Beast Wars Uprising Derailment By Jim Sorenson & David Bishop Edited by Jesse Wittenrich Copy edited by Louis Sun Cover by Christopher “IKY” Colgin 2 Part 1 - Drowning in the Depth of the Lethe Page 4 Art by Guido Guidi. Additional content by Jesse Wittenrich Part 2 - Burned by the Banks of the Phlegethon Page 38 Art by Jesse Wittenrich Part 3 - Frozen in the Flow of the Cocytus Page 86 Art by Jesse Wittenrich Part 4 - Slaughter at the Source of the Styx Page 106 Art by Christopher Colgin, Josh Burcham, & Matt Frank (with Goncalo Lopes) Part 5 –Succor at the Shores of the Acheron Page 164 Art by Guido Guidi 3 Part 1 - Drowning in the Depth of the Lethe V Minus 2.72 Solar Cycles Resistance Headquarters, Stanix Amid the chaos of the Grand Uprising, a trio of bots sat around a stacked series of crates that functioned as a makeshift table. B'Boom, who had called the meeting, was gesticulating wildly. Lio Convoy was surprised he managed to stay seated instead of pacing about or, as he'd recently started to do, hanging from the ceiling and shifting his weight from arm to arm. "The damned Alliance keeps pushing and pushing. It's mondo uncool." Lio Convoy eyed B'Boom calmly. "Now what are they asking for?" B'Boom pounded his fists together, in his characteristically over-dramatic fashion. "Now they're saying they want the territory from Petrex all the way to Uraya, and all of Kaon." It was a big ask, but then, the formation of the IPS would potentially end the war in orbital cycles instead of stellar cycles. He steeped his fingers and considered the ramifications. "Blackarachnia?" he prompted. "Petrex is a non-starter. We've moved our primary logistic trunk for the eastern front there from Petrohex. Kaon is possible, maybe, if they assume the bulk of the fighting there. We only hold about an eighth of the city. Uraya can't be done. We've got units there pushing into Proximax. And I know how bad you want Proximax." Her tone was calm, bordering on icy, with a scratchy edge that always demanded his full attention. "Offer them Burthov as a southern border," he finally declared after several moments' contemplation. B'Boom and Blackarachnia both started to object, but he cut them off with a half-wave. "I know, I know, it's valuable, nearly as valuable as Petrex itself. But it's a Predacon town anyway, there's a good chance they'd voluntarily join up. And we can shift our operations from there to Petrex and Altihex. I want to keep our foothold in Kaon, but let them know I'm open to renegotiating if they can seize the rest of it within the next, say, orbital cycle. That should light a fire under them. And as for Uraya…" B'Boom shot up in his seat, straightening his back. "Offer them lower Uraya! They get the energon condensers…" Lio Convoy nodded. "…which we don't need anyway. Not as long as we've Protihex and Corumkan. Good thinking." He cleared his throat. "And… the other thing?" Blackarachnia shook her head slowly. "That remains non-negotiable. If the Tripredacus Alliance is to actively join the war, and not merely declare themselves a neutral entity like the Maximal Nation, Preditron has to die. Publicly. And with no hint of their own involvement." He sighed. "Very well. It's why we rescued him in the first place. Have Ikard handle it, make it appear he chose to participate in the Games. At least the optics of the situation 4 won’t seem quite so macabre." With that unpleasantness out of the way, he called in Cybershark and Psycho-Orb to brief them on the situation at the front. He and Blackarachnia shuffled their chairs around as the tall Maximal strode in, passing B'Boom who was off to make contact and finalize the deal with the Tripredacus Alliance. Without preamble, Cybershark began. "The Builders remain dug in at Valvolux and Upper Ky-Alexia, despite their severed supply lines. They're stubborn scrappers, sir. Simfur remains contested, though our forces from Rodion and Ibex have dominated the Mithril Sea, so I expect it's only a matter of solar cycles. Our push into Ultrix has met with more success, though they still hold the western half of the city. Their blunder in Lower Ky- Alexia has been a big help with that as well. Builder forces in Kolkular and Kalis remain well supplied—" Blackarachnia interrupted him. "Start preparing to withdraw from Lower Kalis and focus on Kolkular." This was a risky stratagem, but Cybershark knew enough not to question it. He’d no doubt heard rumors of the impending alliance with the fledgling Predacus nation-state, and could probably guess at the real reason for the withdrawal. "Can do, ma'am. I’ll get Direwolf on it straight