Dark Matters [open]

[Lord Megatron]

((Date: January 5th, 2025 // same time and location as "Road to Nowhere"))

Aboard the Nemesis, Megatron was brooding as usual. He was resisting the need to go consume a random drone’s Spark. Or some unlucky Decepticon. Having recently revived KARR, Megatron was now drifting the Nemesis over the equally dusty Arizona state, having left Nevada in the dust a fair while ago. He was looking out the synthetic viewing display of the ground below idly, deciding that he wasn’t too sure this place was ideal for a Decepticon ground base.

Well away from Detection in the higher levels of the atmosphere above the Stratosphere, Megatron leaned forward in his seat as something caught his attention on the screen. He was alerted of an unknown signal moving fast along the ground on his radar. When he checked the synthetic screen again, he noticed two objects moving at a reasonable distance away from each other. For Earth vehicles, they were moving across the desert at decent speeds.

Zooming in, he watched the two vehicles move boredly. One just had a fancy paint job, but the smaller unidentifiable vehicle (the Warthog) and its armored driver caught his attention. Were it not for his radar alerting him of the signal, he wouldn’t have noticed the two blips moving across it. The armor of the man and the color of the vehicle made him rather hard to spot in the terrain.

What the slag? He had never seen this kind of armor on humans before.
Slight concern popped up in his processor for a moment. But he wasn’t too worried about it for now. He’d just keep himself occupied in his thoughts so as to resist the urges for a little longer, now that he had something to focus on…

[Soundwave]

Soundwave was nearby, silent as always, but watching everything. He was making no effort to hide himself, simply standing in front of a set of controls, monitoring various functions as they panned through the screens. He was particularly concerned with making sure there wasn’t another hiccup with the Nemesis’s electromagnetic shielding; it had happened once before, and now that the enemies of the Decepticon army had grown, it could not be allowed to happen again.

He glanced towards his Lord, as he was wont to periodically do. He had known Megatron long enough to be able to easily read his body language. Soundwave was a master at masking what he was feeling, but Megatron rarely did so--there was simply no need. He knew that his leader could be surprisingly duplicitous when it suited him, but he wasn’t able to hide from his Third in Command at the moment.

It was that Pit-spawned addiction. It was bothering him again. Soundwave disapproved of Megatron’s newfound hunger. Anyone watching the mighty Decepticon leader tearing another ‘bot asunder in order to devour his Spark would undoubtedly believe this was the act of a strong leader: the strongest of leaders, able to take the lives of his inferiors at a whim. Soundwave knew better. This was the act of a leader in the thrall of something he could not control. Megatron was not made to be slave to anything, much less something as trivial as an addiction. Aside from that, it was starting to genuinely drain their resources. Cloning new Vehicons and Eradicons was not currently feasible, and unless they set down with a ground base or started building a new army the old-fashioned way, they were going to run thin on soldiers.

Megatron had to start fighting it. Soundwave was not one prone to initiating discussion, but if this carried on for much longer, he might pull his leader aside and voice his concerns. For now, though, he would do what he could to take his Lord’s mind off the problem. The tall Decepticon turned, slowly making his way over to Megatron. He stood behind his leader’s left shoulder, silently staring at the screen. Just as Soundwave had grown adept at reading Megatron over the ages, Megatron, too, probably could glean more from Soundwave’s actions than anyone else on the Nemesis, save Starscream.

His shift to position said, simply, I see you have taken interest in this; I am ready to hear your command.

[Lord Megatron]

"I need your assistance with a little investigating since once again I cannot rely on Starscream. Go ask around and see if anyone knows about -this-, this armor. Spy a little, do what you need to do to get information and see where this armored soldier might be headed." Megatron gestured to the screen with a hand, a close up of York and his armor as he spoke to Delta while they drove along in the desert. He had been watching the two drivers move about for several minutes before decisions were made. "I have never seen this armor and artificial intelligence issued on humans before. It is an interesting concept. To have them grow stronger against us is obviously a potential threat. This could give us ideas for our armies as well. We are underestimating humans and their ability to work with technology."

[Soundwave]

Soundwave did not reply, but rather just silently nodded. He was an extremely accomplished hacker, able to access virtually any database on the entire planet (with the help of some of the raw processing power that the Nemesis provided, of course). He took a step closer, still giving his Lord plenty of space, but staring intently at the screen.

He made note of the location and studied the visual fee closely, jacking into the Nemesis’s imaging systems directly to archive what was displaying before him. There were no outward signs to connect this highly-advanced armor to any known technology of their human adversaries in M.E.C.H. Interesting.

