank” Glowstrike said.

“I want competent minds on this. You are competent, aren’t you?”

“We will not fail you, my lord!” Thunderhammer declared, saluting.

Glowstrike sighed, and she walked out of the room with Thunderhammer, while Chaerlo’s hologram faded. Overlord then turned to his guard.

“Take command of the forces that remain here” Overlord ordered. “I want this ship fully defended against any potential threats, no matter how small. No mercy.”

“As you command” Scissorsaw responded, bowing.

As his guard too left the observation room, Overlord turned to look out at the landscape of the planet. He could see several plumes of smoke in the distance, like the landing zones of what little remains of the ship that impacted them. If their attacker survived, they would not get a second chance.

Several Miles Away
Far away, among shards of broken metal, something stirred. In amongst the debris, a figure lay on the floor, groaning. Their body was scorched, pierced with small fragments of metal. They slowly sat up, the effort clearly agonising.

“Where…?” the voice of Ginrai muttered. “Where am I?”

As he tried to push himself up, Ginrai felt his hand slip, as if the ground had vanished. He fell backwards, before landing on solid rock. It was dark, and where there had been a crimson sky, now there was a cave roof.

“What… what just happened?” Ginrai said in shock.

Ginrai looked at his hands. For a moment, it was almost as though they were glowing an ethereal green.

“What did that crash do to me?” Ginrai asked himself.

Ginrai looked to his side, catching light. He wasn’t far underground. Ginrai slowly walked to the source of the light, soon finding himself outside. He looked behind, and recognised the debris that had surrounded him when we initially woke. Had the quantum energies of the impact destabilised him?

Ginrai looked out into the distance. He could see the crashed Combatronian dreadnought, a trail of destruction following its landing. Between it and him, he could see what seemed like a small village of certainly Cybertronian construction. Perhaps they could patch him up.

Ginrai reached to his back. He could feel the Separation Blade was there, still intact, likely surviving through the same quantum destabilisation that had saved him.

“Alright, Overlord” Ginrai said. “One way or another, we end this.”

Ginrai trekked across the igneous terrain, steam occasionally venting from pores in the rock. Eventually arriving at the town, Ginrai found Cybertronians walking around a small park square, many of them looking at the crashed ship in the distanceGinrai then ran up to one of the Cybertronians, grabbing them by the shoulder to address them.

“Where am I?” Ginrai exclaimed.

“Sir, are you alright?” the bot asked, pushing Ginrai’s hand off him.

“I need to know where we are!”

“Primus, we’re in Cartigu” the bot said, distressed. “Are you from that ship?”

“What planet?” Ginrai asked, ignoring the bot’’s question.

“Varis Extrinsecus!” the bot said, backing away. “Did you come from that crashed ship?”

“No” Ginrai said. “But they’re probably on their way.”

“What?”

“Get inside” Ginrai ordered.

“What are you talking about?”

“GET INSIDE! THERE IS AN ATTACK COMING!”

“An attack?” the bot asked, terrified. ”Why would anyone attack us? We’re non-combatants! Unimportant!”

“Because I’m here” Ginrai sighed.

“What?!”

Before the bot could interrogate further, several explosive shells landed in the square, exploding amongst the civilians. People sent flying from the resultant explosions, some starting turn grey as they hit the ground. Ginrai rushed to the bot he had talked to, trying to help them up, but their hand had already turned cold.

“GET INSIDE NOW!” Ginrai yelled as more shells rained down, explosion erupting all around.

Cybertronians ran in every direction, most trying to get indoors. Those that didn’t, however, were cut down by a barrage of laser fire. Ginrai turned to the source of the laser fire, one of the main streets leading into the square. There he saw a force of Tankor and Overdrive Vehicons walking towards him, before coming to a stop. Alongside them, numerous winged Insecticons came into view, landing on the roofs of the building.

“Well, if it isn’t the Convoy himself” came the voice of Thunderhammer as the high general emerged from the group of Vehicons alongside Glowstrike.

“Justifies Overlord being concerned someone might’ve survived” Glowstrike added. “You do have an irritating habit of doing that.”

“I’m afraid it's a habit that will have to persist till this war is over” Ginrai retorted, pointing his cannons.

“Let’s change that” Thunderhammer said back. “ATTACK! DESTROY HIM!”

Immediately, the Vehicons and Insecticons charged at Ginrai. Ginrai smashed one Overdrive away with a fist, before blasting another with his cannon. Suddenly, as insecticon rushed Ginrai, charging with a rhinoceros beetle mode, only to simply pass through Ginrai.

“What the-” Ginrai exclaimed as the insecticon phased through his body.

Ginrai didn’t have long to process this as a Tankor drone punched him full force in the face, causing him to stumble back. Whatever happened to Ginrai, he had no control over it. With Ginrai distracted, the Tankor drone proceeded to fire a mortar shell directly at Ginrai. The shell phased straight through Ginrai, blasting the insecticon behind him. This startled the Tankor, promptly allowing Ginrai to knock him back with a blast from both cannons.

“How is he doing that?” Thunderhammer exclaimed, watching as an Overdrive attempted to run Ginrai down, only to drive straight through him.

“I don’t know” Glowstrike retorted in shock. “He could never- I’ve never heard of him being able to do that before!”

Ginrai grabbed another Tankor and threw them at a pair of Insecticons, scraping away part of the roof they were standing on in the process. Ginrai then threw a punch at a Tankor, only for his fist to phase straight through the Tankor’s head, leaving it unharmed. The Tankor then pushed Ginrai away, firing a shot from its cannon that threw Ginrai against a wall.

“Whatever it is, it’s inconsistent” Glowstrike noted.

“Which means we can kill him” Thunderhammer said, pushing a pair of Tankors out of his way.

Thunderhammer pulled out a large pole, before an electrified hardlight hammerhead appeared at the end of it. As Ginrai blasted the Tankor in front of him, Thunderhammer struck the Convoy with his hammer, sending him flying across the square and into the building. Several civilians within looked at Ginrai in a panic, before hiding in the floor above.

“I’ve waited for a crack at you” Thunderhammer said, spinning his hammer in his hand. “I’m gonna enjoy breaking you.”

Ginrai picked himself up, and as Thunderhammer swung his hammer down on the Convoy. Ginrai grabbed it for a moments, only for the hammer to phase through Ginrai’s hands, causing Thunderhammer to fall forward. Using Thunderhammer’s momentum against him, Ginrai pushed Thunderhammer over him, shoving him into the opposite wall of the building. As Ginrai turned around, an insecticon leg, tipped with a razor blade, slashed across his shoulder.

“Did you think that I was going to sit this one out?” Glowstrike asked, retracting the bladed leg.

Glowstrike then swung her bladed insecticon legs at Ginrai, but the Convoy quickly dodged. Glowstrike kept swiping, occasionally getting a cut in on Ginrai’s chest. After getting a cut in across Ginrai’s faceplate, Ginrai managed to grab Glowstrike’s legs, holding on tightly, before swinging her back across the square. Glowstrike crashed into a statue in one of the corners of the square, the debris falling all around her.

“COME HERE YOU BASTARD!” Thunderhammer yelled, his hammer high in the air.

Ginari whipped around, only to be knocked back by Thunderhammer’s electrohammer. As Ginrai regained his stance, Thunderhammer swung his hammer again, but this time Ginrai managed to catch it by shielding with both arms.

“Why don’t you use your damn sword?” Thunderhammer tauntingly asked.

“I’m afraid that’s reserved for Overlord” Ginrai retorted.

“Why wait? You’re not making it past here.”

As Ginrai shoved Thunderhammer’s back, Thunderhammer responded by deploying a cannon from shoulder, firing on Ginrai with it. Ginrai stumbled back with each shot, before readying a fist, and throwing a punch at Thunderhammer’s chest… only for it to pass through.

“Hrrrk” Thunderhammer coughed, energon flying out of his mouth onto Ginrai.

Thunderhammer looked down at Ginrai’s fist through his chest, now solid. Ginrai pulled his fist out, now drenched in energon. Where once a spark remained, now all that remained was a void. Dropping his hammer, Electrohammer swayed, clutching where his spark had once been, before his optics went dark and he slumped to the floor, his body greying.

“No…” was all Glowstrike could mutter in shock as her Insecticons subjects helped her up.

Ginrai looked down at Thunderhammer’s now inert body, before turning to look Glowstrike directly in the optics.

“Run” Ginrai stated firmly.

Glowstrike stood stock still, in shock at Ginrai’s actions. Her insecticons turned to her, hoping for guidance.

“Fall back” Glowstrike ordered, transforming into her insect mode. “FALL BACK!”

Picking up Thunderhammer’s weapon, Ginrai watched as Glowstrike flew towards the Majesty, accompanied by her insecticons. On the ground, the remaining Vehicons would transform, following suit and fleeing. Ginrai paused and looked around. Despite the Combatrons fleeing, nobody had dared leave their home. Ginrai sighed and transformed, driving onwards towards Overlord’s flagship.

Comms Room, The Majesty
Waiting in front of a holotable, Overlord stood alone. The holotable came to life as the image of Glowstrike was projected from it.

“Glowstrike, report” Overlord stated.

“My lord, he survived!” Glowstrike said in a panic.

“Our attacker?”

“Ginrai Convoy! It was Ginrai Convoy!”

“Well, he has got bold to personally undertake such an action” Overlord said, smiling as he stroked his chin.

“He killed Thunderhammer!”

“He’s killed many people. Are you telling me just because he killed one of my High Generals I should suddenly fear him now? I’ve killed many of his generals in the field of battle.”

“It’s not just that though, my lord! He’s got… these powers! His fist went right through Thunderhammer’s chest, like it ghosted through, then became solid and eviscerated his spark! Some of our shots were just passing right through him!”

“Now that is interesting” Overlord mused. “A very unexpected development.”

“My lord, I think he’s coming for you!”

“Then let him come!” Overlord proudly declared. “I’ve faced him many a time before, this will be no different!.”

The hologram of Glowstrike disappeared, and Overlord turned around. Leaving the room, he grinned, ready to face his nemesis once more.

---

Standing outside the Majesty, Scissorsaw and Crucible stood at the head of an army of Vehicons, all waiting for Ginrai to arrive. Scissorsaw looked up, and saw Glowstrike and her underlings flying overhead. Soon after, several Vehicons drove up to them, quickly mixing into the crowd.

“He’s on his way” Scissorsaw noted.

The pair looked into the distance, and noted a plume of dust approaching from where the Vehicon survivors had come from, slowly getting larger.

“Momentarily” Crucible added. “SKIDMARK COMPANY! ATTACK!”

At Crucible’s command, all of the Overdrive Vehicons in the Combatronian force transformed to intercept Ginrai. Driving towards the rise, they soon reached Ginrai, but weren’t prepared for his response. Rather than trying to avoid the Vehicons or stopping to fight them, Ginrai simply elected to drive straight into them. Smashing into two of the Overdrives, the duo flew off to either side in amongst a shower of their own metal fragments.

“COMING THROUGH!” Ginrai yelled as he slammed into another Vehicon.

Several of the Vehicons passing Ginrai simply turned around, transforming into robot mode and attempting to fire on the Convoy from behind. Ginrai’s smokestack cannons began pointing at the Overdrives behind, shooting those chasing him, still smashing those charging at him.

However, Ginrai’s luck ran out when a sniper bolt pierced one of his wheels, shredding the tire. As Ginrai began swaying left and rich, he caught sight of the glint of a sniper lens atop the Majesty. Sitting atop the hull was Forestock, accompanied by a large group of Afterburn Vehicons. Forestock said something to a Silver Afterburn unit.

“Sir, are you sure about this course of action?” the Afterburn unit questioned. “If we bombard the area, it will take out many of our Overdrive forces.”

Forestock replied with more Primal Vernacular, and the Afterburn sighed.

“Understood. Contrail Company, commence bombardment.”

The entire force of flying Vehcons took to the sky, flying towards Ginrai. As soon as each Vehicon passed overhead, they launched missiles, exploding as soon as they hit the surface. Ginrai was knocked sideways by one explosion that struck a Vehicon next to him. Soon the entire zone was consumed by fire and smoke, obscuring the entire zone.

“Did they get him?” Crucible said, squinting.

Forestock zoomed in on the smoke, but couldn’t see anything. As he attempted to adjust his focus, a blast of energy emerged from the smoke, knocking Forestock from his perch and clattering along the metal surface.

“He can’t have!” Scissorsaw exclaimed.

Ginrai emerged from the smoke, his body glitching again with quantum energy. He looked directly at Scissorsaw and Crucible, staring determined right at them.

“KILL HIM!” Crucible yelled.

The remaining Vehicons, all Tankors charged at Ginrai. Ginrai charged right at them, pulling out Thunderhammer’s electrohammer. He fought his way with ease, either blasting with cannons or sending them flying with the electrohammer. Soon, he had cleared a path right to Crucible and Scissorsaw.

“Fine, we’ll do this ourselves!” Scisssorsaw yelled.

Scissorsaw and Crucible and stomped towards Ginrai, the former attempting to grab Ginrai as he spun his internal saws, only for his hand to be batted away by the latter’s eletrohammer. Crucible attempt to swing one of his secondary arms at Ginrai, but Ginrai tore it off and threw it into Scissorsaw’s grinder, shredding the arm.

“YOU BASTARD SCRAPHEAP!” Crucible yelled, backing up.

Ginrai took the opportunity to strike Crucible again, this time shattering his glass tank. Acid spewed on the ground, and Crucible backed up further, his back clanging against the wall. Pinned, Ginrai used the opportunity to knock Crucible out with a final blow to the head with his electrohammer.

“You’ll pay for that!” Scissorsaw yelled as he stomped to face Ginrai.

In response, Ginrai threw the electrohammer straight into Scissorsaw’s chest cavity. Scissorsaw’s chest began sparking and blades began flying out of the cavity, one almost hitting Ginrai. With a final puff of smoke from his chest, Scissorsaw collapsed.

“We done?”

Ginrai looked back, and saw the Afterburn Vehicons flying back around for another run.

“Evidently not.”

Ginrai scanned the side of the ship, and found an airlock to enter the ship just before the Afterburns began another barrage of missiles. Ginrai enters just as explosions erupted outside the hatch.

As the door sealed behind Ginrai, he turned to a console and began typing away, bringing up a map, he charted down a map to the very heart of the solar harvester powering the ship. Ginrai stared at the map for a few seconds, recording it to memory, before beginning to charge down the corridor.

Ginrai soon found company as he ran straight into a group of Insecticons. Before they had a chance to respond, Ginrai leapt up, kicking one of them into the next, knocking the pair to the ground. Ginrai then grabbed another of them, swung them into another pair of Insecticons, then finally threw them at the sixth and final member of the group. Ginrai then continued running.

Next he came to a Combatronian leading a group of Tankors. As soon as the Combatronian saw Ginrai, he quickly pushed back into the group, trying to put as many bodies between him and the Convoy.

