“Vector Sigma’s right,” Optimus said to Megatron. “We can’t live like this anymore. This will be the perfect basis to form a new era of peace on Cybertron!”
“Half of that,” remarked Megatron, “involves going against our Gods!”
“You will have my help, and Gaia’s help, it seems,” offered Vector Sigma. “Believe it or not, I’ve already recreated my old body. My mind is still linked to the supercomputer I became, but I can walk as freely as you now. Watch.” A tube then popped up out of the floor and opened to reveal Vector Sigma’s corporeal Vok body. The body then turned and smiled, proving that Vector Sigma was back. “And the Key told me about what happened after I unbricked the Matrix for you, Optimus. So, you met Gaia and she became the sole Goddess of Mobius! I must see her again.” Just then, something dropped from the ceiling.
“…Oh, yeah, kinda forgot about Starscream following us,” mumbled Optimus. Starscream was livid and Vector Sigma was in disbelief.
“You led him HERE?!” wailed Vector Sigma.
“Give me a break! He was trying to keep us out!”
“And that little broadcast is the reason why!” snarled Starscream. “Thanks to you, I have exactly ZERO Metrotitans! All four of them are currently trying to squish my people!”
“Starscream, hold up, there’s one loose thread here,” remarked Megatron. “Not exactly important, but I thought Skywarp was the Autobot Scientist Spanner once and lost his wife and child during Zeta Prime’s rule.”
“That was nothing more than one of his sob stories to throw his enemies off guard!”
“If you saw the broadcast,” urged Vector Sigma, “then you should know that I didn’t exactly have a choice here!”
“You had EVERY choice, Vector Sigma! You could have stayed silent! Instead, you told them everything!”
“I meant no harm! To you OR the Arti-Voks’ successors, the modern Transformers!”
“Too late! Your broadcast has contaminated the project! The harm has been done! That which does not adhere to Primacron’s will…shall become VOID!”
“No! Wait!” pleaded Optimus. “We can do this experiment WITHOUT killing-!”
“I’m not interested! Neither are Primacron’s halves! This experiment will be sterilized!”
“You can’t do that! We’re living creatures like anyone else in the universe! You, with all your power, even you have no right!”
“I have no choice! Letting light and dark blend together is more dangerous than you know!” Starscream then activated his comms. “Skywarp, the project’s off! We need to start again! Signal Tornedron! Tell him to begin termination sequence!”
“At once, Starscream,” replied Skywarp. Starscream then transformed and flew through the hole in the ceiling.
“Oh no, you don’t!” snarled Optimus. He, Megatron, and Vector Sigma then flew upwards and gave chase. Megatron fired at Starscream’s thrusters, making him fall.
“Starscream?!” Skywarp called over the comms as all the Arti-Voks ran for the War-world. “Starscream, come in! …Strago!”
“What is it?!” asked Sunstorm.
“I lost communications with Starscream! Unicron’s back in his old body and is on his way, according to recent readings!”
Back with Optimus and Megatron’s forces, including the Metrotitans, they were still stumbling around after Vector Sigma’s broadcast. “He…he…” mumbled Ratchet.
“He did what was necessary,” replied Prowl. “Optimus and Megatron can’t order another prolonged battle, not with our survival at stake.”
“So, Vector Sigma took it upon himself to destroy our faith?! Prowl, we needed that!”
“None of us were the ones who reawakened Vector Sigma fully,” remarked Shockwave. “Is it really our place to be angry with him?”
“It most certainly IS! Th-There HAD to have been another way!”
“It’s not that simple, Ratchet!” boomed Fortress. “There was an unknown threat hanging over our heads! Vector Sigma saved our lives by making us aware of Tornedron!”
“WHAT ABOUT OUR BELIEFS?! All of our struggles and Energon spilled and…countless sacrifices…only for some schmuck from a dead species to tell us that even our demigods…were nothing more than lab rats…TO BE EXTERMINATED ONCE OUR GODS’ EXPERIMENT WAS OVER?!”
“Right decision or wrong, what’s done is done,” replied Prowl. “But we have another problem now. The War-world already sent out a signal into space, most likely to Tornedron. And if intelligence reports are right, Unicron’s back in his old body and is on his way here.”
“Meaning we’re not safe on Cybertron anymore,” called Megatron’s voice. He, Optimus, and Vector Sigma approached the crowd after going through the door during Ratchet’s breakdown. The two leaders looked at the sullen faces. “…Autobots, Decepticons,” began Megatron, “my faith in Primus was just as shattered as yours when Vector Sigma told us the truth about our war. I will admit, I feel as if the Gods spat on the sacrifices I’ve made, but I intend to prove to them how much of a mistake that was!”
