So I wrote something!
17 April 2018 17:39![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wyntir_knightI have been busily working on my Camp NaNo project, an as yet untitled Transformers AU that takes place in the MCU. After 17 days I finally have something that I am happy enough with the post, so, in keeping with my "Post at least one thing a month" directive, here is the prologue of my as yet untitled piece. Comments are always welcome!
Prologue: Phobos
Onslaught stood at the edge of the crater observing the other commanders as they discussed the problem at hand. Although, discussed might have been too polite of a word. Springer had made it abundantly clear that he wanted to go in guns blazing, Prowl wanted to take things incredibly slowly, and Jazz just wanted to get down on the planet’s surface. And there was no way of knowing what Starscream wanted out of all of this. It was no secret that the Air Commander had a strange relationship with both Megatron and Shockwave but no one was quite sure what that relationship was. One moment Starscream was toeing the line like a faithful servant and the next there was an attempted coup with with the Seeker at the head of it. Not that Onslaught could blame anyone for trying to overthrow Megatron, not when it was clear that he was completely unfit to rule and that Shockwave had been manipulating everyone and everything from the start.
The obedience chip in Onslaught’s head twinged out a warning. She and her team belonged to Megatron and Shockwave and no overt acts of betrayal would be tolerated. Even being here was taking a lot of careful planning and mental discipline to avoid a stronger reminder from the chip. She turned her attention away from the quarreling leaders and toward the small blue world sitting just above the horizon. That was their target. The residents called it Earth, but the Cybertronian star charts had it listed as 26.4+1KLY-240MYR. Not as romantic as the inhabitants probably had it, but it was a useful designation. And that was all that mattered, given that this world was hardly suited for long term Cybertronian habitation. It was too wet and there were far too many corrosive elements in the atmosphere to make it a decent home for anyone save the most durable or the most masochistic.
“Screamer’s got a point,” Jazz said casually, but Onslaught could hear the cruel edge in his tone. He had been poking at the Seeker since they had joined forces, and the game was wearing thin.
“Don’t call me that!” Starscream grit out, doors high and armour flaring as he approached the smaller mech.
“Jazz,” Prowl said, his tone edged and cold. It would be the only warning.
The Praxian may have been an Autobot, but that was only because that faction claimed the alleged Prime as one of their own. Had Orion Pax followed Megatron and joined the Decepticons, Onslaught was sure that things would have been different. Not that she was complaining. She had seen Prowl in action and she preferred him on the other side of the table. He was the only other mech who could match her tactical brilliance and she didn’t need the competition. Megatron had proven that he only wanted one voice in his audial and it was an enough of a fight dealing with Starscream and whatever sway it was that he had over Megatron.
“I’m standin’ by it,” Jazz said with a shrug. “He’s got a point. We don’t know what we’re gonna be facin’ down there. Fer all we know, we’re lookin’ at some other alien tech.”
“There are far too many unknowns on that world,” Starscream said, continuing to glare at Jazz. “They have been visited by at least three alien races and the Cybertronian tech could be explained by the Lunatronium deposits.”
“Or, it could be a staging ground for one of Shockwave’s plots,” Jazz added.
“Or it could be the final location of Orion Pax and Megatron,” Prowl replied. “We will not know until we go down there. And as we cannot calculate the possibilities, I will not agree to splitting up our units.”
“We ain’t suggestin’ that!” Jazz said, exasperated. “Just let me an’ my team go down there and check it out! Give us one lunar rotation and we’ll have a better idea of what we’re lookin’ at!”
“And I will not agree to a team of Autobots down there alone!” Starscream snapped.
“I have already suggested that you take Frenzy, Swindle, and Barricade,” Onslaught said, finally joining the conversation now that the chip had finally gone back to standby.
“You also said that you did not want Combaticons on that world until you knew what was going on.” Prowl’s words came across as a statement, but there was also an accusation underlying the polite demeanour.
“And I will not have Barricade anywhere near Bumblebee!” Jazz spat out, his casual accent suddenly gone in the wave of his anger.
Onslaught couldn’t blame him. Barricade was personally to blame for Bumblebee’s damaged vocalizer. Just following orders was no excuse.
“Prowl, I said I did not want all of us down there. It’s the team that’s at issue, not the individuals,” Onslaught said. "And, Jazz, if you do not want Barricade, then select another Decepticon. Trust me, you want someone to keep an optic on Swindle. And Frenzy will need a keeper.”
