Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Chapter 157 Elite Guard

On the eighth day after the Ark arrived in Aquitron, the third space bridge was still under construction.

The Thunder Rescue Team was busy on the rails like a group of machines being chased by engineering blueprints. Shockwave stood in front of the main control console, his red eye steadily scanning each set of parameters. The Grimlock team guarded the perimeter, explicitly instructed by Ultra Magnus to "stay away from all stabilizers."

Steel Cable squatted outside, looking very unwilling; Darts sat high up; Iron Slag paced back and forth near the entrance; and Mud was more like a quieter wall. Howl occasionally glanced at Shockwave, barely keeping its tail blade still.

The Crystal City support staff connected to the relay, and the technical team sent by Crystal Prism and the dispatchers from the judicial center worked together.

BICk0 processes permissions, protocols, channels, materials, and pending records in five separate interfaces simultaneously, at a speed so fast that her typing leaves afterimages.

Vector stood in front of the main light screen, looking at the temporary list of planetary support troops: Ultra Magnus, Thunder Rescue Team, Grimlock Squad, Shockwave and his researchers, some temporarily transferred Decepticon frontline combat forces, Crystal City relay assistance, the Judiciary Central Dispatch Group, and the Knights of Justice, BICk0, Prism, AZ, Mechanical Dog, Rumble, and Frenzy.

The two little ones were incredibly excited about it and kept insisting on having their names written on it.

"We're still short," she said.

Tong Tianxiao looked at her: "We need elites who can carry out assaults, escorts, and close-quarters defense."

"Hmm." Yin Vector raised his head.

On the screen, the elite guard that Alita left behind was marked separately.

They are currently not officially part of any faction's operational order. With Alita absent, they won't entirely follow the Autobots' commands.

AZ stood to the side, as if she knew she would see that column.

"They have a temporary encampment on the west side of Iron Fortress," he said.

He looked at him and said, "You know too well."

AZ stated calmly, "I don't like providing vague information."

"You like to provide information from dubious sources."

"They are useful."

Vector stared at him for two seconds. AZ lowered her glasses slightly, her smile quiet yet irritating, knowing she didn't have time to interrogate him right now, deliberately choosing a moment like this.

The vector temporarily delegates control to Tongtianxiao and BICk0.

"Continue construction on the third space bridge. All initial drafts for the operational teams have been handed over to Ultra Magnus, and resource allocation has been handed over to BICk0."

BICk0 looked up: "Where are you going?"

"Find the elite guard."

-

AZ left the experimental site with her.

The west side of Iron Castle is much quieter, with buildings that are lower than those in Crystal City, and protective panels and repair areas are everywhere.

The Elite Guard's base is located in a semi-enclosed training ground, with Autobot identification markings hanging on the outside.

When they arrived, there were already people waiting at the training ground.

The elite guard was small in number, but their stance alone revealed them to be far from ordinary troops. Each aircraft maintained a distance that allowed for mutual support, with weapons concealed yet positioned for maximum deployment.

Their gaze fell upon the vector, but it was more of a scrutiny.

The captain at the head of the team stepped forward: "Chief Judge."

Yin Vector nodded: "I've come to borrow someone."

The other person paused, probably not expecting her to be so direct.

AZ stood a little further back, as quiet as a shadow.

The captain of the elite guard said, "We are the guard left behind by Alita."

"I know."

"Alita is not here, Optimus Prime is not on Cybertron. Our team has not received any official transfer orders from the Autobots."

"I'm not here on behalf of the Autobots." Vector raised his hand and tossed the trial record into the air.

The footage shows the Quintessons' courtroom, with Optimus Prime standing in the center of the restraint arena, the Curator reading out the proceedings, and the final translated sentence of the verdict.

guilty.

The training ground was deathly silent. The elite guard's machines were visibly tense, and the captain's glasses had become cold and hard.

"This is the record of the seventh day of Arquitron," Vector said. "The Quintessons bypassed existing Cybertronian laws to detain and try Optimus Prime."

While the team leader was still adjusting, a voice from the machine next to him chimed in, "They say they are the creators."

"Self-proclaimed." (This is a vector correction.)

Seeing their somewhat surprised expressions, Vector continued, "Claiming to be involved in the origin does not equate to possessing the identity of a creator or the origin data, let alone the right to judge. Besides, they haven't even produced any data yet, but they've already taken their seats on the judgment seat."

She looked at the elite guard.

"Today is Optimus Prime."

"Tomorrow could be Alita."

"The day after tomorrow, it could be any Cybertronian."

One of the fingers in the group twitched slightly. Vector didn't want to take the opportunity to incite trouble, so he only released the Jazz's secret message.

Cognitive intrusion, narrative overlay, formal trial, the fourteenth day, and the accompanying Aquitron coordinates.