He did not speak, but rather sent Megatron a wordless, wireless burst; this is the method in which Soundwave often communicated when he was unable to play black audio to make his point. <"Shall I investigate directly?”> He meant, of course, leaving the Nemesis to spy a little closer.

[Lord Megatron]

<"Do whatever you think is best, I trust your skills and judgement."> Megatron focused his attention on the screen, watching the two vehicles drive on and eyed the green glowing blip on the synthetic screen that was in York's vehicle curiously. "I will deal with them. I need a chance to get out as well after all, I haven't had some action in a while."

Even better that the two humans had never met the Decepticon leader before. Oh he would have so much fun with this, loved messing with the fleshlings occasionally, and so did Starscream apparently. As he focused his attention on the screen, he pondered over who he would send after to 'offer' Autobot Scientist Tarnish to join the Decepticon ranks. Perhaps Knock Out, one of his honorary fellow scientists? Or maybe one of the Seekers...

[Soundwave]

Once again, Soundwave’s acknowledgement was only a nod. He stepped back and returned his attention to the control panel he had been accessing. Checking it one last time, he carefully closed out his diagnostic screens and strode off, leaving the bridge.

Five minutes later he was prepared, and he left the Nemesis via one of the open decks, transforming and swinging away from the ship, making his way towards the site. He pinged Megatron to let him know his coordinates; he would lurk nearby, but he would not engage the targets unless he needed to. For now he would observe, remain silent and unseen, and very simply listen.

That was what Soundwave was best at.

Also, it wouldn’t hurt to have an unknown lurking off the site of the battle in case Megatron needed it, but Soundwave did not suspect that Megatron would. He could more than handle himself.

[Lord Megatron]

Satisfied with the arrangement, Megatron departed the room shortly after Soundwave did, and took flight as well to go hunt down the two signals. This was going to be quite interesting.

<Time skip initiated, see pages in On The Road To Nowhere>

It didn't take long for the tyrant to return to the vessel with the armored stranger in tow. Transforming with a thunk, he strode towards the Medical bay. "I bet the discovery of our existence is completely unexpected. You're about to meet my best medic, and he likes some new challenges. Be prepared for some...inquiry." Megatron rumbled to York as they moved quickly through the dark halls.

[Kira Knight]

<At the Bot Base>

Cira and the queer-looking Warthog as well as Delta safely stored in York's helmet shot through the ground bridge full speed. She hit the brakes roughly but avoided an abrupt halt. KITT was nearby in his default Mustang form with Ratchet standing nearby the communications deck in his red and white robotic form.

"KITT, Ratchet, we need ta get on th' Nemesis." Cira shut off the Warthog, slung the AA12 over her shoulder and reached over for York's helmet before getting out of the vehicle.

"That helmet, it IS familiar. Danny's attacker had one like that only it was a different design and color. It was white and the visor was bigger." Ratchet knelt down and eyed it curiously and warily once she hopped out of the driver's seat and shut the door. "Well if you're sure this guy can be trusted, I'll let you take KITT right away. And KITT, with your ability to alter your appearance, I recommend you change your color into a dark purple, Megatron has a lot of drones. With your signal, you'll blend in easily."

"I have to go along for the ride, a familiar face and more agile 'n small person is always helpful."

Ratchet glanced at KITT with uncertainty, but since she'd survived the recent attack, and since she was a skilled fighter pilot...why bother protesting. She was different from most of the other humans here. "Very well."

[KI3T]

KITT suspected that there were other things Ratchet may or may not be saying, like if the human technology really is as durable and versatile as it seemed to be, getting it in the hands of the Decepticons may be a bad thing as well. Furthermore, the energy source currently taking residence in York's helmet was another concern all on its own to KITT. "Cira, something is in that helmet. It appears to be sentient."

"Huh?" Cira lifted up the helmet in her right arm a little. It looked like just a well armored helmet to her, as she hadn't noticed the flicker going through the bridge. Cira didn't connect the faint greenish glow she had seen earlier going down a large dune from afar that it might actually be the projection of an AI.

"It's energy signal is hard to detect, but it is there. I presume it is an AI."

"Hm...he did mention saving someone...?" Cira glanced back at KITT as he transformed into his black robotic form which was about 18 to 19 feet tall. KITT knelt down a little to get a better look at the helmet, now highly curious.

[Agent New York]

<Nemesis>

"Why does that not reassure me?" York grumbled quietly in the hopes that Megatron wouldn't hear him. He made sure to get a good look around the place as he went to see if he could work out any escape routes when he got out. Correction, IF he got out. Whoever this medic was probably wanted a look at his armor, and he wasn't exactly going to hand it over willingly. That meant he'd end up being in a hell of a lot of pain, which would end up registering with Delta which would panic his partner more, and he didn't exactly need that.