“He speaks for me,” called Optimus. “Au…no, Transformers of all factions, we face a threat to our very existence! Rest assured; we WILL survive this crisis! But, to ensure the safety of our people, we have no choice but to temporarily evacuate Cybertron!”
“Velocitron is opening its borders to all Cybertronian refugees!” called Override.
“So will Animatros!” confirmed Kong Primal.
“As will Gigantion!” rumbled Metroplex.
“And Nebulos will be happy to assist you!” announced Llyra.
“Mobius has long been used to Transformers,” said Sonic, “so I personally don’t see why we can’t host any refugees. Just…just don’t fight amongst yourselves.”
“They won’t,” assured Megatron.
“Then the first step,” remarked Optimus, “is to rebuild the Space Bridge.”
“Leave that to me!” called Scorponok. “With others helping me, we’ll have that Space Bridge fixed in no time!”
“And I will prepare Cybertron’s defenses!” offered Trypticon. “With other engineers helping me, we won’t need to use Primus as a battery!”
“I can help it so that the defenses wire up to only my computer interface!” called Vector Sigma.
“Lord Megatron!” Thundercracker ran up to the group. “Lord Megatron, Saurion stole the Nemesis!”
“WHAT?!”
“He took a few crewmates with him! Lugnut, Dirt Boss, Mole Dive, and Thunderblast! They abandoned us!” Megatron drew in a breath, then sighed.
“Let them go for now,” he ordered. “We’ll hunt them down in due course. In the meantime, we must find another flagship.”
“I have something that may help us in that regard,” offered Shockwave, “and give us a little more firepower than the Nemesis could offer.” As Scorponok and Trypticon led their teams to their respective assignments, Shockwave led Megatron and Optimus to a secret hangar…which was a surprise, given that the hangar was so large. The ship itself was three times the size of the Nemesis, had a tall bridge tower, a bow shaped like a hand opened as if it were reaching for something, and massive engines powering the warp field generators on its wings.
“I’ve never seen such a design before!” breathed Megatron. “What is it?!”
“The often talked about but never confirmed Kaon-class vessel,” replied Shockwave. “Officially, it’s classified as a Decepticon Heavy Transport. That was just something to confuse Autobot intelligence. In reality, the Kaon-class vessel is a warship with a cloaking device, nothing more, nothing less.”
“A cloaking device?” asked Optimus. “No wonder the project was abandoned. The Galactic Council outlawed cloaking devices while our war was raging.”
“That ban was simply the official reason,” corrected Shockwave. “You see, five years before the ban, we began exploring the possibility of building a new class of starship. This ship would have minimal families, minimal science labs, minimal luxuries of all kinds. It was designed for one purpose only: to fight and defeat the Go-bots. The namesake of the class, the Kaon, was the prototype, the first ship in what would have been the Worldsweeper-class’s replacement.”
“So, what happened?” asked Optimus. “Where IS the Kaon anyway?”
“Optimus is right, I don’t see the registry number,” remarked Megatron.
“The Kaon was scrapped a while ago, but I kept this particular vessel when the project was abandoned, thanks to the Go-bot threat becoming less urgent. Also, some design flaws cropped up during the Kaon’s shakedown cruise.”
“What sort of design flaws?” asked Megatron.
“You, Optimus, and the engineers will have complete access to the ship evaluation reports, my Lord, but to put it simply, it’s overpowered and over gunned for a ship its size. During battle drills, it nearly tore itself apart when the engines were tested at full capacity.”
“And you think this should be the new flagship of the Decepticon fleet?!”
“With engineers at my side, we should be able to shore up the design flaws before Tornedron gets here.”
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to work on it while it’s going through space,” remarked Optimus. “I’m requesting that Cybertron be represented on the Galactic Council. While you were talking, Shockwave, I received a Council Report that Unicron had devoured Quintessa before departing for Cybertron, making the crew of one ship the last Quintessons. It’s an all-male crew, regretfully, and they don’t have enough resources to colonize a new world. I’m going to offer them the hand of friendship and help them take revenge on Unicron…and present what we’ve learned to the Council, asking them for help in the process.”
“Optimus, there is NO way the Council will listen to us!” argued Megatron.
“They will if I issue an Omega level request.”
“…You really think the universe is at stake?”
“If Starscream gets his way, then yeah. The truth is, if we don’t stop them, Primus and Unicron will use creations that are would never know peace and would give them the readout they’ve been looking for and thus bringing the universe to only one element.”
“…Very well. In the meantime, I’ll have a few ground forces hunt for Starscream. If he reunites with his forces, they’ll escape Cybertron and make it easier for them to survive Tornedron’s wrath.”
“I’ll send some soldiers with yours. It’s time to test if they’re willing to put aside their differences for a greater threat once more.”