Chapter Text
“I can't believe we're about to do this.” Wheeljack's nervous tone certainly did nothing to ease the tension that every single circuit in Skyfire was feeling. Him, Wheeljack, Ratchet and Perceptor had incredibly managed to gain an audience with Sentinel Prime himself; they had rehearsed and rehearsed the speech they would give ad nauseam, but, ahead of the immense blue and golden doors, no one seemed able to remember that part they had studied so meticulously. Even Perceptor, the one who always had something to say, seemed speechless in front of the majesty of those doors that separated them from their normal lives as scientists, spent in the laboratories between datapads and endless conferences, from what would hold their future.
None of them dared to look at each other, as if afraid of not finding the same nervousness, and when the immense doors finally opened, Skyfire felt a shiver of fear and excitement run down his spine strut.
“Come in.” The scientists moved as one at that command, following the warm, reassuring vocalizer that had invited them.
The room was huge, brightly lit by large windows that looked out over all Iacon. Soft blue and gold drapes hung on the gray walls, and the same colors were found on the long carpet that stretched from beneath the mechs' pedes to the majestic throne at the end of the room. The throne in question was worthy of the most powerful of kings: despite its large size and the solid gold used as material, the final part of the backrest was formed by thin spikes that hovered upwards, as if they were wings about to open and take flight. It was a pleasant contrast, perfectly in tune with the rest of the furniture.
“Come over here.” The vocalizer belonged to the handsome mech who sat comfortably on the throne, relaxed, like a host welcoming old company and not like a Prime awaiting an official visit from a small delegation of scientists.
Sentinel Prime was liked by the Cybertronians for this very reason: despite the imposing role of Prime weighing on his shoulders, he did not behave like a serious bureaucrat, he did not give long speeches and did not use big glyphs; he spoke the language of the people and acted with apparent lightness, making him very affable.
Yet neither the kind smile he gave them nor the casual way he sat on that throne did anything to make the four scientists feel any less insecure, as they timidly reached halfway through the room, stopping close enough to the Prime to see his benevolent smile.
“Welcome, what a pleasure to have four of the brightest minds of the Iacon Academy within my walls. You know, I'm not one for such official hearings, but when I heard what you wanted to talk about, curiosity got better of me.” Sentinel’s blue optics darted enthusiastically, scanning the face plates of all four. Something about meeting that gaze made Skyfire uncomfortable: he had never imagined that one cycle his work would be important enough to land him a meeting with a Prime, and now that that moment had come, he couldn't enjoy the feeling of pride, consumed by anxiety as he was.
“I received your report, but I thought it would be best to have you explain this discovery to me in person; I haven't had time to read all those pages on the datapad, I'm a very busy mech, you know?” A crystalline laugh echoed through the room, and the scientists looked at each other, unsure, but they didn't have time to decide how to react as Sentinel's visage had once again relaxed into a careful smile.
“Please, my esteemed scientists, explain your research to me, but avoid the boring parts, thank you.” Skyfire and the others exchanged another look, trying to figure out what to do. The hearing wasn't going at all as they had hoped, Sentinel was definitely the people's Prime and they, used to interacting with other members of the Academy, hadn't planned for their speech to be explained in a "non-scientific" way.
Finally, it was Perceptor who stepped forward.
“We thank you for your time, it is an honor for us to have the opportunity to illustrate to the Prime in person the results of the research that...”
“Get to the point, please.” Sentinel’s gaze never missed a single movement from Perceptor, who froze for a few kliks, unsure of what to say. The Prime was kind, but something in his tone, in his optics, made it clear that he wanted to hear something satisfying, and soon.
Sentinel’s face plate reminded one of a predator who, before attacking his prey, forced it with its back against the wall, leaving it no way to escape.
“Ah...yes, so.” Perceptor reactivated his vocalizer, trying to mask his discomfort.