“INTRUDER ALERT!” the Combatronian yelled as Ginrai easily overwhelmed his Tankors. “INTRUDER ALERT! SEND HE-”

The Combatronians was knocked out by the force of one of the Tankors being thrown right at him. However, it was too late to stop the Combatronian from alerting their comrades, and alarms began blaring and red lights began flashing. Ginrai didn’t wait, continuing to run down the corridor.

Wave after wave of Combatronians, Insecticons and Vehicons stood in his way, but Ginrai made short work of each and every group with brutal efficiency. Ginrai pushed on through the engine sections, sending the engineers running as he defeated more and more insecticons operating within. Finally, breaking down a metal bulkhead, he entered the heart of the ship’s solar harvester.

As soon as Ginrai entered the room, he shields his optics from a bright light ahead of. The light came from a massive machine at the centre of the room, numerous pipes entering and exiting the machine. This was the harvester's processing core, converting the solar energy into a usable form of energy to power the ship. While the numerous pipes carried solar energy in and out of the machine, Ginrai also recognised powerful coolants being transported in, likely to prevent the shear heat of the energy from melting the machinery as it passed through. Indeed, Ginrai could feel the heat simply from having stepped in the room.

“THE CONVOY!” came a voice.

Ginrai moved his gaze towards the platform in front of him. Several Combatronians were operating consoles on the platform, all of them now staring right at him. Immediately Ginrai pointed both cannons, blasting the Combatronians in the room, before calmly walking towards one of the consoles, beginning to search through it.

“How to deal with this thing?” Ginrai mused. “I can’t overload it, the resultant detonation would wipe out everything on this hemisphere, not to mention the radiation spreading across the entire planet.”

Ginrai looked up at the coolant pipes, musing for a moment.

“I could pump in more coolant, but the ship would still be salvageable enough. But perhaps the other way around, slowly syphon off the coolant, it might be enough to melt the machinery and disperse the solar radiation across a more localised area. Yes, the ship would be stranded, untraversable and useless, while also not wiping out the locals.”

Ginrai began typing away at the control, but paused as he heard heavy footsteps entering the room. He stood up straight, reaching for the Separation Blade and unsheathing it. This was the moment he had been waiting for so long. He turned around, blade at the ready.

“I had a feeling this was where you would go” Overlord stated, standing in front of the doorway. “Ruining my plans, once again.”

“Don’t worry, this will be the last time” Ginrai coldly responded.

Overlord paused, intrigued by this. He pulled his tank barrel from his back and ignited the lance blade from the end of it.

“Is that so?” Overlord asked.

“I’m wiping your new weapon from the face of the commonwealth” Ginrai declared. “And the I am ending you, once and for all.”

“You really think that things will be different this time?”

“They will.”

Ginrai swung the separation blade at Overlord, unleashing a roar as he attacked. Overlord countered with the blade of his lance, holding the sword back. The two clashed blows a few times, before pressing their weapons’ blades against one another, both trying to push the other back.

“Do you really think that silly trinket from the vast reliquary the Firstforged left behind will help you?” Overlord asked. “It's hardly like you’ve ever used one to face me before!”

“I’ve had a lot of training” Ginrai retorted. “The warriors of Eukaris, the bladesmiths of Karmara Tergi, even former members of the circle of light that joined up with us. And I’ve got my own tricks.”

Overlord noticed Ginrai’s arm cannons were oriented to point directly at him, glowing with energy. Overlord was immediately blasted at point blank range, crashing to the floor. Ginrai ascended one of the consoles, leaping from it to bring his blade down on Overlord. Overlord quickly blocked with a swing of his lance, and the edges of the two blades came down on another nearby console, bisecting it.

“You forget I have tricks of my own!” Overlord said, splitting into his two alternate modes. The two vehicles circled Ginrai, firing a barrage of lasers of various intensities, pinning him down between them. The two vehicles then converged behind Ginrai, recombining back into the form of Overlord, who quickly thrust his lance into Ginrai's back.

“ARGHHHHH!” Ginrai yelled as Overlord pulled the lance from his back, soaked with energon.

“Oooooh, so close to the spark” Overlord smiled. “But that would make it boring.”

Ginrai turned around, energon dripping down his back, glaring at Overlord. Locking optics, the two charged at each other and their weapons clashed in a flurry of strikes, their arms blurred. As they fought, they tore through the consoles around them, sometimes slicing them, sometime ripping them from their bases, and sometimes eviscerating them altogether.

“ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, THIS ENDS!” Ginrai yelled the two charged at each other.

Meeting in the middle, both grabbed each others arm, and the two begun grappling one another, pushing against each other to gain the upper hand.

“FOOL! YOU THINK I WOULD DIE HERE?” Overlord questioned. “YOU THINK I WOULD DIE AT ALL?”

Simultaneously, the two pulled the heads back, before bringing them in with a headbutt, colliding with impressive force. The entire ship shook, the combined force Ginrai’s matrix enhanced strength and Overlord’s kinetic exaggeration creating a powerful shockwave that rattled through its hull. This was enough to force the two combatants apart, both stumbling back. Ginrai’s head crest had broken, the fractured part of it embedded in Overlord’s helm. Overlord chuckled, removing the crest horn from his head.

“This is fun, isn’t it?” Overlord smirked.

The two rushed at each other, their blades colliding in another flurry of slashes. However, while Ginrai was focused on the blades, Overlord used the opportunity to aim one of his hip repeaters at Ginrai’s hand and fires. The Separation Blade flew from Ginrai’s hand as he winced in pain, clattering along the floor towards the edge of the room. Seeing the opportunity, Overlord grabbed Ginrai, smashed his face into one of the remaining consoles, before throwing him into another.

“What a valiant effort” Overlord said, twirling his lance in his hand. “But I’m afraid you’ve failed. Your newfound powers seem to have halted.”

"I don't need to be quantum destabilised to defeat you!"

Ginrai waited till Overlord got in close, before springing up and tackling Overlord into a wall, his lance dropping to the ground, a strange sound coming as it landed, as it had landed on something other than the floor. Pinning Overlord against a wall, Ginrai looked down to see that Overlord lance had landed on the separation blade. Then he looked up, seeing one of the solar energy pipes running along the wall.

“Sorry Overlord” Ginrai mockingly said. “But this is absolutely personal.”

Ginrai grabbed Overlord by the head, and slammed his face straight into the pipe. Overlord roared in pain as his face was pressed against searing hot metal, before knocking Ginrai as he stumbled back in agony. Ginrai did not waste these precious few seconds to dive to the floor, grabbing up both the blade and the lance.

“You… YOU!” Overlord roared, his face burnt and scarred, melted holes exposing the metal of the endoskeleton underneath. “YOU WOULD DARE?”

Overlord lunged at Ginrai, but found himself throwing himself onto the separation blade, Ginrai having quickly pointed between him and Overlord. Piercing his abdomen, Overlord began convulsing violently as lightning bounced off the blade. Overlord suddenly split in two, his two halves rocketing across the room, but refusing to transform into their vehicular modes. Overlord was left paralyzed by the resultant separation, if only temporarily.

“Yes” Ginrai said, standing up. “I do dare.”

Ginrai looked at the room, every console destroyed during their fight. He was going to have to do this the old fashion day. Holding Overlord’s lance like a javelin, he threw it at one of the coolant pipes. The energy blade at the end pierced the pipes, and coolant began spraying out. Ginrai blasted another of the pipes with his arm cannon, and even more coolant sprayed out. Another pipe blasted, and now the coolant was beginning to evaporate as soon as it hit the air outside. Ginrai could feel the room becoming warmer.

Ginrai looked as warning screens on the wall began flashing red. Ginrai could see that molten metal was beginning to drip, solar radiation leaking out from beneath. Ginrai turned around, triumphant, as he watched Overlord finally overcome his paralysis and reform himself.

“You… what have you done?”

“I’ve stopped you” Ginrai proudly declared. “You’re superweapon will soon have no heart. It’s useless!”

Overlord, enraged, charged Ginrai, smashing him to the side with a single punch. Dropping the Separation Blade as he skidded along the metal floor, coming to a rest against a wall. Overlord stormed over, before viciously beating Ginrai with a flurry of punches. He then noticed the Separation Blade lying besides Ginrai and picked it up.

“The Firstforged have always been a thorn in my side” Overlord said, holding the blade at both ends. “First Amalgus’ deceit. Now Nexus Prime and his relic. I may not be able to kill him in vengeance like his sibling… but I can still destroy his legacy.”

With that, Overlord shattered the blade over his knee. Ginrai closed his eyes as tiny fragments of metal fell to the floor as the last of its energy flickered from it, drifting to the ground like dust. Ginrai then looked up to see Overlord had broken out into maniacal laughter.

“Does it really make you that happy to destroy history?” Ginrai asked. “Even amongst your great failure, you still take glee in destroying ancient relics.”

“Oh Ginrai” Overlord said, crouching down to get close to Ginrai’s eye level. “Ginrai, Ginrai, Ginrai. Do you really think this was enough?”

This confused Ginrai. He looked around. The machinery had become a cascade of molten metal, completely unusable, and if they stayed any longer, the same fate would befall them.

“This ship is beyond repair” Ginrai said.

“This ship was a prototype. It was meant to ensure the concept worked, and from there provide live updates and patches as we founded ironed out the kinks.”

“Live sent to your production facilities.”

“Nonono. Not the production facilities. Let me show you what I mean.”

Overlord grabbed Ginrai, dragging him out of the room.

Overlord pulled Ginrai through the ship, eventually pulling him outside, where he found the remains of Overlord’s forces, including Glowstrike and Overlord’s imperial guard. Overlord threw the weakened Ginrai to the ground.

“The Serol Fleet is arriving” Glowstrike informed Overlord.

“Very good” Overlord said, before approaching Ginrai.

As Ginrai slowly pushed himself to his hands and knees, Overlord grabbed the back of his head. He forced Ginrai to look up at the sky above them.

“Really, Ginrai?” Overlord said. “Did you really think I would cause a commonwealth-wide comms blackout for your entire military for just a single ship? Do you think I wouldn’t have used the ember to activate the original solar harvester and make more? Do you really think I would think so small?”

Ginrai saw in horror as something appeared in the atmosphere. A ship. A Starstorm-class Star Dreadnought, exactly the same as the Majesty.

“We perfected the form before we sent the Majesty out” Overlord said. “We just needed to finalise the systems. Why waste time doing that before we started mass production when we can simply send patches across our own, uncompromised network. We’d sent the final patch out when we arrived in this system.”

In the sky, another Star Dreadnought appeared. Then another, and another. They kept coming, until there were 20 Starstorms hanging in the sky above the planet.

“My lord, we are ready” came a voice over Overlord’s comms. “On your order.”

“Orbital bounce us up” Overlord ordered. “And raze the planet. Leave nothing but ashes.”

“At once, my lord.”

Ginrai bowed his head in shame as he, Overlord and the remaining Combatronians vanished in a beam of light. Colossal spheres of fire ruptured the atmosphere, striking the surface with devastating force. These miniatures suns, burnt away at the world, slowly but surely turning it into a burnt out husk as all life on the world was wiped away…

 

Volume 8 - The Hollow Victory
The Sins of Ginrai Convoy​

Starstorm-Class Star Dreadnought “Ruin”, Above Varis Extrinsecus
Ginrai was dragged onto the bridge of the colossal star dreadnought, hovering above Varis Extrinsecus. Overlord stood behind him as Crucible and Scissorsaw pulled Ginrai up. They lifted him up to a large arch, and as they dropped him, a gravity field caught him, suspending him in midair. Ginrai looked up towards the glass window lining the cockpit, and could see intense balls of fire, flying towards the planet, scorching it.

“Magnificent” Overlord. “Are you impressed, Ginrai?”

Ginrai was silent. He couldn’t stomach the ability to answer.

“Struck with awe? Unsurprising. These magnificent ships are the apex of Cybertronian war-tech, no interference by any meddling third parties.”

Ginrai looked scornfully at Overlord. Overlord simply smiled in return.

“All that death, all that destruction” Ginrai growled. “And for what?”

“To show you what we are capable of. What I am capable of. A spectacle.”

“You killed all those innocent people just to show off? They were neutral! They didn’t have a stake in this war!”

“Pah! Neutrals! What good are they? A bunch of miserable little lives, no strife, no struggle, no challenge. Once the planet’s been cleared of these useless bystanders, we can convert the planet into something useful. Perhaps add another Warworld arsenal, perhaps turn it into a factory world. Or maybe it can become a product facility for more Starstorms.”

Overlord looked at the planet in front of him. He raised his hand, and the bombardment ceased. What was left of the planet was now charred black husk, ashy smoke beginning to fill its atmosphere.

“It’s a shame, really” Overlord said. “Such a death could’ve been avoided. Overall, sure, death might’ve been inevitable if we’d completely drained their sun, but they might’ve been able to enjoy a death not consisting of agonising incineration had you not chosen to intervene. Yes, rather rash.”

Ginrai looked down in shame. Overlord took pleasure in this.

“Chin up, this is only the beginning” Overlord smiled, before turning to his bridge crew, comms open to his fleet. “ALL SHIPS, WE JUMP!”

The fleet of dreadnoughts began rotating around away from Varis Extrinsecus, before disappearing in flashes of light, leaving the ravaged world behind.

---

Soon after, the Zagreus arrived, accompanied by several smaller ships. Aboard it, Crumble, Quickshadow, Rocket Plume and Thunderhead stood around the table with a hologram of Groundshaker, though the image was still fuzzy.

“Your patch seems to be breaking through the comms blackout, Crumble” Groundshaker said through faint static. “We’ve managed to re-established contact with a number of our fleets and battlegrounds.”

“Glad to know it’s getting out” Crumble replied. “Hopefully we can completely bring us back to full functionality.”

“Agreed. Moving on, have you managed to locate Ginrai yet.”

“We’ve followed the quantum trace of the ship he hijacked” Quickshadow said. “But we’re not picking up any ships in this sector.”

“We do have several traces of quantum energy” Thunderhead added. “Fresh traces.”

“Uhhhh… guys?” came Ignitor’s voice from the front of the bridge. “You might want to look at this.”

“What is it?” Rocket Plume asked, walking over. “What in the pit…”

Rocket Plume paused, seeing the Ignitor and Tailpipe staring at the scorched husk of Varis Extrinsecus. The others soon joined and simply stood in shock, staring straight at burnt out world.

“What is it?” Groundshaker asked. “What have you found?”

“The planet” Quickshadow stuttered. “It’s been scorched.”

“Are you sure? It is a volcanic planet, it-”

“No…” Thunderhead said. “The entire world has been turned into a charred husk. There’s no life on it.”

“I know we saw what it did to that fleet, but this…” Tailpipe commented. “This is a whole other level.”

Quickshadow tore herself from the view and returned to the holotable, bringing her attention back to Groundshaker.

“This thing has to be stopped” Quickshadow stated.

“How are we supposed to do that?” Ignitor asked. “It just ravaged an entire world!”

