Proverbial Shed

[Wheelie]

It's quite strange. To any number of Transformers, from any number of realities, be it Kup's, Xaaron's, Jazz's, or even Sideburn's, the name of Megatron could send shivers down the circuits. It is the name of a tyrant, a destroyer, a madman of unstoppable power and unyielding desire to conquer.

To Wheelie, however, it is just a name.

Shockwave, he's passingly familiar with.

And Starscream? Starscream the deceiver. One of the ones who tricked him, turned him against the people who were supposed to be his friends. He looked forward to sticking his knife in Starscream's chest.

"The war between Tarn and Vos, did Megatron cause it? Or was it just random loss?"

[Emirate Xaaron]

Emirate Xaaron snorts. "The war between Tarn and Vos was started by Starscream being obnoxious and screechy. Megatron certainly used it to his gain, however. He is a consummate opportunist."

"So the war between Decepticons - the followers of Megatron - and Autobots - those who stood up to oppose Megatron's desires of conquest - began. However, the war did not go well, in the beginning. You see, we Autobots were not accustomed to war, then. Not a bad thing in peace, but bad in a bad time."

[Wheelie]

Opportunist? Wheelie can understand that. Survival is largely dependent upon taking advantage of your circumstances.

He adjusted his position slightly, so that he could be a little more comfortable. "What happened next? Did you win or lose? Did you beat the bad guys or take a long snooze?"

[Emirate Xaaron]

"The different city-states had different governments - bodies that create, interpret, and enforce laws, so that society runs smoothly - and Iacon, where I lived, was led by a Council of Elders." Emirate Xaaron smiles ruefully, as he admits to his age. "I was - and still am, I suppose - one of the elders."

"I suggested that we put someone who had a bit of a better idea about combat, a security guard named Optimus Prime, in charge of the military, to see if the Council would stop making such a hash of a war against the Decepticons. Optimus Prime did well enough, but he took out a ship and some of his best men to try to get rid of some asteroid. Megatron took a ships and some of his best men to ambush Optimus Prime. Both ships were lost."

[Wheelie]

Wheelie's picked up just enough bits of conversation and other things here and there to know that the ships were eventually found, though he doesn't know the specifics.

On the other hand... "What happened to the Decepticons? Did the Autobots beat them dead? Or were both sides lost, without their heads?"

[Emirate Xaaron]

"No, they kept their heads, this time," because sometimes, they instead decide to tear their heads off and stuff little men inside of them, "but they did crash on a planet called Earth and were knocked out for 4 million years."

"However, this is Cybertron's tale, and Cybertron did not sleep, even if Primus did."

"Other Decepticons rose to prominence. One, by the name of Trannis, became a powerful warlord."

[Wheelie]

Wheelie nods as he follows along in the story, shifting his position slightly so that he can sit more comfortably. While still managing to keep an eye out for any trouble that might start their way.

"And what did the Autobots do while this went on? What did they do, with Optimus gone?"

[Emirate Xaaron]

Emirate Xaaron snorts, "Militaries don't go to pieces just because they're missing a general."

Half his face tugs up a bit. "They go to pieces when politicians make a hash of things, which the council was, yet again. Traachon and Tomaandi, two of my fellow council-members, wanted to surrender to Trannis. The rest of the council agreed, but I did not."

"Trannis and his men stomped into Iacon, and he thanked the council for their surrender..."

[Wheelie]

Unless you're from the cartoon universe. Then they do.

Wheelie shook his head. "No way it went that easy, no way it went that well. A guy like him, just accepting it like that? He's no where near that swell."

[Emirate Xaaron]

Rodimus Prime did a pretty good job in the cartoon, if Kup is to be believed.

Emirate Xaaron's lips peel back in what would be a smile on any other person, at any other time but this. "Perceptive. Trannis thanked the council for their surrender and then had each and every one executed. Except..."

He pauses, "...except, of course, for me, because I had gone underground with a hundred men. You didn't need to be a sailor of the Mercury Sea to know that Trannis's offer was fishy!"

[Wheelie]

Well, yes. But look how poorly the Decepticons did without Megatron/Galvatron.

Wheelie laughs at Xaaron's joke. It's not a very good one, really, but he finds it humorous all the same.

"Xaaron was smart, to plan ahead. Wheelie is quite glad he didn't wind up dead!"

[Emirate Xaaron]

Emirate Xaaron was no so much making a joke as he was a comparison.

"I'm glad I didn't end up dead, too. I just wish more could have been saved." He looks troubled, briefly. Of course, any more, and someone would have blabbed, and they all would have been dead.

"From the underground, we organised into cells of freedom fighters, loosely connected. That way, if one cell was captured, they couldn't reveal the locations of the other cells and doom us all. We did sabotage and hit and run."

[Wheelie]

The small Autobot nods as he follows the story. It all makes as much sense as it can to a slightly wild boy-Autobot.

"Taking down the bad guys, one piece at a time? Striking from below, striking from behind? How long did this last, did you make headway? Or were you just stalling, living day by day?"

[Emirate Xaaron]

Emirate Xaaron is trying to be simple in his explanation. he has gathered that Wheelie doesn't have the background that most Autobots do. That's why he's giving Wheelie this completely useless history lesson!

Just watch. Someday, Wheelie will be forced to negotiate a diplomatic situation between warring city-states.

"We did make progress, but it took a long time. Eventually, we were able to fight the Decepticons openly. The Wreckers, the best crack team of Autobot commandos," he says this with clear pride, "killed Trannis."

He pauses here, because the next point is a real downer.

[Wheelie]

Wheelie will run on the Peace Through Poetry Platform. And if that doesn't work, there's always the "Knife them when they're not looking" strategy.

Wheelie picks up on the significance of the pause and shoots Xaaron a questioning look. "It didn't end there, that's what I'd guess. Killing Trannis, it wasn't what was best?"