POV Rio
At the beginning of the new year, I finished assimilating Batman and got my next template. And it was like Christmas came all over again as I got Han Solo.
The template came with some great items. First was the more ordinary stuff, a DL-44 Blaster Pistol, his usual outfit, but then came the really good stuff. I got the amazing Millennium Falcon fully equipped with everything a spacer could need. It even came with a prebuilt Hyperlane map for the entire universe, so I didn't have to worry about crashing it into a planet at lightspeed, and this ship was a beast to behold. It was good enough that I took it for a spin as soon as I could. Mostly to test how it felt to pilot it and to also test the capabilities of the Hyperdrive when used for a short test flight, like from Earth to Pluto. And the test went incredibly smoothly.
My next step was to deploy the Watchtower and affix the cloaking device I took from Wakanda. To pull that off without being detected by every space agency on Earth, I did my work away from Earth, specifically in the Kuiper Belt. I also used the belt to test out the laser cannons on the Falcon, and they were more than enough for my needs. What needs, you may ask? Well, I knew that a certain Decepticon was in stasis on a moon of Saturn, so I would see if I couldn't eliminate him and possibly use his communicators to cause the Decepticons to rip themselves apart.
But that would have to wait until I was ready. And I would need a crew in case my Pulse Grenades and Plasma Grenades don't work. I only have one Thermal Detonator, and I hadn't managed to replicate them, so I would have to wait to use them unless it was an emergency. But I was confident that if we had to use it, the Falcon could destroy Megatronus. Or at least disable him.
It took about a week to connect the cloaking device and make sure it was both stable and properly working. Technically, I wasn't normally allowed to modify anything I got from templates, but there was a bit of leeway when it came to such a massive space station. In this case, I had added the cloaking device to the station by basically plugging it in. It was like charging a computer with the energy the station provided, just in this case, the computer was a massive cloaking device meant to hide an entire civilization.
Once that was done, I moved on to the next target. This time, it was the far side of the moon and the orbit of Earth. I wanted to secure the various Pillars used to create the mass teleportation device. There was also the Ark ship on the Moon, but I would only take what I needed from that ship and leave the rest for later. I was tempted to kill Sentinel Prime, but for now, I would let Optimus deal with him.
It took longer than I would like to admit to find all the pillars as they were spread all over the Solar System. But eventually, I collected all 340 pillars and the control pillar. I quadruple checked to make sure I got them all, even hacking into the Ark ship that Sentinel Prime was on. I also took everything of value from the ship and was tempted to toss Sentinel Prime out of the ship before taking it, but figured it wasn't needed.
It was after finishing that I moved back to Earth to ask if anyone wanted to join me on a space adventure. Lara, Selene, Helen, and John all agreed, though those last two did so out of curiosity. I tried to invite Tony, but he didn't even give me a chance before saying he was busy and couldn't talk much. Apparently, he was going on a date with Pepper. And then he had to complete his latest model of Anti-Xenomorph armor, then after that, he would be working to thin out the main hive's numbers to prepare for a future operation that would destroy the last hive on Earth. As such, Tony didn't come with.
'His loss.'
I explain how to use the parts of the ship that everyone would be using. Selene would be the bottom gunner, John the top gunner, and Helen and Lara would work with me in the cockpit to better pilot the ship, with Lara getting the majority of the training to fly, so that, should I become incapacitated, she could take over. She was a quick learner, so I was sure she would be fine. Once all that was settled, we jumped to Saturn, where we would search the icy moons of Saturn for life signs.
One Slightly Less Than Eternity Later...
"Hmm, anything on the signal sweepers?" I ask with a frown.
"No, nothing yet," Helen replies.
"I think I got something," Lara says.
I move over and look at what she detected and see a slight disturbance on the geological scanners.
"Could be what we're looking for, let's check," I comment and bank left towards the disturbance.
The disturbance was a massive trench cut into the ice on the moon Enceladus. We follow it to the end and discover a wrecked ship.
Whistle
"Wow, that's one big ship," Lara comments.
"That's the Nemesis, the ship we're looking for. I'm taking her down for a landing," I reply.
I bring the Falcon down and into an open hangar. I have the ship scanned top to bottom, but I don't detect any signs of life, even robotic life.
"Okay, I'm going to head inside. If this light goes from green to red, get out of here and wait until I contact you," I order.
"Will do," John replies.
"Shouldn't you bring someone with?" Selene comments.
"No, I don't have any space suits, only rebreathers. I can survive in the vacuum of space; no one else can," I reply.
"Fine. But I better not have to save you again," Selene says with a smirk.
"I can save myself, thank you very much, and I was just fine when I was summoned," I reply sarcastically.