“We’ll… figure something out” Quickshadow said. “It’s still a ship. If we marshal our forces, we may still be able to overwhelm it. We’ve destroyed countless Warworlds and Warmoons, we can destroy this.”

“I’ll try and contact as many ships as I can and have the rendezvous with you, but with comms having been down, the Combatrons will certainly have pressed the advantage. It may take time.”

“We may have one advantage” Thunderhead said. “Ginrai’s still out there, and if he’s on that weapon, he’s causing havoc.”

“I hope so” Quickshadow sighed. “For all our sakes.”

Star Dreadnought “Ruin”, In Transit
Aboard the bridge of the “Ruin”, Ginrai struggled against his restraints. He tried to pull himself free, to no avail. Overlord watched with amusement, before approaching.

“Why bother trying to get out?” he asked. “You won’t. And even then, where would you run?”

“I will go right down to the heart of this ship, and I will use it's own heart to burn it from the inside out.”

“Oh, aren’t we touchy? And I’ve gone to the trouble of making our next target a special one.”

“What do you mean?”

Overlord gave a smirk at Ginrai, before walking towards the other end of the bridge. He then turned to address his officers.

“How long till we arrive?”

“We will be returning to real space soon” said one of the officers.

“And have all ships been fully patched through the network?”

“All ships are running to the same specifications the Majesty was upon last update” another said.

“Good” Overlord said, before activating his comms. “All warships, focus on the fleet first with support weaponry. I want to save our primary weapons for the surface itself.”

“What do you mean?” Ginrai asked, raising his head. “Where are we going?”

“Oh Ginrai, isn’t it obvious?” Overlord said delightedly, turning around on his heel to face his nemesis. “Welcome home.”

Ginrai saw in horror as the ship exited quantum jump, and found himself staring straight at Cybertron. Overlord laughed at Ginrai’s reaction, before turning back around and gesturing to the collection of battleships and defence stations between them and the planet.

“ALL SHIPS, FIRE!”

The Decagon, Iacon
Within the domed of Iacon, Cybertronians were rushing around a strategy centre, coordinating Cybertron’s defence. Suddenly, alarms started blaring, indicating enemy ships arriving in local space.

“Incoming fleet sir!” said one of the officers. “We’re detecting 20 ships quantum jumping into Cybertron space from sector Kro.”

“Tell the fleet to engage” said the commanding officer. “Tell Fort Scyk, Taber and Lok to begin targeting the enemy fleet with surface-to-space Quasarcasters. Do we know what fleet composition we’re dealing with?”

“Unknown, sir” reported another officer. “Preliminary scans show the ships are new, and huge.”

“Get me DefStat 7, I want to know what we’re dealing with.”

One of the officers nodded, and pressed a few buttons. After several minutes of waiting, the image of another Cybertronian appeared on the screen.”

“Commander Strait, what are we dealing with?” the commanding officer of the Decagon said.

“General Boltshot!” Strait said, giving a salute. “We’re trying to get a good look but their firepower is thick. They’re tearing our fleet apart!”

The hologram of Strait grabbed onto something unseen as the hologram shook. Loud booms echoed over the audio, before Strait pulled herself back up.

“Based on size, they look to be Star Dreadnoughts” she said. “I can’t tell, but they look to have massive fixed weaponry, but they haven’t used them-”

“COMMANDER, WE’VE LOST STATION INTEGRITY” called another voice from the hologram. “WE’RE GOING TO-”

The hologram immediately cut out, and those around the holotable looked amongst each other. Another alarm started blaring, one that hadn’t been activated in quite some time.

“We’re detecting multiple objects falling into the atmosphere” an officer in the Decagon. “We’re projecting multiple kinetic strikes across the entire eastern hemisphere.”

“How many are we-?” Boltshot began to ask.

“The entire fleet” the officer said grimly.

“Get me Olterhex.”

Varis System
The Zagreus held its position as slowly ships began forming up around. Every now and then, another ship would jump into, joining the forming fleet. Though few full sized cruisers had arrived, the fleet was steadily building.

Aboard the bridge of the Zagreus, Quickshadow talked with Groundshaker as Ignitor, Rocket Plume, Thunderhead, Crumble and Tailpipe watched.

“The Solstice and Devisiun Edge have just arrived” Quickshadow informed.

“I’ve managed to get through to Karrix” Groundshaker responded. “They’re sending us several Charger Frigates.”

“How long are we gonna wait here for?” Thunderhead mused. “Getting tired of this waiting.”

“Primus Thunderhead, that thing burnt a planet to a husk” Tailpipe said. “Going in underequipped is going to get people killed.”

“Didn’t stop Ginrai” Ignitor said, looking back at the scorched planet.

Nobody spoke. None of them could try to justify Ginrai breaking off after what had happened to Varis Extrinsecus.

“What’s done is done” Rocket Plume stated. “We can’t change what’s happened. We can only try and prevent further tragedy, and the larger our force, the better a chance we have of taking down that weapon.”

Ignitor looked at Rocket Plume, before sighing. Their conversation was interrupted when an alarm started blaring, coming not from the ship's own alert systems, but Groundshaker’s holograms. The group approached as Quickshadow saw Groundshaker looking incredibly concerned.

“Nononono” Groundshaker said. “Declare code Zero Slash Zero Slash Zero! Tell all available battle groups initially directed to Varis to redirect! I want all available resources from priority amber battle zones relocated too!”

“Code triple zero?” Quickshadow exclaimed. “You can’t mean-”

“Mobilise all forces immediately! We haven’t got time to waste!”

“What’s going on?” Crumble asked. “What’s happening, Quickshadow?”

“All ships, assume battle formation” Quickshadow said to the fleet, ignoring Crumble’s question. “All crewmembers to battlestations!”

“Quickshadow?!”

“Cybertron is under attack!” Quickshadow announced. “Prepare for battle!”

The entire fleet began moving in formation, turning before jumping in flashes of light.

Star Dreadnought “Ruin”, Above Cybertron
Aboard the bridge of the Ruin, Ginrai and Overlord watched as the fleet of Starstorms’ barrage ceased, the Cybertronian fleet guarding the planet now only a debris field.

“The fleet has been destroyed” Glowstrike reported to Overlord.

“Very good” Overlord smiled. “And that was just a taster.”

“Now what, you reinvade the planet?” Ginrai asked. “Destroy a few of our defence installations with ease.”

“What makes you think I want to reinvade?” Overlord asked.

“What do you-?”

“Victory over this world is a symbol” Overlord explained. “I don’t need it to be intact to plant my banner on it. I simply need my enemy crushed.”

“No! NO! YOU CAN’T!”

“Why can’t I?” Overlord asked.

“There are civilians down there! They don’t deserve to-”

“Ginrai, if I didn’t care about the non-aligned cowards, why would I spare your Vanguard aligned dullards? If they will not fight, then what point is of them?”

“NO!”

“ALL SHIPS!” Overlord commanded over the comms. “CHARGE PRIMARY WEAPONS! TARGET THE SURFACE! FOCUS ON HIGH POPULATION AREAS!”

“I swear to Primus, Overlord, when I get out of these restraints, I will-”

“Then do it! Prove to me you can break free! Show me what it is you intend to do!”

Ginrai looked around him as officers began working at consoles, hurriedly working for their Overlord.

“Cannons primed, sir!” one announced.

“Target locked!” another shouted.

“Then what are we waiting for? Overlord asked loudly. “ALL SHIPS, FIRE!”

A ball of intense solar energy was launched from one of the Ruin’s frontal cannons, followed by a second one. The entire fleet of Star Dreadnoughts followed suit, shooting fireball after fireball at Cybertron. Ginrai couldn’t stomach to watch as the first fireballs glimmered as they breached the atmosphere, knowing the devastation they would cause when they hit the surface.

The Decagon, Iacon
The alarms in the Decagon sounded louder as Vanguard officers rushed about their stations, trying to organise a response to the attack.

“STATUS REPORT!” Boltshot yelled over the cacophony of noise.

“MULTIPLE HIGH ENERGY HAVE PROJECTILES STRUCK SEVERAL CITIES!”

“DAMAGE REPORT!”

“CRITICAL DAMAGE TO SECTORS OF IACON, KAON, TESARUS, TARN, TYCHO, TRIAX, POLYHEX! WE’VE LOST MORS, KABER RIX, MORSHADA, LOWDON AND NICROL!”

“LOST? WHAT DO YOU MEAN LOST?”

“THEY’RE GONE. SIR! THE BLASTS COMPLETELY WIPED THEM OUT!”

“INCOMING PROJECTILE!” said an officer on one of the consoles on the edge of the last room. “EVERYONE BRACE!”

“Oh Primus…”

A sphere of solar energy struck the Decagon directly, destroying the building in a matter of moments. The surrounding cityblock was levelled by the blast, and a wave of fiery energy spread out, torching numerous buildings in the vicinity.

Cybertron Space
The Zagreus emerged from jump, numerous ships appearing alongside it. The fleet was bearing down on the Ruin from behind, a clear view of numerous Starstorms blitzing Cybertron’s surface.

“No…” Ignitor weakly said, watching the streams of fireballs flying towards Cybetron’s surface...

“How… how many of them are out there?” Thunderhead stuttered.

“Scans are giving us… Twenty” Quickshadow sighed. “It doesn’t matter. We make our stand.”

“How are we going to fight that?” Crumble asked.

“There’ll be a way. There has to be. All ships, launch all fighters and focus on the engines! Those ships are huge, so grounding them might be our best chance at stopping them!”

Hangar Three, Zagreus
The hangar doors of the Zagreus opened up, and squadrons of starfighters began launching from the ship. In a Hurricane-class starfighter, Tailipipe lifted his craft from the hangar floor and took off with the other fighters.

“Don’t waste your shots” Tailpipe said as he flew straight towards the Ruin’s nearest engine. “Those thrusters are massive, so even hitting the cone won’t do much. We need direct shots into the thermal ignition to do any real damage.”

“We read you, boss” came a voice over the comms. “Proton rockets it is then.”

“Be on your toes” came another voice on the comms. “Just because they haven’t sent out fighter support or started shooting at us to repel us doesn’t mean they won’t.”

“Oh, they’ve definitely been made aware of our presence” Tailpipe replied. “Be ready to break off if need be.”

“Understood.”

A laser blast flew above Tailpipe’s ship. He looked at his scanners, and saw the Vanguard fleet was already firing on the Ruin. Their shots impacted the Ruin’s shield, rippling it off it.

“That’s our covering fire” Tailpipe said. “Now let’s destroy some superweapons!”

Bridge, The Ruin
“Sir, enemy fleet emerged from jump behind us!” said one of the deck officers. “They’re firing on this ship’s rear and have deployed starfighter forces.”

“Cease bombardment” Overlord ordered. “Well, Ginrai, seem your friends have finally caught up to you.”

“If you dare-”

“I think I will dare. Redirect energy to rear shields and weapons. Launch fighters and support craft. Destroy that fleet.”

---

Outside, starfighters poured out of the Ruin’s hangars, flying towards the the Vanguard squadrons, accompanied by a harry of laser fire. Immediately, several Vanguard fighters were blasted apart by the swarm of craft.

“JADE SEVEN IS DOWN!”

“THIS IS EMERALD FOUR, I’VE LOST- ARGH!!!!!”

“CELADON FIVE, I’LL TRY AND- ARGH!!!”

“ALL SHIPS, BREAK OFF!” Tailpipe ordered over the comms as his wingmate’s craft was destroyed by a blast from one of the Ruin’s point defence cannons.

The Vanguard fighters scattered as a blast from one of the Ruin’s heavy cannons tore through several fighters, rupturing the hull of a Charger frigate behind.

---

In the bridge of the Zagreus, holographic displays showed the battle behind, counting the number of Vanguard ships dropping one by one.

“I WILL KILL YOU, OVERLORD!” Ginrai yelled.

“THEN DO IT!” “Overlord shouted back.

Overlord turned around to face Ginrai and grabbed him by the neck. Overlord smiled at Ginrai.

“Oh wait, you can’t” Overlord gloated. “You’re trapped!”

“Yes” snarled Ginrai. “But so to are you!”

“What do you-”

Ginrai’s head sunk into his body, dragging Overlord’s hand in with it. As Ginrai’s body started shuddering, Overlord could hear the grinding of Ginrai’s transformation cog as fought against the gravity field.

“NO!”

Overlord fought against the gravity field, trying to pull his hand from Ginrai’s chassis. As he did, he slowly dragged Ginrai with him, the devices sustaining the gravity field began sparking as they struggled to hold it. With a final burst of sparks, the devices gave in, and Overlord toppled back, Ginrai thrown over him. Ginrai reverted back to his robot mode, releasing his hand. Ginrai skid across the floor, clawing into the floor as knocked a Combatronian aside.

“KILL HIM!” Glowstrike ordered.

As a pair of Tankor Vehicons charged forward, Ginrai quickly grabbed Overlord’s tank barrel and engaged its lancehead. He quickly bisected one of the Tankors, then stabbed the other through the head. Crucible and Scissorsaw charged forward, but Ginrai blasted the pair with a powerful pulse of energy.

“Urgh…” Overlord moaned as he stirred again.

“Time to end this.”

Ginrai pointed the cannon directly at Overlord, aiming right at his head. Before he could fire, however, he was attacked by Forestock, who lunged at him, slashing him several times across the chest. Forestock quickly knocked the weapon aside, and leapt back, adopting his sniper mode for the killing blow. Thinking fast, Ginrai grabbed the barrel and swung it as a concentrated blast of energy struck his shoulder. Ginrai then threw Forestock across the room, knocking down several of the bridge crew as others fled. Glowstrike watched her crew flee, and after a brief glance at Ginrai, fled too.

“GINRAAAAIIIIIIII!”

Recovered, Overlord, lunged Ginrai, but he was ready. Ginrai backstepped, allowing Overlord to fly past him, smashing into the window. Ginrai took the opportunity, grabbing Overlord by the back of his head, and repeatedly bashing his still burned face into a console before throwing him to the ground.

“Now to end this madness!” Ginrai said, rushing to his next console. “All I need is to get into you patch network and send a shutdown command to all of your ship.”

Overlord rolled over, moaning. Then came laughter. Ginrai looked at Overlord in disbelief as he lay on the floor, insanely laughing.

“WHAT’S SO FUNNY?!” Ginrai yelled.

“Oh Ginrai, Ginrai, Ginrai, weren’t you paying attention?” his nemesis cackled. “The ships are fully patched. I had the network shut down.”

“No. Nononono. YOU’RE LYING!”

“Oh, Ginrai, do I look stupid? Do you think I would leave some sort of master killswitch lying about? Some critical weakness that would destroy everything from a single hub? I’m not a Chitauri, and I’m not an idiot.”

Overlord pulled himself up, using a nearby consoles to support himself. Ginrai stared at him, before activating the ship’s comms, hailing the Zagreus.

“Go on, say your goodbyes to them if you must. Before they wipe you out.”

Bridge, The Zagreus
The bridge of Zagreus rocked as a blast of energy from the Ruin struck it. Thunderhead and Rocket Plume watched the battle, seeing their starfighters barely making it close to the Ruin.

