Epilogue

Epilogue

Two months later, Hot Rod stood in the Great Hall to a roaring crowd of Autobots. The election results had come in and he had won by a landslide with over eighty percent of the vote. Despite not being able to campaign in person for the past two months, Hot Rod had made several speeches on the news networks and since Darkstar had fled and Jazz had died, Prowl had been his only competition.

Hot Rod’s new body had been finished and his spark loaded into it hours before the elections had been completed. His new body was taller, leaner, and more powerful, the proper look for the new president of the United Cybertronian Government. The cheering stopped when he motioned for quiet so he could begin his speech. “Friends, through your conviction we have won the election and ushered in a new age for Cybertron. In the coming weeks I will pick my advisors and then we will begin our mission to rid the universe of evil. I will make sure that the Decepticons are hunted down and destroyed to the last and that the rogue Autobots are finally brought to justice. I will work tirelessly to make it happen and to secure the peace we have fought so long for. No matter the cost our mission will be to make the universe safe for all beings.”

As Hot Rod continued, Camshaft stood in a dark corner, watching and hoping that he had been right. There was something unsettling about Hot Rod’s speech and his promises to bring peace at any price. It was almost like he imagined himself to be some kind of dictator. Perhaps he should have run and challenged Hot Rod, perhaps he could have won. His brief tenure as president had been uneventful as the Decepticons and rogues had disappeared and could not be found. The humans continued to act unwilling to open negotiations to let Autobots into their territory, despite what had happened. He sighed and Downshift handed him a drink and patted him on the shoulder. “You did a great job, Camshaft. Peace has been restored at least for now. It’s a pity that Hot Rod will take over now.”

Camshaft snorted, “Good luck to him on his foolish mission. It won’t be as easy as he thinks to bring peace.” He held up his drink and toasted, “To quixotic quests.”

Downshift laughed and they clinked glasses and then drank most of the contents. “I just hope Hot Rod doesn’t knock over too many windmills in his adventures.”

As Hot Rod continued speaking, Springer edged his way through the crowd and found Arcee standing with Chromedome and the Raptors. She saw him and he could see the mixture of sadness and joy in her eyes. He knew that his eyes mirrored that look and he finally made it up to her. She smiled at him and motioned him to Sideswipe, who was standing with the group. “This is our newest Raptor, Sideswipe. I’m sure you and Hot Rod will order us off to find the Decepticons, am I right?” There was a coolness in her voice that disturbed Springer.

“That’s right,” he replied calmly. “You are our best unit, we’ll need you to find the Decepticreeps before they strike again.”

Before Arcee could reply there was a massive crash. Everyone turned and Hot Rod stopped his speech. Joyride choked out, “Help.” Grimlock had his arms around his fellow Raptor and ready to squeeze the life out of him. Springer and Silverbolt tried to pull Grimlock off, but he shoved them aside.

Then, to everyone’s surprise, he leapt off Joyride and rushed Hot Rod. “You Hot Rod are a traitor!” Grimlock roared. Hot Rod was frozen in place as the massive Dinobot charged at him. He thought of what Darkstar had done to him and was paralyzed with fear. Just as Grimlock was about to jump and topple Hot Rod over, something stopped him. Optimus Prime had placed himself between the two and held Grimlock back until the Raptor settled down.

“What’s going on?” Arcee demanded as she helped Joyride up.

Joyride whispered, “I just said I was glad for Hot Rod and Grimlock went postal on me.”

“Him Hot Rod is traitor!” Grimlock shouted again.

Optimus continued to hold Grimlock back and said calmly, “He was before, but now he is your leader. He was infected by a Decepticon virus, it was not his fault. We have to forgive him and look ahead to the future.”

Grimlock seemed to be calming down at that and replied weakly, “He killed many friends. He weakened us so Decepticons could attack. Decepticon attack killed my Dinobots!”

Optimus nodded sadly, “I know that, Grimlock, but that’s over now. We cannot continue the violence against ourselves, we have to turn our attention to the real threat, the Decepticons.”

Optimus took his hands off Grimlock, who took a long, angry look at Hot Rod and stormed out of the Great Hall. Then Optimus turned to Hot Rod and said loud enough for everyone to hear, “Today begins a new age for Cybertron, Rodimus Prime.” There was a collective gasp as Optimus Prime opened his chest and pulled out the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. Hot Rod had stolen it from him during the civil war, but now he was giving it to the young Autobot of his own free will. He had gone down to where he had hidden it deep inside Cybertron and recovered it days before the election, knowing that Hot Rod would win. “May the Matrix guide you and give you the wisdom to lead all Cybertronians through the dangers that lie ahead.”

Optimus held out the Matrix and Hot Rod accepted it in awe. His new chest opened up and he placed it into an open cavity. As his chest closed he felt wiser and more mature than ever before. He took Optimus’s hand and then hugged the veteran leader. “Thank-you, Optimus. Thank-you for believing in me.”