away. Moving north, the Builders have poured inordinate resources into the Maxilla. As long as it stands, they'll still have a foothold on this very plateau. Fighting in northern Vos and western Tesarus remains intense. I think we're looking at another three, maybe four, orbital cycles before we can push into Iacon from that direction under the current political situation." Cybershark subtly stressed the last four words. Lio Convoy ignored the probe. "I concur. But time is on our side. We control more than 50% of the planet, and the Maximal Nation and IPS another 20% or so. Which brings us to Resistance territory." All optics turned to Psycho-Orb. "Consolidating our gains remains an ongoing effort. Obviously much of our industrial capacity was destroyed in the fighting, so the parts of Cybertron under uncontested Builder control—" "There are no parts of Cybertron under uncontested Builder control," corrected Lio Convoy firmly. "As you say,” the Predacon said, after the briefest of hesitations. “The parts that have not yet experienced active conflict make up a disproportionate fraction of global productivity. Naturally, is partially offset by our population's much lower energy requirements. Protihex remains most productive region, by wide margin." His face was somehow simultaneously impassive and smug as he said this; it was he who brought Protihex into Resistance control, practically without firing a shot, thanks to a combination of his psychic abilities, superb initiative, and no small amount of luck. "What's the situation with Her Majesty?" asked Blackarachnia. 5 Psycho-Orb scowled briefly before banishing any hint of emotion from his face. His failure to convince Queen Rage to declare for the Resistance remained a sore spot. "There have been probing attacks in Praxis. I've, how you say, reallocated some of our rearguard units. With Shokaract, somewhat more luck we've had. In exchange for acknowledging him as the ‘right and proper lord and master of Hyperious,’ he has allowed movement through his city for Resistance troops. Nonetheless, the commanders in Harmonex are on alert, should his forces decide become aggressive." It was not unexpected. Various warlords were taking advantage of the chaos to carve out their own little domains. They'd need to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, once the primary threats of the Builders were neutralized. Lio Convoy leaned forward. "Any update on Carpessa?" "Nyet." Psycho-Orb was clearly at a loss. "Is unfortunate the satellites were all destroyed last stellar cycle, we have no eyes on them at all. But as for communication, is bupkis. Last contact was six solar cycles ago. And, worst of all, we have no idea what is cause. Possibly radiation surge, given their locale. Possibly Builder push, but is odd that they would make the effort, given how isolated Carpessa is. And, in what may be related news, we have lost all contact with Damaxus as of yesterday. Is possible, barely, that this is merely communication issue, but…" It wasn’t. Lio Convoy felt it with great certainly. "No. It’s related. And given their proximity to this base, worth an overflight. Arrange it." Psycho-Orb saluted, a closed fist outhrust from his chest, then he and Cybershark departed. Lio Convoy turned to Blackarachnia. "The Independent Predacus States will change the face of this war. Getting them as active participants could even motivate the Maximal Nation to start grabbing Builder territory." Blackarachnia smiled slyly. "And you've carefully arranged for their new nation to abut Maximal territory." His optics twinkled. "You noticed that, did you?" "You're a dangerous one, LC. I like that." She slunk out of the room, then looked back and threw a wink over her shoulder. He wished he could enjoy the impending entrance of the Tripredacus Alliance to the war, but couldn't shake the feeling that there might be a high price to pay for it. Preditron had been a good and loyal ally, and to betray him felt like yet another betrayal of Lio Convoy's own principles. Each time, he told himself that it was for the greater good, that no sacrifice was too great to throw off the evils of Builder oppression, ignoring the gnawing feeling that he was turning into exactly what he hated about the Builders in the first place. Each time, he wondered when the bill would come due. He wouldn't need to wonder much longer. 6 V Minus 0.64 Solar Cycles Approaching Damaxus The Rust Sea was choppy. Angry. The storm they were flying through had it churning about even more than usual, and Cybertron's three surviving moons meant that its tides were volatile at best.