Transformers: Retribution (3 page)

“Not these guys again,” Thrust muttered. He figured they’d seen the last of the Star Seekers back at Junkion. Hunting the Autobots was tough enough without a gang
of marauders getting in the way, especially when they were led by a relentless psychopath who hated all Cybertronians regardless of faction. And just to make matters worse—

“Hey,” Ramjet said, “it’s still got the Requiem Blaster.”

He was right. The legendary weapon was plainly visible, attached to the underside of the hull like some gigantic growth.

Thanks a lot, Megatron
, Starscream thought as he and his Seekers fired their thrusters.

F
ROM HIS THRONELIKE COMMAND CHAIR ON THE BRIDGE
of the
Nemesis
, Megatron watched the viewscreens as Starscream and his Seekers split up and took off at high speeds in different directions, racing away from the fleet that had just appeared. In his embarrassment at having misjudged the situation so completely, Soundwave leaped to state the obvious.

“Lord Megatron, those aren’t Autobots, they’re—”

“Star Seekers. Yes. Those marauders we encountered over Junkion.” Megatron didn’t even try to hide his disappointment. “Little more than scavengers.” He watched on the screen as Starscream fled for his life, dodging shots from several pirate pursuers. Now
that
was a vid-clip he’d enjoy putting on repeat view.

“Lord Megatron, the Star Seekers are hailing us. Should I—”

“Go ahead, Soundwave. Put them onscreen and let’s see what they have to say.”

The
Tidal Wave
’s bridge came into view, revealing the spiny blue scowl of the pirate leader Thundertron, resplendent in blue and gold, a triumphant expression on his face. He was flanked by his tattoo-covered first mate Cannonball and the Decepticon traitor Axer; behind him, Sandstorm manned the ship’s helm while Brimstone moved from station to station checking readings, making sure the pirate flotilla was prepared to do its duty.

“We have them exactly where we want them,” Brimstone said as if the statement would further demoralize the Decepticons hearing it. Thundertron rose from his captain’s chair and pointed his glowing energy cutlass at the screen.

“You Cybertronians are so predictable, ‘Lord’ Megatron.”

The Decepticons on the bridge tensed for Megatron to react with rage. But instead he just leaned back, a sardonic expression on his face. “Permit me to guess. You must be Thundertron.”

“You know cursed well who I am.”

“Well, that doesn’t mean I don’t like to observe the formalities. Allow me to express my utmost admiration for your work, Captain. Piracy is a dangerous trade where only the most cunning survive. Your fleet is truly impressive. And your ship? Absolutely first-class.”

“False compliments will get you nowhere, Megatron, for today I am the whirlwind and you are the dust doomed to be flung into eternity.”

“How poetic,” said Megatron. “I appreciate that in an adversary.”

“Then you will appreciate this even more: Your destruction will complete my revenge on you Cybertronians. For I have annihilated the Autobots already, and now I shall send you to join them.”

That
was news to Megatron. Had the Star Seekers really destroyed the Autobots? It had to be some kind of bluff. But then again, they had the Requiem Blaster. They might have made short work of Optimus. Megatron gave Soundwave a sidelong glance, a signal to his subordinate to activate his short-range telepathic ability. Now Megatron would be able to give orders without the pirates realizing it. His first command: Scan that weapon.

“I’m sure we can come to terms,” Megatron said. “You talk about revenge: I’ve caused a lot of damage in my
time, but I can’t remember doing anything to
you
specifically.” He was stalling for time but figured there was no downside to trying. They needed more information on the Blaster. Besides, with every second that passed the fleeing Starscream continued to draw off some of the pirates, spreading out their formation.

“This isn’t about you and me,” Thundertron said. “This is about Cybertron itself.”

“So you keep saying,” said Megatron. “Can you be more specific?”

“We were your loyal subjects, curse you. We enjoyed the prosperity of your Golden Age. But you turned inward; your bridges collapsed, and you left us in the cold. My people died by the millions. This fleet is all that’s left.”

Megatron couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Your grievance against Cybertron is that our
empire collapsed
? This is ancient history.”

“For us it is a vendetta that has lived to this day. Which is why you must die.”

