eugenesis-text

Siren’s office was so tiny he thought he’d walked into a vacuum lift. Siren sat on a desk which had
been pushed to one side to free up space. Next to him was Optimus Prime. Galvatron, Death’s Head, Ultra
Magnus, Perceptor, Soundwave and Mirage lined the walls, pulling themselves into nooks and crannies.
Only Nightbeat seemed out of place, and Ratchet wondered why he was there.
Galvatron acknowledged his late entrance with a scowl and gestured for him to close the door. No
one was speaking except Prime, who mumbled into a wrist-com as if it were a mobile phone. He rang off
with, ‘Thanks, Wheeljack,’ and turned to the others.
‘Good news. The Quintesson spacecraft has been fitted with the Autoshuttle’s transwarp engines. It
can accommodate four passengers.’
Siren flipped a data-disc between his fingers. ‘Pincher and Swerve have bio-engineered half a dozen
Pretender shells based on Waverider’s outer shell.’ He looked around the room. ‘Waverider’s suit has the
most advanced undersea capabilities. It can withstand deep-sea pressure and has built-in phosphene
searchlights.’
Ratchet frowned. ‘Aren’t Pretender shells usually bespoke You know, designed around the core
user’ He remembered being forced, as Megatron’s prisoner, to design a set of such shells, and quickly
severed the thought: some memories were best left buried.
‘These are shells in the purest sense,’ replied Siren. ‘They can be worn by anyone. Their main
function is to keep whoever’s inside dry.’
‘So who are the lucky four’ asked Mirage.
‘Count me in,’ said Death’s Head. ‘I have unfinished business with Xenon. Don’t need a suit,
though.’
‘I think it’s wise, Prime,’ nodded Ultra Magnus. ‘He’s the only one who can lead us to the base.’
‘Agreed.’ Prime turned to his neighbour, who was also the Transformer with the largest circle of
personal space. ‘For similar reasons I think it best that you lead the team, Galvatron. Ultra Magnus, I realise
that you’ve just returned to Cybertron, but I’d like you to go too. And the fourth passenger will be Siren.’
The Autobot in question snapped the data-disc between his fingers. ‘Um, are you sure, Optimus I
thought I might be needed here.’
‘I’ll look after Delphi.’
Siren brushed the shards onto the floor. ‘Of course.’
‘So it’s settled. Once the four of you are inside the Quintesson base your objectives are simple:
retrieve the Matrix, cripple any operations Xenon has underway, sabotage all communications and stem the
tide of reinforcements.’
Galvatron flattened a smile that threatened to give him away. Retrieve the Matrix Cripple
operations Minor concerns. He would break-in and murder Xenon in the most protracted and obscene
way possible. ‘And what will you be doing in our absence, Optimus Laying siege to the Quintessons’
Polyhexian fortress’
‘As a matter of fact, yes.’
‘You think we can tackle the Quintessons head-on’ asked a dubious Mirage. Unlike the more starstruck
and unquestioning Autobots (and Decepticons), he had never accepted Optimus Prime’s supposed
omniscience. He would have felt more comfortable had Prowl been here to underpin the broad rhetoric
with hard facts.
‘We won’t be going in blind. Galvatron, what is Thundercracker’s current operational status’
‘He no longer exists. Why’
‘It doesn’t matter. What about Frenzy Is he on-line’ Soundwave nodded. ‘Good. Have him meet
me in the hangar in two minutes.’
‘What do you need Frenzy for’ asked Galvatron.
‘If everything goes to plan, I won’t.’ He stood up, signalling that the meeting was at an end.
Attendees filed out of the rooom. ‘Nightbeat, if you could stay behind a moment.’
Siren hovered in the doorway and turned, ready to recite a speech he had been polishing since the
data-disc shattered. Looking at Optimus Prime moving his desk back to the centre of the room, and hearing
Galvatron bark his name, he realised that the moment was lost, and closed the door behind him.
Optimus perched on the desk and faced Nightbeat. ‘Now’s the time for you to commandeer a team
and fly out to the wormhole. Take Frenzy with you. Contact me if the wormhole becomes too unstable, or
begins to contract, and I’ll fly out there immediately.’