“I imagine you are familiar with the legendary Vos: eons ago, it was said to be the richest city on Cybertron, with a lively trade and a thriving culture.” Sentinel followed the story with interest, without interrupting Perceptor, who was regaining control of himself.
“What still fascinates today about Vos are its inhabitants, seekers, winged mechs whose alt-form is that of fast planes with a predominantly military function. These seekers are considered the true ancestors of the winged mechs that still live on Cybertron. As you know, the city was lost, disappeared into thin air without leaving behind even a ruin, a clue that could tell us something about its fate. Now, I won't bore you with the details of our research -which you can find in the datapad we sent you-, but we have reason to believe that Vos still exists and that it has a specific location, in the surface.” Sentinel looked at Perceptor like a youngling hearing a fantastic tale for the first time, and if it weren’t for the strange sparkle behind his optics, Skyfire would have thought his wonder was genuine.
“So, are you sure that Vos exists, and do you even know where it is?”
“We are, and for this very reason we would like to ask you to finance this expedition.” They did it, they had managed to ask Sentinel Prime the fateful question.
“Are you asking me to give you some of the precious resources we are struggling to keep for ourselves in this war against the quintessons? Also do you want me to let you four, Academy luminaries, go to the surface?” The glyphs came out in a tone that was both cold and amused.
“No, we are asking for funding because, in addition to having found a mythical city, we are certain that it is located on a huge energon deposit.” Sentinel Prime's piercing optics fell on Ratchet.
“Oh? Why didn't you say it right away? The story about the city of Vos was nice, I admit, but if I had known about this energon deposit right away we would have saved everyone some time.”
“It was written in the datapad we sent.” Ratchet muttered under his breath and Sentinel didn't seem to hear him -or chose to ignore him-. Joors and joors of work, cycles of documented research, rechargless nights spent searching, studying, analyzing every detail they could get their servos on, every effort they had made to get to that point had just been ignored, wasted by the Prime's disinterest. That was a hard blow to swallow.
“If you are truly certain of the existence of this deposit then I will organize a team that will take care of equipping you for the journey. I want to receive updates every cycle and once you have marked the path and confirmed its existence, I will send mechs that will take care of the extraction.”
“What do we do if we come across the inhabitants of Vos?” Skyfire couldn't help but let the question escape his voice box. Sentinel's blue optics seemed to vibrate with intensity, and his gaze made the big shuttle feel as small as a minibot.
“If you happen to meet any seekers, well, hopefully they'll be willing to collaborate without too much fuss. Just think about finding this city and its precious deposit, and I'll take care of the rest, all right? And then, if I were you, rather than meeting a probably extinct population, I would worry about not being found by the quintessons.” Skyfire was growing tired of that smile and was relieved when Sentinel finally dismissed them.
The four scientists had returned to the Academy without speaking, each lost in his own thoughts. Only when they found themselves in their laboratory was Wheeljack the first to break the collective silence.
“Well, it went...not quite how I imagined.”
“The Prime did not care about what is probably the most important discovery under his rule.” Ratchet spat; his voice filled with resentment. No matter how they looked at it, that meeting was disappointing. The scientists had even gotten the funding and support to get them to the surface, but only for the blue reward Sentinel had been craving.
“Let's look at the bright side: we have a chance to reach Vos, an entire city thought lost that will be exhumed. Who knows what we will find, what the seekers left for us to discover.” Perceptor's glyphs seemed to have the effect of lifting the spirits of his companions, who, despite the lack of interest in their discovery, had nevertheless obtained what they had asked for.
Skyfire, more than the others, was eager to leave: as a scientist, the mere thought of seeing the ruins of Vos made his circuits tighten with excitement, but as a flying mech he felt a deeper connection to that place, knowing that he would be seeing the home of his ancestors.
The next few cycles were spent solely preparing for the imminent departure.