Onslaught felt Swindle lash out at her across the connection at that comment.
“So you’re saying that I can trust you not to sell them all for parts if the opportunity presented itself?” she asked, and immediately felt Swindle back down.
“If you had a concern regarding the stability of your team, you would have been better served to mention it before we left Cybertron,” Prowl said.
He remained calm and emotionless, but his doors gave him away if one knew how to read them. And Onslaught was well aware of how to read them. She had far to long a history with the Autobot 2IC.
“She did,” Springer snapped. “I did too and so did Starscream! Pits, Prowl! You can’t just make all this slag go away because you refuse to acknowledge it!”
“We are more than far enough away from Shockwave to avoid any influence he might still have over those of us who have been augmented in one way or another,” Prowl replied, almost but not quite bristling at the old argument. “If any of us believed that there was a significant chance that-”
Onslaught braced herself and sent a silent apology to her team as she interrupted Prowl.
“Megatron will fall by my hands when I rip out his processor!”
She barely got the statement out before she was doubled over in pain as the obedience chip reminded her forcibly of her place.
“Frag off, Ons!” Swindle and Vortex yelled from their place at the far end of the field, nearly drowned out by Brawl’s roar of outrage.
“Lord Megatron is my liege and I will obey him in all things. Lord Megatron is my liege and I will obey him in all things,” Onslaught repeated like a mantra once the static in her vocalizer cleared. After several more repetitions the chip calmed and the pain became a dull thrum in the back of her processor.
“That was the result of a simple statement,” she said as she stood back up to her full height. “If Lord Megatron is down there and if he is in any way compromised, or if it turns out that this planet is one of Shockwave’s staging grounds you may not be able to count on the allegiance of the Combaticons. And if we are all down there when the worst happens, you will not be dealing with five Combaticons, you will be dealing with one very angry Bruticus. And trust me, he is not happy about any of this.”
Springer nodded and crossed his arms over his chest.
“My whole team’s been augmented in one way or another,” he said. “And believe me, while there is nothing I would like more than to disrupt one of Old One Eye’s plans with a Combiner at our back, I want to be totally sure that he is at our back and no on it.”
“Best way t’ figure it all out is t’ let me an’ my team down there to have a look see,” Jazz said, the casual facade back in place. “If you want me to take Cons with me, fine. Gimme Frenzy, Swindle, and ‘Warp. That way we can send messages back, we’ve got someone t’ keep an optic on Zee, and I know that Warp can be as sneaky as any of my team.”
“Team’s getting awful big, there, Jazz,” Springer said. “At this point we may as well all go in and set up an Infiltration Protocol and be done with it.”
“That has been my suggestion from the beginning,” Starscream added. “All of this plotting and second guessing is getting us nowhere. And I’m beginning to question why we’re even allowing you to hold us hostage on all of this, Prowl!” He turned to the others. "I say that we go in there with my original plan and set up an Infiltration and be done with it.”
Onslaught rolled her optics behind her visor. Since the beginning they had been at each others’ throats. If she was more prone to paranoia she would think that Shockwave had anticipated this collapse as soon as Orion Pax and Megatron had left Cybertron in search of the Hand. Of course had that been the case, he never would have allowed these rebel mechs to leave on their manufactured missions. He would have seen right through their claims of an energon search and would have known that they were actually searching for their leaders and a way to defeat Shockwave and his puppets Sentinel Prime and the Functionists Council. Shockwave was many things, but he was not omniscient. Even the best battle computer could be fooled by an insane and reckless move.
“Enough!” Onslaught snapped. “We can’t spend much more time here. As primitive as that Earth tech is, we will eventually be spotted if we stay here. I suggest that we allow Jazz to take a small team to check out the planet. No more than five members chosen from both factions and get back to us in a lunar rotation. Is that agreeable?”
Jazz shrugged. “I’m fine with it. Me, Bee, Blue, Zee, and Swindle. And, yeah, I know that he might try to sell us to the highest bidder, but I also know that I’ll deactivate him before he gets the chance. You make sure he knows that I ain’t kiddin’, right, Ons?”
“Agreed,” Onslaught replied, sending an emphasizing ping to Swindle as she did. “You will report back to us within the lunar rotation via the Combiner link and then we can proceed. Blast Off has offered to ferry you to the planet’s surface.
