"Simon Furman - Alignment" - читать интересную книгу автора (Furman Simon)

Galleries on Cybertron, Ultra Magnus sighed long and hard. He was not in the
mood for Grimlock and his inevitable tantrums. Far more pressing concerns, not
least the critical condition of Optimus Prime, weighed heavily on his mind.

He’d fixed Grimlock with the most baleful stare he could muster and gestured
wide in the generally vague direction of ‘outside’. ‘Have you taken a good look at
our homeworld recently, Grimlock?’ Ultra Magnus leaned forwards for emphasis.
‘It’s not in a good shape, we’re not in a good shape’.

Grimlock, though, just stared blankly, as if M agnus were suddenly, miraculously
speaking in tongues. Magnus sighed, settling back. ‘Pinea Omicron cost us all
dearly,’ he continued finally. ‘Maybe we did win the battle, and yes, maybe the
Decepticons came off worse, but in the end, unless we can come up with a whole
lot of energon -and fast -we’re all looking at the big shutdown.’

Grimlock kicked at some imaginary object, sulky. He didn’t like or respect
Magnus, and he didn’t like being sent on scouting missions. He was built for
combat. End of story. Magnus was speaking again, and Grimlock reluctantly
phased him back in. ‘... take whatever search arc you want, hand-pick a crew, go
where no Transformer has gone before, but please just go. Find us a new source of
energon.’

Further debate was curtailed as the far doors to the chamber swung wide,
admitting Prowl. ‘The energy research committee is ready for you, Magnus,’ he
said, ignoring Grimlock. ‘They’ve come up with some interim plans they’d like to
run past us.’
Ultra Magnus rose. ‘If you’ll excuse me, Grimlock, I have to go discuss
downsizing and other less-than- palatable options. Have a safe trip...’

****

Have a safe trip! Grimlock had done everything in his power to have anything but.
The way into the wilderzones had long been considered one of the most hazardous
and potentially life-threatening journeys never to have been undertaken. Legend
had it that the star-fields beyond the outer fringe were stalked by creatures big
enough to bear entire civilizations on their backs, hosts of soul-sucking Parafiends
and vast armies that poured like molten metal from the heart of super- dense stars.
So much for legend.

And so, 78 days in and not a Parafiend to be had, Grimlock had reached the
momentous conclusion that they needed another Unicron. Not necessarily THE
Unicron, but something close, something big and epic, something that called for
blood and thunder, do or die. Anything but this!

It had been several hundred years since the chaos- bringer Unicron had been
destroyed, and to be fair there had been a few epic threats in-between. But nothing
really on the same scale. Jhiaxus, the Swarm. Mogahn the Mass, Praetocian, the
Ebon Knights... and, most recently, Pinea Omicron. But then it really was because
of Pinea Omicron and the fifty or so years that had preceded it, that they were here
now, scraping around the galaxy for energon. It had, decided Grimlock, conceding