There was an air of excitement throughout the Academy like it hadn't been for centuries, and Skyfire, Wheeljack, Perceptor, and Ratchet were the scientists of the moment, seen as intrepid explorers ready to face the unknown and whatever awaited them on the surface. They were well aware that this would be a dangerous journey, as the threat posed by the quintessons was real and none of them had ever faced one; but they had to go. Every risk had been calculated, every precaution had been taken, the route was marked, and the departure cycle appointed; none of them would ever back down.
Inside the train that was taking them to the surface, none of the scientists spoke, all intent on following the journey, looking out the windows, holding their vents.
On the departure’s cycle, they had been greeted by the entire Academy and even Sentinel Prime himself had taken the trouble to show up, spending a few glyphs of encouragement, not forgetting to mark between the lines the importance of finding the energon deposit that had been promised to him. And finally, amidst applause and excited shouts, they set off.
“Isn't that incredible?” Wheeljack commented as the train finally broke the surface, letting rays of light fill the carriage. Skyfire tried to memorize every detail, every shape of the land, every color that his optics could pick up.
The train that had quickly carried them away from Iacon was being used to dispose of the city's waste, but it was also the only safe means by which they could reach the surface since one of Sentinel Prime's military vessels would surely have alerted the quintessons.
“We've almost reached our stop, soon we'll have to get off.” Ratchet said, looking at the holomap projected from his forearm.
The mechs prepared to leave the train and once they set pede on the dusty earth, Skyfire turned one last time to watch the transport continue straight on its way, abandoning them in the middle of nowhere.
“It is certainly a...picturesque place.” Perceptor commented as he looked around.
Skyfire, like the others, had to recalibrate his optics to match the intensity of the light reflecting off the rocky desert surrounding them. “I don't know about you, but I imagined the surface to be different.”
“It's a desert of dust and rocks, exactly as I've heard it described.” Ratchet commented, reactivating the holomap, studying its path. “We have to go this way.”
And after checking their equipment once more, the four set off, raising large clouds of dust with each step.
Ratchet walked silently in front of the others, occasionally activating the map to correct the route, Wheeljack and Perceptor chatted behind him while Skyfire brought up the rear. He couldn't help but raise his helm to that clear blue sky that stood out above them immense, infinite; a celestial sea without beginning and without ending. Skyfire understood why the seekers had chosen to build their city in a place like that: the yellow land beneath them, sterile and monotonous seemed to push him to transform, to spread his wings and take flight towards that sky, so wide, so calm.
After stretching their legs, much to Skyfire's delight, the scientists decided to switch to their alt-mode, to continue that long journey into the unknown faster.
While his friends drove on their wheels, Skyfire finally took off into the sky, making wide circles, happy to finally feel the air flowing under his wings.
From above he could appreciate that vast rocky desert, dotted with boulders of different shapes and sizes. While flying he had to be careful not to go too fast, thus risking losing the others, additionally, Skyfire was also tasked with scanning the perimeter, ready to raise the alarm if he spotted a quintessons’ ship.
Their journey progressed peacefully, taking turns carrying supplies every now and then, advancing at times talking and at times in silence across the vastness of the surface, them, little dots squashed between the warm colors of the earth and the intense blue of the sky.
When night fell, they stopped, camping under a dark blanket quilted with twinkling stars.
During the first night-cycle they could hardly recharge, intent as they were stargazing, comparing each single shining dot to their maps, face plates frozen in expressions of ecstasy and enthusiasm.
They hadn't reached their goal yet, but the simple wonders of nature had already immensely enriched each of their sparks.
But the further they advanced, the more difficult each day-cycle became: the energon supplies they had brought were gradually decreasing, forcing them to give up transforming into their alt-modes to save energy, then, they were caught in a storm of wind and sand that constrained them to run for cover behind a group of large rocks. Skyfire literally had to carry Wheeljack who had fallen behind, unable to advance due to the power of the wind.
“Thank you my hero, I will forever be in your debt.” Wheeljack had jokingly commented, managing to get a laugh from the others, whose optimism was being tested as the cycles went by.
