TMC 21-1

A city-sized ship sped through transwarp, hell-bent on getting to its destination. It had a lead on its counterpart in the enemy faction, but didn’t want to take any chances…correction, HE didn’t want to take any chances. The city-ship was the Metrotitan called Fortress Maximus, and he had every intention of bringing Optimus and his Autobot crew to Gigantion, the last stop before Cybertron. As Fortress sped through transwarp, Optimus was going through the day’s paperwork. “Hoo boy,” he muttered, “it’s like paperwork manages to follow you, even as your ship bends space AND time! When I get to Cybertron, it had better be done already!” He then heard his ready room door chime. “Come in,” he called. Sonic entered the room. “Ah, Sonic. What can I do for you?”

“Just gotta know, is there supposed to be a red streak above us?” asked Sonic.

“…Not unless someone’s going at a faster transwarp than…uh oh!” a nasty thought struck Optimus. Sonic then realized why Optimus looked so worried and followed him to the bridge. By then, Fortress had called all hands to their stations. Optimus jumped into the Captain’s chair. “Report!” he called.

“The Decepticon fleet’s overtaken us at Transwarp…2?!” reported Cliffjumper.

“Why the uncertainty?” asked Optimus.

“Optimus, no Metrotitan goes that fast,” explained Fortress, “unless they’.ve made the most careful of calculations.”

“We’re approaching Gigantion,” called Teletraan 1. “I’m running scans now. …Huh. Looks like the Cons ain’t here.”

“Then their calculations weren’t careful enough!” chuckled Optimus.

---

Over on the Decepticon ship, everyone was strapped in, sans Dirt Boss. He was desperately holding onto his console. “We overshot Gigantion by a light-year!” called Ravage.

“What are you waiting for?!” replied Dirt Boss. “Stop this crazy thing!”

“We can’t stop all at once!” warned Scorponok. “It’s too dangerous!”

“Then slow us down first!” ordered Megatron.

“No! Stop this thing! I order you, bug! STOOOOOOPPPPPP!!”

“Belay that, Scorponok! Slow us down to a speed where we’re not in danger of losing-!” Dirt Boss ignored Megatron’s instructions to Scorponok and shot the emergency brake, bringing the ship to a full stop! Everyone snapped forward and Dirt Boss went flying into the wall just below the main screen. Groans escaped everyone’s lips, even Shockwave’s.

“Scorponok, if I ever decide to order us to go any higher than Transwarp 1, punch me in the face. I promise you, I will NOT consider it treason,” remarked Megatron.

“Noted, Lord Megatron,” mumbled Scorponok.

“I think I lost my face about 20 parsecs ago!” whimpered Laserbeak. “Can we turn around and find it? …No, wait, there it is.”

“Hello, Gohan! Have you done your homework?!” called a dazed Dirt Boss from inside the wall. “Because if you don’t, Chi Chi will KICK my ass!” Megatron got up from his seat and yanked Dirt Boss out of the wall.

“And THIS,” he snarled, “is why we listen to a Metrotitan, even if he’s a normal-sized Transformer!”

---

“Gigantion, this is Fortress Maximus,” called Fortress. “I have a crew on its way to Cybertron that needs to stop here so we can refuel. Requesting permission to land.”

“Standby and transmit clearance,” replied the bot at the space port. Fortress then transmitted his clearance code. “…Clearance accepted. We’re assigning you Flight Path 2 to Landing Pad 1. Welcome to Gigantion.”

“A pleasure to be here, Gigantion.” The call ended and Fortress made his way below the atmosphere, then followed the flight path to the assigned landing pad. He then touched down and let his passengers leave to stretch their legs. Optimus’ optics flickered as he noticed something.

“…It’s quiet,” he muttered.

“So?” asked Sonic.

“Optimus is right,” remarked Llyra. “Gigantion’s populace is always building something, going from site to site.”

“Really?” Sonic then became worried. “Then why don’t I hear the sounds of construction?”

“Something’s wrong here,” said Optimus. “We better find people and-” something snapped above their heads. They all looked up to see a giant I-beam falling towards them. The bots and Nebulans grabbed it and strained to hold it up as the Mobians and humans ducked out from under there.

“OPTIMUS! GET OUT OF THERE!” called Amy.

“BELIEVE ME, WE WOULD IF WE COULD!” shouted Optimus.

“Cool your circuits! I got this!” called someone. A giant red crane truck then rolled into view and wrapped its cable around the I-beam. It then lifted it into the air, taking the weight off the Autobots’ arms, then the crane’s boom rotated and set the beam down elsewhere. “You know, you should know better than to walk under any sized I-beam. Come to think of it, you should know better than to walk under ANY construction equipment. Although, then again, I should have secured it somewhere else. …Good grief, where are my manners?! High Tower, ASCEND!” The crane’s front and front wheels flipped forwards as arms sprang from the sides, making the rear wheels into shoulder pads. The robot then flipped himself over as he stood up, putting his crane boom onto his back. A head with a red helmet and blue visor then popped up and he struck a pose. “I’m High Tower, the second-in-command of the Titanotron Elite Build Team!”

“Did I hear you right?” asked a voice. “You didn’t secure that I-beam in a safe location?” High Tower then started sweating as he turned around to see…

“METROPLEX, SIR!” he yelped fearfully.

“So you almost crushed our visitors?!” snarled Metroplex in his Emissary Robot Mode. “What’s our motto?!”

“C-Come on, Sir!” begged High Tower. “Surely you don’t need me to-!”

“SAFETY FIRST! SAY IT THREE TIMES!”

“SAFETY FIRST! SAFETY FIRST! SAFETY FIRST!”

“And how are we going to prevent something like this from happening again?”

“By being more mindful of all openings, Sir!”

“Set about enacting that.” High Tower then took off.

“Primus, you don’t mess around!” muttered Optimus.

“I can’t afford to, Wee Optimus,” replied Metroplex. “The builds may have stopped, but I won’t let my crew be lax in safety matters.”

“The builds have stopped? That must be why it’s so quiet around here. What caused that to happen?”

“The Space Bridge Network Shutdown, that’s what. We usually have our building materials imported from other planets. Thanks to the Supreme Leader shutting down the network, we can’t contact the other colonies.”

“That’s what we’re here to do,” declared Optimus. “This is the last stop before we return to Cybertron and reactivate the Space Bridge network.”

“If we had the resources, I’d join you,” sighed Metroplex. “Sadly, we only have enough to refuel you lot and send you on your way.”

“Aren’t there resources in the other layers?”

“Other layers?” asked Sonic.

“Our world’s constructed around a planet Organics would enjoy,” explained Metroplex. “We have layers and layers of cities, and our policy is that we NEVER return to old cities, even ones built before the current one!”

“Why not?” quizzed Optimus. “Wouldn’t it be great to see what the previous generations made? Besides, if you don’t remember the past, then you’re gonna repeat its mistakes.”

“There’s another side to that coin,” replied Metroplex, “becoming obsessed with the past. No, I won’t risk it, not as long as I’m the Megalo Convoy.”

“Okay, I’m sensing a theme here,” muttered Sonic. “The leaders of your colonies are called Convoys?”

“That’s the general idea,” replied Optimus. “And even then, it’s only for colonies of uninhabited worlds.” Just then, High Tower rust back up to the group.

“High Tower, what are you-?” High Tower cut Metroplex off.

“Sir, we’ve got a big problem!” he panted.

“What’s wrong? Did another I-beam fall?”

“No! It’s Mole Dive! He’s trying to break into the first City for the current Layer!”

“WHAT?!” Metroplex became more panicked.