Suspended in the Aether

[[Stop right there.]]

He would have liked to play at petulance a while longer, truly act like the brat she thought him to be. His bitterness ran deep and there was much he had left unsaid for the sake of propriety.

Part of him demanded he make her understand…the other conceded it wasn’t worth it. Nothing was worth the sound she had made when he failed her.

[[You…you were right. In everything you said. I did not think and my ambitions were, as they have always been, selfish and one-sided. I did not think…and you were hurt because of it. This is…not the position I wanted to be in. Again. 

I would extend my deepest and sincerest apologies. I may offer you an explanation, but it is no excuse. In attempting to care for my people, I neglected to care for you.]]

She stopped, somewhat startled by Megatron’s interruption; for a moment, a brief flicker of fear lashed about her processor, a black vortex visible through the dome of her cranium. Was he going to lecture her on her folly? Belittle her, perhaps, for her overreaction?

The metrotitan was very relieved to find that she was wrong. Hearing the apology escape her lord and savior-- most importantly, unbidden-- was a great relief. A rush of air whistled through her halls and corridors, the breath she had been holding now finally released.

//I... TH-- THANK YOU, MY LORD. IT DOES ME... IT DOES ME GREAT GOOD TO HEAR YOU SAY THAT. I HUMBLY ACCEPT YOUR APOLOGY.//

Vox Brawn paused, trying to recollect the words she had prepared.

//... AND I MUST OFFER AN APOLOGY OF MY OWN. I WAS HURT... AND, PERHAPS, TOO HASTY TO EVICT YOU.//

Another pause.

//WHEN YOU ARE READY, I WOULD GLADLY HAVE YOU ABOARD AGAIN. I HAVE MISSED YOU.//

|Metroplex took a moment to gather his thoughts as he observed Vox’s design. It was very different than the Metrotitan designs of his time. It appeared as if she was a space station of some sort, not a city. /Very unique/ He thought to himself. She must have been constructed after he went into his first stasis, as he has no recollection of that particular design in his databases.|

|One of the most prominent details he noticed about her design, was the large Decepticon symbol on her plating. So she is a Decepticon. That explains why she didn’t attempt to aid Optimus. However, that no longer mattered. The Prime was dead, and the war was over. With his thoughts collected, he began|

From the data I collected from Iacon’s Archives, the construction of Metrotitans ceased because of the fear of us one day attempting to wrench power from the Dynasty of Primes, which we would never do, as it was against the Code that Primus himself gave us. They did not know, so we were spread throughout the stars, scattered like dust on the solar wind.

I was not made to leave Cybertron, simply because at the point all of this happened, I was forgotten. To them, I was nothing more than a city, so I was overlooked while the rest of my brethren were sent to die. I do not know if any more of us remain. Until now, I thought myself the last of a legacy, doomed to be forgotten once my Spark is extinguished.

I have only ever lived on Cybertron. Since I was created, I have been the defender of Iacon, against all threats that come to it. When the Decepticons attacked, however, I was unaware until the final battle for the Ark. This was simply because over the course of time, my energon was depleted to only the minimal that could be contained remained. I was only awoken by the Last Prime. Without him, I would more than likely have rusted away, forgotten to time. I assisted him in repelling the Decepticon invasion, and eventual gave him as much energon as I could to allow the Ark to launch. It took me billions of years for my recycling systems to cleanse enough energon waste to come back online. Once I had however, I discovered the Optimus was dead, and the war lost.

|A pause, and then a warm hum resonated from the holoform as he smiled and said| To answer your final question, Vox Brawn, I can see you perfectly.

Vox listened quietly, with rapt attention, as the other metrotitan explained his history. The peculiar combination of the words “Decepticon” and “invasion” soured her mood, if only slightly. Metroplex did not know. For whatever reason, he had never experienced mistreatment at the hands of those who the Prime fought for. He had never been a slave.

She would educate him, once the two had more time alone. One way or another, Metroplex would learn that there was more to the conflict than met the eye.

For now, however, she would not interrupt him. An irrepressible shudder of delight shook her frame at the revelation that, yes, he could see her.

//THEN WAIT. PLEASE... ALLOW ME TO LOOK UPON YOU WITH MY OWN EYES. TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE PRIMED.//

Aboard the metrotitan, the vehicons swarmed into a flurry of activity upon the notification. They set about locking down delicate structures and diverting power flow from unnecessary systems to her transformation cog. Transforming was an arduous experience for Vox Brawn, meant to be employed only in times of extreme duress-- like battle, for example. But this opportunity was too important to be missed. She wanted someone to see her, not as an eldritch, ancient, god-like being, but as an equal.