“It ain’t good out there” Thunderhead commented.

The ship shook again. A small corvette drifted past, flames coating its hull. The corvette then finally exploded, debris scattering in all directions.

“No it is not…” Rocket Plume glumly responded.

Behind them, around the holotable, Quickshadow looked at a display of the ongoing battle, more and more Vanguard ships vanishing from the display. On the opposite side, Crumble was monitoring the Zagreus’ status. Ignitor stood behind them, watching from the wall.

“We lost hangar one” Crumble responded.”Critical damage to both heavy batteries.”

“Dammit” Quickshadow moaned. “Focus all remaining weapons on the central thruster.”

“Ma’am, we’re getting an incoming hailing from the lead Star Dreadnought” one of the officers sitting at a console set.

“Overlord wants to gloat again” Quickshadow sighed. “Put it through, and I’ll shut it off when I’ve heard enough.”

“Won’t take long” Crumble replied.

The officer complied with the order, and the group were surprised to see Ginrai appear in place of Overlord.

“Ginrai?” Quickshadow exclaimed.

This drew everyone’s attention, causing Thunderhead and Rocket Plume to approach the console.

“I knew you were still out there!” Thunderhead smiled.

“Ginrai, where are you?” Quickshadow asked.

“I’m…on the bridge of the lead star dreadnought” Ginrai explained.”I was able to subdue the original, but… well, you can see that we were misled to believe there was just one.”

“We’re hitting them with everything we’ve got and it’s doing nothing. We can’t get close enough to even do any real damage. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Fall back” Ginrai grimly stated. “Get out of here. Out of the system.”

“We can just give up!” Ignitor said, stepping forward. “We can’t leave these things to finish destroying Cybertron and move onto the next planet.”

“There is only one course of action left. Just get out of here.”

“You can’t mean…” Crumble stated, realising what Ginrai wanted to do.”If you do that, it’d be cataclysmic!”

“It would be far worse to let these ships live. It is a necessary evil.”

“Ginrai, whatever you’re planning, there has to be another way” Ignitor said, trying to figure out what Ginrai had in mind. “You can’t just make this call, whatever it is, without discussing it. A necessary evil is still an evil.”

“All our other options are no longer available to us. Ignitor, the Combatronians have to be stopped. Overlord has to be stopped. I’m sorry, so I say again. Get out of here.”

“The must be some other-”

“JUST GO!!!!” Ginrai harshly yelled.

There was silence. Nobody dared respond. Ignitor stepped back in shock. Sighing, Ginrai finally broke the silence.

“Please…” he begged. “Goodbye.”

Ginrai’s hologram phased out. Everyone looked amongst each other, unsure of what to do. Ignitor placed her hands on the table, bowing her head to hide her upset face.

“What do we do?” Rocket Plume asked.

“We… we go” Ignitor quietly said.

“All ships” Quickshadow ordered over the comms to the fleet. “Fall back. Retreat to Staging Ground Locust.”

Bridge, The Ruin
Ginrai looked at the screens around him. He watched the Vanguard’s starfighter contacts retreated into their cruisers, followed by the ships one by one vanishing from the scans. He breathed a sigh of relief that they were safe, before giving a sad look at Cybertron. Ginrai then set to work on the console.

“GARGH!” Ginrai yelled as a sniper bolt struck his abdomen.

The blast carried Ginrai through the air, sending him hurtling into the floor. Clutching his wound, Ginrai saw Overlord pointing Forestock in his sniper rifle mode at him, smoke billowing out of the barrel.

“I said you could say your goodbyes” Overlord smiled. “I didn’t say you could fiddle about with anything else.”

Ginrai pulled himself back up with a groan. Energon dripped from his wound, staining the ground.

“Right through the transformation cog” Overlord said. “Didn’t wanna go for the spark, that would be boring.”

Ginrai dug his hand into the wound. He pulled and ripped the now useless cog from his body, holding it in his hand. He stared at it for a moment.

“Oh, I wasn’t expecting that” Overlord mused. “Get rid of the useless parts I suppose.”

Ginrai looked up at Overlord. He slowly limped toward Overlord, only to change pace and throw the transformation cog straight at Overlord. Overlord stumbled back in surprise, and Ginrai charged at Overlord. He swung his arm at Forestock, knocking him out of Overlord’s hand and sending them crashing against the reinforced windows, before slumping to the ground, his torturous faceplate falling from his face.

Ginrai tackled Overlord to the ground, repeatedly striking the tyrant, before being thrown off. Landing by Forestock, Ginrai noticed his disconnected face, balancing on the various torture spikes and tools attached to the underside. Quick, he grabbed it and kept it out of sight.

“Nice try” Overlord said, standing up. “I applaud your little deception. Definitely wasn’t expecting you to throw your own T-Cog at me.”

Ginrai lay prone as Overlord approached. He heard the footsteps growing louder before eventually stopping right in front of him. As Overlord crouched, GInrai took his chance, he slammed Forestock’s faceplate straight into Overlord’s face.

“AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!” Overlord roared in pain, struggling to get the mask off of himself.

Ginrai immediately stood back up, and shoulder barged Overlord away, knocking him over another of the consoles. Ginrai then returned to the console he had been working at and begun typing away.

“The only way” Ginrai tried to reassure himself as he set into motion his last resort.

Overlord struggled with the mask, eventually tearing it off, though taking off the plastoid of his jaw, exposing the endoskeleton beneath.

“What are you doing?” Overlord snarled. “Like I said, the network’s down.”

“Accessing the solar harvester” Ginrai said.

“Your little trick with the coolant might be able to shut this ship down, but there’s a whole fleet out there! You cannot hope to shut down this entire fleet.”

“I know” Ginrai sighed. “Which is why there’s only one option.”

“NO!” Overlord roared, realising what Ginrai’s doing. “NO! THIS IS NOT HOW THIS ENDS!”

Overlord attempted to charge Ginrai, but paused as the bridge was bathed in a red light.

“EVACUATE!” came an automated voice over the intercom. “EVACUATE! EVACUATE! EVACUATE! EVACUATE!”

“I’ve disabled the coolant systems and turned off the safeguards” Ginrai explained, “I’ve set the system to pump all collected energy back into the system, not mention your secondary energon reserves. The heart of your ship is going into overload.”

“YOU’RE TURNING MY SHIP INTO A NOVA!”

“The resultant explosion will generate a powerful shockwave of solar radiation and propel irradiated superheated debris in all directions with enough force that it will strike every other Star Dreadnought in your fleet. The resulting wave of solar energy will cause energy overloads in all other solar harvesters, triggering a similar reaction in those ships. A cataclysmic chain reaction.”

“YOU’RE INSANE” Overlord yelled. “EVEN FOR MY STANDARDS, THIS IS INSANE! YOU REALISE THE SOLAR WAVE WILL RAVAGE CYBERTRON?”

“I… it is the only way” Ginrai said. “I do this to stop you ravaging any further worlds. If this is the only way to end this conflict, to end you, then I will do so.”

“THIS WILL NOT BE THE END!” Overlord shouted as loud as he could. “I WILL NOT DIE LIKE THIS!”

Overlord sprayed Ginrai with lasers from his hip repeaters, pinning him against the console. Using the moment, Overlord grabbed Forestock before charging for the exit. Ginrai attempted to leap at him and tackle him, but missed, and watched Overlord disappear through the doorway.

Ginrai stood back up, weakly returning to his feet. He had hoped that he would’ve been able to stop Overlord, keep him here to destroy them both with the destruction of the ships. Perhaps through death, he might be able to find peace, a final end from the fighting. But with Overlord out of his grasp, his work was not done.

“EVACUATE! EVACUATE! EVACUATE!”

Ginrai limped to the doorway, deafened by the alarms and the evacuation order. Ginrai knew that now he would have to face the damage done by his actions. He carried himself into the next room, knowing that there were escape pods nearby. He hoped that there might still be one left.

Fellstrike Corvette “Entropy”, “Ruin” Docking Bay
A Combatronian Corvette flew out of the hangar with speed. Aboard its bridge, Overlord firmly stood. As they flew from the Ruin, Overlord looked back at the Ruin. He briefly considered staying, watching the final sacking of Cybertron.

“You’re orders, sir” said the ship’s captain.

“Take us back to Tuurok” Overlord coldly ordered.

“Yes, my lord.”

The corvette turned away from Cybertron, before vanishing in a flash of light as it quantum jumped away.

Escape Pod Row, The “Ruin”
Ginrai finally came to the escape pods. Limping to the wall, he rested his hand against it, using to support himself as he walked. There was one pod left, right at the end of the row,

“EVACUATE! EVACUATE! EVACUATE!”

GInrai slowly made his way to the pod, forcing himself into it and onto one of the seats. He pressed a button, and the door sealed behind him, muffling the loud alarm. Ginrai pressed a few more buttons and the pod rattled as it was thrust from the ship. Ginrai sat against the wall limply, his head slumped to the side as he stared out of the pod window, Cybertron coming into view..

“Primus forgive me” Ginrai muttered as he awaited the inevitable.

Then he felt the boom as behind him, the Ruin exploded in a mighty fireball. Debris flew in all directions as a wave of solar energy surged out in all directions. Ginrai felt the wave strike the pod, sending it spinning out of control towards the planet below. Though he tried to turn his head to avoid the view outside the pod as it became a blur, he could briefly catch the shapes of other Star Dreadnoughts beings struck by the energy wave.

The pod shot through the atmosphere of Cybertron, debris falling around it. The pod struck the surface with incredible force, slammed into the ground by the wave of energy. It skimmed across the surface several times, throwing Ginrai around inside, before finally skidding to a stop.

Ginrai waited inside the pod. He knew what was to come next. He felt the pod shake as several flashes of light struck the surface of Cybertron, pulsewaves from more of the exploding Star Dreadnoughts. When they stopped, Ginrai waited a few moments more, just in case any more passed. Finally, Ginrai smashed through the escape pod window, stumbling out. He looked upwards, and the sky was bright yellow, numerous objects falling through it.

Next Ginrai looked out ahead of him. He could see a city, sections of it already destroyed. Debris rained more of it, and Ginrai grimly watched as a building collapsed from an impact. He sighed, before beginning the long walk towards the ruined civilisation.

The Zagreus, Iacon
After some time, Ginrai was finally able to teleport back to Iacon, where the Zagreus had landed near the ruins of the Decagon. Ginrai was met by silent stares as he boarded the ship. He quietly walked through the halls of the partially damaged ship. Finally, he made it to the bridge, where he found his allies silently waiting.

“Ginrai…” Quickshadow said. “What happened up there?”

“I… did what I had to.”

The others looked at each other silently, unsure what to make of this.

“There was no other way” Ginrai said, trying to justify his actions.

“Are you sure?” Ignitor asked, stepping forward. “Was there really no other way? If you had not gone off on your own, maybe we could’ve-”

“I had to make the hard decision. I had no choice, regardless of the repercussions. Its the hard truth of leadership, and bearing the matrix.”

“Then… I’m not sure this the path I want to continue on.”

“Ignitor…”

“I’m sorry, but you abandoned us in pursuit of stopping Overlord. When you came to me, it sounded like a dream, too good to be true. But if after all the battle and attrition, if it just wears leadership down to just trying to kill or contain one person, no matter the cost… I don’t know if I could ever stomach that cost. I mean, I joined you to make a difference, to do some good… but I think after so long, winning this war has just been for the sake of absolution, and nothing more.

Ginrai paused silently, ashamed.

“I think it’s time I stepped away from this path” Ignitor sadly said.

“I… I understand.”

Ignitor walked past Ginrai towards the elevator. Thunderhead tried to step in and stop her, but Ginrai raised his hands, signalling him not to.

“But boss, she can’t just leave a war” Thunderhead tried to protest.

“It’s my fault she was pulled into this war” GInrai replied, before watching her go. “I… I will be in my quarters.”

Ginrai left the room, leaving the others to process the last view hours.

Hangar, The Zagreus
Quickshadow stood in the hangar, watching Ignitor depart in a shuttle. She paused as the ship flew off and took to the sky. She was soon distracted by her comms blinking.

“This is Quickshadow” she said, answering her comms. “Go on.”

“Groundshaker’s contacting us” came the voice of Rocket Plume. “You’re needed on the bridge.”

“I’ll be there soon, I just need to make a quick stop.”

Quickshadow left the hangar, making her way through the ship to Ginrai’s quarters. As she approached the door, she heard a loud crash coming from the other side. Entering, she found Ginrai’s recharge pad torn from the floor and thrown against the wall in a fit of rage. Ginrai stood in the centre of the room, breathing heavily.

“Ginrai?” Quickshadow asked, approaching him.

“It’s my fault” Ginrai stated. “It’s all my fault.”

“You couldn’t have know. You couldn’t have known he had more of those ships.”

“I didn’t see it when he blinded us. I didn’t see it when I followed him, abandoned everyone to do so. I triggered the cataclysmic overload that razed our homeworld, worse than Overlord’s barrage. I… I….”

Ginrai stopped talking, trying to regain his composure. He stood up straight, turning to face Quickshadow.

“This has to end.”

“How? What are you suggesting?”

“It’s time. Operation Severance. We have to pressure the Combatrons, clear all their resources from the board without pause. We need to move in on Tuurok, and end this war for once and for all…”

---

And so we come to the end of another volume! As ever, thanks to you guys for reading, and a massive thanks to @Stonecrusher for all the help he gives to me!

And now...

---

 

Volume 9 - Means and Endings
To Be So Bold​

Warship Construction Sector 7b, Knerax Minor Orbital Ring
Battle filled the space around Knerax Minor. The entire system had been turned to a massive battleground, as Vanguard and Combatronian ships engaged in fierce combat for nearly a year. After so long fighting, Vanguard forces had confined the Combatronians around their shipyard, orbiting the gas giant Knerax Minor. Fighters darted through the gaps between warships, as Vanguard boarding parties fought within the titanic structure surrounding the planet. One such party, under the command of Major Goldbug, pressed through the corridor towards one of the sectors constructing massive warships

“PRESS FORWARD, ALPHA COMPANY!” yelled Goldbug, felling a Combatronian with several precise shots. “WE NEED TO MAKE IT TO THE CONSTRUCTION CENTRE AT THE EXACT SAME TIME CAPTAIN CHAR PAX AND CAPTAIN KEELI ARRIVE BETA AND GAMMA COMPANY IF WE HAVE ANY CHANCE OF MAKE THIS STRIKE AS CO-ORDINATED AS POSSIBLE.”

Pushing through the corridor, Goldbug’s company made short work of the Vehicons guarding the door. Ginrai nodded another Cybertronian, and they quickly spliced the door controls. The door slid open, and the group were immediately fired on by Combatronians.

“TAKE COVER!” Goldbug yelled at his troops.

Goldbug and several others dived behind whatever crates and refuelling equipment was lying around the area. Goldbug dived behind a pile of crates with Beetoo, a gold coloured bot with a pair of large cannons in place of her forearms. Beetoo took a peak over the crates at the construction centre, before ducking as a sniper bolt ricocheted off one of the top of the crate.

