The Monster of Kaon (Transformers Si): Chapter 18

As our ship dropped out of warp over Velocitron, I immediately recognized something was wrong.

From what I know through rumors and news that usually came out of Velocitron before the collapse of the Space Bridge network, Velocitron is supposed to be a dessert planet with few resources and massive roadways covering the entire planet, used for the races that the speed-obsessed Cybertronians of that era conducted on this resort world.

But from what my initial scans tell me, the planet is now completely different from what I know.

Velocitron is now much closer to its home star than it was supposed to be, making its surface so hot that even Cybersteel cannot hope to withstand such heat without any shielding. It also means that the surface of the planet is literally on fire.

However, I am also picking up anomalous energy similar to what I felt aboard Emissary on the night side of the planet, making it much cooler than the day side. It is also on this side of the planet that my ship is picking up thousands of Spark signatures.

"…Somehow, this planet does not seem like the paradise for speed as you told me."

"Believe me, I am having just as much hard time reconciling this sight with what I remember hearing about."

As we continued the scans of the planet and the nearby space for the Allspark trail, we suddenly received a transmission originating from the planet.

Answering the hail revealed a bat with blue coloring and white accents.

"What the hell do you bots want now?? Have you not tormented us enough??"

…What the hell is going on here??

"First of all, is this how you people use communications? No identification? No proper hailing procedures? Nothing? And second of all, my name is Maximus and my companion is Windblade. We do not know what you are talking about so I would appreciate it if you would refrain from accusing us of something that we have no idea about."

Those stern words seemed to have brought the bot out of his spiel as he properly looked at the screen and our appearance before sneering at me.

"You think you can fool me by changing your color scheme and name and losing some of your weapons? I would recognize your wretched face anywhere. I'll ask you one last time before I rally all of my people for one last fight. I do not doubt that we will all die to you but it would be a much better fate than being your slaves for any longer."

…..Ok, what??

"…It would seem your optics are malfunctioning. I will repeat my words. I am Maximus of Cybertron. My companion is Windblade, the City Speaker and Ambassador of Caminus. We are following an Energon trail, looking for something important. We truly mean you no harm. Now, please identify yourself and tell me why you believe me to be your enemy?"

"…Wait, you really are not Fortress??"

"…I have no recollection of ever being named as such."

"..Then, I owe you an apology. Greeting, Maximus of Cybertron and Windblade of Caminus. My name is Blurr and I am currently overseeing the people of Velocitron. What's left of us anyways."

That does not bode well, not one bit.

"What do you mean 'What's left of us'? Are you in some kind of problem? Do you need any assistance?"

Windblade? What have I told you about impulsively promising to help someone without knowing if you can actually back up your words or not?

She must have picked up my unspoken admonishment as she gave me a sheepish look, causing me to soften my expression.

Looks like she is starting to put the information about Antilla out of her mind. Good. I don't want her to dwell on what ifs as I did for countless years after that incident.

"Are you really willing to help us? I will admit we are in a very bad situation, enough that we would accept help from anyone, even organics if it meant saving our people."

Well, since she has already uttered the words, might as well see if we can do anything for these people. Besides, this could help me set up a diplomatic relationship with Velocitron joining Caminus and Eukaris in some way like the Mistress wanted.

"If we are able to do something about the problem you are facing, then we do not mind lending a helping hand."

"…You really are not Fortress. There is no way that monster would ever even think of uttering words like that. I am sending you the coordinates, please arrive there for rendezvous with us. But please hurry, we can't stay in one place for more than a few minutes."

Once the communications cut off, I received a data packed with the coordinates.

I did not waste any time and put the ship's thrusters in full power, reaching the coordinates in a matter of minutes.

However, what greeted us was not Blurr and any security he might bring. Instead, it was a massive fortress on wheels with Blurr standing on top of some kind of a landing pad waving his hands in the air for us.

"…Is that a Titan? An active titan?"

Windblade's shock is quite understandable. Until now, the young femme has only come in contact with dormant Titans, or Titans who were either unwilling or unable to do anything significant aside from moving around a little bit. This would be the first time she saw a fully functional Titan.

As we approached the massive being's transformed body, Windblade's body jerked as her eyes started glowing just like they did when Emissary took control of her body.

My worry proved to be unnecessary, however, when Windblade immediately regained control of herself and established a shared link between us.

"C-Caminus's descendent…..How?......Energy signature i-identified…..Child of the Three….Velocitron…..Identification…..Navitas….Systems Critical……Primus?"

"..I don't think this Titan is completely functional like I thought. He seems to have some kind of damage in his brain module. His thoughts are going in a loop repeatedly."

"Is he beyond help?"

"Not really. I was taught how to help heal a Titan's mind during my training so I should be able to help him."

The beaming smile she sent me with those words sent a wave of relief through my mind.

It is truly sad to lose a Titan, especially since there are so few of them left in this universe. These gentle giants don't deserve the fate that befell their kind, except for a few of course.

The moment our ship landed, Blurr zoomed toward us at impossible speeds, making me realize that I was looking at an Outlier.

