Community Service - Chap 1

Flashwing, whom is serving life in prison for his crimes, has been selected to do 'community service' with a handful of other prisoners. Things, however, are not what they seem when he and the rest of his 'team' quickly recognize the location is none other than the derelict Trypticon station. The last known location of Megatron and his inner circle before they mysteriously disappeared....

It had been the routine for eons.
Flashwing would boot up from recharge in the morning. Be fed his rations for the day. Mandatory stretching and socializing period under heavy guard. Back in his cell until the next day, with nothing but his processor to entertain him until the next day.
There were occasional riots, fights, and so on, when one or more of his fellow inmates get bold, but those always got quelled quickly. So the entertainment value from that was low.
More enriching was during social time and sometimes from gossiping guards on their patrols. When he got news from what was going on from outside his vastly reduced world. From the sounds of things...the government had quickly forgotten what lead to the Great War, the High Council having tightened their grip on society. The only plus from what he heard was that discrimination based on frametype was no longer allowed, but that seemed like little comfort when bots supposedly get slammed with a hefty fine for so much as jaywalking, if not thrown in jail and forced to do hard labor.
There had also been rumors of an unethical, likely illegal game show or two having gained popularity among those better off, with the poor and convicted as the unwilling contestants. There was no way of for someone like him to find out if it was true or not. From everything he had heard, he wouldn’t be surprised if there was some truth to it, used as a means for the rich to keep the population of the poor down.
Still, regardless of the validity of the rumors, it was clear there was a new oppressed caste, this time based on wealth, not frametype. Flashwing suspected it was only a matter of time before a new civil war broke out.
If...when that happened, he wondered if he would get a deal like last time. He quite enjoyed performing interrogations on Decepticons. Though even he recognized that this war was going on too long for the sake of the planet...for their species. That’s why he attempted to ‘speed things along’ by making that offer to Megatron, only for that scrap bastard to tell his superiors of his deed! It landed him right back in prison, in High Security this time, the charge of ‘treason’ added to his list of crimes. He wouldn’t make such a mistake next time.
But who was he kidding? Prowl wouldn’t be so foolish this time. He was fortunate they didn’t try to look deeper into why he desired Skywarp so: if they had, he would have been executed for sure. That they didn’t for treason was surprising as it was, guess this Optimus Prime fellow was a real soft spark. Perhaps he held hope someone like him could change their ways.
Ha! Fool. A Siren would never submit to the weak ideology of Great Society.
Still though...despite his misfortune of being ratted out, it appeared that the war suddenly ended with little to no explanation. Megatron and his High Command had inexplicably gone silent shortly after his ‘deal’ attempt was uncovered, leaving those in lower command scrambling to keep the war going. Disorganizated as they were, the Decepticon forces had been quickly defeated and a new era of peace began.
An era of boredom.
Sleep. Eat. Socialize. Sit in his cell until lights out. Repeat.
Over and over again. Flashwing was surprised he hadn’t lost his mind. Then again, certain mechs he knew would have considered him insane long before he had been first placed into prison. Bah, they just didn’t understand. Those that cling to the ideals of Great Society never did.
Today though, something different happened. Shortly after receiving his morning rations, a group of guards came to his cell. That on it’s own wasn’t unusual, aside from the timing. What took him by surprise, was when they told him that instead of going to his usual exercise and social routine, he was selected to do some ‘community service’.
Him? A mech that was considered a high risk prisoner selected for such a thing? Didn’t they have a metric ton of poor bots they could wrangle to do garbage duty?
Still, it was something different, so he had gone along with it, letting them put on a pair of restraints over his hands and lead him away from what had been home for eons. Perhaps this was his opportunity to find a way to escape? Between the war and how much time passed, there wouldn’t be many, if any, bots that would know who he is, aside from those in Enforcement of course. Nothing a paintjob and name change could fix!
Ah, but he was thinking too far ahead, too soon. He needed to know where they were taking him and what exactly they will have him doing to even begin to formulate any escape plans.
His ideals of possibly escaping started becoming doubtful when he was shoved into a shuttle with four other prisoners, rather than a transport bus, suggesting this wasn’t going to be a local job. Standard shuttle class, but in the passenger area he noted all the windows were covered with reinforced plating, preventing anyone from seeing out side. Security reasons, most likely.