“What do you make?” Goldbug asked.

“Lotta contacts” Beetoo replied. “S.T.A.G. trooper and a number of mixed body-types firing on us from atop a mid-repair Deepvault frigate. Tankor and Overdrive series on the construction floor, seven Wall Crawler series propped up on the back wall.”

“Dammit, snipers and a Sixchanger, That makes things difficult.”

Goldbug and Beetoo’s attention was distracted as they watched one of their comrades poke out from behind a fuel pump, only to be immediately felled by a sniper bolt.

“Dammit, when are Beta and Gamma companies getting here?” Beetoo asked.

“They’ll be here!” Goldbug retorted.

The pair watched at a pair of Autotroopers hiding behind a fuel tank were sent flying as a blast from a Tankor’s cannon ignited their hiding spot, sending them flying.

“Big ask.”

Goldbug and Beetoo poked up from their hiding spot, firing a few shots at their attackers before ducking again behind cover as return fire came back at them. Both sides exchanged fire with each other, though more of the Vanguard were gunned down their Combatronian foes.

As his forces blasted down on the Vanguard, the red and purple sixchanger, Hexadeathimal, stepped forward atop the frigate tauntingly.

“THAT THE BEST YOU GOT?” he yelled.

“SIR!” said a Combatronian, pointing towards the energy shield keeping them from being sucked out into the vacuum of space. “INCOMING!”

Goldbug looked to the shield, and saw a fireball outside flying towards the ship. The fireball crashed across the top of the Deepvault, sending several of the Combatronians flying off the top of the ship. The fireball stopped, and as the flames dissipated, standing there was Ginrai, donning his super mode, the smouldering alt-mode of an Afterburn Vehicon in the hand.

“GINRAI, SIR?” Goldbug exclaimed in surprise.

“THE CONVOY!” Hexadeathimal yelled. “KILL HIM!”

The Wall Crawlers immediately trailed their snipers on Ginrai. In response, Ginrai quickly through the Afterburn at them, smashing three of them off the wall.

“Spacing” Ginrai muttered, pulling out a large blaster and pointing at the wall.

An intense barrage of shots projected for the barrel, streaming against the wall and bringing down the remaining Wall Crawlers. Ginrai then fired several shots at Hexadeathimal, and the two started brawling. Goldbug poked his head up, before turning to see shots coming from his side taking down Vehicons.

“SORRY WE’RE LATE!” came a grizzled voice from the left.

Coming from the side, a green bot with pick-up truck kibble emerged from a large entranceway, followed by a large force of Cybertronians and Autotroopers. Beetoo looked at the other side, where an Autotrooper with brown decals on their body charged out with more Autotroopers.

“You’re here now, Captain Pax!” Goldbug said, rising from his position and blasting a Vehicon with electricity. “Now we can finish the job!”

Goldbug lead his forces in a short firefight, finishing off the remaining Combatronian footsoldiers, as Ginrai threw an unconscious Hexadeathimal to the floor. He then turned to look at the Vanguard forces.

“COME ON!” Ginrai rallied. “JUST THE COMMAND CENTRE!”

Ginrai leapt from the ship, and tore a metal bulkhead on the other end of the room, before transforming into his vehicle mode, smashing through several more Vehicons. Goldbug looked at his Beetoo, then the rest of his troops.

“Well?” Goldbug asked. “Are we gonna let him have all the fun!”

With an uproarious battle cry, Goldbug and his forces charged through the doorway and after Ginrai, hoping they would catch up before he had already finished the job.

The Orion, Knerax System
Soon, the battle was over, and the Vanguard fleet had control over the production facility. The remaining Combatronian warships were being forced to dock with Knerax so that they could be retrofitted for Vanguard skeleton crews. Numerous Vanguard ships remained in position around the planet and its construction ring.

Aboard one of these ships, The Orion, Ginrai and Goldbug entered the bridge, where several Cybertronians, most in the form of holograms, surrounded a holotable. Ginrai nodded at Quickshadow as he approached the table.

“We’ve routed the Combatronians and have taken control of the Ebon Arsenal” said the hologram of Impactus Major. “What are your instructions?”

“Destroy the facility” Ginrai ordered, looking at Impactus Major. “Leave nothing of it.”

“Are you sure? From what our scouts said, the technology held there-”

“Cannot get out again” Groundshaker countered. “Ginrai’s right, it needs to be destroyed so it cannot see the daylight again.”

“Hrrn…understood.”

“What else have we got?”

“Yharon’s forces have retreated to Animatros” the hologram of Steelbane reported. “We believe insurrections on his homeworld have required his attention, and his armies have either returned with him or dispersed into other Combatronian units.”

“We also believe Exarchon has retreated from the war” added a jetformer, Sonicjump. “Seems he’s more interested in self-preservation than seeing this war through.”

“Then it’s almost time to move on Tuurok” Ginrai mused. “How are preparations going?”

“Peritus is organising the spearhead fleet as we speak” Groundshaker replied. “We’re gotten whatever fleets immediately available to him, and their squadrons are being briefed.”

“Understood” Ginrai replied. “I’ll see that the ships here are retrofitted for our skeleton crews so that they’re ready to join the battle. I’ll check in on him and make sure we have the right jump coordinates to follow him in the meantime.”

“My fleet will join you at the staging co-ordinates” Sonicjump replied.

“I am organising our ground forces for once the fleet has broken through” Impactus added. “Combined with the Eukarian forces, we should have a sizable invasion force.”

“Our warriors our spread out, but we’ll be there” Steelbane replied.

“I’ll see whatever forces I can scrounge for you by then” Groundshaker added.

“Well then, I wish us all luck” Ginrai said. “Hopefully soon this war will be over.”

Ashmar Citadel Throne Room, Tuurok
Overlord sat on his throne, scowling. Before him stood three of his High Generals, Turmoil, Clench and Skyquake, along with Hatchet and Macabre.

“Is it time?” Overlord asked.

“Our scouts report that the Primal Vanguard have now captured the Knerax System and are now grouping their forces” Macabre reported. “We believe they’re consolidating whatever ships they have to attack Tuurok.”

“Obviously. What of our own forces?”

“We’ve reorganised those of Yharon, Glowstrike and Exarchon’s forces together with our forces to hold this world” Turmoil explained. “Though the Excursion Corps still cling to the edges of our Commonwealth like cowards.”

“Every outpost on this world has been fully equipped” Clench added. “Any forces that can be spared has been deployed to minimise potential landing zones.”

“Good” Overlord pondered. “Clench, you will command the defence of the northern hemisphere, Turmoil, the southern hemisphere. What of our fleets in orbit?”

“We have ships positioned above the entire atmosphere” Skyquake stated. “There are interdictor cruisers across the entire planetary fleet, covering every sector with a field. If they dare attack, their fleets will be isolated and trapped.”

“Lead the fleet” Overlord ordered. “The Revenge is at your disposal. Its recent augmentations should aid you.”

“It would be privilege, my lord.”

“Macabre, remain here and aid the defence of the citadel” Overlord added. “Hatchet, contact the central communications hub and ensure it is secure. Now go, prepare for battle.”

Overlord’s five subordinates bowed, before leaving the throne room. Overlord remained on his throne, ruminating.

“We will survive this. We will win this battle, and will take the Commonwealth once more” Overlord stated to himself.

Staging Point Xel, Pelaxia System
In the Pelaxia, numerous ships were forming up, from colossal dreadnoughts, cruisers and destroyers right down to the small corvettes and frigates, forming up for battle. Aboard the flagship of the fleet, the Shatterbolt, Peritus Maximus was finishing addressing his fleet commanders.

“Remember, our focus is clearing paths down to the surface” Peritus stated. “Expect fierce resistance. We anticipate heavy usage of Interdictor fields, so clear them out as quickly as possible. Understood?”

There was a mumbling of acknowledgement as the various Cybertronians agreed.

“I will contact you when it is time to jump soon. For now, ensure your ships and crews are ready for battle!”

The holograms vanished, and Peritus brought up a holographic projection of the fleet defending Tuurok. As he stared, Tailpipe entered the bridge.

“That’s a lot of ships” Tailpipe observed.

“And probably not all of them” Peritus replied, not breaking his focus. “I imagine they have ships concealed within the atmosphere so our scouts can’t get physical shots. Are the squadrons ready?”

“All fighters are refuelled, fully loaded, and the pilots and fliers are ready to launch the moment we enter combat, though are a bit unnerved.”

“Not surprised. We are on the cusp of a momentous battle.”

“Indeed” came the voice of Ginrai.

The holograms of Ginrai and Quickshadow appeared around the table, and Peritus looked up at them.

“Ginrai, sir” Peritus said, nodding at him.

“How go the preparations?” Ginrai asked.

“All ships are reporting in, we’re just finalising the precise jump coordinates. Have we got any more reports on Tuurok?”

“From our last reports, a few more ships joined the fleet in orbit” Quickshadow said. “We’re certain the Revenge has joined the fleet.”

“Overlord’s got his flagship on the front” Peritus mused. “No surprise there. We’ll have to be weary of the railguns.”

“We will be with you as soon as we can, but you have to take out as many of those interdictor ships as you can” Ginrai said.

“If we get a clear run on them, should be easy enough” Tailpipe added. “The fleet clears out fighter screens, our fighters strafe the turrets, bombers hit the gravity well.”

“Then hopefully I’ll see you there” Ginrai said. “Good luck to the both of you.”

“Yes” agreed Quickshadow. “Try not to die. We’ve made it this far.”

“We’ll try not to do so” Tailpipe replied.

“Thank you” Peritus said. “Try not to be late once we bring the field down.”

“We won’t” Ginrai said. “We’ll see you there.”

Ginrai and Quickshadow’s holograms disappeared, and Peritus turned to the rest of the bridge, taking a few steps forward.

“Are we ready?” Peritus asked the bridge crew.

“Yes sir” said one of the crewmembers. “What are your orders?”

“Join your pilots” Peritus said, glancing at Tailpipe, before looking forward again. “Contact all ships. Tell them it’s time to make the jump to Tuurok.”

Tuurok Orbit
A large flotilla of warships hung above the planet Tuurok, blotting out its sky. They hovered, still, waiting for the moment the Vanguard. Aboard the Revenge, Skyquake patiently waited with his personal squadron, staring out into the abyss of space.

Then, a flash of light heralded the arrival of the Shatterbolt. More flashes of light brought more ships as hundreds of Vanguard ships appeared from all directions around Tuurok, facing down the Combatronian fleet. Skyquake smirked at the arrival of the enemy.

“ACTIVATE THE INTERDICTOR FIELDS!” Skyquake’s booming voice echoed over the comms. “ALL SHIPS! FIRE ALL WEAPONS! LAUNCH ALL FLIERS AND FIGHTERS! DESTROY THAT FLEET!”

Immediately, a storm of amber and blue laserfire illuminate the area as the battle began, both sides immediately picking off several of their enemies’ smaller craft. Cybertronians took flight in both alternate modes and starfighters, flying at each other.

From the Shatterbolt, Tailpipe lead a group of fighters into battle, flying straight towards the enemy fleet.

“All wings, checks your squadrons and report in!” came a voice over Tailpipe’s comms.

“This is Emerald Leader to all Green Wing squadrons, count your squads and call in” Tailpipe said.

“This is Jade Leader reporting in. All fighters are here.”

“Celadon Leader, all call signs reporting in.”

“Erin Leader here, Erin Squadron’s all accounted for.”

“Malachite Leader reporting in, all wingmates are itching to tear these Combatrons a new exhaust port!”

“Myrtle Leader to Emerald Leader, all Myrtle Squadron members are here.”

“Emerald Leader to Shatterbolt, Green Wing is all accounted for!”

“Fighter Wing Red, all fighters are here.”

“Cobalt Leader to command, Blue Wing is ready for action.”

“Xanthic Leader reporting that Fighter Wing Yellow is ready.”

“Alright” replied the commanding voice over the comms. “Good luck all Wings, and get back here in one piece.”

“Alright, all this is Emerald Leader to all fighters in Green Wing” Tailpipe said, switching his comms channel. “You see that Interdictor?”

“I see it” came Jade Leader’s voice. “Dead ahead of us.”

“Scans are picking up Vehicons crawling all over the hull” noted Myrtle Leader.

“And that corvette looks like it’s moving into position to screen us” Erin Leader added.

“I’ll see if I can get one of our ships to do something about it” Tailpipe replied.

Bridge, The Shatterbolt
Aboard the Shatterbolt, Peritus stood, staring out at the battle. He was unphased as a Partisan fighter flew straight toward the bridge, firing both weapons, and was unflinched as it was blown apart by the Shatterbolt’s defences.

“This is Tailpipe to the Shatterbolt, you receiving me?”

“This is Peritus, we read you.”

“We’re making a run for the interdictor, but we’ve got a corvette getting in our way.”

Peritus scanned the battle, before spotting the ship in question.

“I see it. We’ll take care of it.”

“Thank, Peritus.”

Tailpipe disconnected his comms, and Peritus turned to one of his officers.

“Contact the Foresword and tell them to target the ship at grid sector 12/14/2222/12!”

---

Tailpipe and squadrons streaked across the battlefield, dodging past lasers and missiles. Combatronian fliers flew at them, and several of the Vanguard’s own fliers broke off to fend them off. Ahead of them, the corvette began firing on them with its weapons, taking out two of their number.

“Where’s that assistance?” came the voice of Emerald-Two over the comms.

Suddenly, blasts of energy flew over the squadrons, striking straight at the corvette’s midsection. The ship was split apart as an explosion ripped through it. Several of the squadrons flew around the ship, while Tailpipe led several fighters straight through the explosion. As they emerged, the form of a Throttlehold-Class Interdictor came into view.

“Ship’s dead ahead” came Myrtle Leader over the comms.

“Alright, Erin Squadron hang back until we’ve cleared out the cruiser’s defences. Celadon squadron, protect Erin Squadron. Jade Squadron, Myrtle Squadron, draw off the fliers still protecting it. Malachite Squadron, Emerald Squadron we clear out the ship’s surface weapons. Now let’s go!”

The Jade and Myrtle Squadron jetted ahead of the rest of the wing, straight towards Interdictor. Immediately, Afterburn Vehicons took flight, and the two squadrons scattered as the hordes of Vehicons came towards them, dogfighting with each other as the Interdictor fired its weapons wildly.

Tailpipe then proceeded to lead Malachite and Emerald Squadron straight at the ship. Before the ship could redirect its weapons at them, Tailpipe dived, his ship zooming low across the Interdictor’s hull. From his fighter, Tailpipe swerved to face one of the turrets and fired on it. The turret was shredded by the laser fire, its dome being propelled off as it exploded.

“Direct hit!” Tailpipe said over his comms.

“Same here!” responded one of his squadmates.

The two squadrons darted across the ship, clearing out its surface weapons. Small explosions erratically rose from the surface the ship as its Vehicon defences were thinned out. As Tailpipe took out another turret, he pulled away from the ship.