The space station’s entire frame slowly twisted and curled, splaying outwards like some massive cosmic flower. Vox Brawn revealed herself in all her glory. She spread her arms and legs, six in all, curling and uncurling her digits experimentally. It had been so long since she had last transformed... It was like trying to get used to one’s own body again. Four wide red optics looked upon Metroplex’s hologram, and the exposed processor in the dome of her helm flashed a calming, happy blue as she smiled, her dentae like city blocks.

//... HOW DO I LOOK, METROPLEX?//

        She was hardly enthusiastic about the news. || I suppose so, for the others. I prefer to wander myself, it’s more to my liking. I’ve never really had a home. || 

She didn’t really see any reason to go back to Cybertron, she as finally free to do what she wanted when she wanted. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a just a bit homesick. But not enough to want to go back, not now at least.

//... NEVER?//

Although the metrotitan was technically a wanderer as well, she had always had a home. It had been with her family, with the hive of Vehicons that composed her original crew or with the new legion of Decepticons that had followed Megatron to her.

//THAT IS A VERY SAD THING TO HEAR, CHILD... EVERYONE DESERVES A HOME.//

//Don’t fret, it was an honest mistake. I know from experience that meeting others of our age doesn’t happen very often these days.//

She decided to get comfortable, sitting back to relax now that she had some idea of who she was speaking to. This could be an interesting conversation.

//I am sorry that we never had a chance to speak before you left the planet. I only had a chance to see you up close in an offline state. I do hope you’ve had a good life.//

//A GOOD LIFE?//

She had, hadn’t she? Through all of the struggles and wonders that she had encountered in the cosmos, there had always been family.

//YES, I SUPPOSE I HAVE. MY FAMILY AND I ARE RETURNING TO CYBERTRON; PERHAPS THERE IS A CHANCE WE WILL MEET AGAIN SOON.//

A beat.

//DO YOU HAVE A FAMILY, VIVAX?//

As someone who had difficulty differentiating between sarcasm and sincerity, Vox Brawn paused for a long while as she analyzed Megatron’s answer.

It wasn’t worth getting worked up over. She had to remember what Noire said, after all.

//I HAVE HAD TIME TO THINK. TO PROCESS. IT... IT IS TIME TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT, LORD MEGATRON.//

|The instant Vox’s location was received, Metroplex initiated his holoform program. For the past few months he had been tinkering with the program, testing the reaches of where he could deploy it, and the various sizes of which it could become. Now, in front of Vox appeared a full size Metroplex, or more correctly his holoform, with a small smile on his facia and biolights pulsing warmly. Then he spoke|

Thank you for establishing the connection, Vox Brawn. What you see before you is simply a holoform, not the real me. Deploying my holoform over such distances is incredibly taxing, and consumes an extreme amount of energon, but for such a momentous occasion as this, I concluded that it would be best to speak face to face. Now, what questions would you have for me?

The sight of Metroplex in front of her-- if not in the flesh, at least in light-- was enough to stun the metrotitan, if only for a few moments. Exterior cameras focused upon the mech, taking in every mile of his massive visage. She had never seen another supreme before, simply assuming that they would look like herself.

The similarities-- and the differences, too-- were astounding.

He had red optics and white plating, just like her! But whereas Vox Brawn was a collusion of soft edges and curves, Metroplex was a collection of rigid shapes and angles. There was a difference of style between them, a reflection of the changing architecture from the beginning of a golden age to the end of it.

His smile was nice, but she could tell it was true kindness by the look in his optics.

When she spoke again, it was as quickly as she could muster. Vox Brawn did not want to waste any of the other metrotitan’s precious time.

//WHY DID THEY STOP MAKING US? WHERE DID THE OTHERS GO? HAVE YOU ALWAYS RESIDED ON CYBERTRON, OR DID YOU RETURN FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE?//

And then, in a quieter voice, she asked:

//... IF I WERE TO TRANSFORM... WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO SEE ME, METROPLEX?//

        Did she just call her a child? And a Metrotitan? Airachnid heard that Metrotitans cared about the ones that inhabited them but being called a child was something she was not expecting at all.

|| The designation is Airachnid. I didn’t expect to find anyone out here, let alone a titan. || she was actually looking forward to the peace and quiet, but there was no quiet with a giant yelling at you over commlinks.

//I AM NOT OUT HERE.//

A beat.

//NOT... IN THE STRICTEST SENSE OF THE WORD, AIRACHNID. I AM OUT THERE. AMONG THE STARS. WE-- MY CHILDREN AND I-- ARE APPROACHING CYBERTRON. IS THAT NOT WONDERFUL?//

The Metrotitan was hardly aware of the reputation that Airachnid had accumulated among the Decepticon rank-and-file. Even if she was, plenty of her children were mass-murderers.

What was one more?

