eugenesis-text

It wasn’t a typical Monday morning.
Mainframe gently banged his head against the computer screen. ‘It’s no good. I’m not getting a thing.
I think the system’s traumatised.’ He winched himself back down.
‘Is this base dead’ asked Centurion.
‘If by “this base” you mean Metroplex, then yes – I think. Blast! I thought I’d be able to find
something, some way of reviving his core program. To all intents and purposes, we’re sealed inside
a corpse.’
‘At least we’re safe,’ said Wheeljack. ‘What do you think has happened to Magnus and the others’
‘You’re right, you’re right. I just feel helpless.’
‘Well don’t get your hopes up, but I may have found a way out of here. I’ve weakened the wall here
and here. We should be able to break into a connecting passageway.’
‘I’m not, er, questioning your judgement,’ said Centurion, ‘but wouldn’t it make more sense to
weaken the door’
With half his face still covered by the mask it was impossible to tell whether Wheeljack was amused
or exasperated. ‘It’s not quite that simple. We came in here while Metroplex was in city mode. When he
transformed, so did the interior layout, creating a whole new set of dead ends.’ He sifted through the debris
around his feet. For a few moments the Quintesson invasion seemed light years away and he was happy
doing what he did best: tinkering.
‘It’s not much,’ he said, weighing up the newly-built pile driver, ‘but it should do the trick.’ He
punched a hole in the wall and was propelled across the workshop. Through the fresh hole was a
kaleidoscope of surfaces, as if a dozen walls had collapsed.
It took over an hour to reach the outside world. Sometimes the Autobots ran through cavernous
hallways, other times they crawled on their bellies. Wheeljack would swing the pile driver above his head
and punch new holes (‘Gravity doesn’t lie,’ he said), and freedom, when at last it came, was unexpected.
The ceiling a few centimetres above their head had been identical to the one before, and the one before
that. But once the slab of metal was flicked free they saw a smattering of stars.
Centurion climbed outside and onto a metal island the colour of ancient brass. The Rust Sea spread
in all directions, like a thousand corrugated iron rooftops. In the distance, beyond the panel-beaten
shoreline, the Terbium Plains stretched towards the horizon: a universe of metal unbroken by fuse-lines or
moulding templates.
Wheeljack patted the open-mouthed Centurion on the back. ‘It’s not much,’ he said, ‘but we used to
call it home.’
‘Some of us still do,’ said Mainframe, walking to the edge of Metroplex’s torso. ‘Hey guys, take a
look at this.’ He pointed to three black-rimmed, shuttle-sized blast holes. ‘He’s flooded. If the shock of
separation didn’t kill him, the liquid did.’
‘The Mytharc burn-lands are over there,’ confirmed Wheeljack, pointing west. If we cut through
Tyrest and take the Scud to Korten… It’s still a good six hundred miles before we’re into Iacon.’
‘Six hundred miles on foot,’ corrected Mainframe. ‘Only you, Wheeljack, have a vehicular mode. Of
course, if we go this way…’ He pointed in the opposite direction. ‘We only need to cross Terbium and
Portha before we reach the Sonic Canyons.’
‘Okay,’ said Wheeljack. ‘But first let’s get to shore.’ He held out his arms. ‘Solid-fuel rockets – climb
aboard, you two.’
A few moments later the passengers were deposited on shore. Wheeljack collapsed from exhaustion,
smoke rising from his forearms. When he sat upright, Mainframe was pointing to a Trident that was poking
out of the sea a short distance away.
‘It must have followed Metroplex across the Bridge,’ he concluded. ‘Thank god there weren’t any
more.’
‘The rest of them stayed behind to kill Ultra Magnus and the others,’ said Centurion grimly. He
thought of Blades, Grimlock and the others. Where were they now Celebrating an Autobot victory or
lying facedown on a muddy battlefield Perhaps it was better not to know.
Wheeljack tried to stand, clutching at his friends for support.
‘You need time to recharge,’ said Mainframe. ‘Wheels You okay’
Wheeljack stumbled forward, reached for his pistol and fired two shots.