The Touch Part 10

[IACON LIBRARY]

The time that Orion Pax and D-16 spent together was spent talking about stories that each of them had a personal preference for. D-16 is more into war stories and legendary warriors who were responsible for great feats, a trait he respects as a gladiator. Orion Pax had personal tastes in culture and life, liking more scientific discoveries and myths of the past, an obvious reflection of his love of history in general, giving him a deeper wisdom for someone his age.

Now they both talked about one of the most tragic moments in Cybertron's history, the war against the Quintessons, which was marked by the development of technologies such as the Portal Bridge and the invention of military strategies that were the basis of the Royal Guard, which was responsible for protecting Cybertron today.

"I really don't understand one detail of this story, how did the Quintessons manage to develop their technology so quickly?" D-16 asked, seeing vivid images of this confrontation.

"I never understood this detail either, I read records that the Quintessons were a primitive civilization that would have taken millions of years to develop their own technology to travel into space." Orion picked up another file and highlighted it, an image showing hundreds of thousands of Quintesson ships traveling to Cybertron's orbit. "But when they attacked us, they suddenly had an army that completely outnumbered the total number of Cybertronians."

"A population explosion, can they reproduce rapidly? Like some organic species have been described." D-16 theorized, not being an expert in such matters.

"I have read that some organic species can reproduce, but considering the study of Quintessonian biology, it is said that they take a considerable amount of time to grow to adulthood, and not even their planet had the infrastructure for so many to be born." Orion explained, seeing the image of a green Quintesson with tentacles and two faces where its head should be. "With the Thirteen Primes in battle, they could kill tens of thousands in a few days, so I could never understand how the Quintessons managed to always outnumber us."

"Quantity versus quality, a war in which the Cybertronians have the stamina to fight for thousands of years, while the Quintessons have an average lifespan of only a few hundred years. However, those damned ones have always managed to outnumber us absurdly." D-16 imagined what it would be like to be in that time, what it would be like to kill the Quintessons, how he would devise his own tactics, questions that fueled his fighting spirit, until an idea came to him. "What if the Quintessons could clone themselves? A way to create soldiers ready to be discarded?"

"Cloning... is a good idea, but I haven't found anything to indicate that the Quintessons have the technology for it." Orion Pax said, even quickly checking some files to confirm.

"To have those big giant ships in such excessive numbers, they need a very large and coordinated workforce. If I remember correctly, many mineral-rich planets were destroyed, right?" D-16 remembered this detail, recalling that the war resulted in the destruction of hundreds of planets as it spread beyond Cybertron, where the war had long stagnated in other regions of the universe.

"Yes, the Quintessons depleted large amounts of resources on planets, especially life-supporting planets. The factor that was certainly the main reason we defeated them was Energon; if it weren't for the Allspark constantly generating Energon, Cybertron could have been enslaved." Orion admitted, logically concluding what could have happened. "It became a battle to determine which civilization had access to the greatest energy source."

"Unfortunately, this led to what Cybertron is today." D-16 whispered angrily, his voice thick with resentment. "Cybertronians enslaving Cybertronians, sadly we have resorted to such methods."

Orion remained silent for a few seconds, feeling his friend's silent rage, seeing his fists clenched in pure anger.

"Unfortunately D, wars are wars, there is no winner, the age of the Primes ended just after this conflict, not even the great Primes are immune to the consequences of wars." Orion tried to console his friend. "When the age of the Primes ended, many saw an opportunity to ascend, some with good intentions and others with bad, and we saw the result."

"If the Primes had launched a deadly attack on the Quintessons while they were weak, our reality would have been completely different from what we experienced." D-16 confessed, anger in his voice. "They should have eliminated them like the plague they are, a guarantee that no foreign civilization could ever threaten Cybertron again."

"You're talking about genocide." Orion grew serious, not liking the direction of D-16's thoughts. He understood his friend's anger, for the consequences of the war are intertwined with their present reality, even after millions of years. "I understand your reasoning, but killing every species in the universe for fear of attacking us is just a justification to promote wars throughout the universe, making us conquerors and tyrants."

"The best way to protect our home is to prevent threats from developing." D-16 replied, a little disappointed by Orion's denial.

"We would be just like the High Council!" Orion said, raising his voice a little. "We would be doing the same thing we suffer from today, it would be a hypocritical cycle on our part."

"The best defense is offense, Orion. If we lower our heads to possible threats, we leave a very serious weakness to be exploited." D-16 replied, making his opinion clear. "You are exceptional in many things, but you do not understand that there are times when we must fight with all our might, without giving the enemy a chance to react."

"We would be stuck in an eternal cycle forever, how many Cybertronians must be sacrificed for peace to come?" Orion asked, looking directly into D-16's eyes, unafraid of the height difference between them.

D-16 frowned and decided to counter with the same argument in a different way. "How many Cybertronians have to die before we can finally strike back to protect our freedom and ensure peace?"

The two stared at each other for a long time, each with their own way of seeing the world, both were right, but at the same time they had flaws and gaps in their ideas and ideologies that led to the same common goal, the protection of Cybertron. 

Orion sighed, realizing it was a pointless discussion, since the Quintessons had not been seen for entire cycles, there was no need to fight over something that had happened a long time ago. "We shouldn't fight over something like that, we should unite to fight for our rights against a common enemy."

D-16 nodded, agreeing with Orion's reasoning, even if he was a little disappointed in him for not agreeing with his reasoning. "You are right, our common enemy is within our reach, we must combine our strengths to change our world. My strength and your intelligence combined, we can do anything, even defeat Unicron."

Orion Pax laughed, unable to help but find his brother's attempt to ease the tension a bit over the top. "We both took down a god? We have to be realistic, but I like your motivation."

"We are what we wish to be, our actions transform us, to save Cybertron we must do the impossible, combine our talents, we are an invincible duo." D-16 put his hand on Orion's shoulder, though they both had their differences, he wanted his friend and brother by his side, to support him.

While the two apologized to each other, Alpha Trion, who was encoding one of the Omega keys, tried to ignore their conversation due to his enhanced hearing, which was always very active. He was still undecided whether to throw the Omega Keys blindly onto the planet, where his clairvoyance indicated the fate of Cybertron would be at stake, or to entrust their safety to Pulver, the last living Decepticon that he knew of.

The Omega Keys, the four relics combined, can provide access to the power of Primus in its purest essence, a power avoided because of its potentially destructive power, emulating the creative abilities of the Allspark limited only to its user, the same power that ended the War of the Primes before the Allspark's security was compromised. A power he must entrust to the Prime he saw in his vision, an entirely new Prime he had never met, seen only in a battle mask with a battle-hardened gaze, a bot worthy in Primus' eyes to inherit the leadership matrix.

Alpha Trion listened to the conversation between D-16 and Orion Pax, and he couldn't help but remember how they both looked like Prima Prime and Megatronus Prime, as if they were both their reflections, resembling the same common goal, while they argued about the methods they should use. He sighed, still uneasy about the prophetic vision he had, not knowing what to do or how to avoid what might happen, only being sure that his planet would be in flames again.

***

Flashback

[THE AGE OF PRIMES]

TEMPLE OF THIRTEEN

In a large city made entirely of gold, a gigantic platform made entirely of gold rose above the buildings, holding itself in the air by levitation technology, an imposing sight that could not be ignored.

A fourteen-meter tall robot with all-white armor and golden details, giving it a divine appearance, watched the city from above with an attentive and cautious gaze, close to the edge without showing any fear of losing its balance. He turned his head to the side when he noticed the presence of another robot approaching him, this robot was fifteen meters tall, with completely purple armor with golden details, with a powerful and imposing aura that would make few have the courage to even look at it with their eyes.

"If you are going to jump, let me know immediately so I can call the cleaning lady to get your body out of there." Megatronus Prime scoffed, wanting to irritate his older brother, a specialty of his that he mastered masterfully.

"If I die, who will watch over you? We would be lost if you did everything you think in that head of yours." Prime Prime replied, angry with Megatronus Prime for his behavior in the meeting with the other Primes a few hours ago. "You were an asshole in that meeting, I understand your way of thinking, but I will not allow this, we would be doing the same thing as Unicron."

"We are not like Unicron, we are better, we cannot risk our planet and these bots, danger is lurking and we cannot hold back because of your fear of starting a war." Megatronus Prime noticed his brother clenching his fists and decided to continue. "We were able to defeat Unicron because we did not have to worry about the side effect, but now with so many bots depending on us, are you really going to risk everything we have built because of your philosophy?"

"Every life matters, brother. You've seen it yourself. We can't just throw one life away or another. They all have equal value. Cybertron is the symbol of that, where life can begin again from the fall of chaos." Prima stared at his younger brother and had to look up to see his eyes. "For the same reason, I refuse to go to war with an evolving civilization. Your obsession and fear of the future is a weakness you cannot hide from me."

"I have no weaknesses, brother, have you forgotten that my powers do not work? My body was made for war, my body is the weapon to keep our planet in peace." Megatronus Prime said, crossing his arms in an imposing pose.

"Your body may be able to adapt to any situation, evolve and always find a way to become stronger, but Unicron was no different, he was also able to evolve and adapt, but what led to the fundamental point of our victory was that Unicron was alone and we were together as a single warrior, synchronized with the common goal." Prima Prime explained, eager to teach his reckless brother a lesson. "Unicron's reign fell through our hands, so we are not invincible. However, we are weaker when we are divided, united we can shake the universe itself, so I fear no threat to Cybertron, so I ask you to have a little faith in me."

Megatronus Prime opened his eyes, surprised by Prima's statement and a little frustrated to feel trapped by his words. He couldn't deny that Prima had a way with words, but he wasn't sure that the situation was under control, especially with what Quintus Prime had revealed to everyone at the meeting.

"What if you're wrong?" Megatron Prime asked, a bit serious and curious.

"Then I'll let you punch me in the face." Prima taunted with a rare note of mockery in his voice. "I know about the rumors you started that you could beat me in a one-on-one with the Knights."

Megatronus Prime snorted and smiled, feeling the situation ease into a more relaxed mood. "I can easily defeat you with one arm, it would take everyone against me to make it a fair fight." Megatronus Prime scoffed.

"Are you considering having Vector Prime on my team?" Prima Prime crossed his arms, seeing Megatronus tensing, knowing how powerful Vector Prime was at his full potential.

"I would rather face that idiot Onyx Prime throwing a tantrum in that draconic form than Vector Prime wielding that sword." Megatronus Prime shuddered, not wanting to imagine what would happen to him if he had to face the Prime with temporal manipulation powers.

"Are you afraid? You are not the great Megatronus Prime!" Prima Prime imitated a grandiose voice to irritate Megatronus.

"You don't have much of a moral either, you have a fucking sword that cuts a star in half and you managed to lose it when teenage predacons stole it from you." Megatronus Prime decided to provoke his brother by reminding him of his most shameful moment, especially since Prima had been trampled hundreds of times by angry Predacons that day. It was a memory he loved to relive as he got drunk at the bar with his knights and a few friends.

"Do you want to play dirty? Do you want me to remember the day you got so drunk that you confessed you liked Solus Prime? I admit your poems are quite romantic." Prima Prime teased, causing Megatronus to freeze in embarrassment for a moment.

"Screw you, you promised not to mention it." Megatronus tried to regain his composure.

They both began to laugh, then fell silent to observe the great Cybertron, admiring its beauty and grandeur, never imagining that in the future this vision would be pure hell.

Alpha Trion leaned against the wall and watched them from a distance, afraid that they would both fight and go straight for the punches that could easily destroy the entire temple with the shock wave of their fists. He sighed in relief, knowing full well that he would not be able to offer much resistance if they fought each other; the mere display of power by the two of them, combining their techniques to corner Unicron in the final attack, was more than enough proof of their abilities.