"Greetings, Maximus and Windblade. I am truly sorry for accusing you of crimes not your own. As I said before, my name is Blurr and I am the current leader of our people."

"Since it was a case of mistaken identity, I do not blame you."

As I shook hands with the bot he nodded gratefully at my words. Then, he shook hands with Windblade who returned his enthusiasm with her own, much to the bot's apparent delight.

"Please, follow me. I'll take you to our meeting chambers where I can tell you about our problem,"

"Oh! Can I see your Titan's brain module? I think I can help heal him with my training."

Blurr looked shocked at those words and looked at Windblade.

"How did you-?"

"I am a City Speaker, like we said before, we are naturally attuned to communicate with Titans and help them in any way we can."

That seemed to have reassured Blurr who excitedly started to ask questions to which Windblade replied just as excitedly.

Great, looks like I've run across another child that I need to keep an eye on lest they do something stupid in their recklessness, Primus help me- wait, what the hell am I thinking?? Am I really starting to act my age now of all times??

As I contemplated my thought process and the sudden reveal of my age catching up to me, at least mentally, we soon arrived at the massive chambers with many seats placed around a holographic table and a massive window that showed a truly humongous race track.

Looks like the rumors were true, Velocitron treasures their racing culture to an absurd degree.

As we took our seats, Blurr started speaking.

"Forgive me for jumping straight to the matter, but the problem we are facing is something that truly cannot wait."

I nodded at his words as he manipulated the table, showing images and graphs that told me exactly what the problems Velocitron was facing.

First and foremost, the Energon shortage, which is something that I expected already since even before the plague and collapse of the Space Bridge network, Velocitron had very little in the way of resources. The only reason it survived for as long as it did was due to the other planets in the star system had abundant Energon veins placed on them during the Golden Age.

The second issue is that their society itself is on the brink of collapse if the way the numbers of their newborns are tanking with each generation is anything to go by.

However, the thing that truly caught my attention is the third issue.

"As you can see, we are running out of Energon quickly with the current projections showing that our current reserves only last us for another century or two if we use it sparingly. However, given our culture, that is nearly impossible to do so we estimate that we can last for another fifty years at most. This also ties into the problem that we don't have enough Energon and Sentio Metallico to support the birthing process of our Titan."

Windblade was about to speak up before she remembered our previous silent conversation aboard the ship, causing her to sit down quietly much to my amusement.

Truly, I need to teach her the difference between compassion and naivety one of these days.

Of course, I made sure that my emotions did not show on my faceplate as I stared at Blurr.

"Both of these issues are something that I can help you with, for a price of course. However, before any of that, tell me about what these charts mean by 'Tribute' and does it have anything to do with your previous words about being slaves?"

Blurr grimaced at my words and manipulated the screen again, this time showing an image that shocked me to my Spark.

"They call themselves Star Seekers. They are a group made up of exiles from various colonies of Cybertron, and sometimes, Cybertronians as well. I don't know when or why this group came into existence, what I do know is that they are responsible for ruining our world and taking our previous leader, Override, captive. Just like they are responsible for ruining many other Colony worlds."

His expression shifted to that of bitterness.

"In simple terms, they are a group that hates Cybertron and its colonies. They attack an unsuspecting world, put the planet in a precarious situation, and then demand a yearly tribute in exchange for 'allowing' the world to continue living. As far as we know, they have done this to many Cybertronian Colonies and organic worlds in the thousands of years they have been active."

Is this some kind of a sick joke? Who the hell is responsible for this abomination?

Alpha Trion, you bastard, did you do this? Or did someone else do it?

Was it another Prime? A rogue Titan?

Shockwave, old friend, please tell me you are not the one responsible for this.

"Do you know any details about this group and if they have any other prisoners alongside your former leader?"

"We do, Windblade. Here."

The holographic table showed images of bots that were unfamiliar to me, except for the one in the middle.

Some of the images were crossed out with the word 'offline' indicating that they were no longer around.

"Currently, there are three main members of the group that are still active. Sandstorm, the pilot of their main ship. Famine, their enforcer, and spy. And finally, Thundertron, their first officer."'

"What about my look alike?"

My words must have come out much more forceful than I intended since Windblade dared not to look me in the eyes while Blurr jumped in fright.

I returned to gaze at the bot that looked exactly like I save for the color scheme and a few changes, including the ridiculously overcompensating Energon cannons on his shoulders.

And he has my Shield

"….He calls himself Fortress. From what we know so far, he is affiliated with another group known as the Decepticons, one of the two factions of the Cybertronian Civil War. He is the one who leads the Star Seekers, albeit remotely since he rarely shows up personally. He is the reason why I was so hostile to you in the beginning, for reasons you already see for yourself."

I've heard enough.

I got up from my chair and started walking out of the chambers.

"Windblade, stay here with Blurr. I am sending you the data for my Synth-En and Cybermatter. Share it as you see fit and see if you can't help heal their Titan. Also, try to see if they are willing to enter a diplomatic relationship with Caminus and Eukaris."

"Wait! Maximus! Where are you going??"

"To take back what belongs to me."

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Fortress:

















Thundertron:



Blurr:

Override:



Famine:



Star Seekers:



Navitas: