"They've turned them into slaves...and it's all my fault." Optimus and Rhinox exchanged horrified glances as those last words faded away. Silently, Rhinox depressed the button, halting the recording.
"Impossible...she's re-created the Swarm," Rhinox whispered, unable to believe that someone as brilliant as Quicksilver could do something so...so *stupid*. Optimus nodded grimly.
"And worse, there's no way to destroy them, not without destroying Dinobot, Rattrap and Cheetor. Unless you have any suggestions?"
"None whatsoever, but maybe Quicksilver did. Air Razor mentioned a lab down near the engine rooms. There have to be records, observations, designs!"
"And if there aren't? If those things destroyed all Quicksilver's files?" Rhinox's brow furrowed with worry.
"Then, well we're pretty much dead where we stand."
"Well, on that cheery note, let's go file hunting." Just then, a slight fluttering noise sounded from above, and Airazor landed gracefully beside them, heaving from her exertion.
"Optimus, we have to talk." She gasped. The other two listened intently to her story, and filled her in on their own details.
"This just gets better and better. Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed," she muttered sarcastically. "At least the Preds are out of comission; lightning strike took out a good portion of their electronics."
"Well, that's a proverbial silver lining."
"Bit tarnished if you ask me. Have you managed to get in touch with Tigatron?" Rhinox asked. Air Razor shook ehr head slowly.
"The storm must've taken out *his* communications as well, we're on our own for this one."
"All the more reason to get started, can you show us that lab you were talking about?"
The inside of the Axalon looked as though a group of two-year-olds on a chronic sugar-rush had ripped though it. Nearly every piece of non-essential equipment had been torn from its place and scattered over the floor or outside. A soft electric hum filled the ship as pile after pile of the gleaming scrap metal was eaten away by Quicksilver's creations. The very air crackled with the energy being expended, as the cloud of soft blue mist made up of billions of the microscopic machines began to grow denser and larger. Soon the things had spread themselves out across the entire deck and began spilling out into the waning afternoon sun. Their Purpose was being achieved, and ahead of schedule, but something was wrong. The being that had been Cheetor considered the problem carefully. As their numbers grew, their energy supplies shrank. The ship and the three they had
taken earlier in their former prison would keep them going for a while, but soon they would have to start shutting down units again. The floor of the Tenacious was littered with the shells of others, who had simply extinguished from the lack of energy. By the time the three new hosts had stumbled upon the ancient hulk, only a fraction of their formidable army remained. Now they had once again reached a semblance of their former power, but what good was it if it didn't last? The Purpose would be lost.
The tiny creatures that now controlled every aspect of Cheetor's thought processes and functions could feel the body growing weaker already. It was not enough to slow them down, but it would be soon enough. The beings the unclaimed Maximals had called Rattrap and Dinobot were at that very moment directing the mining of new energon, but even with their newly restored numbers it was a long slow process. What they needed, it decided, were more hosts, more bodies to suck dry and then use for raw material, as they had done with the crew of the Tenacious. What they needed, it decided suddenly, were the other Maximals. The creature that had once been the most immature of the group, the *last* to worry about a plan, grinned ferally as a complex and devious scheme began to form in its violated mind.
The door to Quicksilver's lab had indeed been welded shut, though for what purpose was anyone's guess. A couple of well placed shots sent a now smoking piece of twisted metal sailing into a corner, stirring up yet another storm of dust that had settled over the once gleaming surfaces of the scientific equipment, and the three Maximals stepped into the room.
Rhinox had never believed a room that had once been bustling with activity could feel like tomb. He did now. He strode over to the nearest console and depressed afew buttons and switches, gratified when the various screens sprung to life with a low whine.
"Impressive craftsmanship." He muttered softly, for some reason reluctant to disturb the quiet of the lab. The others nodded silently.
Rhinox sat down and began typing a few instuctions into the keyboard, trying various menus until he came across one marked "Mining".
That's what they were invented for, s'good a place to start as any, he thought to himself as schematics began scrolling up the cloudy screen. Brilliant pieces of work the machines were, very efficient, but apparently very dangerous as well. He found himself wondering what Quicksilver had felt, knowing that her creations could have turned out so badly, but put a stop to that particular train of thought; it was too horrible to contemplate, especially for a fellow inventor.
"Ah-hah, here we go. These logs were put in just after she downloaded that program into them. If there's anything we can use against them, it'll be in here." Optimus and Airazor leaned over his shoulder, studying the screen as intently as he. Suddenly, the menu seemed to dissolve as the now familiar face of Quicksilver resolved itself.
"I've locked the holocube in my quarters, I can only hope that whoever finds has the sense to come here. It's only a matter of time before I am discovered, so listen and listen closely. The creatures are ruthlessly clever, as you have no doubt discovered. They are not bound by any emotion, only fierce determination. Once a few units manage to infest their "host" they attach themselves to all the processes, and actually begin to draw their energy from the being they inhabit. Our systems were not designed to support that kind of drainage, eventually the victim simply shuts down, forcing the machines to evacuate or shut down with it. Either way it is already too late." She closed her eyes briefly, and continued.
"It's too late for me and my crew. I have recorded the only weakness I can find, and I hope whoever is listening to this finds a way to exploit it... I can't. All that's left for me is to die with my crew. I want it to be known that they were the finest scientists it has ever been my good fortune to know, and what has transpired is my fault and mine alone."
Rhinox and the others watched, spellbound, as Quicksilver left the room. A moment later, the sound of a torch being fired up could be heard, and the seams of the door began to glow white-hot, as she welded her lab shut and safe from the things she had unleashed. The metal had barely lost its molten gleam when they heard voices on the other side of the door, and laser fire. None of them needed to ask what it meant. Outside these very doors, Quicksilver had met her death, and by the sounds of it, she had refused to go down without a fight. No more could be said of any Maximal, be it soldier or scientist.
"Well Rhinox, *can* we exploit that weakness?" Optimus asked as the screen faded into blackness once more. The larger Maximal considered a moment, and one could almost hear the wheels turning in his head.
"Maybe there's a way. It's dangerous, but it's our only chance."
Optimus and Airazor listened eagerly to his plan, but their faces sobered as he finsihed.
"Do we want to do this?" Airazor asked quietly.
"No." Optimus answered. The other two whirled on him in surprise. "We *have* to do this." He muttered grimly.
Back at the Axalon, the former Maximals were hatching a plot of
their own. No doubt the misguided companions of these bodies were attempting to find a way to stop them. Fools, Cheetor's "guests" thought contemptously.
"Do you know what to do?" He asked in the disconcertingly cold voice he had adopted in the Tenacious. Dinobot and Rattrap nodded an affirmative.
"Then let's begin, shall we?" The cloud that had pretty well
enveloped the command center of the Axalon swirled around the three figures, and slowly began to thin as more and more of the creatures joined their "leaders" in the Maximals. By the time the blue mist had totally vanished, all three were visibly staggering under the strain of supporting so many. Soon though, there would be new hosts to drain, and that meant more units
would be available for mining. *This* time nothing would stop them. After they had captured the last three Maximals, they would move on to the other robots on this planet. There was no escape now.