“Don’t let me down,” was all that Optimus said. He pulled out of the hug and silently followed after Grimlock. Optimus knew that danger lay ahead with the Decepticons rebuilding, the rogues still a threat, and the humans maintaining a hostile stance. He just hoped that everything would settle down. As he reached the door he spotted Camshaft and handed him a disk. Camshaft was surprised and before he could ask what it was about Optimus was gone.

“What is it?” Downshift asked.

Camshaft shrugged and they hurried to his office upstairs. The disk was a message from Optimus Prime containing advice, a warning, and a shocking discovery. There were detailed maps of the wormhole and the planet containing a large supply of nucleon. There were also plans for a ship the likes of which had not been seen in over four million years. Camshaft still had presidential authority until Hot Rod, now Rodimus Prime, was sworn in in two days. He activated his comlink and paged Grapple, the master architect who was supervising a new plaza in Iacon.

“Camshaft, this is a surprise,” Grapple commented.

“I need you to come to my office right away, I need you to evaluate a project for me.”

“What is it?”

“I can’t tell you over an open comlink, you’ll have to come here.”

“I’ll be right there.” It took Grapple ten minutes of tire-squealing driving to reach the Great Hall, which was packed for Hot Rod’s victory celebration. He shoved his way through the crowds and took the elevator to Camshaft’s office. “I’m here, what is it?”

Camshaft showed him the drawings and Grapple’s mouth dropped open. He touched the screen as if doing that would make the drawings somehow come to life. “By Primus, I thought the plans for the Ark had been lost during the war!”

“They were,” Camshaft replied. “Optimus must have kept a copy in his databanks.”

“It’s unbelievable. But, why did he give these to you now? What is he trying to say?”

Camshaft stood up and rounded his desk. He looked out the window at Memorial Park and then turned back to Grapple. “He wants us to build a new Ark to explore another galaxy. He found a wormhole that leads to an entirely different galaxy where there is a planet rich in nucleon. With nucleon we could power Cybertron indefinitely, we could bring about a new Golden Age. What I need to know, though, is this feasible? Can we build a second Ark?”

Grapple smiled and nodded. “It will take some time, but I’m certain of it.”

“Good. Grapple, I’ll need you to find a place where no one will be able to find something this big. We need to keep this project a secret, even from Rodimus Prime. If he finds out then he will use it as a weapon of war, a battle fortress to attack the Decepticons with. That’s not what Optimus or I want.”

“It’ll be hard to keep something like this secret.”

“We’ve kept other secrets, we can keep this one. Gather a team of engineers, but make sure no one gets word out to Rodimus.”

“I understand.” Grapple turned and then looked back at Camshaft, “You’ve done a great job Camshaft, I would have voted for you.” Grapple left and Camshaft smiled.

Downshift looked at his friend with satisfaction. “What do we do in the meantime? It’s likely the Decepticons, rogues, humans, or even Rodimus will find out long before that ship is built.”

“I’ll talk to Arcee and Silverbolt and get the Raptors transferred out that way to supposedly look for Decepticons. There isn’t much more that we can do without everyone getting wind of it.”

“We should bring Prowl, Kup, and Bumblebee into this, get their opinions.”

“I was already planning on it. I’ll arrange for a private meeting somewhere.” Downshift nodded and turned to leave. Camshaft called to his retreating back, “Thank-you for believing in me, Downshift.”

Downshift turned and replied with a grin, “It’s not a problem. Besides, I never said anything about you that wasn’t true. I just got you in the door, but you’ve done all the work.”

The door closed and Camshaft was alone in the office. He glanced at the terminal screen and all the information Optimus had provided them. He wondered what Optimus was going to do now, but suspected that everyone would find out eventually. When Cybertron needed him once again, Optimus would return.

***

James was sitting idly in his lab, wondering what he should do now. The Phoenixes were being put into production at a quick rate by Koromi, who was cheered by their performance in the short battle on Earth, but James was not needed on the moon factory any longer. He sighed and went to the secret cave where the Decepticon body, Roadbuster, and Override were stored. They were dissected and mangled, and looking at them made James wonder why he had done what he had done.

He turned away at them and tears came to his eyes. He had been so blinded with rage over the death of his wife and of his squadron mates that he had not realized that he was killing innocent beings just to further his research. He had even hampered Jetfire’s research that could have helped end the war sooner just because of his hatred of Transformers. He went back into his lab and grabbed an ultrapulse rifle. He went into the cave and turned the gun towards the ceiling. He fired and leapt back as an avalanche of rocks fell onto the three corpses, crushing and burying them forever. He would not kill for his experiments ever again.

