Optimus had only given the helm a cursory glance on his first visit, but now he probed every nook and cranny of the cavernous room, putting every corner under scrutiny. The whole time, the urgency of the situation gnawed at him like some hungry demon. Somewhere, in this ancient hulk, something had been done to his teammates, and somewhere there had to be a way to reverse it.
Optimus moved to one of the stations and ran a hand over the gritty surface. Nothing; there was nothing at the helm that could help him. Nothing. Then it struck him-- there really WAS nothing in the helm. Every non-essential system was missing; the chairs where the crew had sat, even bits and pieces of the paneling on the walls, all of it was gone. He leaned down and examined the surface of the console in front of him. It was not only dirty, but pitted and uneven on closer inspection, as though something had been eating at it, though there was nothing that could have done that in here. It was strange, and it made him more than a little uneasy. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember seeing a bit of machinery in the ship that wasn't absolutely vital to the functions. Even allowing for the crew to have cannibalized some of it for parts, there should still be things lying around. And yet everything that should have marked the presence of the crew was nowhere to be found, as indeed were the crew members themselves.
"As though they packed everything on board up and left," he murmured to himself. He turned to leave, feeling a sudden need to speak with Rhinox, when something on the opposite wall caught his attention. The entire face of the wall was scorched and blackened from blaster fire. Most of it was obviously as ancient as the ship, filmed over and faded, but for a few near the door. These scars were fresh, no more than a few hours old. Optimus moved toward them, some sort of grit crunching under his feet, and lightly ran a finger over the charred surface.
We had a minor problem with one of the ship's defenses, Optimus recalled Dinobot's words. This wasn't a response to a "minor problem," this was lethal force. And it would seem that the entire crew of the Tenacious had had had the same problem, from the amount of scorching. It didn't make sense.
Optimus left the blaster marks on the wall and hurried out the door. Now he had to talk to Rhinox.
She completed her search of the engine room and turned to leave, when her eyes fell on a small side entrance she had not noticed. By now, she had begun to suspect they weren't going to find anything in the Tenacious, but she wasn't about to give up. "We'll beat you," she whispered to the ship "We won't let you take our friends from us."
The Tenacious, of course, made no answer, though the shadows seemed to deepen, mocking her, daring her to bring the answers they held to light. The pieces of the puzzle were here; all she had to do was find them.
Airazor stepped into the dark passageway, her footfalls echoing loudly in the eerie silence. At the end of the hall was another door, with a small window at the top. Peering through the grimy glass, she was able to make out several tables, littered with tools and various other instruments. The main lab; by the looks of it, sealed and locked.
Airazor pressed the lock-release, but nothing happened. A faint grinding issued forth from the gears of the door as though it were trying to open, but was being jammed. She leaned forward, expecting to find rust or a bit of debris blocking the door shut. Pressing her shoulder against it, she tried to force the door open, but it remained solidly stuck. After a moment she saw why. Along the seam of the doorway was a line of smooth, shimmering metal that had been melted and cooled again. The lab had been welded shut.
Airazor backed away from the door quickly. Why would someone seal off this lab, and yet leave all the equipment behind? It had been welded from the outside, as though the intent had been to keep someone or something in. She stared at the door a moment longer, then whirled around and hurried back down the corridor, she had to report this to Optimus.
The words sounded through the empty room, resounding off the bare walls. In those four words, despair and defeat were painfully evident. The holographic Maximal lowered her hands suddenly and squared her shoulders, her blue-green eyes flashing with anger.
"No, I won't do this to myself. It was an accident... but an accident that will cost all of us our lives. As far as I know, I am the only one who has escaped them, but it won't be long until they find me. It is too late for us... I only pray that someone hears this recording and destroys them, for if they ever escape this planet, the results will be disastrous."
Rhinox pressed the button again and the hologram faded. He rushed out of Quicksilver's room, the cube clutched tightly in his hand. Here was what they had come for. He had to find the others.
"The chief science officer, you say? Quicksilver, wasn't it, I've heard of her. A most brilliant scientist," Optimus said quietly as he examined the small box. "All right, we'd better get out of here. Whatever got to the other three could still be here."
Rhinox, Optimus, and Airazor left the ship and stepped into the dazzling afternoon sunlight. Optimus turned to Airazor. "I want you to fly back to the Axalon, see if you can find out what they're doing back there. But be careful; there's no telling what they'll do if they see you. And try to radio Tigatron and have him keep and eye on the Predacon base. I want to know immediately if they try anything." Airazor nodded and leapt into the sky, reverting to her falcon form as she climbed the wind currents. Within a few moments she was out of sight.
"Now, let's hear the rest of that recording, Rhinox."
The ground around the Axalon was littered with bits and pieces of metal, circuits and wiring. Nearby lay the remains of one of the lifts, the obvious donor of the debris. As far as she could see, Dinobot, Cheetor, and Rattrap were in the process of gutting the Axalon. Just then, she saw movement at the other lift, and Cheetor came out of the ship, his arms full of yet more metal and wires. He tossed it carelessly on the ground, leaving them to lay winking in the sunlight. Airazor almost fell off her perch at the sight that followed.
A fine bluish mist seemed to seep out of Cheetor, and engulf the pile of scrap in front of him. The mist crackled with energy, bursts of it lancing through like miniature bolts of lightning. Then the pile started to disappear before her eyes, and what's more, the mist seemed to be growing denser, the cloud larger. Dinobot and Rattrap came out and stood behind Cheetor, staring intently at the process.
It took only a few moments for the scrap metal to be devoured by the mist, which then rose up and swirled around her three comrades, vanishing back into them. Airazor suddenly had the feeling that she had found the reason for the disquieting bareness of the Tenacious, but what purpose could dissolving a bunch of metal serve? More importantly, what was that stuff inside the trio? Could the mist be responsible for their attack?
Airazor flapped her wings and lifted off,climbing higher and higher, until she caught a thermal updraft and soared away towards the wreck of the Tenacious. Optimus had to know of this.
The hologram was in excellent condition, considering how long it had been in disuse. The image of Quicksilver was still crystalclear, the sound unmarred by any static. "To make them more efficient I downloaded an experimental Artificial Intelligence program into the machines, but without the captain's permission. This has proved to be my gravest error. They've developed their own minds, and fused together like some kind of insect colony."
The Maximal scientist's shoulders sagged suddenly, as though some dreadful weight had settled on them. "I found out only yesterday that they've developed a way of reproducing themselves. There are billions of the things now. They've hunted down every member of my team, and...and the only way I can say this is... taken them over; they've turned my crew into slaves. And it's all my fault."