That name sounded very familiar. And it belonged to a Titan, of all people. She didn’t recognize the booming voice, but she had to access some very old memories to recall where she might have heard of this bot before.

//Vox Brawn…// She trailed off, thinking of a far off time. //You wouldn’t happen to be the Metrotitan built in the sky over Vos? I do believe I witnessed some of your construction, if that is the case.//

The response stunned the Metrotitan, if only for a moment. Vox Brawn’s history had practically been lost to the eons, unknown to all but a few that remained.

//I-- GOODNESS, YES, I AM. THAT... THAT WOULD MAKE YOU OLDER THAN ME.//

She giggled nervously.

//AND TO THINK, I CALLED YOU MY CHILD! MY APOLOGIES, DEAR. IT IS NICE TO MEET SOMEONE FROM THE GOLDEN AGES.//

The Metrotitan hummed lowly, pleased to have met someone so polite. Most of the times that she had reached out to random frequencies-- just flipping through the bands, really-- her encounters had been short and rude.

//OF COURSE, MY CHILD. I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT INTRODUCING MYSELF. I AM VOX BRAWN, METROTITAN SUPREME.//

|Metroplex felt a surge of pride at Vox’s words, and a warm hum could be heard through the link. Primus, he felt so alive! He could not remember the last time he had spoken to one of there kind, and now that it was happening, he just relished it. There was so much that he wanted to ask, to learn of her experiences, of why she never attempted to rejoin the ranks of the Prime, when his call for help was released to the stars, of how she had managed to become a transport for so many Decepticons.|

|But that would have to wait. As she had said, this was her first interaction with another Metrotitan. She deserved to ask her questions first, no matter how trivial they seemed|

I will do my best to make this meeting memorable, Vox Brawn. As the first Metrotitan, it would be my pleasure to answer any questions you may have about our kind, or myself. |A pause| If I could get a a better signal lock, I may be able to make this experience better for the both of us. Tell me, are you equipped with a Tachyon Transmission Disk?

//OH. OH! OH, OF COURSE I DO.//

There was a pause on the end of the line as Vox Brawn rallied her Vehicons into action. The transmitter had not been used in quite some time, the Metrotitan preferring to deal in more mundane methods of communication. While her children had been careful to maintain the disk over the years, in the event of its use, the device would inactive. A squad of Vehicons were already on the way to her transmission center, but it would take a few moments for the device to properly activate and boot.

//FORGIVE ME, METROPLEX. I WAS NOT ENTIRELY PREPARED TO SPEAK TO ANOTHER OF MY KIND SO SOON... AND CERTAINLY NOT THE FIRST OF THEM. YOU ALMOST MAKE ME FEEL YOUNG AGAIN...//

Megatron had left that part out. As old as Vox Brawn was, Metroplex was older still, dating back to the first civil war. An embarrassed little titter of laughter permeated the transmission as the Vehicons aligned the dish with the far-off-- perhaps not so far off-- planet of Cybertron. The transmitter sputtered into life, her signal now emanating through time and space.

//TACHYON TRANSMISSION BEGINNING. SENDING HANDSHAKE PROTOCOL NOW.//

I KNOW. I KNOW…

FEAR NOT. I WILL ONLY HAVE A LITTLE. I CANNOT FATHOM THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO GENERATE ENOUGH HIGH GRADE TO GET ME TRULY INEBRIATED. JUST A TAD… WHAT IS THE WORD?

TIPSY.

Okay…

... AND I WILL HAVE YOU THERE TO GUIDE ME, TOO. WILL I NOT? I HOPE YOU WILL BE ATTENDING THE CELEBRATION, BUT I UNDERSTAND IF YOU ARE NOT FEELING WELL.

YOU ARE PLANNING ON GETTING VOX DRUNK! HAVE YOU TWO LOST YOUR DAMN MINDS!?

NOIRE–

I HAVE GREAT FAITH IN STARSCREAM AND NIGHTFALL. THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.

… AND ULTIMATELY, THE DECISION IS MINE, AND NO ONE ELSE’S.

I-I just…get worried. Nightfall can get kinda carried away….

I KNOW. I KNOW...

FEAR NOT. I WILL ONLY HAVE A LITTLE. I CANNOT FATHOM THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO GENERATE ENOUGH HIGH GRADE TO GET ME TRULY INEBRIATED. JUST A TAD... WHAT IS THE WORD?

TIPSY.

YOU ARE PLANNING ON GETTING VOX DRUNK! HAVE YOU TWO LOST YOUR DAMN MINDS!?

NOIRE--

I HAVE GREAT FAITH IN STARSCREAM AND NIGHTFALL. THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.

... AND ULTIMATELY, THE DECISION IS MINE, AND NO ONE ELSE’S.