PRIME DIRECTIVES, CHAPTER 5

Good god, it's been a hot minute! Sorry for the wait you guys. I was in the middle of writing this when my laptop fucking bricked itself and it's not even booting up the BIOS anymore when I try and turn it on, so now I gotta get a new laptop. I'm never taunting the AO3 curse ever again.

I just...

listened to an AI cover of Optimus singing Welcome to the Internet...

I am not ok...

I am still active here! I emptied my inbox, so requests/headcanons ARE open! I accept for Bayverse/TFP, and I can do my best with Animated, though it has been a few years since I've seen it again.

👀 Let the plot begin! I'm actually really excited cause there's two possible ways of Arc/Movie 1 ending.

For those who haven't taken a moment to look at the series that Prime Directives is attached to on AO3, here's what you're missing out on:

I'll put the full summary in the cut below, but basically, this is an out-of-order series with 1 direct sequel planned once PD finishes, as well as 3 one-shots to help explain the lore a bit better. Which one is the sequel? That's up for y'all to guess.

PRIME DIRECTIVES, CHAPTER 4

If the Autobots had to be a band instrument, what would they be and why?

PRIME DIRECTIVES, CHAPTER 3

She fiddled with her shirt sleeve as she sat on the porch, waiting for the yellow Camaro to finish pulling through the driveway.

It had been a week, and she was okay to move around the house so long as she didn’t harm herself. Which she wasn’t going to do, at all! She was rather happy with going over her documents and sorting through what she knew could wait, what she had to talk about with the others, and what had to be fixed immediately.

In her room, beside her bed, was a half-built cylinder composed of nanites from the six Cybertronians who were lingering somewhere in the forest. It was generating slowly, all of them expecting it to finish in roughly three or so months. And for some reason, it needed a vial of her blood, which hadn’t been a fun experience when she was stuck in bed, already feeling woozy every time she caught a glance at someone’s exposed chest and got an eyeful of the dissection scars.

So, yeah, she really didn’t want to be near the thing until it was time to get the Allspark in it so Alchemist and Amalgomist could find a safe place to put it until after Mission City.

“He is less than five miles away,” Stormdrive announced, shifting from where she was standing in her bipedal form, still smaller than the giant trees around the cabin. “Are you certain you wish to do this? You are still recovering.”

“I reached out to him,” she sighed. “And if it helps the timeline by getting him to Sam sooner, then we’ll have to take it. Besides, with the bank accounts Primus gave us, it’s safe to say we’ll be able to live anywhere and be set no matter what.”

“It’s good to know a god,” Nathan joked from beside her, making her roll her eyes.

“He’s, like, your father,” she frowned. “Doesn’t that make you a demi-god or something?”

“Most Primes are,” he shrugged. “Or, at least, that’s what their Caste wants you to believe. Sentinel was the worst at it. Optimus is the best example of a Prime without the divine heritage. But, yeah, we’re technically demi-gods.”

“And you and Storm…” she trailed off. “Like, siblings? Or?”

They both laughed. She felt ridiculous for asking it. “No, we were made to be a pair,” Stormdrive answered. “Us two are the only two not actually related to the other Thirteen. Well, aside from Morgan and Shadowburst.”

“Because they were made after, in the first wave.”

“Septimus mentored Sentinel before there was an… accident shortly after Sentinel no longer needed his advice.” Storm started, sounding hesitant.

“Convenient,” Nathan muttered. “When can we slag that piece of scrap metal?”

“2013 or 14,” she answered. “And I plan on going for him immediately, so he can’t get anyone killed.”

“That’s years away,” he protested, and she just shrugged.

“One mile,” Storm suddenly announced. “He believes that there were humans trying to find him, which is why he asked if he could still visit.”

“Sector Seven,” Ashley told her, getting a disgusted look from the femme as she stood. “Was he followed?”

“He claims to have lost them after 12 cycles,”

She frowned. “How much Earth time is that?”

Storm gave her a saddened look. “Roughly 12 hours. It should’ve normally taken six.”

“He was trying to lose them. He must be tired,” she sighed.