“I’ve got a better idea,” Megatron said. “Join me.”

“Do not jest with me, you puny bot.”

“I’m not jesting. The Cybertronian empire is back, and it’s under new management: mine. And rest assured, I don’t intend to let the place go to seed the way my predecessors did. There’s no reason you can’t play a role in my Pax Megatronica. Pledge your fleet to me, and together we will restore Cybertron and all its works to their former glory.”

“I’ve got a counteroffer,” Thundertron replied.

“I’m all ears.”

“If you surrender now, I shall grant you a quick and painless death.”

No one talked like that to Megatron. But even now he appeared more amused than anything else. “Most
generous of you,” he said. “Let me consider it for a moment.”

“No. You’ll answer right now,” said Thundertron—just as Soundwave signaled to Megatron that his scan was complete. All the data on the Blaster appeared on a nearby screen, out of the pirates’ view. It took Megatron less than a femto-second to absorb its meaning.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline,” he said.

Thundertron nodded as though that was the reply he’d been hoping for, then signaled to Cannonball. “Prepare to fire the Requiem Blaster,” he said.

“At once,” said Cannonball. Thundertron turned back to the viewscreen.

“Any last words, Megatron, before I end your pathetic existence?”

“I think not,” Megatron replied. “Do your worst.” As he said this, the
Nemesis
fired its engines, jetting off to the side and placing one of the larger asteroids between it and the
Tidal Wave
. But Thundertron just laughed.

“That won’t save you,” he said. “Weapons free!” he yelled.

The Requiem Blaster fired.

A massive surge of energy ripped out and smashed into the asteroid, which disintegrated in a sheet of white light. As the dust cleared, there was nothing left—and nothing now standing between the
Tidal Wave
and the
Nemesis
. The Requiem Blaster took aim once more.

“Lord Megatron, should we take evasive action—”

But Megatron cut Soundwave off with a wave of his hand. “Hold the current course and stand by to return fire.”

“But Lord—”

“I said hold our current course and prepare to return fire!” Soundwave watched in horror as the legendary weapon charged up. Megatron stood beside him, his
arms crossed and a look on his face that verged on boredom.

“Good-bye and good riddance,” Thundertron intoned.
“Fire!”

The Requiem Blaster was one of the most powerful weapons ever developed by the Primes, perhaps the ultimate weapon of mass destruction ever to see use. But in their zeal, the Star Seekers had overlooked its fatal flaw—it required almost a mythic amount of power to fire and even more energy to keep it from overheating. As soon as Megatron had reviewed the schematics, he knew that they’d get only one shot at full strength. After that—

A thin stream of plasma poured out of the Blaster, but it was a pale shadow of its predecessor. Energy peppered the hull of the
Nemesis
with a force that was little more than intense sunlight. And as it dissipated …

“My turn,” Megatron said.

The
Nemesis
opened fire. As its long-range shots smashed into the
Tidal Wave
, Thundertron whirled to face Cannonball, who shrugged helplessly.

“The Blaster has overloaded most of our systems, Captain!”

“I’m going to overload yours if you don’t fire it again!”

“Captain, we’re lucky the ship’s still running!”

Thundertron smashed his fist down in rage on his armrest. He should have known better than to think some ancient Cybertronian popgun would work.

“We don’t need it!” he yelled. “We’ll destroy these fools with our bare hands!”

The
Tidal Wave
jettisoned the Requiem Blaster, engaged its afterburners, and headed directly for the
Nemesis
. As the two ships charged each other, hundreds of Decepticons erupted from hatches on the
Nemesis
while the ship’s guns unleashed a withering covering fire. The swarms of pirates still in pursuit of the Seekers turned to rejoin the main force, which came as a welcome relief
for Starscream. Thundertron pressed a button on his command chair, which folded into the floor; hydraulic lifts carried him out of the bridge and up onto the ship’s top deck as the
Tidal Wave
veered toward the
Nemesis
. Forget the Requiem Blaster. He’d just have to resort to close encounters. Which would make the inevitable victory all the sweeter …

A
S THE BATTLE RAGED
, W
RECK
-G
AR WAS KEEPING BUSY
. Now that Starscream had freed him from his restraints, he’d managed to get the podship running again. With everyone distracted, it was simple enough to plot a course back to the
Tidal Wave
; as the huge catamaran took fire from the
Nemesis
, Wreck-Gar flew his ship straight through one of the holes punched in the pirate hull. The crewmen in the vicinity were far too concerned with damage control to notice a single Junkion sneaking to the recently installed space bridge deep within the vessel. And when it came to tinkering with systems, Wreck-Gar was the best; it took him only a few moments to uncover the panels to the power relay systems and drain off just enough of the ship’s batteries for a single use of the bridge.

