Transformers
Robots in Disguise

108 - Time

by Mike Watson

	"Computer, access core consciousness.  Code name, Scourge.  Password, Mega-Octane," 
Mega-Octane spoke in a hushed voice.  He wasn't sure how well the surveillance equipment 
was working, and the last thing needed now was Megatron listening in.
	"Granted, accessing core consciousness of unit Scourge," the computer replied.  A series 
of blips and beeps were heard, and a likeness of Scourge's head was formed over a holoform 
platform connected to the CR chambers.
	"Wha- Mega-Octane?" Scourge said.
	"Scourge, we finally meet," Mega-Octane said.
	Accessing the consciousness of someone offline in a CR chamber was really an amazing 
thing if one stopped to think about it.  Here we had a transformer in stasis lock undergoing 
repairs at such a rapid pace that if they weren't in stasis lock they would destroy the spark, 
and you could converse with them.  Of course it was only possible via the technology of the 
CR chambers.  It was otherwise impossible to talk with anyone in stasis lock.
	"What happened?  Who are you?" Scourge asked.  His voice was not like his usual.  It had 
a drowsy sound to it, and he spoke slower than usual.  A side effect of being in stasis lock.
	"Autobots," Mega-Octane said quickly.  "You were defending some stasis pods; myself and 
four others.  You took some heavy damage.  You're the last one to get out of the chamber."  
Mega-Octane looked at the ground.
	"Were all the pods," Scourge paused.  "Were they Decepticons?" he asked cautiously.
	"Yes," Mega-Octane looked up.  "And they, and we can fuse.  Like the trains."
	"Did you?" Scourge asked, interested.
	"Yes, but, we don't really know how we did it," Mega-Octane said, looking at the ground 
again.
	"And the Autobots?" Scourge asked.
	"All alive, but damaged," Mega-Octane replied.
	Scourge sighed.  "The Preds?" he said.
	"Also alive."
	Scourge stopped for a second.  He could see the room as if his own head was outside the 
chamber, though it was in shades of blue.  He looked at Mega-Octane again, with some suspicion 
this time.  "Why have you contacted me?" he asked.
	"Just curious," Mega-Octane said, looking hard at Scourge.  "Wanted to see what you were 
all about.  Your power is great."
	Scourge knew what this was about.  This Mega-Octane, this new Decepticon, he wanted control 
of the Decepticons.  Scourge scanned the newcomer.  He was heavily armed, though not as large 
as Scourge.  He would be a welcome addition to Scourge's once nonexistent forces.  If he was 
willing.
	"Why have you not destroyed me while I am in stasis?" Scourge asked suspiciously.
	Mega-Octane eyed Scourge's hologram.  "I don't understand," he finally said.
	"You know what I'm talking about," Scourge said, sounding as angry as he could which was 
not very.  Another limit of stasis lock, emotion was cut off.
	Mega-Octane decided to discontinue his false ignorance.  "I felt it necessary to defeat 
you in battle, not the dishonorable way.  I am of military origins, it is not in my nature 
to take control in a backhanded manor."
	This fool was no Decepticon.  Certainly not one to take command at least.  It was his kind 
that lead missions, or served in armies.  They were warriors, not leaders.  They spoke of 
honor and a sense of rules, and they were stabbed in the back by smarter Decepticons and 
Predacons for it.  They were fools.
	"Very well.  When my repair cycle is complete, we shall battle for leadership of the 
small Decepticon faction we have created here on Earth," Scourge said.
	"I shall look forward to it," Mega-Octane said.
	"As shall I," Scourge said.
	"End core consciousness access block," Mega-Octane said.  Some more blips and beeps came 
from the computer and the head of Scourge faded out.

										* * * * * *
										
	"Okay, I've mapped out the major energon deposits in the area," Sideburn said, pointing at 
the map on his screen.  "The closest one is about two miles south of us, hidden under a lake."
	"You suppose there's a chance Megatron doesn't know about it?" Rail Spike asked.
	"Unlikely, but slight," Sideburn said, looking up at Rail Spike.
	"Okay, we'll send a few to check it out, get the low down on it all," Rail Spike said, 
standing up from his slightly crouched position.
	"Where's Optimus?" Sideburn ventured.
	"He said he needed some time alone," Rail Spike said.  "He took the human casualty rate 
pretty hard, he feels it's his responsibility."
	Sideburn couldn't think of anything to say.  Optimus had always been passionate about his 
duties.  It was the reason he was voted to lead the Autobot rebellion on Cybertron.  He was a 
presence.  He was one of those bots that never talked that much, but when he did everyone 
listened with full attention.  He had sworn to free Cybertron and the Autobots from the 
Decepticons and Predacons, and he wanted to involve as few deaths and injuries as possible.  
So far he had been successful with the relative durability of most Transformers.  Humans, however, 
they could not withstand the same punishment.
	"Who are you going to send out?" Sideburn finally asked.
	"Prowl, Midnight Express and X-Brawn," Rail Spike said.  He had fully thought it out.
	Sideburn just nodded.  "I hope Ops will be okay," he whispered.
	"Me too Sideburn.  Me too," Rail Spike said quietly as he walked away.
	