Not even a second later, a familiar, beat-up yellow Camaro came down the lane, with no driver in sight. The Autobot came to a halt as she started to walk down the steps, and the second her foot hit the ground, he was transformed and staring at the three of them, blue eyes wide as his doorwings twitched.

“Hello there- little lady,” he said towards her, making her let out a laugh.

“Hello,” she echoed. “We… we need to talk for a bit. And, Bumblebee, it’s really important that what we’re about to tell you, you don’t tell anyone else.”

He glanced over at Storm, who had the same seldom expression and nodded. He then looked around as the others entered the clearing, recognition on his face before he glanced back down at her.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Riley, and I work for someone called “The Informant”. They have the power to help stop the war, but they can’t do it alone, so they recruited us to help them.”

“The Informant- Dangerous?”

It was weird, hearing her voice, but she shook her head. “They want to ensure Cybertronians survive as a species, and this war is preventing that. They don’t want to fight.”

“They would be considered a NAIL,” Stormdrive butted in. “They don’t care about factions. They just want the fighting to stop.”

Bumblebee looked over the femme before glancing down at her. “What are- your words- human?”

—————————————-

It took a lot to get Bumblebee to promise them he wouldn’t tell Optimus unless he had just cause to, and even then she wasn’t completely sure what he meant by “just cause”. As it were, they didn’t tell him anything about the Allspark or the Matrix, only that the Informant was looking for them and would be able to get confirmed locations within a year. She was their contact, and she wanted to help as much as possible. In return, he’d help get them in with the Autobots.

Which meant between planning on how to get to the Allspark, they also now had to house hunt for a place that was close enough to the Witwickyes, it wouldn’t seem odd that she reached out. Hmm, well, Micronus was technically the same age as Sam in this new life, and even though he could easily test out of it… hopefully he wouldn’t be too angry.

She sat down on one of the couches in the barn that the bots used with a huff, Nathan glancing up from where he was fiddling with some phone components. “Still thinking about what to do?” he asked, and she just nodded with a grimace.

“One thing at a time,” she finally said. “First thing’s first: The Allspark. It’s top priority that it’s moved vessels before it’s destroyed in Mission City.”

“And have you figured out how yet?” He asked, causing her to give a so-so motion.

“They’re obsessed with Cybertronians,” she started, voice soft. “If we create a diversion and cause most of them to leave for capture, we could most likely slip in and out without much issue.”

“But that puts the others at risk,” he cautioned, making her nod.

“They’re aware that cold is a weakness through Megatron. Is there any way they could get at least some temporary cold upgrades?”

Nathan barked out a laugh. “We’re not some type of-”

“Machine to upgrade?” she finished, smirking at how he flushed. “I’m not trying to imply that, but anything to give them an edge, we should take.”

“Quinn might be able to tell someone what to make,” he mused. “If he could find a way, it would be him. Pray he never meets Brainstorm.”

“Ha, or Wheeljack. The universe would explode.”

—————————————-

Bumblebee was… certainly something. He was definitely a child at heart, especially as she pinned down that he was the equivalent of 17, and would be for another 50 or so years. It made sense as to why he bonded with Sam so easily, and as she sat on the couch in the barn, introducing him to the world of video games, she wondered if they could use this to their advantage.

“We could enroll you and Michael in school,” she mused, making his hardlight form tilt his head towards her, otherwise enthralled by Mario Kart: Double Dash. “It’s normal for some to not be able to speak in humanity, through birth or,” she let her eyes flick to his throat, where the scar tissue could vaguely be seen. “Traumatic response. And then Morgan can get a job as an interpreter, and that’s three of us in school to get close to Witwicky.”

Bee paused the game, turning to her, eyebrows furrowed before she watched his hands slowly form words and desperately wished she paid more attention when her sister tried to teach her the language. He signed something again, but this time, she watched as he raised his pinkie before making an L shape and the pinkie again, followed by a V and a nearly closed fist.