After a long, tense moment, the others agreed and the plan was finally set into motion. The combined forces of the Autobots and Decepticons would eventually find their way to the planet’s surface and find their lost leaders. And then they could return to Cybertron and begin phase two of the operation.
Prologue: Phobos
Onslaught stood at the edge of the crater observing the other commanders as they discussed the problem at hand. Although, discussed might have been too polite of a word. Springer had made it abundantly clear that he wanted to go in guns blazing, Prowl wanted to take things incredibly slowly, and Jazz just wanted to get down on the planet’s surface. And there was no way of knowing what Starscream wanted out of all of this. It was no secret that the Air Commander had a strange relationship with both Megatron and Shockwave but no one was quite sure what that relationship was. One moment Starscream was toeing the line like a faithful servant and the next there was an attempted coup with with the Seeker at the head of it. Not that Onslaught could blame anyone for trying to overthrow Megatron, not when it was clear that he was completely unfit to rule and that Shockwave had been manipulating everyone and everything from the start.
The obedience chip in Onslaught’s head twinged out a warning. She and her team belonged to Megatron and Shockwave and no overt acts of betrayal would be tolerated. Even being here was taking a lot of careful planning and mental discipline to avoid a stronger reminder from the chip. She turned her attention away from the quarreling leaders and toward the small blue world sitting just above the horizon. That was their target. The residents called it Earth, but the Cybertronian star charts had it listed as 26.4+1KLY-240MYR. Not as romantic as the inhabitants probably had it, but it was a useful designation. And that was all that mattered, given that this world was hardly suited for long term Cybertronian habitation. It was too wet and there were far too many corrosive elements in the atmosphere to make it a decent home for anyone save the most durable or the most masochistic.
“Screamer’s got a point,” Jazz said casually, but Onslaught could hear the cruel edge in his tone. He had been poking at the Seeker since they had joined forces, and the game was wearing thin.
“Don’t call me that!” Starscream grit out, doors high and armour flaring as he approached the smaller mech.
“Jazz,” Prowl said, his tone edged and cold. It would be the only warning.
The Praxian may have been an Autobot, but that was only because that faction claimed the alleged Prime as one of their own. Had Orion Pax followed Megatron and joined the Decepticons, Onslaught was sure that things would have been different. Not that she was complaining. She had seen Prowl in action and she preferred him on the other side of the table. He was the only other mech who could match her tactical brilliance and she didn’t need the competition. Megatron had proven that he only wanted one voice in his audial and it was an enough of a fight dealing with Starscream and whatever sway it was that he had over Megatron.
“I’m standin’ by it,” Jazz said with a shrug. “He’s got a point. We don’t know what we’re gonna be facin’ down there. Fer all we know, we’re lookin’ at some other alien tech.”
“There are far too many unknowns on that world,” Starscream said, continuing to glare at Jazz. “They have been visited by at least three alien races and the Cybertronian tech could be explained by the Lunatronium deposits.”
“Or, it could be a staging ground for one of Shockwave’s plots,” Jazz added.
“Or it could be the final location of Orion Pax and Megatron,” Prowl replied. “We will not know until we go down there. And as we cannot calculate the possibilities, I will not agree to splitting up our units.”
“We ain’t suggestin’ that!” Jazz said, exasperated. “Just let me an’ my team go down there and check it out! Give us one lunar rotation and we’ll have a better idea of what we’re lookin’ at!”
“And I will not agree to a team of Autobots down there alone!” Starscream snapped.
“I have already suggested that you take Frenzy, Swindle, and Barricade,” Onslaught said, finally joining the conversation now that the chip had finally gone back to standby.
“You also said that you did not want Combaticons on that world until you knew what was going on.” Prowl’s words came across as a statement, but there was also an accusation underlying the polite demeanour.
“And I will not have Barricade anywhere near Bumblebee!” Jazz spat out, his casual accent suddenly gone in the wave of his anger.
Onslaught couldn’t blame him. Barricade was personally to blame for Bumblebee’s damaged vocalizer. Just following orders was no excuse.
“Prowl, I said I did not want all of us down there. It’s the team that’s at issue, not the individuals,” Onslaught said. "And, Jazz, if you do not want Barricade, then select another Decepticon. Trust me, you want someone to keep an optic on Swindle. And Frenzy will need a keeper.”
Onslaught felt Swindle lash out at her across the connection at that comment.