Flashwing found himself a seat at the back, not bothering to converse with the other prisoners: they all seemed to be lost in their own thoughts anyway as they took their own seats.
It wasn’t long until he felt the shuttle take to the air, less time still before a couple guards started talking.
“Looks like the lotto picked some high level ones this time,” one them, his insignia marking him as a ‘Captain’ remarked.
“Sir, isn’t a bad thing?” the other guard, the lack of flourish on his insignia suggesting he was a rookie. “Higher risk of escape?”
The Captain scoffed. “Kid, you know where we are going. With that place...this rust bucket would be the only way off it.”
Being taken some place isolated...offworld most likely. That definitely dashed his hopes of escape, especially with the number of heavily armed guards present.
“I see...what are their crimes, if you know?” The Rookie asked.
“Let’s see.” The Captain pulled out a datapad and started swiping through it. “This guy here….” He gestured to a black and cyan blue bikeframe.
“Name is Voltstrike: Acts of Terror, Plotting to Assassinate the Prime, Attempted Insurrection. Various Warcrimes. Took a long time to apprehend after the war ended.”
Ah, he’d heard of that one. Was one of the Sub-Commanders of the Decepticon forces if he recalled right.
“This one,” the Captain continued, pointing toward a large, gray minerclass. “That’s Rockcrusher. Murder of various degrees.”
Heard that one as well around the cell block. Rockcrusher was apparently one of the muscle for a crime syndicate and his preferred method of killing his enemies was as his named suggested: crushing them, particularly their heads. From the look of him, strength was likely his only ‘high’ attribute: he looked the very definition of the ‘strong and dumb’ trope.
The following two prisoners were not really interesting, in his opinion. Another bikeframe named Livewire whom was in for stealing trade secrets from various companies and holding them for ransom and a heloframe named Bladewind whom was convicted of Grand Larceny.
Then it was ‘his’ turn.
“As for the brightly colored jetframe in the back,” the Captain began. “That’s Flashwing. Breaking and Entering. Vandalism. Kidnapping. Assault. Rape. Treason.”
“Sounds like Voltstrike and Flashwing should have been executed…,” the Rookie remarked.
“I agree, but that was the Prime’s call,” the Captain grumbled. “’Too many lives had been senselessly lost during the war’ he had said.” The mech spit on the floor. “Bah...some bots are not redeemable and don’t deserve second chances.”
The mech then muttered something he couldn’t quite catch: part of it sounded something like ‘take them out’. From how the prisoners closest to him sat up straighter in alarm, Flashwing felt he may be on the mark.
An isolated, likely dangerous location. Just what are they going to have them do? Clean up hazardous material? Considering the apparent discrimination between the well off and not he’s heard about, he wouldn’t put it past them.
Flashwing felt a slight ‘jerk’ from the shuttle a moment later, suggesting they had docked somewhere. The Guard Captain confirmed it shortly thereafter.
“Alright you pieces of slag, get up and move out!” he bellowed, the other guards gesturing with their weapons.
Here already? We must not have gone far…. Flashwing stood up and followed the other prisoners, growing more curious...and concerned...on where they were. When they reached the airlock, they were forced to wait a moment while the Guard Captain communicated with someone, presumably dockcontrol.
“Barrier active?” the mech was saying. “Good. What about movement? Hmm...maybe we’ll make some actual progress this round.”
Flashwing frowned, glancing at one of the other prisoners, Voltstrike, whom had a suspicious, concerned expression on his face. As for the others, Livewire and Bladewind looked scared, while Rockcrusher looked confused.
What kind of place are they sending us into?
He got his first clue when the airlock opened and they were ushered into what looked like an old reception hall. Directly in front of them was a massive doorway with an ominous looking red energy barrier across it: there were a couple of heavy duty barricades set on either side of it. Above it was a sign, but the lettering had been covered with paint. Odd.
To the left was a large counter and beside that was a much smaller doorway. Those doors were welded shut: above them was a sign that said ‘Barracks’. To the right were a set of lifts and stairways leading to the floors above, but no readable sign to tell him where they lead. Plus, like the door leading to the barracks, they were blocked off or sealed. They only way out of this room was somehow going through that barrier, or going back to the shuttle.