He put the rifle away and heard the door chime sound. He answered it and saw that Marshall was at the door, looking pale and yet happy. He let her inside and she said without preamble, “Our intelligence network has uncovered something. A destroyer lost its propulsion systems a few days ago and was stranded just inside Cybertronian space. On its long-range sensors it detected an anomoly. When it returned our analysts checked it out and discovered that what they were picking up is a wormhole with residual traces of...nucleon.”

James took a step back in shock. “Nucleon? My God, I thought all of that stuff was destroyed!”

“So did we, but our hunch is that there’s nucleon through that wormhole. Command has put me in charge of a task force to investigate.”

“What? That would be an invasion of Autobot space.”

“I know, but if it is nucleon it would solve our energy problems forever. The Decepticons and rogues trashed the Io plants and the solar collectors on Mercury. Until those are reactivated, Earth and our Solar System colonies are hurting for energy.”

“Why did you come here?”

“I want you to come with me, to lead a squadron of Phoenixes. If we have to fight Transformers we’ll need some real firepower to repel them with. You’re an excellent pilot, Simon, and you understand them the best.”

James turned away angrily. “Don’t you remember that dead Autobot who risked his life to save Earth? How can we just forget that and go back to killing innocent beings?”

“Simon, Earth’s future is at stake! We can’t let this opportunity go by.”

“Then ask the Autobots and launch a joint venture.”

“Command won’t talk to the Autobots. Besides, Hot Rod has taken charge and from what our sources have heard, he isn’t too ready to talk either. He cares more about finding the Decepticons.”

James exhaled slowly and replied, “All right, but only because it’s imperative that we find this nucleon and secure it before the Decepticons or rogues get their hands on it.”

Marshall nodded and smiled. “Good. You know, there are a couple of hours before I have to be back in Toronto.”

James took her hand, grinning knowingly. He couldn’t support what Marshall and the others of the Confederated Army were doing, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still like Marshall for the person she was. He led her to the bedroom, determined that he would not harm any more innocent beings again no matter what happened out there.

***

President Raymond Chandler stood at the head of a joint session of the Confederated legislature. He cleared his throat and began his first speech since recovering from the rogue Autobot attack. “Let me begin by saying that I am glad to be back. However, I am dismayed by what has happened in my absence. How could all of you be so blind and force our allies out? The Autobots are our friends and were here only to help defend us.”

“Over the last couple of days I have spoken with many members of this body and have found that no one will support legislation to let the Autobots back into our territory or to even allow me to fire Vice-President Shale. I am appalled at this despicable policy enacted by the Confederation in my absence. Since it will not be repealed I have no choice but to resign effective immediately. I will travel to Cybertronian space with anyone who will accompany me and find the ‘rebel’ forces there who wish to see humans and Transformers work in cooperation once again. From there I will wait for this body to repeal the anti-Transformer policies.”

“I do not wish a civil war, but these policies must be repealed for the sake of ourselves and the Cybertronians who only wish to live in peace. The Decepticons and rogues are still a threat and will grow as one in the coming months. Only by working with the Autobots can we hope to stop them. However, since you will not cooperate, I will go to the rebels under Captain Hunter’s command and we will work with our Autobot friends to find the Decepticons and secure peace once and for all. God have mercy on your souls for what you have done and what will come because of it.” There was silence as Chandler angrily strode from the room. He went immediately to the airport and took the first shuttle to a courier ship that would take him to Cybertronian space.

Shale sat in silence in the assembly and Beckett nudged him to go and take the microphone. He did so unwillingly and began an impromptu speech. “My friends, we must stand upon our policies. New weapons are being developed that will allow us to repel Decepticon invaders and maintain our independence. We fought for over a century to gain our freedom, only to endure eight years of Autobot tyranny. How can we throw all that away now?”

“We will rebuild better than ever and develop weapons to stop any incursions of our territory. With faith and hard work we will maintain our independence. No Decepticons or rogue Autobots will stand in our way. Let today be our Independence Day!”

The legislature cheered and Shale was impressed with his own speech. Let Chandler try to stop his policies. He would find a way to defend Earth and keep the Autobots out even if he had to sleep with Robin Hoover to do it. He smiled and listened to the cheers and for the first time he truly felt like the leader of a great nation.

***

Omitron motioned for Darkstar to rise and smiled from her hoverchair. “I’m glad that you could join us, Darkstar.”

“I didn’t have much of a choice,” the gang leader replied. “I committed a murder, the cops would hunt me down if I stayed.”

“Actually that’s attempted murder. Hot Rod survived.”

Darkstar clenched his fists in rage and the other members of the gang backed away from him. “How is that possible?”

“I’m not certain, but he was elected president.”

“I’ll kill him! This time I will rip his spark out and crush it with my bare hands!”

Omitron chuckled and replied, “All in due time. First we have to get more energon for our conquests. Our supplies are low after creating new bodies for our comrades.”