“You… like? ASL?” she asked, getting a smile and a nod. “I’m glad. There are a lot of uses for it outside of just talking. Speaking of talking…” she trailed off, staring at him as he lowered his hands. “You said you’d contact Optimus about us so the others wouldn’t be blindsided. That was a few days ago ‘Bee, and you still haven’t done it.”

Suddenly, his form disappeared in a flash of static, making her sigh and pull out her phone.

“I’ll do it then!” She called out before lowering her voice to a mutter. “I hope Optimus grounds him.”

—————————————-

10:46 AM [SECURED PHONE 1]: B told me you were running low on Energon. There’s a deposit beside my place that can be refined into cubes by the time you get here.

10:50 AM [O.PAX]: I apologize, I do not believe we have been introduced.

10:53 AM [SECURED PHONE 1:] Shit, he hasn’t briefed you yet? Please don’t be angry at him. I have a datapacket that has information. You can run it for viruses or whatever, but you’ll understand when you read it.

11:20 AM [O. PAX]: You offer this information freely?

11:21 AM [SECURED PHONE 1]: As freely as I can. There’s some things even I don’t know, and then there’s stuff I have to keep secret. I wish you and your team no ill will, Prime.

11:21: AM [O. PAX]: Are you able to get Archibald Witwicky’s glasses?

11:22 AM [SECURED PHONE 1]: Maybe? Even if I get the glasses, the decepticons are going to go after Sam, even if they know he doesn’t have them, ‘cause he’ll be a link to you.

11:22 AM [SECURED PHONE 1]: There’s… also something you should know. About Megatron and the Allspark.

—————————————-

Bumblebee still got in trouble, but more for not contacting them about allies sooner than revealing himself to an unknown. He left to go with Quinn and Shadowburst to scout Tranquility for houses and then to enroll him and Michael into the local school, which he was… strangely excited for. It was then she realized he probably missed moments like that, if he ever had them to begin with.

While they were gone, the rest schemed of Sector 7, Megatron, and the Allspark. Of how they were going to get into the facility, and how they were going to get out. How they were going to transfer the Allspark without anyone noticing, and how they were going to do an in-depth scan of Megatron without alerting his systems.

In the end, they agreed that she would sneak into the Hoover Dam with Morgan and Nathan while Stormdrive and Overboard distracted Sector 7. In her bag would be the small cylinder made of pure Cybertronian ores and ever-evolving nanites.

She was aware of the looks the other two were giving her as she handed them the lab coats and clipboards and did her best to ignore them. It was easy to get away from the tour group, and even easier to get into S7 territory.

Of course, it might have something to do with the two Primes triggering every alarm they could for NBE activity. They had roughly six months before the other Autobots would be in position for them to come down to Earth, and any change as drastic as tipping Sector 7 off would ruin all of their plans in one fell swoop.

She was mapping out escape plans when they rounded the corner and found herself frozen and the sight of the near sixty-foot cube that was crackling with energy. Suddenly, the cylinder in her bag felt too small.

“Ash?” Nathan murmured, pulling her from her thoughts.

“I knew it was going to be big,” she whispered back. “Can the container hold all of that energy?”

“Energy?” Morgan echoed. “What energy?”

“There’s… there’s literal lightning coming off of the cube! You mean to say that…” she trailed off, looking between their twin horrified looks. “Only I can see it.”

And it was only then, that after almost four months of planning, did it sink in.

“Purity,” she whispered. “I was never supposed to be a Cybertronian… I was supposed to be the Allspark’s next vessel. I am supposed to be it.” The mention of conduciveness made sense now. “Did you know? Any of you?”

“No,” Nathan immediately answered, looking as sick as she felt. “We would’ve protested if we knew. The Allspark isn’t supposed to be housed in a living being. The consequences alone-”

“We can argue over this later,” Morgan cut in. “We don’t have enough time to just stand here and do nothing while Stormdrive and Overboard are giving us a distraction.”

“You’re right,” she murmured, moving forward, her legs feeling like they were trying to give out from underneath her. They had clipboards with papers, but as she glanced at them again, only hers had the transfer information. Their badges were scanned and they were waved through.