Speaking of which, he looked back and noticed the sign above the airlock said ‘Hangers 1 -4’, not simply ‘airlock’. The implications were a bit obvious: this was retrofitted into an airlock at some point after initial construction. That they were using airlocks implied they were on a celestial body that was in orbit around Cybertron, like a space station. Looking around the room once more, he couldn’t see anything that could identity where they actually were: such identifiers were either removed, damaged beyond recognition, or covered up.
They really don’t want us to know where we are….
Aside from that, the room looked relatively intact, if a little worn. Nothing overtly suspicious aside from the barricades and covered signs.
Wait...is that a stain by the energy barrier? He didn’t get a chance to scrutinize it further, however, as two pairs of guards circled around in front of them, each pair carrying a case. The Guard Captain then cleared his vocalizer as he joined them, grabbing their attention.
“Alright you dredges of society,” he began. “You’ve been brought here today to do something useful for society for once in your pathetic lives.”
Flashwing scoffed quietly, but said nothing as the mech continued.
“Your task is a disposal op: your are to find, identify and dispose of any bodies beyond that barrier.”
“What….” He heard Voltstrike say, Flashwing noticing he had become more and more nervous, but the Guard Captain ignored him and continued.
“The disposal point is a smelting pit located in central structure: you can’t miss it. Some of the bodies you’ll find will likely be too heavy for your smaller frames, so teamwork may be necessary.”
A smelting pit… This place didn’t scream ‘refinery’ to him, but he has only seen one room so far….
“Now, there are dangers here, as this place has seen better days and who knows what critters have settled here,” the Guard Captain was saying, a faint smirk on his face and a couple of other guards snickering. “So you will be provided with a shock stick to protect yourself. These sticks have limited charges, so don’t be reckless.”
Considering the ‘workers’ they are using here, Flashwing wouldn't be surprised if previous ‘participants’ used them on each other in acts of betrayal. After all, it sounded...and looked like, they weren’t the first prisoners brought here for this job.
“You’ll also be provided with a map and scanning device.” The Guard Captain pulled out one such device from a crate. “This handy thing will not only show you were you are, but color indicates how many targets are suspected to be in a location. Green means ‘clean’, red means...well, I think you can figure that out. It will also show you where your other teammates are and their status. You also use these to scan any bodies you’ve found: any info about them is transmitted to us automatically” He put the device back in the crate and started to reach into a different one.
“Now, I know you are thinking’ how do we get past the barrier?’ Well, we don’t shut it off, first off. Second, passing through it requires these fancy jewelry accessories.” He held up a collar, which was wide and grey in color, save for a large LED on the front. Flashwing also saw the number ‘31’ over it and above it was a small, dark circle. A sensor or access port?
“These dandy things will not only allow you to pass the barrier, but is what will allow you to keep track of each other’s location in the facility. There’s also a radio function so you can talk to your other teammates...or us if you wish. Just push this button here if you want to talk.” The mech indicated where said button was: it was raised yellow button on the right side of the collar. Then the Captain developed a devious grin on his face plate.
“These babies are also an explosive device...designed to trigger if you try to take them off or attempt to give us the slip in other ways. So I would suggest not trying anything funny with them...unless you really want to lose your head!” There were a few more snickers from the guards.
“One last thing,” the Guard Captain remarked. “The LED on the front? It’s an indicator. If it turns yellow and starts beeping, you have ten clicks to return here for a to replace the battery pack. Miss that window and it goes out? You’ll won’t be able to come back through the barrier….and no, we will not go through the barrier to retrieve your aft.”
How pleasant. Seems like they thought of everything to prevent anyone from escaping. Looks like his best bet is to play along and do as he is told, but of course keep an optic out for opportunities.
“Any questions?” the Captain prompted.
“Yes,” Flashwing spoke up. “How long do these batteries last?”
“Ah, thanks for asking, that detail seemed to have slipped my processor….”
Right...I get the feeling you left it out on purpose….
“Average battery life is a little over a breem,” the mech continued.
“Is a breem sufficient to reach the furthest reaches of this facility and back?”