After reading it, the captain's voice returned to its steady, deep tone: "Was it sent back by the Jazz?"

"right."

"Is he still conscious?"

"He knew he was affected too," Vector said. "That's more believable than him not knowing."

AZ glanced at her slowly from the side.

The captain paused for a moment, then asked, "What do you need us to do?"

"Precision infiltration, close escort, rapid evacuation of the Ark crew after positioning, and protection of the Tribunal intervention team when necessary."

"Command?"

"The interim command chain for planetary support operations," Vector said. "Ultra-Scholomance is responsible for the main tactical framework, the Judicial Center is responsible for legal authority and archive sealing, and Crystal City provides access and some rear support."

The captain remained silent for a moment, then said, "You didn't say who we're under."

"Back to the mission," Vector said. "Back to Cybertron."

She spoke directly, cutting out a lot of unnecessary controversy.

The elite guard captain stared at her: "You expect us to believe you?"

"No," said Vector, "I demand that you see the evidence."

She retrieved all the images, leaving only the temporary operational objectives for planetary support warfare.

Confirm the current status of Optimus Prime, Ark, and Nemesis; cut off the Quintessons' spread of the Cybertronian origin narrative; establish a stable entry point to Aquitron; intervene in the Inquisition; and evacuate target personnel if necessary.

“You can question me,” Vector said, “or Ultra Magnus, and of course, Shockwave and his Space Bridge.”

Upon hearing this, AZ's lips seemed to twitch slightly.

Vector continued, "But you'd better realize that the Quintessons have already made their move."

The captain looked at her.

"If Alita were here, she would go," the vector said.

The other person's expression finally changed, instantly struck by the familiar answer.

Alita will go, that goes without saying.

She left this elite guard behind not to have them wait for a perfect order on Cybertron.

The captain slowly straightened up, and all the team members behind him adjusted their posture accordingly.

"The Elite Guard is under temporary deployment for planetary support operations," he said. "But we require confirmation of Alita's status on Aquitron."

"List it as one of the priority targets." The vector did not hesitate.

The captain nodded: "We will arrive at the Crystal City rendezvous point within two hours."

"You have one hour," Vector said, adding before the captain could protest, "The third space bridge is as unstable as a shockwave in human relationships; the sooner you get familiar with the site, the better."

The captain swallowed his words, glanced at her, and seemed about to laugh, but held back: "Understood."

As they left the training ground, AZ followed her without saying a word. After walking a while, he finally spoke: "You didn't use Alita to suppress them."

"I used it."

AZ looked at her and said, "But I won't just mention Alita."

She walked through the cold blue corridors of Crystal City, her body fully recovered from its long slumber.

"Simply saying Alita went is emotional blackmail, and just giving them the trial record isn't enough to understand. They need to know that what happened is true and that it's related to what they're protecting."

AZ looked at her thoughtfully.

He had seen many kinds of persuasion: threats, temptations, lies, deals, promises, and sweet talk before betrayal.

Vectors are not completely free of these things.

She would threaten, make deals, use identities, and place the sharpest words in the most appropriate places.

But what makes her most captivating is her ability to dismantle chaotic relationships and present choices back to each individual.

It is neither gentle nor embellished, but it is very effective.

AZ lowered the optical lens and silently made the long-considered decision on the inner core.

"They will go," he said.

"They have already agreed."

"Agreeing and actually going are two different things."

He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at him.

AZ smiled and said, "But this time it will be the same one."

An hour and a half later, the elite guards arrived at the Crystal City assembly point earlier than scheduled.

When BICk0 received the assembly confirmation, she was processing the Shockwave usage rights agreement and the pending records of the Steel Cable Squad next to the third space bridge. She glanced at the time and showed a hint of satisfaction.

Tongtianxiao immediately incorporated the elite guards into the assault and escort plan.

The planetary support war gradually took shape into a force.

The team consists of the Judiciary, remnants of the Autobots, Decepticon researchers, Dinobots, a dangerous intelligence source, neutral assistance from Crystal City, a taciturn mechanical dog, and two very boisterous miniature machines.

Just as the vector returned to the main control area of ​​the third space bridge, an unfamiliar frequency suddenly popped up in her private frequency band.

That frequency band, like a thin spider silk, slowly reached out to her.

She stopped in her tracks, and AZ looked over at the same time.

Before the frequency band was connected, AZ whispered, "Be careful."

Immediately afterwards, a cheerful voice came through the frequency: "I heard the Chief Justice has woken up."

The voice was soft and gentle, neither hurried nor slow, like a sweet scent carrying a damp aroma.

"I have a bunch of unruly little bugs here."

She chuckled softly. "Are you interested?"