Lara and Selene just look at me doubtfully. I ignore them and leave the ship. I had scanned the ship prior, which is why I knew it had no oxygen, but it did have an okay amount of gravity that I could use to move around. But to be sure, I transformed into a Xenomorph and started crawling through the ship. Using such a form definitely felt odd. I could sense a faint connection farther away from me. Likely from Earth, but I didn't dare connect with that sense for fear of them connecting back.
Regardless, I kept moving through the ship with relative ease. Eventually finding exactly who I wanted to see. Megatronus in a stasis pod. He was unable to defend himself, but rather than waste a perfectly good ship, I added a power pack to the pod and then removed the pod. I grab said pod and start leaving the ship. I walked out of the ship and into the ice of Enceladus, where I then planted a massive amount of Plasma and Pulse Grenades. Then I returned to the ship and turned back to normal before getting on the Falcon and piloting it near the pod. I then spammed the jammers at max power and set off the grenades.
It was a massive explosion, and when the dust had settled, all that remained was a quickly freezing pond of water. I triple checked to make sure that Megatronus didn't somehow survive or something similar, and then I gathered what tiny fragments were left of him. It was mostly molten slag, but it was remains nonetheless.
"What now?" Lara asks.
"I start getting the ship back online, and if that isn't possible, then I will scrap it for parts. As for you? You guys can go home if you like, or you can take the Falcon for a spin," I reply with a shrug.
I don't even have to get their answer as she shoos me off my ship and then blasts off into the sky.
'Did I just get carjacked? Or would it be Spacejacked? Is there even a word for this?'
Odd questions aside, I shrugged my shoulders and moved to the command deck of the ship to start working on repairs. Thankfully, it wasn't that hard to restart the power systems. I just had to plug in a Promethium Reactor and rewire some broken cables. Once that was done, I started accessing the computer logs and even activated the communications equipment. Not to say anything but rather to listen to what is being said.
'Huh? There's a lot of chatter.'
I tune in, and the computer starts to compile what is being said and by whom. I don't need translations, as whatever boon Pandora gave me let me understand what they were saying. And it was interesting to say the least. It was a debate between Starscream and Shockwave over the command of the Decepticons.
'How did they find out Megatron is dead?'
The debate I was overhearing didn't actually say, but I got the gist of the situation. Starscream was claiming rulership over the Decepticons, but Shockwave refused to acknowledge such a shift in leadership; instead, they believed that the next leader should be Megatronus or the next strongest member of the Decepticons. I let the debate play out, and as I predicted, they can't reconcile their differences, and they end up splitting the faction. Not in a true sense. More of an ideological difference. They were still technically on the same side, but they just wouldn't work together.
Which is where I come in. I send a message using Megatronus' call sign and authentication. If Shockwave was as loyal as he said, then he would fall for the bait. And to further prove my point, Soundwave, the other loyalist to Megatron, could back up my claims as he was the master of communications amongst Decepticons.
'Delightfully devilish Rio.'
"Master Megatronus, I heed your call," Shockwave reports.
"Good, then prove your loyalty. Crush Starscream and his traitors to the cause. There can only be one ruler of the Decepitcons," I send back.
"Y-Yes, Lord Megatronus," Shockwave replies.
"But be wary of the humans. Don't let them take any of our kin dead or alive. I will resurrect the fallen later once we retrieve the Allspark," I add.
"Should we first secure the Allspark, my lord?" Shockwave asks.
"And risk the infighting, allowing the Autobots to steal it? No, I know where the Allspark is currently, and as long as it remains there, no one will find it. We must first stabilize the internal matters before we can end the war once and for all," I reply coldly.
"Yes, Lord Megatronus," Shockwave replies firmly.
I end the call and wait for the chaos to ensue. There were risks with this plan, but I believed it was the best chance to cripple the Decepticons and end the war. As for the Autobots? I would contact them later to ensure they didn't get involved in the internal struggle. Though I doubted they would be dumb enough to do that. From the data I had collected, it was likely there were maybe 30 Autobots left in the Universe. Though the Decepticons weren't doing a whole lot better, standing at just under 50 confirmed survivors. And from the data Soundwave sent me, it seemed that 21 sided with Starscream and the remaining sided with Shockwave.
'Starscream never was the most trustworthy sort.'
In any case, the Decepticons would now be busy tearing each other apart, and in the meantime, I could work on salvaging what I could from this ship. If possible, I might be able to turn it into another space station, this time one made for war and defense rather than monitoring like the Watchtower.
'The Watchtower II had weapons, and I know how to build it. The only issue is actually managing to build it and get it into orbit.'
I would handle them as they came. I wasn't in a massive rush.
'I wonder when Lara and the others will be back.'