“Erin Squadron, the way is clear!” Tailpipe yelled over the comms. “Blow that thing to kingdom come! Everyone else, get clear!”

The fighters scattered away from the interdictor as a squadron of Flashfire Bombers flew towards the interdictor in flights of three. Each time a trio of ships passed overhead, they unleashed a payload of multiple torpedoes, impacting the ship’s gravity well. As the smoke cleared, energy surged from the wounds in great machine.

“NOW GET AS FAR AWAY AS POSSIBLE!” Tailpipe ordered.

As the starfighters fled, energy started surging towards the gravity well, drawing nearby ships towards it. Then, with a massive explosion, the ship was torn apart, releasing a wave of gravitational energy that rocked any nearby ships.

“INTERDICTOR’S DOWN!” cheered Emerald Three.

“SUCK IT COMBATRON!” jeered Erin Seven.

“You hear that Peritus?” Tailpipe asked over his comms. “Interdictor’s down! Tell Ginrai if he’s ready, the cavalry’s got room to arrive!”

“I see, but we’re still picking up an interdiction field still in play” Peritus replied.

“What? How? I can’t see anymore Throttleholds near enough for the field to the affect us.”

“It’s not coming from a Throttlehold. It’s coming from the Revenge.”

“Oh you’re kidding me.”

Bridge, The Revenge
Skyquake folded his arms smugly as he looked at the enemy fleet, Stalker, Hyena, Snare and Falcon stood behind him.

“You think they’ve figured it out yet?” Snare asked.

“I bet they’re scrapping their afts” Hyena sniggered.

“Pull one over on the great Peritus Maximus” Falcon said. “Quite the feat.”

“Enough” Skyquake interrupted. “You have your moment to savour their confusion. Bridge crew. Prepare to repel fighter attack, and align us with the Shatterbolt. Charge both rail cannons, aim to incapacitate the ship, but do not destroy.”

“Forgive me sir” said one of the bridge crew. “But why not?”

Skyquake gave a quick glance back at the crewmate before ignoring them. Stalker slowly turned his head to the crewmate, unnerving them.

“You would deny the High General the opportunity to personally destroy such a decorated Admiral of the Primal Vanguard?” Stalker coldly inquired.

“No, uh, sir” the crewmate responded, turning their focus to their console, though occasionally giving a glance to make sure Stalker wasn’t glaring at them.

---

Outside, Tailpipe led Green Wing towards the Revenge. The Revenge’s batteries targeted Tailpipe’s fighters, firing on them. Immediately, they tore through several of the fighters before they’d even reached the ship.

“The flak is heavy!” came Malachite Leader over the comms.

“What exactly are we aiming for?” asked Jade Leader.

“I can’t pick out a weakpoint we can exploit to directly take out this new gravity fell” Tailpipe explained. “So we’re doing this the old fashioned way. Aim for the bridge.”

“You sure we can make this?”

“We have to. We need those reinforcements.”

“INCOMING FLIERS!” yelled Celadon Leader on the comms.

From the surface of the Revenge, hundreds of Afterburn Vehicons and dozens of Leaper Vehicons launched to counter Green Wing. The Afterburn fired on the squadron, both sides taking casualties as they passed each other. The Leapers, meanwhile, began leaping onto Vanguard fighters. One leapt onto a Flashfire bomber, only to pierces its payload container. The Bombers exploded violently, taking out the Leaper and a nearby starfighter.

“WE’RE OVERWHELMED” Emerald Seven shouted over the comms.

“THEY’RE ALL OVER-” began Jade Leader.

Tailpipe looked to his side as he watched a Leaper land on Jade Leader’s interceptor. The Leaper punched one of its arm spikes into the cockpit, before leaping off, leaving the ship to death spiral into the Revenge’s shields.

“WE’RE GETTING SLAUGHTERED!” Emerald Two yelped in a panic.

Tailpipe looked at the bridge of the Revenge ahead of him, before looking at his wingmates as Vehicons buzzed around them. He let out a sigh of defeat.

“All fighters, fall back to our fleet” Tailpipe ordered. “Get in range of our starfighter screens and they should hopefully scare them off, perhaps even pick a few off in the process.”

The surviving fighters of Green Wing scattered, turning back towards the Shatterbolt as a number of the Vehicons followed them. Behind them, however, the Revenge’s twin rail cannons began charging with red energy. Beams of energy then shot out of the cannons, streaking across the battle. The beam tore right through the Shatterbolt, causing several subsequent explosions along the ship.

Bridge, The Shatterbolt
The bridge of the Shatterbolt shook as the rail beams struck through the ship. Peritus grabbed onto a console for support as sparks rained down from the ceiling.

“DAMAGE REPORT!” Peritus yelled.

“We’ve sustained heavy damage!” responded one of the bridge crew. “Shields are reduced to thirty-seven percent integrity. We’ve lost several of the gunnery decks and hangars on the port and the starboard sides, and the forward torpedo array has been compromised. Fusion core is still online.”

“What about our engines?”

“Luckily, the blasts seemed to have missed any key systems, though we may have a drop in power.”

“That’s something. Redirect whatever power we can to reinstate shield integrity, and see if anyone can do something about that flagship!”

---

On the other side of the fleet, more Combatronian ships rose from Tuurok’s atmosphere, joining the rest of the fleet in holding back the Vanguard. More and more Vanguard ships fell to their might, being torn apart by the flurry of energy and explosive projectiles.

Aboard the bridge, Skyquake smirked as he looked at the heavily damaged Shatterbolt.

“Direct hit” Stalker reported.

“Good” Skyquake added. “Stalker, assume command of the ship. The rest of you, let’s personally finish off the Shatterbolt for good!”

“Just what I want to hear!” Hyena cackled.

Skyquake left the bridge, Snare, Hyena and Falcon following him. Stalker stepped to where Skyquake had been standing, and looked at the crewmembers.

“Train weapons on the Shatterbolt just in case they try anything” Skyquake ordered. “And recharge the rail cannons.”

Bridge, The Shatterbolt
Crews were working their hardest to keep the Shatterbolt together from the bridge. Every now and then, sparks would rain down from the ceiling.

“Any news on finding anyone able to deal with the Revenge?” Peritus asked.

“Negative sir!” said one of the crewmates.

There was a large bang as the Shatterbolt was shaken again, sparks thrown across the room.

“SIR, WE JUST LOST VENTRAL WEAPONS!” yelled a crewmate.

“WE’RE LOSING SHIP INTEGRITY” another shouted. “I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER THIS SHIP HAS!”

The ship shook again, and Peritus paused for a thought. He looked at his ship as it continue to fall apart, before looking straight ahead at The Revenge outside. He could see shapes moving fast from it, probably Combatronians looking to finish the job.

“ALL CREW, ABANDON SHIP!” Peritus ordered. “PUT OUT AN EVACUATION ORDER TO ALL CREW!”

The various bridge crewmembers, looked at each other in confusion, before looking at Peritus’ serious face. The crewmembers began rushing out off the bridge, though some still remained.

“I gave an order” Peritus said.

“We know, sir” said one of the crewmates. “But we know what you’re going to do, and you can’t do it on your own.”

“Very well” Peritus sighed. “To your stations. Engines to maximum, and pool all available remaining power into the forward shields.”

---

Outside, Tailpipe was still in the midst of a dogfight with several Afterburn Vehicons. As he zoomed around, he caught sight of Skyquake leading his Predators towards the Shattterbolt.

“That’s Skyquake!” Tailpipe declared. “He’s going straight for the flagship.”

“But what’s Peritus doing?” came the voice of Emerald Ten. “His ship’s moving towards the enemy fleet.”

Sure enough, the Shatterbolt began moving as fast it could with its limited status, beelining straight for the Revenge. Tailpipe wasn’t the only one to notice this, as Skyquake’s Predators flew in close towards the Shatterbolt.

“What the frag are they doing?” Falcon asked. “They’re charging straight at us?”

“What do they think they’re gonna do?” Hyena mused. “Their weapons looks fragged.”

“Has… anyone had a horrible gut feeling what they’re doing?” Snare inquired.

“REDIRECT ATTACK TO THE ENGINES!” Skyquake yelled. “STOP THAT SHIP IN ITS TRACKS!”

“I don’t think we have the time to!”

Bridge, The Revenge
Stalker, too, had realised the Shatterbolt was on a direct course with the Revenge, and was giving orders to try and stop the enemy ships.

“Sir, our batteries aren’t stopping it!” said one of the officers.

“Are the rail cannons charged?” Stalker angrily asked.

“Negative!”

“Then the ship is lost” Stalker snarled. “No sense wasting my life dying with it.”

Stalker turned around, leaving the ship bridge as the crew looked on in confusion. Stalker made his way to the nearest escape pod, preparing to escape the ship.

---

The Shatterbolt pushed on towards the Revenge, ignoring the attempts made by Skyquake and his subordinates to stop it. As the two ships collided, Peritus closed his eyes, accepting his fate.

When the two ships collided, there a moment of pause, before a massive explosion of gravitational energy tore the two ships apart, damaging the surrounding Combatronian ships in the process. Debris from the Revenge was propelled towards the surface of Tuurok, while the remains of the Shatterbolt flew in all directions.

“Peritus…” Tailpipe solemnly said, looking at the debris from the collision.

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light as the Orion jumped into the system, joining the Vanguard fleet. Then more ships began quantum jumping in behind, massing with their already present allies.

Aboard the bridge, Ginrai stood around a holotable with Rocket Plume, Thunderhead, Crumble and Rocket Plume, the images of the battle ongoing projected on it.

“All ships, we’ve been stuck out of the battle for long enough” Ginrai announced over the comms. “All ships, attack!”

The Vanguard and Combatron fleets began attacking one another, and more Combatronian ships began falling, making a hole in Tuurok’s fleet. Watching from his fighter, Tailpipe breathed a sigh of relief.

“All remaining members of Green Wing” Tailpipe said. “Rendezvous at the Orion.”

Tailpipe flew towards the Orion as his remaining wingmates followed, making their way towards the hangar.

Bridge, The Spikestinger
Aboard the frigate Spikestinger, a Thinktank Vehicon stood at the holotable with a command Tankor and a command Afterburn Vehicon.

“Have we established a link to another command ship?” the Thinktank asked.

“Negative” reported the Afterburn commander. “We are receiving reports of multiple command ships falling. More Interdictor ships are falling, and the Vanguard ships are fleeing again.”

“GET ME ASHMAR” came a booming voice.

Skyquake stormed onto the bridge, shoving the Thinktank out of the way as he stomped up to the table. He pressed a few buttons on the console, and a hologram of an angry Overlord sitting on his throne appeared.

“Report” Overlord snarled.

“My lord… the fleet is compromised” Skyquake bowed.

“Yes, I figured from the debris from my ship that scans we just picked up CRASHING TOWARDS THE SURFACE!”

My lord, I apologi-”

“I do not want apologies. Return to the surface. You are clearly a waste up there.”

“I… understand my lord.”

The hologram of Overlord disappeared, and Skyquake a dissatisfied grunt, before leaving the bridge.

Bridge, The Orion
Tailpipe entered the bridge, where everyone was silent. Tailpipe joined those around the table.

“We were… told about Peritus” Quickshadow said.

“He gave his life to take out The Revenge… to make your arrival possible.”

“His sacrifice will be remembered” Ginrai added. “And it will not be in vain.”

“What’s our next plan of attack?” Thunderhead asked.

“We don’t waste time” Ginrai said. “Impactus and the Magnus Core will shortly be arriving with our invasion forces, and as soon as we do we’re going down. We get our landing zones and we take the planet.”

“For Peritus” Tailpipe said.

“FOR PERITUS!” the bridge yelled in unison, in honour of their fall comrade…

 

And so it begins...
The Beginning of the End.

 

Volume 9 - Means and Endings
White Noise​

The Orion, Above Tuurok
The Orion hovered above Tuurok’s atmosphere. What had once been two distinct forces had merged into each other as the Vanguard had advanced on the Combatron fleets, however The Orion was protected by an assortment of assault craft. The ship was joined by multiple Gargantuan carriers, as well as a pair of Fusillade-Class Destroyers.

Aboard its bridge, Ginrai and Quickshadow stood around a holotable, joined by holograms of Groundshaker, Impactus Major and a tankformer known as Masstread. The holotable itself produced maps of Tuurok.

“Glad we could all make it” opened Groundshaker. “Let’s not waste time.”

“You’re aware of our plan?” Ginrai asked.

“Yes” Masstread responded. “We three lead our ground forces down to three distinct sectors to establish a landing zone at each location. From there we clear out and hold out those locations as we bring in more ground forces to take the planet.”

“These spots have been specifically chosen due to lower heavy artillery” Quickshadow added. “Long range scans show primarily spark signals as opposed to energy signatures from vehicles in those sectors.”

“We’ll also be using Nimbus Seeds to cover our descent” Groundshaker said. “They’ll generate artificial cloud cover that’ll obscure the skies and disrupt their targeting locks.”

“I’m noticing some airfields and barracks still near the landing zone” Ginrai pointed out. “Are those going to be something to worry about?”

“They’re far enough that we should be able to land and start moving our forces before they can mobilise to counter us” Impactus responded. “Our first forces may even reach those outposts before they have the chance to strike.”

“These landing zones are essential to our invasion” Groundshaker firmly stated. “Once the areas are clear, we can send down the carriers and fortify the area.”

“Thank you for stating the obvious.”

“Well, let’s not waste any time” Ginrai said. “We’ll see you down on the ground.”

“Good luck, all of you” Groundshaker said. “Primus knows we need it.”

The holograms of Groundshaker, Impactus and Masstread vanished, and Ginrai steeled himself, before looking at Quickshadow.

“Ready for this?” Quickshadow asked.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment this whole war” Ginrai wearily answered. “You’d have thought I would be.”

“It’s gonna be tough. You sure we have the forces?”

“That’s why we’re here” came a voice.

Quickshadow looked to the source of the voice, and saw the familiar frame of Crest enter. Crest walked over to the console, joining Ginrai and Quickshadow.

“So we got the Wreckers joining us, huh?” Quickshadow asked.

“Course” Crest smirked. “Invading Overlord’s seat of power? Where else would we be? The League’s backing up Impactus, and the Silver Commandos are spearheading Masstread’s landing. We need all the power we can get. So, let’s see the landing zone.”

Ginrai pressed a button, and the hologram changed, this time showing the terrain of their prospective staging ground. A green dot illuminated their destination, as numerous red dots marked enemy positions and outposts.

“Hmmm” mused Crest. “Not sure what the fuss is about. Outposts are spread out, all their armour’s there rather than with their troop positions. But… what’s that?”

Crest pointed to one particular dot on the map, one that didn’t match up with the others.

“We believe it’s a major relay station” Quickshadow explained. “Based on our scans, it is being used as a major transmitter from the planet to their allies. We were thinking if we capture it after we set up our landing zone, we can shut it off, disorienting their forces.”

