"Skygnaw," Alpha Trion said, supporting his massive frame as he reached behind his back to draw a thick tome forged from an unknown material.
"If you wish to uncover the deeper truths of our civilization's history, this book, the *Covenant of Primus*, may guide you. Within its pages, I have utilized the Quill to record the vast majority of Cybertron's legacy."
Skygnaw's eyes flared with intense interest, though he quickly suppressed his excitement, keeping his expression perfectly neutral. A record kept by an original Prime would undoubtedly answer his burning questions, completely untangling the planet's fractured history. When he previously explained his presence to the elder, he had intentionally dropped a hint about his true purpose in visiting the archives. It looked like his subtle calculation had yielded an incredible, unexpected harvest.
Caressing the heavy cover of the *Covenant of Primus*, a wave of deep nostalgia washed over Alpha Trion's weathered face. If he had a choice, he wouldn't have chosen to hand over a tome containing his life's work to a Decepticon. He would have preferred to personally select a worthy successor to guard and continue writing the history he valued more than his own life. But since fate had brought this Decepticon named Skygnaw to him at the very end of his existence, perhaps it was simply meant to be.
"Take it, Skygnaw," the old Prime said softly. "It should not be left to gather dust, and it certainly should not be buried down here with me. Every Cybertronian, regardless of faction, has the right to understand their own history."
"Thank you, Eldest," Skygnaw said. He took the grandly titled book, giving it a brief look before stowing it securely within his armor.
Realizing that Alpha Trion was clearly preparing to say his final goodbyes, Skygnaw decided to seize the opportunity to push for more information. "Eldest, do you know anything regarding the Matrix of Leadership?"
Alpha Trion's gentle expression turned instantly serious. "Skygnaw, have you encountered the Matrix?"
"No," Skygnaw lied smoothly, shaking his head as he fabricated a quick excuse. He didn't dare mention that he was working with The Fallen, let alone that the Matrix was currently hidden inside his chest plates.
The Fallen's scheme to break away and establish the Decepticons was an independent plot executed after reaching the solar system. Since Alpha Trion hadn't participated in the ancient war to banish the traitor, he held no data linking modern Decepticons to The Fallen's original splinter faction. As long as Skygnaw kept his mouth shut, the old man would never suspect a thing.
"The Matrix," Alpha Trion murmured after a brief silence. "It is the very conduit of Primus's energy, a vessel meant to guide and elevate newly born life. It is a power source of breathtaking capacity, and theoretically, its reserves are entirely infinite."
"When the other Primes and I studied it eons ago, we discovered it could not be utilized through conventional means. Solus Prime accidentally uncovered it while searching the planet for raw materials to forge our weapons, bringing it back to the council. We came to believe that perhaps only Primus himself possesses the authority to wield it."
Alpha Trion paused, looking closely at Skygnaw. "Child, do you know where the mystical relics wielded by the original Primes originated?"
"Were they not crafted by Solus Prime?"
"You know of this?" Alpha Trion looked slightly surprised.
Skygnaw remained silently amused. The old man had literally just hinted at it a moment ago.
"In truth, aside from the AllSpark, the Matrix of Leadership, and the Emberstone held by Quintus Prime, the vast majority of the legendary artifacts scattered across our history were forged by Solus Prime. But do you know where she obtained the raw materials?"
"I do not," Skygnaw replied, shaking his head. This detail genuinely fell outside his historical knowledge. He hadn't expected the Emberstone to sit in the same tier of cosmic power as the AllSpark and the Matrix.
Alpha Trion didn't expect a modern warrior to hold the answer anyway, and he calmly continued. "When Solus Prime forged our weapons, she harvested the raw alloys directly from the body of Primus himself, back before his frame had completely shifted into a planetary structure."
Skygnaw looked around the empty chamber, a bit stunned. Harvesting pieces of their own creator's body to hammer them into weapons? That was an incredibly metal concept, even for a Cybertronian.
"Every Prime was born with a unique capability embedded within their core. Solus Prime could channel an inner force to refine raw metals into living mechanical artifacts. She forged the Forge of Solus Prime, utilizing the heavy hammer to control and focus that creative power, eventually building a unique weapon for every member of the council. It is a tragedy that she was ultimately..." Alpha Trion's voice trailed off into a heavy sigh.
After a long pause, the ancient Prime waved his hand, shifting the topic abruptly. "My time is spent, Skygnaw. You must depart."
Depart? Skygnaw had been leaning in to catch more ancient secrets, but hearing the word *time* repeated, he couldn't help but press further. "Eldest, you keep saying your time is spent."
"My physical frame can no longer sustain a prolonged stasis cycle, and my core mission has finally been fulfilled," Alpha Trion explained, a sense of profound peace in his voice as he slowly stood up.
"Primus brought me into existence, yet I failed to protect the peaceful legacy he entrusted to our care. Let me perform one final service for our home world. Like Amalgamous and Micronus before me, I shall return to the embrace of the Creator."