										* * * * * *
									
	This planet, Earth, it was very beautiful.  Optimus was not overjoyed, to say the least, 
with Cybertron's reformatting.  The plant life was interesting at best, and it overtook nearly 
everything.  It was annoying, really.
	Earth, however, was balanced.  Like Cybertron, it was originally organic, but had not been 
overtaken by mechanical cities and roadways.  The forest he walked through now, full of lush 
evergreens and dirt pathways, was an amazing sight, seen few places in the universe.  He wished 
more had taken the time to appreciate it.  Transformer and human alike.
	It must be saved.  This planet had never asked for a war between Autobot and Decepticon, 
nor had the beings which inhabited it.  They destroyed the world they didn't even live on, 
and for what?  In the name of a dispute that had started eons ago for reasons no one could 
even remember.  Childishness.
	Now they were outnumbered.  Megatron had pulled stasis pods from the sky and made them 
into his own troops.  They could strike at any moment.  He could even pull more pods out of the 
sky, strengthening his grasp on the Autobots, and Earth, even further.  Optimus couldn't allow 
that.  Megatrons had been defeated before by Optimus Primes.  He would have to live up to his 
namesakes.
	Then the sound of multiple engines broke up Optimus' thoughts.  Vehicles in this forest?  
He found that unlikely.  He had a hard enough time walking through it in robot mode, how could 
vehicles drive through it?  He hid behind a group of trees.  Two trucks and a jeep drove by, and 
a helicopter flew overhead.  A black oil tanker and a camouflage transport flatbed carrying a 
tank and space shuttle.  No way in the Pit was that a coincidence.  Optimus followed.

										* * * * * *
										
	Scourge stopped.  This would be a good enough spot.  They were out of scanner range of 
the Vertigo, mainly due to energon interference, so Megatron would not even know they had left.  
Now he only had to show Mega-Octane and the other Combaticons who was their leader.
	"This is where we will fight," Scourge said.  "Terrorize."  He transformed, and Mega-Octane 
followed.
	"We may begin when you are ready," Mega-Octane said.
	Scourge did not say anything, he simply drew his sword and charged Mega-Octane.  Mega-Octane, 
however, was ready, and he quickly dodged the blow, causing Scourge to hit a tree with his sword.  
Scourge struggled to pull his sword out of the tree, allowing Mega-Octane to draw his gun and fire 
a few shots at Scourge.  Scourge, however, left his sword and dove out of the way of Mega-Octane's 
gunfire, going into a roll and drawing his gun as well, firing shots at Mega-Octane at the same 
time, though all of them missed.
	Mega-Octane walked over to Scourge, who was sitting on the ground.  He aimed his gun at 
Scourge.  "It seems the best Decepticon has won," he said, a smirk on his face.
	Without a word, Scourge swiftly kicked Mega-Octane in the side of his leg, causing the 
Combaticon to fall.  Then, just as quickly, Scourge jumped to his feet and aimed his blaster 
at Mega-Octane's chest.
	"Yes," Scourge said darkly.  "Me."
	Mega-Octane had a look of surprise on his face.  "Yes.  I concede, you have won," he said.
	"Not yet," Scourge said.  He was looking directly at Mega-Octane, unflinching.  Mega-Octane 
couldn't think of anything to say, he just stared up at Scourge, who had no emotion in his eyes.
	"Scourge, you can't!" Ro-Tor finally spoke up.  "He conceded!"
	Scourge looked at Ro-Tor, his gun still trained on Mega-Octane.  "That may be right," he 
said.  "But, a true Decepticon does not let the opposition live to fight another time."  With 
that he pulled the trigger.  Smoke poured out of Mega-Octane, who was pushed back a few feet 
by the blast.
	Mega-Octane had time to look at Scourge, then down at his damaged chest.  Then everything 
became blurry.  He thought he heard someone say his name.  Then, darkness.
	Scourge walked over to Mega-Octane's smoldering and still body.  "Let that be a lesson to 
you all," he said, nudging Mega-Octane with his foot.  "Now, get him back to base for repairs.  
Regardless of his inferior fighting style and code of honor, we still need him."
	The Combaticons looked at Mega-Octane, then at Scourge.  After a small pause they all carried 
Mega-Octane off in the direction of the Vertigo.  Scourge transformed and followed.
	Optimus, who had seen the whole thing from cover, just watched them leave.
	