Their march through the desert was becoming increasingly tiring: everyone's paint had come off in some places due to the sand raised by the wind, their energy reserves were dangerously low, and it even happened that Ratchet had to repair the joints of Perceptor's leg, which had been torn apart due to a crack in the ground that made him trip.
Skyfire, from the initial enthusiasm he had felt for that blue sea above their helmets, had gone to a constant state of despair, which seemed to worsen with every step as he dragged his pedes through the dust.
When they finally reached the spot marked on the holomap, they approached it and... passed it, because there was nothing there. They found no fantastic city, no sign of gigantic ruins, fountains of energon or the shadow of a seeker who could help them.
Nothing.
They tried to go forward, then back again, trying to reach that damn spot that was shining -as if to make fun of them- on the map, but all around them loomed miles and miles of rocky desert, their presence the only difference in that sea of nothingness.
The scientists almost ran out of supplies, and panic became difficult to keep at bay. No one spoke to the other, each immersed in their own silence, making their circuits work with the little energy left in an attempt to find a solution.
Perceptor had tried to contact the team to whom they sent daily updates on their mission, but the signal had been lost a few cycles earlier and never re-established, rendering any request for help futile.
And then, just as the scientists were deciding to draw on their remaining energy to go back, they heard it: at first it manifested itself as a distant hum, a low frequency audibles amid the heavy silence of the desert, then it grew louder and louder.
“Do you hear that too?” Skyfire asked in a whisper, pricking up his audials as the others did the same.
“Could it be a rescue team that got our message?” Wheeljack sounded hesitant.
Skyfire wondered if the cause of that noise could possibly have been seekers, but quickly chased that thought away, too bitter by disappointment to entertain such vain hopes.
“If it's a rescue team then it's coming in a vehicle that's way too big for us.” Ratchet added, and the expression on his face plate changed drastically as the noise became a louder rumble, until it revealed its owner: in the middle of the sky, approaching at great speed, was nothing less than a huge quintessons’ ship. It looked like a big cloud, black and full of rain, a harbinger of storm and misfortune.
“Ah frag.” Ratchet let out a whisper as everyone watched the monstrosity head towards them, as if drawn by those dots in the middle of nowhere. A compartment opened and a beam of light came out. Skyfire realized with horror that everything that fell under the light was being torn from the ground, dragged by force into the dark ship’s belly.
“Run!” Skyfire shouted. His friends turned and began to run.
Skyfire picked up Perceptor, who was still struggling to walk due to his healing wound, and joined the others in their flight, looking for a place to hide from the evil vortex that was reaching them.
“Next time one of you gets the brilliant idea to search for a mythological city on the surface, let me know so I can tell you to go frag yourself right away!” Ratchet yelled as he ran after Wheeljack, the loud rumble of the ship behind them as a reminder of the threat approaching.
Skyfire gathered his remaining strength and transformed into a shuttle, taking care to do so around Perceptor so that his friend would end up in the cockpit.
“What are you doing?!” Perceptor exclaimed, holding on to the seat to keep from falling. “You won't have any energy left to go back!”
“None of us will be able to go back unless we run away from that thing first!” Skyfire opens the lower hatch, to collect both Wheeljack and Ratchet, then fires his engines at full power, flying as fast as possible, trying to distance the ship. But no matter how hard he tried, every piece of him begged to stop, worn away by exhaustion and the desert’s sand.
Skyfire felt something tug at him, the frightening realization dawning on him that the quintessons’ ship was much faster than he thought. He felt his energon reserves plummet as he pushed the engines to work as hard as they could, forcing them to carry his friends to safety.
That immense effort cost him every drop of energon in his system, but he managed to escape the energetic grip of the ship, flying away.
As soon as the dark ship disappeared from his radar Skyfire decided to land, knowing that if he had waited any longer, he would have crashed to the ground.
A klick after the others came out, he transformed again.
Skyfire couldn't tell if he was sitting or lying down, because every sensor in him seemed to have gone crazy, providing him with random information, then his optics went off and with them he did too.