“For the areas you are able to reach, yes.” Was the response. “A number of areas are no longer accessible due to the ravages of time and...other factors. Anything else?”
He didn’t, but the increasingly twitchy Voltstrike did.
“Did you honestly think I wouldn’t recognize this place?” the bikeframe sneered. “Despite you filthy Autobot’s attempts to disguise it? This is Trypticon Station!”
What…. Flashwing looked at the bikeframe, the mech’s denta clenched and fists balled. He’s heard of the place, naturally, but aside from it being a Top Secret research facility and having been taken over by the Decepticons, he knew little about it.
“Oh?” The Guard Captain looked amused as he accepted what looked like a credit chip from another guard. “And why does that matter?”
“This was the last place Lord Megaton and his High Command were known to be at before they went silent!” Voltstrike declared. “And no one...I mean no one that was sent here to find out why has come back. This place is a death trap! And you are sending us in there to be executed by whatever horrors may be lurking in there!”
The Guard Captain was chuckling. “While it is true that any efforts to search for answers ended up being a complete failure back then...do remember it’s been eons since the war’s end and teams have only been getting sent here again within the last Centra-vorn. No one was allowed here between those times, so no supplies...no energon...aside from what was inside those bodies. Any chemical or biological agents would have long degraded...and any living sapient being would have starved since then.” The mech then leaned in close to him.
“While yes, the chance of being offlined is still high here, it is due to hazards that are to be expected in a derelict such as this.”
All good points, but he felt the mech was hiding something.
“So what exactly is the point in coming here at all?” Flashwing questioned. “This place is, as you implied, falling apart. Surely after all this time, any research that would have been of use back during the war era is outdated by now. Same with any equipment that could be rrecovered. Probably be better off just blowing the whole thing up and then picking up the pieces to melted down and reforged.”
“While you are correct that it would be easier to do as you suggest, to do so would mean the mystery of what happened here would be unsolved. Did Megatron and his cult of fools perish in a tragic accident...or did they somehow escape and are elsewhere?”
“Lord Megatron would never have ran from you weak, pathetic-!” Voltstrike was cut short when the Captain grabbed him by the neck and hefted him up easily.
“Who won the war, slaggert?” the mech asked tauntingly. “Who between us is currently wearing the shackles, hmmm?” He then dropped the bikeframe, Voltstrike landing ungracefully on his aft.
“Look at it this way,” the Captain continued. “This is an opportunity to find out if your precious ‘Lord’ Megatron is really dead, no? You just need to go in there and see if you can find his rotting corpse….”
“And why should I play your sick game, Autobot?” Voltstrike growled as he got to his feet. “What do I...what do any of us you have so graciously selected for this task get out of this? I seriously doubt you intend to lessen our sentences should we survive this.”
“If you’re asking for an opt out….” The Captain then pulled out a pistol and pressed it against his head. “Here it is. It’s simple: either take your chances and potentially keep living, or you can die right here.”
Flashwing watched a mix of emotions flash across the bikeframe’s face, the other prisoners watching on in shocked silence. Normally, he wouldn’t care if this mech died or not, however….
“Voltstrike,” he began, keeping his tone soft as he knelt beside him. “I would suggest not making any rash decisions here.”
“Rash?” Voltstrike sneered. “Is it really a choice between dying here and drying out there? At least here it would be quick and painless….”
“But you would die with the questions I know that are in your processor unanswered. What happened here? Why did the Decepticon leadership go silent? This is a chance for a Con loyalist like you to find out….”
“And what good would that knowledge for me? I’m a prisoner.”
“It would depend on what you find,” Flashwing admitted with a casual shrug. “After all, the dear Captain admitted that Megatron’s corpse hasn’t been found. The reactor to this place still appears to be functional somehow...perhaps someone is still alive and they are maintaining it? Which could be another factor on why this place is in the state it is in...perhaps why there are so many deaths? Whomever is still here...is killing intruders to prevent the truth from being found….” He kept glancing at the Captain as he spoke, watching the mech’s reaction: not so much as a brow twitch. What he planned to say next likely would evoke a reaction, so he made to word it carefully.
“You are a Decepticon loyalist, Voltstrike...wouldn’t it better to be among your own?”