They separated, Ash going to the very top where she could see the energy gathering the most. The second she touched it, it was like the world had been whisked away. It was just her and the cube.

Hello Purity.

Hello Knowledge, she thought back, fighting off a shudder as the information the hundreds of previous vessels had run through her. This is what Sam had to deal with? All those equations and schematics? All the voices in their heads?

You’re late.

I was sidetracked.

Are you going to aid them all, or aid the one?

She paused at this, fingers almost lifting away. What am I supposed to do? Even with the information you are giving me, it’s only half of what I already know. What is true? What is false?

What is greater, the will to hate, or the will to have peace?

She knew the answer as the informational flow stopped, causing her to come back, shaking her head and blinking rapidly. She looked at the checkerboard, which had what looked to be some filled-out paperwork and clipped the pen back into place.

The descent down was slow, and when she got to Nathan and Morgan, it took everything not to collapse.

“She’s burning up,” Nathan hissed once he checked her over. “We need to find a new vessel.”

“No,” she blurted out. “We need to-” she cut herself off, standing up a bit straighter as a few scientists walked past them. “We still need to scan Megatron. I’ll be fine until we get back to the cabin.”

“But-” Nathan started, but she shook his arm off, ignoring her shaking legs.

“Megatron, now.” she hissed, a wave of heat flaring with her irritation, and the two men inhaled sharply.

“Ok, just… calm down,” Morgan soothed. “Your eyes went white and glowed.” She wanted to do nothing more than to tear his head off at telling him to calm down, but instead took a deep breath and continued walking until she found herself stopped again, the sudden chill making her want to cry for the warlord.

At first, she thought that he was gray, like in the movies, but upon a closer look, she realized it was the ice making him appear lighter than he was. She could see that the bottom of his feet was nearly pitch black, and the further up she went, the closer he got to whatever was keeping him frozen, the more silver he got.

“Thermoregulating armor?” she whispered, and one of the scientists looked at her from his station.

“Maybe. We’ve been trying to study it for years, but there are these things that immediately seal the pieces we try to cut off,” He shrugged before noticing the scanner in her hand. “What’s that?”

“A scanner,” she answered. “Banachek was the one who ordered its creation. We think it might be able to cut through the radiation NBE-1 is giving off.” They would have no idea it was a basic medical scanner that was able to pass through EM fields.

“Well, hope it works,” he said, waving her forward, and the three moved as one, Ash once again at the top of the scaffolding while the other two were at the other ends, their own scanners in hand.

She found herself unable to look away from his face, that sick feeling coming back tenfold as she saw the barely alight red optics almost… staring at her. “You’ll be free from this soon, Megatronus,” she promised quietly, lowering the scanner to point toward his spark chamber. She saw the Cybertronian scrolling by as the readings were taken, but her focus was on the pulse-rate of his spark, which was slow, but trying to speed up the longer the scan went.

The device gave a tiny beep before shutting off, and she stepped back, the feeling of being watched still coming from the mech in front of her. His optics were flicking, and she took a risk, reaching out and hovering, not quite touching him as her fingers screamed at the cold he was radiating.

“Peace will come soon,” she promised again. “Don’t forget why you approached the Senate originally.”

Nathan cleared his throat and she pulled her hand back, walking away as the first alarm began to ring.

So chapter 3 is done, and chapter 4 is almost halfway there. Do y'all want me to go ahead and post 3, followed by 4, or do a bigger post with both?

Ah shit I have to figure out how to block anons now. This is the first time this has happened :/

I just realized I actually... will have to write The Argument rather than just allude to it oh god. I vaguely know what the argument will be about, but I'm unsure of how it starts, or what's actually said, only how it ends.

I'm debating on making a visible playlist so y'all know what songs I tend to listen to when I write cause some of them are... not what you think.

PRIME DIRECTIVES, CHAPTER 2

Chapter 2 is going to be scheduled to queue for 5 pm CST today! I actually had a lot of fun writing it and while it's really dialogue and lore heavy, it's stuff readers need to know for the story to make a bit more sense.