“So you’re saying that I can trust you not to sell them all for parts if the opportunity presented itself?” she asked, and immediately felt Swindle back down.
“If you had a concern regarding the stability of your team, you would have been better served to mention it before we left Cybertron,” Prowl said.
He remained calm and emotionless, but his doors gave him away if one knew how to read them. And Onslaught was well aware of how to read them. She had far to long a history with the Autobot 2IC.
“She did,” Springer snapped. “I did too and so did Starscream! Pits, Prowl! You can’t just make all this slag go away because you refuse to acknowledge it!”
“We are more than far enough away from Shockwave to avoid any influence he might still have over those of us who have been augmented in one way or another,” Prowl replied, almost but not quite bristling at the old argument. “If any of us believed that there was a significant chance that-”
Onslaught braced herself and sent a silent apology to her team as she interrupted Prowl.
“Megatron will fall by my hands when I rip out his processor!”
She barely got the statement out before she was doubled over in pain as the obedience chip reminded her forcibly of her place.
“Frag off, Ons!” Swindle and Vortex yelled from their place at the far end of the field, nearly drowned out by Brawl’s roar of outrage.
“Lord Megatron is my liege and I will obey him in all things. Lord Megatron is my liege and I will obey him in all things,” Onslaught repeated like a mantra once the static in her vocalizer cleared. After several more repetitions the chip calmed and the pain became a dull thrum in the back of her processor.
“That was the result of a simple statement,” she said as she stood back up to her full height. “If Lord Megatron is down there and if he is in any way compromised, or if it turns out that this planet is one of Shockwave’s staging grounds you may not be able to count on the allegiance of the Combaticons. And if we are all down there when the worst happens, you will not be dealing with five Combaticons, you will be dealing with one very angry Bruticus. And trust me, he is not happy about any of this.”
Springer nodded and crossed his arms over his chest.
“My whole team’s been augmented in one way or another,” he said. “And believe me, while there is nothing I would like more than to disrupt one of Old One Eye’s plans with a Combiner at our back, I want to be totally sure that he is at our back and no on it.”
“Best way t’ figure it all out is t’ let me an’ my team down there to have a look see,” Jazz said, the casual facade back in place. “If you want me to take Cons with me, fine. Gimme Frenzy, Swindle, and ‘Warp. That way we can send messages back, we’ve got someone t’ keep an optic on Zee, and I know that Warp can be as sneaky as any of my team.”
“Team’s getting awful big, there, Jazz,” Springer said. “At this point we may as well all go in and set up an Infiltration Protocol and be done with it.”
“That has been my suggestion from the beginning,” Starscream added. “All of this plotting and second guessing is getting us nowhere. And I’m beginning to question why we’re even allowing you to hold us hostage on all of this, Prowl!” He turned to the others. "I say that we go in there with my original plan and set up an Infiltration and be done with it.”
Onslaught rolled her optics behind her visor. Since the beginning they had been at each others’ throats. If she was more prone to paranoia she would think that Shockwave had anticipated this collapse as soon as Orion Pax and Megatron had left Cybertron in search of the Hand. Of course had that been the case, he never would have allowed these rebel mechs to leave on their manufactured missions. He would have seen right through their claims of an energon search and would have known that they were actually searching for their leaders and a way to defeat Shockwave and his puppets Sentinel Prime and the Functionists Council. Shockwave was many things, but he was not omniscient. Even the best battle computer could be fooled by an insane and reckless move.
“Enough!” Onslaught snapped. “We can’t spend much more time here. As primitive as that Earth tech is, we will eventually be spotted if we stay here. I suggest that we allow Jazz to take a small team to check out the planet. No more than five members chosen from both factions and get back to us in a lunar rotation. Is that agreeable?”
Jazz shrugged. “I’m fine with it. Me, Bee, Blue, Zee, and Swindle. And, yeah, I know that he might try to sell us to the highest bidder, but I also know that I’ll deactivate him before he gets the chance. You make sure he knows that I ain’t kiddin’, right, Ons?”
“Agreed,” Onslaught replied, sending an emphasizing ping to Swindle as she did. “You will report back to us within the lunar rotation via the Combiner link and then we can proceed. Blast Off has offered to ferry you to the planet’s surface.
After a long, tense moment, the others agreed and the plan was finally set into motion. The combined forces of the Autobots and Decepticons would eventually find their way to the planet’s surface and find their lost leaders. And then they could return to Cybertron and begin phase two of the operation.