“Once that’s done and we clear out some of those outposts, we push directly to Ashmar” Ginrai said.

“You make it sound easy” Quickshadow said.

“Well if it was it wouldn’t be much fun” Crest chuckled. “See you when we got heel struts on the ground?”

“We’ll see you down there.”

Hangar, The Orion
Soon, Ginrai, Quickshadow and Crest had made their way down to the hangar and joined their comrades aboard dropships. Stepping aboard one of the dropships, Crest acknowledged his fellow Wreckers Roadbuster, Hardhead, Sprocket, Kup, Buzzsaw, Nosedive and Mol as he entered.

“We ready to Wreck and Rule?” Crest asked.

“WRECK AND RULE!” shouted his fellow Wreckers.

In another dropship, Ginrai and Quickshadow joined Rocket Plume, Thunderhead and Crumble, the shutter sealing behind them.

“We’re ready” Ginrai said, knocking on the hatchway connecting to the cockpit.

The dropship hovered above the floor of the hangar, before flying out towards the atmosphere of Tuurok. More dropships flew out from The Orion, followed by dropships from the other carriers, some carrying heavy Cybertronian tanks.

“This is Ginrai Convoy to Destroyers ‘Ragnum” and “Cavviya” Ginrai said on his comms. “We’re on the move. Begin atmospheric bombardment with the Nimbus Seeds.”

The two destroyers in the atmosphere began launching projectiles at Tuurok. They rocketed past the dropships, before exploding in the atmosphere, dispersing large clouds in the atmosphere. Reaching the atmosphere, the dropships dove into the clouds.

“We’re in the atmosphere” said the pilot of Ginrai’s dropship.

Louds booms shook the dropship as it flew through the clouds. Thunderhead and Rocket Plume peered through the shutters, observing flashes of light from energy weapons illuminating the dark clouds.

“Guess they’ve decided to start shooting blindly” Rocket Plume noted.

“Well, Combatrons do love to waste ammo on a slim chance to kill us rather than waiting for a good opportunity” Thunderhead replied.

“As long as they can’t see us, we should be able to avoid the bulk of their fire” Ginrai stated.

There was another boom, this one louder, shaking the dropship to the side. Rocket Plume peered again through the shutters, seeing one of the nearby dropships ablaze, shaking as it fell.

“That’s a lot of heavy fire though” Rocket Plume said. “You sure it’s just infantry down there?”

“It should be” Quickshadow said, activating her comms. “Orion, this is Quickshadow come in. Omega, are you there?”

Static emitted from the comms, and Quickshadow gave Ginrai a concerned look. Ginrai stepped through knocked on the hatch to the cockpit.

“Pilot, can you get through to any of our cruisers?” Ginrai asked.

“Negative, sir” the pilot responded. “But I can’t pick up a registerable source for the jamming field.”

“You think they could’ve developed a new form of a comms jammer, Crumble?”

“It’s possible” Crumble mused. “But how we never encountered it before is beyond me.”

“SIR!” the pilot shouted from the front. “OUTSIDE!”

Ginrai rushed to the shutters, and peered out as the dropships exited below the clouds. Straining his optics to look below, he could see colossal feline and tyrannosaurid mechs with large cannons strapped to their backs surrounded by Combatronian and Animatronian infantry forces, all firing at them.

“Those look like Battle Scar and Cruellock-class troopers” Thunderhead said. “But they’re huge.”

“Variants spliced with Gigantion CNA, perhaps?”

“Blast” Ginrai cursed. “No wonder there were so many infantry patrols. They’d show up as conventional sparks on scans. They’ve probably called outposts to bring their heavy armour to join us now.”

“Do we pull away?” Crumble asked.

“It’s too late for that now. We can’t take this landing zone, we’ll be putting pressure on Impactus and Masstread. We’re going in.”

Now below the cloudline, the dropships began descending towards the surface of the planet. Appearing in visual range of the enemy, the colossal Assaulter Scars and Doomlocks began concentrating their fire, more easily picking them off.

The dropships began landing, and Ginrai immediately hopped out and began shooting at the Combatronians. Thunderhead, Quickshadow, Crumble and Rocket Plume followed him out of the dropship with the rest of Vanguard soldiers. From another dropship, the Wreckers charged out, while Goldbug led troops from another.

“GET THE CRAWLER TANKS IN A DEFENSIVE PERIMETER!” Ginrai ordered as tanks were lowered to the ground. “PALADIN TANKS, FILL IN THE GAPS BETWEEN CRAWLERS! MAGNI, SHIELD FORMATION IN FRONT OF THE GAPS BETWEEN THE LEGS OF THE CRAWLERS! EVERYONE ELSE PICK YOUR COVER WELL AND RETURN FIRE!”

Over Magnus and Lupus Magnus leapt out of a dropship and leap a number of Magni Autotroopers as one of the landed walkers turned to face its side towards the enemy. The group then deployed their shields as Goldbug and his troops took positions behind them, firing through the shields.

Soon, a ring of walkers and tanks had been formed around the Vanguard force, a ring of energy shielding around the outside. Ginrai and Crest took cover behind one of the Walkers legs and fired out towards the Combatrons. The walker shook as a shell from an Assaulter Scar struck its side, but remained firm.

“ROADBUSTER, HARDHEAD!” Crest yelled. “BLITZ THEM!”

Roadbuster and Hardhead climbed up on top of one of the walkers, where Rocket Plume had already taken up a sniper position. The pair transformed into their vehicular modes, before unleashing a heavy volley of missiles and energy blasts straight at the Combatronians. The flurry sent Combatrons flying everywhere, tearing off the legs of one of the Assaulter Scars and knocking a Doomlock to the ground.

“THE BIGGER THEY ARE, THE HARDER THEY FALL!”

Down on the ground, Thunderhead ran over to join Ginrai and Crest’s position, picking off a few Vehicons as they tried to approach the Magni’s shields.

“Boss, dropships are taking off to provide air support, but I’m not sure how much good it’s gonna do” Thunderhead informed. “They’ve already spotted more infantry and big beasties cresting the dunes around us. I have a feeling-”

Thunderhead was cut off by a loud boom as a dropship exploded in the sky, crashing landing just outside the defensive position in a fireball.

“I have a feeling even if we can last them, they’ll already be moving their big guns, and I doubt it’ll take long for their air support to get here.”

“We need to cut through to the fleet and tell them to get more support down here” Ginrai said. “If they’ve got more troops coming in, or even scrounge a few bombers to at least soften the enemy.”

“Not happening” Quickshadow said, approaching with Crumble and Sprocket. “We’re still not getting through.”

“I’ve tried every trick and mod I can think of, but it’s not getting through the jamming” Crumble pointed.

“Even the old Wrecker Debris subwave comms ain’t working either” Sprocket added. “Whatever they’re using, it’s tough.”

“What about the relay station we picked up on the maps” Crest asked. “I’m not saying it’s the source of the jamming, but we could at least jack into its comms to get through.”

“It’s something at least, but how do we get there?” Quickshadow asked. “We’re already surrounded, and there’s sure to be more on the way. Even if there’s enough covering fire to get through, we’ll be harried by Combatrons the whole way.”

“Well if we can’t go through, we’ll go under. Nosedive and Mol can drill us past the enemy line. Can’t promise we won’t bump into any patrols, but it should avoid the bulk of their forces.”

“Alright then” Ginrai said. “Quickshadow, Crest, take the Wreckers, get to the relay station and see if you can get a message through it. We’ll hold out as long as we can.”

---

On the other side of the battle, from the back of one of the Assaulter Scars, the Combatronian captain Onslaught raised his artillery rifle to rally his forces.

“BREAK THROUGH!” he yelled as the Combatrons roared in acknowledgement.

A trio of Partisan Fighters flew overhead, destroying two of Vanguard dropships firing from above the battle as they passed through. Watching them, Rocket Plume quickly scoped one of the fighters, and fired several sniper rounds at it. One of them pierced one of the thrusters of the Partisan, causing a trail of black smoke to follow it, the ship shaking slightly as it and its comrades flew off into the distance.

“GUESS THEIR AIR SUPPORT’S HERE!” Goldbug yelled over the sound of gunfire.

“BECAUSE WE WERE ALREADY DOING SO WELL!” Thunderhead yelled back.

“TRY TO BE POSITIVE!” Crumble shouted. “AS LONG AS QUICK AND THE WRECKERS ARE OUT THERE, WE’VE GOT A CHANCE!”

“WE JUST NEED TO MAKE WE’RE STILL HERE FOR THAT CHANCE TO WORK OUT!” Ginrai added.

---

Elsewhere, beyond the battle, a platoon of Combatronians charged over the wasteland, weapons ready to join the siege on the Vanguard position. As they charged up a ridge, they were oblivious to the dirt moving behind them as a pair of drills pierced the earth. As the Combatronians disappeared over the ridge, the drills emerging, revealing a red mole mechanimal with a drill nose, and an orange and yellow drill tank. Transforming to robot mode, they revealed themselves to be the Wreckers Mol and Nosedive.

“Coast is clear” Mol said.

“Well that’s no fun” Roadbuster moaned as he pulled himself from the hole. “I wanted to wreck something. You know, what we’re named for.”

“You wanna tell them exactly where we are and leave our landing zone without reinforcements for longer?” said the Wrecker’s newest recruit, Char Pax, though his teammates had taken to calling him Kup. “I joined you straight from Knerax, and let me tell you, if we had you doing that we’d have lost Knerax immediately.”

“Enough infighting” Crest said. “Kup’s right, we need to draw as little attention to ourselves as possible. You can break Combatrons when we get to their Relay Station, but right now we can’t delay.”

“See, Roadie” Hardhead said. “Hang tight.”

“So which direction are we taking?” Buzzsaw asked.

“Based on the map I retained in my data banks…” Quickshadow mused. “North west, bearing 345.”

“Let’s go, Wreckers” Crest said.

Quickshadow and the majority of Wreckers transformed into their alternate modes, while Crest climbed onto the back of Hardhead’s alternate mode, laying prone with his cannons at the ready. The group then proceeded through the wastelands.

As they travelled, they met little resistance. Occasionally, in the distance, they’d see troop formations moving to join the attacking on the landing force, and on some occasions fighters and bombers would fly back and forth overhead, but never catching a glimpse of them.

The group finally crested a ridge overlooking the relay station. Ahead of the group, Quickshadow, Buzzsaw and Sprocket jolted towards some rocks, taking cover behind them. Sprocket tapped a button on the side of his helm, changing his visor to a zoom function, while Quickshadow pulled out a pair of electrobinoculars, both taking a close look at the relay station.

“What do you see?” Buzzsaw asked.

“Looks pretty standard” Sprocket answered. “Typical array of dishes, couple of floors, a few auto-turrets outside.”

“More security than expected though” Quickshadow pondered. “Especially considering that so much of the Combatron force in this area are probably more excited to tear into our landing zone.”

“It’s Tuurok. Added security isn’t the biggest surprise.”

“So, what’s our best entry point?” Crest said as he joined with Hardhead, Mol, Nosedive and Kup.

“Give me a minute” Sprocket replied, zooming in. “I think we’ve have to assume the base of the building is reinforced, so we won’t be able to drill through again.”

“What about the roof?” Buzzsaw said. “I could carry someone up there quick.”

“And I’ve got my grapples, so I can make it up myself” Quickshadow added. “Would leave our heavy hitters behind, though perhaps they could make some noise, distract them from us.”

“Right, once Roadbuster joins us we can do that” Hardhead nodded.

“Uhhh, where is Roadbuster?” Nosedive asked.

The group turned around to find that Roadbuster hadn’t joined them. There was a loud bang, and the group looked to the base as smoke rose from in front of it.

“Found him” Sprocket noted, looking through his visor.

Looking down, they could see Roadbuster simply walking towards the front of the base, gunning down the guards in front of it. He then let out a battle cry, before charging through the door, trampling a pair of Combatronians down as he ran.

“Guess we’re going through the front entrance.” Crest shrugged to Quickshadow, before leaping down to follow Roadbuster.

Quickshadow let out a loud groan as the rest of the Wreckers passed her so that Roadbuster wouldn’t get all the fun.

“You really expected them to wait and discuss strategy?” Kup asked as he passed Quickshadow.

Quickshadow watched Kup leap down, before pulling out a pair of pistols and following him as the sound of gunfire filled the facility.

Landing Zone, Tuurok
Back at the landing zone, the Vanguard held their ground against the Combatrons. Overdrive Vehicons were circling the shield formation, Combatronians mounted on them, firing at the shield to try and probe a weak spot. Above, Afterburn Vehicons were buzzing above the landing zone, the Vanguard gunship frantically trying to stop them from landing. Aboard his Assaulter Scar, Onslaught was talking to a hologram of Clench.

“Report, captain” Clench ordered. “What is the status of the landing force?”

“They’ve taking up a defensive formation, using their tanks as cover” Onslaught reported. “They’re holding strong, but our offensive is wearing them down. They have no way out.”

“Do not let up, Captain. I’ve already sent available armour to your position. You will have Behemoth Tanks and Marauders at your disposal. We need to ensure they get no foothold on this planet.”

“Understood, High General. It will be done.”

Clench’s hologram disappeared, and Onslaught looked at the enemy formation through his electrobinoculars. He could see one of the walkers had taken much more damage than the others.

“ASSAULTER SCAR UNITS AS-21, AS-25 AND AS-27, CONCENTRATE BEARING ON WALKER BEARING ZERO-TWO-ONE!” Onslaught ordered over his comms.

The three colossal feline units began firing their heavy cannons at the Walker, shaking the vehicle violently. A final shot was enough to force the walkers onto its side, whipping up dust. Ginrai and Crumble ran over to the vehicle to help. Ginrai smashed open the cockpit, and Crumble pulled out the driver, taking her to be treated in whatever cover he could be fine.

“THEY JUST KEEP COMING!” Goldbug yelled as he and Thunderhead fired through Over Magnus’ shield.

Rocket Plume fired several rounds at the Afterburns above, before launching her wrist rocket down, sending two of the Overdrives and their riders flying as they passed by. Rocket Plume then looked through her scope, giving a groan.

“WELL, IT’S ABOUT TO GET WORSE!” she called back. “I SEE MARAUDERS AND BEHEMOTHS APPROACHING.”

“WELL THAT’S ALL WE NEED!” Over Magnus growled.

“Really counting on you, Quickshadow” Ginrai muttered to himself.

Relay Station, Tuurok
Inside a control room, a Thinktank stood with a group of Combatronians. Both the doors on either side of the room were sealed, as was a massive bulkhead.

“Do not allow any breaches into the central communications core” the Thinktank ordered.

“No scrap, brainiac!” one of the Combatronians said, pointing their gun at one of the doors. “Why don’t you get out from behind all of us you wuss!”

The group were distracted as the door suddenly swung opened, finding Quickshadow, Buzzsaw and Nosedive pointing weapons at them, as Sprocket emerged from the side, having hacked open the door controls.

“Nobody move and nobody gets hurt” Quickshadow said.