Darkstar was puzzled, neither he nor the gang had seen more than a handful of Decepticons the entire time. “What comrades?” He asked. Omitron punched a button on the chair and the lights came on all over the tree fortress. Standing on the catwalks were fifty Decepticons, some of the worst criminals in Cybertronian history. Skullgrin leered at Darkstar, his huge nostrils snorting. Thunderwing had his arms folded against his chest and was smiling smugly. Frenzy cackled like a hyena about to devour prey. All along the base Darkstar could see Decepticon warriors. He was in good company indeed. “That is impressive. So what do we do, raid more human colonies?”

“No, no, nothing like that. We are going through a wormhole and raid a large supply of nucleon. Once stabilized it will provide enough energy to fuel our army to victory.” Nighthawk stifled a gasp. She had figured that Omitron would find out about the wormhole and nucleon eventually. Still, Jetfire had gone to the planet and could still be there. He would be outnumbered terribly and most likely Omitron would have him executed. “To the ships!”

The Decepticons began shuffling towards the hangar to await transport to the rogue ship and the Imperium. With Optimus Prime’s fleet back in Cybertron Omitron’s forces were able to move about freely, without cloaking devices. She noticed Nighthawk lingering and pulled her daughter aside, practically throwing her up against a wall. “What is it, Mother?”

“I know that you gave Jetfire the coordinates to the wormhole and the nucleon, it was a foolish thing to do.”

“I know that,” Nighthawk replied.

“If Jetfire is on the planet when we arrive I will do whatever is in my power to make certain that he is not killed, but I cannot promise anything.”

“Why would you do that, he’s an Autobot.”

“I love Jetfire. He’s intelligent, brave, and powerful, even if he is a compassionate, weak Autobot. I don’t want him killed, but if I must then I will. You have to understand that, Nighthawk. This is a war and we have to do what it takes to win.”

Nighthawk nodded. “I understand.” She turned and left and Omitron went to the vault and attached her fusion cannon. Then she remotely commanded both her shell and Nighthawk’s to walk to the hangar. Omitron would need every weapon at her disposal, she was certain of it. She thought of what she had said to Nighthawk and hoped that Jetfire was not on the planet, or, so help her, she would have to kill him.

***

Jetfire stood on a rocky plateau and gazed down at a valley full of nucleon crystals. He had been surveying the planet across the wormhole for two months now and was amazed at the amount of raw nucleon he had found. It was everywhere, even underwater. He finished his sensor sweeps and returned to the cave nearby that served as his base. It was one of the few places with no nucleon, which allowed him to rest there when the radiation from the nucleon was starting to get to untolerable levels. He sat down on the ground and wished he had brought some equipment with him. However, he had been able to use his sensors and some instruments he brought with him wherever he went, to study the nucleon.

What he had found out so far was amazing. It was almost as if the crystals were living things, as though they were growing on the planet like plants. Over the two months he had noticed that some areas had actually increased in the amounts of nucleon present. And yet he could detect no reason that the crystals should be growing. It was very strange indeed and he hoped to have some answers eventually.

He wished Perceptor were here to help him make some sense of all this, or Omi. He stopped as he thought of her and sighed. From what Nighhawk had said Omi was a Decepticon and she always had been. He had loved and trusted a traitor. He had made a daughter with the enemy. Now Nighthawk was one of the enemy. Would he be forced to kill his daughter and the one he had fallen in love with so long ago? He checked the radiation levels in his circuits to make sure they were subsiding. Suddenly he heard the sound of thunder, although the red-brown skies were clear.

He went to the edge of the cave and saw that some kind of ship was landing. By the Matrix, what is that, he thought? The signature didn’t match Autobot, Decepticon, or human signatures. The ship came lower and he could see it. It was dark gray and nearly spherical, long round pods on either side. A hatch opened and metal, insectoid creatures spewed out. Jetfire analyzed them and saw they were composed of alloys not like anything on Cybertron. The creatures had large, flat, rounded heads with huge sensors for eyes. Their legs were thick, rounded engine assemblies with clawed feet. They had two small, oval arms mounted on the squat bodies, each arm ending in a claw with some kind of weapon mounted over it.

In his two months Jetfire had not found any signs of civilization on the planet, which meant these had to be creatures not native to the planet. He stopped as the swarm of metal monsters turned towards him. In a vaguely Cybertronian dialect he could hear the leader shout, “The children of Primus are here! Destroy them!” Before Jetfire could react orange bolts of energy were erupted from the cannons on the arms of the creatures. Jetfire screamed as he was hit in the chest and legs and collapsed. The last thing he remembered before blacking out were the creatures standing over him, the leader saying, “Take this one back to the ship for studying.” Jetfire tried to will his legs to get up and fight back so he could warn the Autobots, but could in the end only surrender to the darkness closing all around him.

To Be Continued...(But it never was...)