---

<Bot Base>

In Cira's hands, the helmet suddenly started to glow a faint green in color, immediately followed by a male voice. "Surroundings scanned. No immediate threats. Presence of one human, one AI, and one unknown. All weapons disarmed." With that quick analysis done, the helmet glowed brighter, apparently glad that he was at least in safe surroundings.

"Greetings, my name is Delta. You, Cira, have already met my partner, York, and I would appreciate any assistance given to rescue him from wherever he has been taken to."

[Lord Megatron]

Megatron continued to move at a decent pace through the halls. They had entered from one of the main holding bays so it took a little while to clear the distance, but they were making pretty good time and they were not in a particular rush. He supposed the sooner they inspected the armor and sampled it the better since there was a fifty/fifty chance of the Autobots showing up. He currently suspected though that they were no relations with each other.

His red optics glanced back at the armored man, noting the color. Perhaps the armor was designed for certain types of operations? Perhaps there was an obvious reason as to why he found this guy in the desert rather than elsewhere in a city or some other place. His processor was scheming up ideas on how they might be able to gain an upper hand in ensuring this kind of technology didn't bring them down in the future. He wasn't sure as to whether or not it would be of any actual use to them, but they could at least see just how durable and versatile it was nonetheless. No harm in that.

[Soundwave]

Megatron’s Third had remained out of sight during the hunt for Agent York, utilizing his stealth to the best of his abilities. Now, he returned to the Nemesis, just as silently, jacking into the ship’s surveillance grid to watch the progress his Lord and their new captive made. He did not join them physically. It would be best if York did not yet see him. He closely observed the human’s body language, watched for signs of fear.

York was looking around, clearly making a mental map. How pointless and amusing. If he did manage to escape the medbay, where would he go? York was locked in an airborne prison, and he didn’t seem capable of any kind of flight, despite the highly sophisticated facsimile of a robot he wore over his skin.

Soundwave stalked a different set of corridors, watching York and Megatron through the security network. If the human made a stupid move, he would be ready.

[KI3T]

"We have been granted permission to get transported to Megatron's vessel, which is called the Nemesis." KITT was excited about Delta's appearance, as was Cira. Someone else he could relate to!

Cira wasn't sure which she was more surprised over, the fact that they had been attacked by the Decepticon leader or that York had an AI. "I've been told about Megatron before, he's the Decepticon leader, the Autobot enemy. So you're an AI too, how cool, nice to meet ya!" Cira was psyched and surprised about both pieces of information at the same time. "Delta, meet my Dad's partner and my good friend KITT, the Knight Industries Three Thousand. The red 'n white one here is the Cheif Medic and good friend of the Autobot leader." she paused and glanced up at Ratchet. "Can we get a bridge to the Nemesis? It'd be easier than flying."

[Agent New York]

York made sure to keep an eye on where they had passed to see if he could remember the places should he have the opportunity of escape. Hey, he didn't plan on being some lab toy for whoever this mech was taking him to see. Although he had a feeling it would be pretty hard to stage such an escape, what with the size of the place and, probably, the amount of other robots here. How the hell was he going to get out, anyway? It'd be so much easier if he had his comrades here with him, but he was on his own. Not even Cira was here to help out. Now what?

---

"It is a pleasure to meet you, but I am afraid further introductions may have to wait. I am not aware of what condition York is in, and I fear that his life may be in danger. If we do not act soon, we may lose him altogether." Delta replied, genuinely fearing for his partner. He might be taking temporary residence in the helmet, but his primary place was with York. If something happened to the Freelancer, what would happen to the AI? Would he remain trapped in the helmet? Or be forced to go back to his partner and thus reveal himself to the captors? Neither option looked too good for him.

[Lord Megatron]

It didn't take long for them to reach the Medical Bay where Knockout would likely already be waiting. "This should be fun for a change, not having to repair someone, instead meddling with strange armor to see what it is capable of. Maybe we'll have you duke it out with some drones to test its strength at full. Perhaps throw you into a ring of three or four. Or maybe you can fight Knockout, I'd love to watch that. I don't get much entertainment around here you know, and I could achieve two objectives at once."

He gestured to one of the stretchers. "Sit, I don't want to have to convince you to do so, but if I did I wouldn't regret being aggressive." Aggressive was how Megatron rolled after all. "So tell me, I sensed an additional energy source with your armor, what was it?" Megatron was genuinely curious...in the worst of ways.

He motioned to Knockout, allowing him to examine the armor on a microscopic level to see just what alloys it was made out of. Megatron could have done it himself, but he wanted to ask some of the questions.