Something hit him on the back, sending him sprawling to the floor. “Watch your glossa, slagger, talk of rebellion is an automatic death sentence,” a guard behind him growled.
“Tsk, jumping to conclusions, are we?” Flashwing grumbled as he righted himself into a sitting position. “I was merely suggesting that he was to die...that he would be better join the Allspark while among the dead of his own, rather than here, surrounded by his old enemies. For him to die now would mean we would be a ‘bot down’, which would lessen the chance for any of us to survive...not to mention lessen the likelihood of making progress beforehand.” He looked up at the Captain as he rose to his feet.
“Wouldn’t you agree?”
The Captain was sneering at him in contempt, only giving him a nod in confirmation, before they both looked at Voltstrike.
Voltstrike looking downward, his lip plates pressed thinly, before he looked at the Captain in the optics. “Fine, I’ll play your ‘game’, Autobot, if only to satisfy my own curiosity on what happened to Lord Megatron,” he declaired.
“Very good,” the Captain stated before looking at the other guards. “Get these pieces of trash equipped: we’ve wasted too much time as is with all this chatter.”
They were told to line up and they each had a collar fitted around their necks, a map device and shock stick magnetized to their hips.
“Do not make a move for those shock sticks until you are beyond the barrier,” a guard warned. “You’ll be shot on sight if you do.”
The shackles were taken off once they all had nodded in acknowledgment. Flashwing flexed his fingers and rubbed his wrists, before walking toward the energy barrier. While he didn’t want to go in there, he had no choice, so why delay things any further? Voltstrike was walking right beside him and the other three filed in behind them.
Once at the barrier, Flashwing hesitated briefly, a part of him doubting these collars actually worked. To test, he turned and ‘tested’ the barrier with the tip of a wing. When he saw that it passed though with no issue, he went all the way through, the rest following suit….
–
“Let the games begin!”
“Must you be so excited for this?”
“I’m only excited to see that slimy slagger finally get picked for this, I detest this sort of thing other wise.”
“Says the one who used to go to Megatron’s gladiatorial matches.”
“…back then, mechs knew what they were getting into. These saps don’t know what’s in there.”
“Point taken. What about you? This is your first time?”
“Yes, but only because of Flashwing.”
“Logical, considering.” A sigh. “To think we had such a close call….”
“If you had heeded our warning before….”
“Enough...I know. I regret my nearsightedness.”
“Ya know...I’m surprised Flashy talked that guy out of letting himself get offlined….”
“He did it purely out of the sake of his own survival, though he is correct that there is safety in numbers.”
“He is also the type that would be the first to run if things look unfavorable in his direction.”
“Cowards are more likely to survive...unfortunately.”
“Think there is any truth to what that cat was saying to that sap?”
“It is in the realm of possibilities, hence the need for these...questionable excursions.”
“As much as I despise him and hopes that he perishes in there, I do hope his presence will help finally give us some confirmation….”
“On that, I agree.”

---

This is a story idea that has been bouncing around in my head for some time, but I'm not exactly confident I can finish it as I've never written an outright 'horror' themed fic before. So I'm looking for feedback/advice (note: I've obviously haven't gotten to the 'horror' part of it yet): I'm not completely sold on keeping the 'conversation' at the end, for instance. As it stands right now I worry it may reveal too much, too soon.
On a more minor note, I'm debating on naming the Captain (I already have one in mind), but he doesn't really feature much what I have planned for the story so far.
As for background context? First, this is a 'what if' spin off from my Astral Aligned series, so it has some shared history to a point (the one shot 'Impetus' doesn't happen, but the one after, 'Desperation', does: it is shortly after 'Desperation' that this timeline splits off).
That said, if I do things right, you won't need to read anything from that series to understand what's going on, but if you want some background anyway (at least on Flashwing, the main character), I would recommend 'Stalker' (Mature themes), 'Conflicting Opinions' (Mature themes) and 'Impetus' (the latter, while not in this timeline, does reveal important character details/motivations/history I haven't been able to reveal in other 'official' stories yet).
Anyway, hope you enjoy...and I hope I'm able to finish this so it doesn't become another 'dead' fic in my list....