“Easy peasy,” Wreck-Gar said to himself as he punched in Junkion’s coordinates. He’d almost managed to complete the sequence when the hard barrel of a laser pressed up against the back of his head.

“And what might you be doing?” said a voice.

Wreck-Gar turned to see Axer standing there, a self-satisfied expression on his gleaming blue face.

“I’m making myself scarce,” Wreck-Gar replied. “You’d be wise to do the same before the Decepticons give these pirates what for.”

“Not just yet.” The
Tidal Wave
shook as it absorbed more damage. “I have some unfinished business here.”

“With me? Now that’s junk; I’m sure we can come to an arrangement—”

“I’m not going to shoot you—
if
you show me how to operate this bridge. Is it true that they’re particularly sensitive to Cybertronian artifacts?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“Let’s say I was looking for one artifact in particular.”

Wreck-Gar didn’t reply; instead, he suddenly closed the distance between them while pulling his shield and ax clear of their shoulder mountings. Axer switched his arm to a laser cannon, but Wreck-Gar had already spun past him like an orange steel tornado and slashed his ax through the two Star Seekers who had been creeping up from behind them. They fell to the ground, twitched, and lay still. Wreck-Gar turned back to Axer.

“You were saying?” he asked.

Axer recovered his poise and steadied himself as the ship changed heading suddenly. “If I was looking for a specific artifact, could you show me how to find it?”

Wreck-Gar mulled this over. “Depends on the artifact, guv’nor. One that hasn’t been activated for years would be no joke to tease out.”

“Say it gets used all the time.”

“Then that shouldn’t be a problem.” Wreck-Gar suddenly realized what Axer was up to. “Wait a minute.”

“Beginning to get the picture now?” Axer had to yell as the
Tidal Wave
’s backup drives suddenly came online, powering the ship through a particularly sharp turn. “Hurry up and dial more power into the system. We don’t have much time.”

“I’d say we’re fresh out of it already,” Wreck-Gar told him.

C
OMBAT RAGED ACROSS THE SYSTEM
. V
EHICONS AND
Star Seekers weaved in and out of the asteroid field, blazing away, chasing one another even as they tried to shake off pursuers. Fleet order on both sides had broken down rapidly, giving way to hundreds of furious dogfights. Clouds of debris testified to the losses both sides had suffered.

But at the center of the mayhem were the two flagships. The
Nemesis
and the
Tidal Wave
unleashed withering broadsides at each other, each ship pounding away at close range, maneuvering furiously to gain an advantage. Any shot that missed inevitably hit one of the myriad asteroids, sending pieces of rock flying in all directions, crushing friend and foe alike. It was the same for any lesser vehicle caught in the path of one of the behemoths. Both ships smashed everything in front of them into road-kill in their eagerness to get at each other.

“Show these cretins no quarter!” Megatron yelled. Soundwave said nothing; he was too busy piloting the
Nemesis
, doing his best to keep it out of the arc of the
Tidal Wave
’s larger guns. The catamaran was larger than the
Nemesis
and possessed significantly more firepower. But the
Nemesis
was more agile, particularly with Soundwave at the helm, coaxing maximum performance from the craft’s computers. The
Tidal Wave
was clearly trying
to get close enough to board the Decepticon warship, but Soundwave wasn’t about to oblige it. Once the two ships locked together, anything could happen. And winning these kinds of duels was all about calculated risk.

“Cowards!” Thundertron yelled from his perch atop the
Tidal Wave
. “Are you afraid to face me, Megatron?”

“What do you call this?” Megatron said as the
Nemesis
spun past the
Tidal Wave
, riddling it with a series of energy blasts.