Before anyone could react, the opposite door was torn open and Roadbuster charged through, beating down two of the Combatronians with the door, before throwing it at the others. He then grabbed the Thinktank and smashed it against the bulkhead, crumpling the Vehicon.

“We caught up to him then” Crest said, entering from the doorway Roadbuster had torn through.

Crest was followed by Mol, Kup and Hardhead, as the Wreckers reunited. Roadbuster sat down, satisfied with his work as he tossed the Thinktank aside.

“Roadbuster!” Quicksahdow berated. “We might’ve needed them to get into their comms.”

“Eh, only good Combatronian’s a dead one” Roadbuster shrugged, nonchalantly taking off one of his guns to wipe some energon off it. “Besides, Sprocket’s smart, he can figured it out.”

“Uh, thanks” Sprocket shrugged, taking the compliment.

“This seems like the hub room” Mol said, looking about. “Can we make the call?”

“Should do” Sprocket replied. “Just near to wipe off some of the Energon Roadbuster left over it.”

“Not mine” Roadbuster responded.

“Yes, but you did still spread it.”

Meanwhile, as Quickshadow watched Sprocket work, Crest, Hardhead and Nosedive walked over to the bulkhead at the back of the room.

“What do you reckon’s in there?” Nosedive inquired.

“Primus knows” Crest replied. “Maybe it’s just part of the systems.”

“Wanna look?” Hardhead asked.

Without an answer, Hardhead tore through the bulkhead, then forced his way through the gap in it. Crest and Nosedive followed, and were stopped in their tracks by what they saw.

“What the frag?” Nosedive stuttered.

Taking note, Quickshadow turned and followed them in with Roadbuster and Kup, then Mol and Buzzsaw, before finally even Sprocket had come to look. The group were staring at a giant machine, pipes and cables leading into it. At its heart was a silver and blue Cybertronian with a red visor in place of a face, inertly fixed into the machine.

“What the frag is this?” Buzzsaw asked.

“Whatever it is, it’s abhorrent” Quickshadow said. “They’ve plugged them into… whatever that machine is.”

“What do we do?” Mol asked.

“Well, we get them out of there.”

“Quickshadow” Crest interrupted. “I don’t think we have time for a rescue mission as well. We need Sprocket to get that message through to the fleet first, before our landing zone is wiped off the face of the planet.”

“Company” Hardhead said, looking behind them.

A squad of Combatronians entered the room, all pointing their weapons at the group, yet restraining from fire.

“Step away from the central core” one of the Combatrons ordered.

“You really giving us orders?” Roadbuster taunted. “You know who we are? We’re the motherfraggin’ Wreckers! We don’t take orders, especially from Combatronians who are soon to be in pieces.”

One of the Combatronians, quivering, fired a shot at Roadbuster. The energy bolt ricocheted off Roadbuster’s iron skinned shoulder, instead hitting the machine behind them.

“Heh, really?”

“YOU IDIOT!” the lead Combatron screamed at his shaking comrades. “YOU UTTER MORON!”

The Wreckers looked confused, and Quickshadow looked behind her at the machine. The mech connected to it was now active and looking around, surveying the room.

“NO! SUBDUE SUBJECT BETA, NOW!”

A deafening noise filled the room, incapacitating everyone in it. Quickshadow clutched her audio receptors as a high pitch noise filled her with pain. The Wreckers and Combatrons dropped to the ground as they struggled against the pain.

“Free… dom” the mech in the machine stated in a monotone voice. “Free… dom…. achieved.”

The mech pulled wires from its frame, before pulls itself free, dropping to knees as it fell to the ground. The mech stood back up, before taking its first step.

“NNNNGGGHH…” the lead Combatronian moaned in pain. “SUBJECT BETA IS FREE! STOP HIM! TERMINATE IT IF WE HAVE TO!”

“STATEMENT” the mech coldly stated. “I AM NOT YOUR SUBJECT!”

The mech approached the lead Combatronian, before picking him up to look him in the optics. The Combatronian was shaken as the mech held him. The mech paused as it pondered its next words.

“I HAVE…. THOUGHT ABOUT THIS MOMENT FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS!” the mech stated. “IDENTITY: I AM NOT YOUR TOOL ANYMORE! I NOW CHOOSE WHO I AM! I… AM… SOUNDWAVE!”

Soundwave blasted the Combatronian with a powerful wave of sonic energy, slamming against the wall, parts flying off. The Combatronian slid down, inert. Fighting through the piercing noise, several of the other Combatronians tried to fire at Soundwave, breaking his focus and causing the noise to stop.

“You are oppressors” Soundwave stated. “You will no longer be tolerated.”

With a powerful sonic blast, Soundwave sent the other Combatronians flying out of the room, the force of the impacts against the floors and consoles in the next room knocking them out.

“Woah” Buzzsaw said. “This guy’s powerful.”

“We could make a Wrecker out of them” Crest mused.

“Wreckers…” Soundwave pondered. “That name… synonymous with monsters.”

“Well that’s a pretty biased view from a Combatronian” Hardhead snapped.

“I have been at the heard of Combatronian communications” Soundwave stated, walking back and forth. “I have been forced to use my powers to access your communications. I have heard everything on both sides. I will not serve either.”

“Hate to break it to you” pointed out Sprocket. “But the war’s at a turning point. You should really pick whether you wanna defect to the winning side, or stick with your warmongering buddies.”

“I have been the Combatron’s slave for this whole war” Soundwave growled, his fists shaking at his sides. “I will not be their slave anymore. BUT I WILL NOT BE YOUR SLAVE EITHER!”

Soundwave unleashed a powerful sonic boom, sending Quickshadow and the Wreckers flying across the room. Roadbuster immediately transformed into his armoured vehicle alternate mode and drove straight at Soundwave. Soundwave sidestepped the vehicle, before shredding Roadbuster’s tires with sonic blasts, sending Roadbuster crashing into a wall.

“WRECKERS” Crest rallied, firing a jet of water from his hands as he stood up.

Soundwave was knocked back by the blast of water, but quickly regained his footing. However, this was long enough for Buzzsaw, Nosedive and Hardhead to surround Soundwave. The three charged, with Buzzsaw leading with his stinger and Nosedive with his drill arm raised. As they drew close, Soundwave unleashed a sonic pulse from his body, sending the trio flying in all directions.

“You attacks are futile” Soundwave stated.

Soundwave backed up as lasers flew past him. Crest, Mol and Kup fired their weapons, pinning him down, as Quickshadow charged him. Soundwave attempted to get airborne to avoid the laserfire, only for Quickshadow to fire one of her grapples at Soundwave, snagging his leg. She pulled, slamming Soundwave into the ground.

“Stand down” Quickshadow said. “You’re clearly not a fan of the Combatrons, so why fight us? Why not join us?”

“I have been forced to listen to this war from early on” Soundwave retorted. “I have heard everything. The screams of the atrocities. The monsters on both sides. I will not be bound by tyranny, no matter what form it takes.”

Soundwave unleashed another sonic pulse, throwing Quickshadow into Crest, Mol and Kup, knocking the Wreckers to the ground. He then looked back, noticing Roadbuster was back up and rushing him. Soundwave whipped around and fired a sonic blast at him, only for it to have no effect.

“AUDIO RECEPTORS ARE OFF, YOU SCRAPPY BASTARD!” Roadbuster yelled.

Roadbuster tackled Soundwave, crushing him in a bearhug, before throwing him at the machine he was held in. Soundwave dazedly used the machine to pull himself back up, before being blasted across the room by a jet of water.

“You should know Wreckers don’t really have time for prisoners” Crest stated, pointing both cannons at Soundwave.

“I am too aware” Soundwave growled.

Crest and Roadbuster both pointed their weapons at Soundwave, waiting for him to make a move, as Quickshadow and the Wreckers picked themselves back up and approached Soundwave. As Quickshadow approached, she noticed the air rippling around Soundwave.

“GET DOWN!” Quickshadow yelled in vain.

Soundwave produced an immense sonic explosion from his body, demolishing the room and sending the Wreckers flying backwards, smashing into the surviving far wall. Debris fell from the new now open ceiling, and the back wall was completely gone. Soundwave stood up, wiping dust from his frame.

“I will let you know if I find a group worth me following” Soundwave coldly stated.

Soundwave then transformed into a satellite mode, and produced a pair of thrusters from his rear section. He then took off skyward, flying out of the ruined building as Quickshadow and the Wreckers helplessly watched.

“That could’ve gone better” Crest sighed, as he once more pulled himself to his feet.

“What?” Kup asked. “The fight? Or the fact that he demolished part of the building to make an exit. This was just like Mayalx… just minus Insecticons.”

“Hush, Kup” Buzzsaw moaned. “My audio receptors are ringing.”

“So what do we do about him?” Nosedive asked.

“Not much we can do about him now” Quickshadow answered. “Maybe one of our ships picks him up, but right now he’s not interested in this battle, and he’s not a priority.”

“Well, regardless, we need to get the actual mission back on track before our guys get wiped” Sprocket said. “Maybe enough’s intact to get a message to the fleet.”

As Quickshadow dusted herself off, she glanced at her comms. She stared at it for a moment.

“I… don’t think that’s necessary” Quickshadow said

“What? How?”

“I don’t know, maybe…”

“Him?”

“Well, you saw how powerful his sonic powers were, and we don’t know what that machine was he was hooked into. If he really could hear so much of both Combatronian and Vanguard comms as he said, is it too hard to believe he could also stop us communicating?”

“Look, the important thing is can we get through to our fleet?” Crest asked.

“Yes. Let’s get Ginrai the help he needs!”

Landing Zone Alpha, Tuurok
The Vanguard landing zone was now completely surrounded by the Combatronian armies. Their tanks were slowly being destroyed by Behemoth Walkers and Marauders, and the Combatronian infantry forces were now closed in on all sides.

Amongst the infantry, one of the Leapers charged straight at Over Magnus, knocking him down. The Leaper stood over Over Magnus, attempting to finish the job, as Thunderhead and Crumble’s shots simply bounced off the brute’s armour. It was only a well placed shot to the head from Ginrai that felled the Leaper.

“Thanks” Over Magnus said as Ginrai helped him up.

“Don’t mention it” Ginrai replied.

Combatronians started pressing the newly made gap. A pair of leapers lead hordes of Vehicons into the gap as the Vanguard fired on them.

“PULL BACK!” Ginrai ordered. “TIGHTEN OUR FORMATION.”

“I DON’T KNOW IF THAT’S GOING TO DO MUCH!” Rocket Plume retorted, leaping from her position aboard a crawler-tank just before it was destroyed by artillery fire.

“THERE’S TOO MANY OF THEM!” Goldbug added.

Ginrai continued firing, not giving in as more and more Combatrons pushed in. Then, his audio receptors perked up at a familiar noise. The sound of something flying overhead. He looked up as two flights of Flashfire bombers flew overhead.

“REINFORCEMENTS!” Crumble yelled. “THEY CAME!”

The bombers flew over the battlefield, circling above the enemy artillery as they dropped their payload. Combatronian behemoths went up in flames as explosions erupted across the Combatron forces.

“HELL YEAH!” Thunderhead cheered, raising his gun.

Above them, an assortment of fighters and gunships soared overhead, led by Planetfire and his Clear Skies Squadron. As they began fending off Afterburns and Combatronian fighters, dropships followed, dropping more troops and tanks to bolster Ginrai’s forces. They were soon joined by the massive form of the Orion flying overhead, before it transformed into the form of Omega Supreme.

“GIVE IN” Omega Supreme loudly stated as his feet crushed several Combatronians tanks under his feet. “THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING!”

On the other side of the battle, Onslaught watched as a nearby Doomlock was blasted apart by a proton bomb. He looked as the tide of the battle began turning, and begrudgingly activated his comms.

“All forces” he growled. “Fall back to Kamica Outpost.”

“They’re falling back!” Lupus Magnus noted from the Vanguard position as he shoved his sword through a Leaper’s head.

Ginrai sighed breath of relief. The new Vanguard soldiers rushed passed him, looking to chase the enemy to make sure they fell back. They had survived.

---

Sometime later, Quickshadow and the Wreckers had returned to the landing zone, and it was much quieter. The Combatrons were long gone, and the landing zone was buzzing with activity. Omega Supreme stood over the landing zone as Vanguard forces began unloading vehicles, troops and supplies from newly arrived cruisers.

Progressing through the landing zone, they saw medics patching up their weary allies, officers shouting order at the new soldiers, and bots setting up defensive measures. They soon across Thunderhead, Rocket Plume and Goldbug sitting with Over Magnus, now out of his armour as Crumble was working on repairing it nearby.

“You alright?” Quickshadow asked.

“Yeah” Rocket Plume answered. “Bit dinged up, but alive.”

“Hey, we did it though!” Thunderhead grinned. “Held our ground and kept this landing zone.”

“Thanks to them” Crumble noted.

“Don’t mention it” Crest said. “Wreckers get the job done.”

“Where’s Ginrai, anyway?” Quickshadow asked.

“Right here” Ginrai said, approaching. “Sorry, I was just checking in with the rest of our forces from the cruiser now the comms block is no longer in effects. Thank you, by the way.”

“Like Crest said, it’s all part of the job” Quickshadow replied. “So what’s the word?”

“Masstread and Impactus were able to set down their landing zones. Once we’re set up here, we’ll start pressing towards major installations, and fight our way to the Ashmar Citadel. Groundshaker’s trying to get more reinforcements available, even from prospective allies outside the commonwealth, but from the look of it we’ll be proceeding on our own steam.”

Ginrai, Quickshadow and Crest looked up as a colossal blue converted cityship flew overhead, landing outside the battlezone, followed by the Chromecoat. The Chromecoat transformed into the form of Kappa Supreme, as the giant cityship transformed into a colossal three headed dragon.

“Well, we’re pulling Omega Sentinels and Stormbreak” Quickshadow said. “If that’s not enough I don't know what is.”

“I just want to make sure Overlord doesn’t get away this time” Ginrai said. “He might be pinned down on his own seat of power, but that’s when he’ll be most dangerous. Overlord has thrived in this war, and he won’t want it to end, especially without him in it.”

“We can do this Ginrai. We will do this.”

---

Lorkaria, Moon of Jyex
Soundwave landed on the Lokaria, one of the moons orbiting Jyex. He took a few steps on the cold surface, taking the time to savour the new terrain beneath his feet. He then looked up, beyond Lokaria’s thin atmosphere, where he could see the next planet over, Tuurok. He let out a sigh of relief.

“Free at last” he said.

Soundwave looked forward, to the next planet in the system, Shakuiir. He knew of a Combatronian outpost there, one that, while insignificant for the Vanguard to capture, would possess the ships he could use to leave the system, and finally leave Tuurok behind. He could leave this war behind.

As Soundwave took flight again, he felt a strange sensation overcome him. Perhaps this was… joy? Glee? Happiness. Emotions were not something he was accustomed to. Perhaps he would allow it, just this once, as he took flight towards at last living a life. At last looking to control his own destiny… and keep it that way…