Skygnaw watched in silence. These ancient Primes might have possessed godlike strength, but the burden of their original purpose had dictated their entire existence. It was highly probable that The Fallen had realized this limitation long ago, driving him to intentionally rebel against the council. Of course, with the tyrant terminated by Optimus Prime on Earth, the absolute truth of that ancient schism was likely lost to time.
Furthermore, the fact that Alpha Trion had maintained his vigil for so many millennia proved he was likely acting as a final line of defense to ensure The Fallen never reclaimed the home world. Even if the old Prime looked weak enough to collapse from a strong breeze, Skygnaw didn't doubt that a warrior of his tier held a lethal ace capable of destroying an opponent of equal strength. At the very least, he could have easily forced a double-termination.
---
Returning to the main levels of the Archives, Skygnaw didn't even have a chance to find a quiet alcove to review the *Covenant of Primus* before a secure communication from Shockwave interrupted his thoughts. Forced to put his reading on hold, he made his way straight back to the Decagon. The book belonged to him now anyway, and he could read it whenever he pleased.
"Skygnaw, you have arrived," Shockwave said the moment he stepped through the entrance.
The master logician was standing before a massive holographic map of the planet, flanked by a handful of high-tier Decepticon warriors.
"Commander Skygnaw," the elite captains greeted him in unison, bowing respectfully.
Faced with the constant hit-and-run ambushes of the Autobot guerrillas and the total exhaustion of several key mining sectors, Shockwave had recently recalled all his high-tier squads from their external outposts, consolidating his strength within Iacon.
Glancing across the line, Skygnaw easily identified the elite captains. They were the leaders of the faction's remaining powerhouse squads: Hun-Gurrr of the Terrorcons, Motormaster of the Stunticons, Razorclaw of the Predacons, and Snaptrap of the Seacons, whom he had met earlier.
While uncovering Alpha Trion beneath the vault had been an incredible surprise, Skygnaw's emotions remained perfectly stable. No matter how powerful the ancient Primes had been, they were relics of a dead era. Today, the Decepticons and the Autobots were the true masters of Cybertron, and as one of the peak warriors of his faction, he held the absolute right to face any variable with complete calm.
"Skygnaw, review the campaign parameters I have established," Shockwave said, cutting straight to the briefing.
Utilizing fresh reconnaissance logs compiled by Laserbeak and Ratbat, who had tracked the recent movements of the resistance cells, Shockwave had rapidly engineered a logical tactical solution. Laserbeak and Ratbat belonged to the elite cassette division, making them absolute masters of stealth intelligence gathering.
"You intend to personally lead a vanguard force to Kaon?" Skygnaw asked, raising an eyebrow.
Shockwave's strategy was elegant in its simplicity. He would personally command a prominent Decepticon transport division hauling a massive payload of energon cubes toward Kaon, intentionally drawing out the Autobot guerrillas along the transit vector. Under the plan, Skygnaw and Blackarachnia would keep their signatures completely hidden, waiting for Ultra Magnus to commit his forces before striking from the flank to execute the Autobot leader alongside Shockwave.
Geographically, Kaon sat at the exact opposite end of the globe from Iacon, anchoring the planet's south pole. While Iacon had historically served as the most prosperous metropolis on Cybertron, Kaon was a chaotic, lawless wasteland, marking the second major territory claimed by the Decepticons during the rise of the faction.
As for whether Ultra Magnus would actually swallow the bait, that variable wasn't even a question in Shockwave's calculations. The Decepticons were facing a severe energy deficit, but the Autobots were completely dry, starving far worse than their enemies. Faced with total starvation, the resistance could never afford to ignore a massive payload of raw fuel. Even if they lacked the numbers to secure the cubes, they would be forced to launch a strike to destroy the transport, aiming to bleed the Decepticons' remaining reserves.
Since only a commander-class warrior could hope to match a unit of Shockwave's caliber, Ultra Magnus was mathematically guaranteed to lead the assault in person.
"Is it absolutely necessary to disguise the strike team as a standard transport division?" Skygnaw asked.
"Correct," Shockwave explained calmly. "It is the only logical variable capable of drawing out the guerrillas. Their operational patterns show a consistent, high-priority focus on hijacking raw fuel supplies."
"What if Ultra Magnus bypasses the convoy entirely and launches a sudden assault on the capital while your main forces are deployed?" Skygnaw countered.
"A highly improbable vector," Shockwave replied, pointing to the troop distributions surrounding Iacon on the hologram. "I have established a multi-layered defensive perimeter around the capital, backed by the city's automated heavy weapon networks. Ultra Magnus lacks the siege capacity to breach our fortifications within a short timeframe."
Skygnaw nodded, dropping any further questions. He understood the logician's math perfectly. Even if Ultra Magnus attempted a desperate siege on Iacon instead of attacking the convoy, the capital's defenses would easily hold him at bay, giving the strike team more than enough time to execute a rapid transit back to reinforce the city. Caught between the automated turrets and the returning elite divisions, the Autobots would be wiped out in a single stroke. Waging a full siege required a massive military layout that a scattered guerrilla cell simply didn't possess. Ultra Magnus would be forced to mobilize every single functional Autobot left on the planet to even make the attempt.
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