										* * * * * *
										
	Prowl clicked on his communicator.  "Everything looks clear here, XB.  How about your area?"
	"Nothing," X-Brawn replied.
	"How about you, Express?" Prowl said into the link.
	"Not a thing," Midnight Express replied over the commlink.
	"Good news then," Prowl said.  "Everyone head to my position and we'll figure something 
out," he said.  "Prowl, out."
	Prowl looked around.  The lake was in a clearing in a forest.  It was a pretty large lake, 
he could barely make out X-Brawn and Midnight Express on opposite sides of it at normal 
magnification.  Why hadn't the Preds found this place?  There was no trace of them at all.  
It was if they'd never been here, yet the energon readings were enormous.  Something was up, 
without a doubt.

										* * * * * *
										
	Optimus transformed to robot mode.  Decepticons were vile, indeed.  That display only 
further proved that belief.  Optimus shook his head and turned the other way.  Shards of 
Mega-Octane littered the ground.  He would need a long time in the CR chamber after the 
thrashing he'd just taken.
	That display also proved that Scourge was a larger threat than originally thought.  Optimus 
stepped into the clearing.  Such brutality, and towards one of their own kind.  It was strange 
to think the race Decepticons trusted most was their own.  If they would readily nearly destroy 
one of their own, think of what they would do to a Predacon or Autobot if given the chance.
	Something in a bush caught Optimus' eye.  He walked over to it.  It was a rounded piece 
of metal sticking out of the bush.  It looked like a stasis pod, actually.  Optimus pushed the 
bush away from the object.  It was a stasis pod, and a new one at that.  One that was on the 
Vertigo, no doubt.  It looked like it had been on Earth for ages though.  It was faded and 
dirty and half buried under the bush.  Actually, the bush was growing on top of the dirt that 
covered it.
	Optimus grabbed the bush where it met the ground and pulled, uprooting it.  He tossed it 
aside and cleared the dirt off the pod.  It was still half buried, but he could at least access 
the computer panel now.  He flipped open the panel with some trouble.  The inside of it was dirty 
as well.  It was offline.
	"Prime," he muttered to himself.  This was strange indeed.  He extended a wire from his 
arm and plugged it into the port on the pod.  "Computer," he instructed his internal computer.  
"Reroute fifteen percent of main power to outlet."
	"Acknowledged," the computer responded.  After a brief moment the lights on the computer 
panel of the pod flickered on.  Optimus punched a few numbers into the computer.  What he 
was attempting was to see why the pod was offline and how long.
	Ah, found what he needed.  It went offline because the power supply died out.  That was 
odd, stasis pods were equipped with power cells that could last for over a thousand stellar 
cycles.  Optimus' eyes widened.  He punched in a few more commands.
	"Vocal access active," the pod responded.  "Warning, power supply will deplete in two 
cycles."
	"Give me offline time," Optimus said, his voice full of anticipation.
	"Computing, please wait," the pod said.  A variety of lights flashed on and off in the 
computer panel while the pod calculated the offline time.  Then the flashing stopped.  
Optimus waited for the pod to tell him.  It seemed like a eternity.
	"Rough estimate of offline time," the pod's computer said.  "Nine hundred thousand stellar 
cycles."
	Optimus stared at the pod in disbelief.  "Chance of error?" he asked.
	"Calculating," the pod responded.  "Chance of error in offline time estimate, four 
percent."
	Optimus, who had been kneeling the whole time, fell backwards on his skidplate  He stared 
at the pod, millions of thoughts racing through his mind at once.  Something came to him.
	"State vessel," Optimus said quietly.
	"The Vertigo Cybertrona," the pod replied.  "Power depleted, shutting down," the pod 
said.  There was a small spark and the computer panel went blank.
	Optimus shook his head.  This was insane.  This pod had been on the Vertigo and had crashed 
on Earth almost a million stellar cycles ago.  The Vertigo had jettisoned the majority of the 
pods when it entered the Earth's atmosphere, and this one had crashed here instead of going into 
orbit.  They had been in emergency stasis lock.  That was why the Vertigo was so non-functional, 
and why no one had noticed it crashed.  No one had been around to notice.  Optimus had to get 
back to base.  He stood up, but a searing pain shot through his back.  He fell forward in pain.  
Then there was the same pain in the back of his head, quickly followed by blackness.
	Scourge stood over the smoldering body of Optimus Prime.  The shock he felt, however, was 
much greater than the pleasure he got from destroying the great Autobot rebel leader.

THE END