Transformers: Prime/Recap/S2/E02 Orion Pax Part 2

On the Nemesis, Starscream points his missiles at Orion Pax and habitually addresses him as "Optimus Prime". From Orion's reaction, the former Seeker realizes something is wrong. Through a brief conversation, Starscream learns of Megatron's deception of Orion, and he states that the archivist has much to learn. Orion asks what Starscream knows, but as Starscream begins to speak, he is interrupted by a team of Vehicons. Starscream leaps into action and makes a quick escape, and Pax is ordered to stay in his quarters, his curiosity piqued.

Back at base, Ratchet finishes adjustments on the Ground Bridge's power level, hoping to increase its range. Raf pilots a test subject—a toy car—into the bridge, but instead of teleporting, it is destroyed. Raf consoles Ratchet on the failure, saying it was only the first try, but Ratchet thinks it was a doomed idea from the start. In an effort to cheer him up, Raf tells the story of his slow triumph over the rope climb in gym class, but it falls on oblivious ears, since Ratchet doesn't understand what gym class has to do with increasing the Ground Bridge's power level.

In the halls of the Nemesis, Starscream deftly manoeuvres his way past many guards, blasting a door out in his bid for freedom. Seconds away from escape, he takes a laser blast to the tail and spins to the ground. Orion is soon visited by Megatron, who apologizes for the commotion. Orion asks why Megatron told him Starscream was dead, and the Decepticon replies that Starscream is dead to the Decepticon cause—a defector to the Autobots. Megatron departs, but Orion is still curious over Starscream's reference to him, and he begins to read more about this "Optimus Prime". On the database page for Optimus Prime (which displays a false image of a menacing-looking robot), Orion reads that the name belonged to the leader of the Autobot faction, who was not Ratchet, as Megatron told him.

Bulkhead arrives at base and reports no leads on the location of the Decepticons' space bridge. About to send Bulkhead on his way to the next search quadrant, Ratchet receives a high-frequency message of peculiar nature: It is addressed to him and is from Starscream. The message states that he must come alone with a medical kit to repair Starscream, in exchange for valuable intel about Optimus.

In a forest, the Ground Bridge portal opens to reveal Ratchet and Bulkhead, to the wounded Starscream's surprise and dismay. Ratchet plays no games with his help, refusing to repair the Decepticon unless he gets some useful information. Realizing his compromised position, Starscream reveals Prime's status, mental state and location, but is horrified to find the Autobots already know all that and plan to abandon him as a result. As Ratchet and Bulkhead depart, the medic responds to Starscream's pleading with the ultimatum that unless he knows anything about the space bridge, he's going to rot. The jet is amazed that his troops finished his project while he was gone, then realizes that this is the information Ratchet is looking for. He smugly shows the Autobot where it hurts.

The group convenes at base to discuss the plan of action for seizing the space bridge. June voices her concern at the prospect of Jack traveling to another planet, but is reassured by Arcee and Fowler, and realizes the necessity of his mission. Ratchet works out a plan in which all four Autobots storm the space bridge chamber, jamming communications to block the deployment of Decepticon reinforcements. Fowler offers Jack a spacesuit for use on Cybertron, and Arcee volunteers to go with him. The Ground Bridge opens, and the team enters.

At the Space Bridge complex, the team makes quick work of the guards. One attempts to send a message to control, but is stymied by Ratchet's scrambler and Bulkhead's fist. They arrive at the bridge, and Jack, fully decked out in a donated spacesuit from NASA, is bridged to the location. The space bridge is activated, and the duo step through to Arcee's homeworld and Jack's destiny.

In the complex, the remaining Autobots are stopped in their tracks by a transmission from Breakdown, asking for a status report. As the demands for a report continue, they fumble over who should take the call, since Ratchet and Bulkhead's voices would be recognized and Bumblebee can't speak at all. Ratchet settles on Agent Fowler and has him patched through. Fowler manages to field the call and turns it around, asking Breakdown how he is, to surprising success.

Meanwhile, Orion searches through all files he can on "Optimus Prime", only to find that they have been altered, the true files encrypted, to his chagrin. However, Orion, a skilful hacker, manages to get past the encoding and find an image that shocks him: He is Optimus Prime! This does not go unnoticed by Soundwave and Megatron. The latter vows that he will see to it that Orion completes Project Iacon, even if he has to inflict grievous pain on his former friend and disciple.

On Cybertron, Jack and Arcee follow the Key's signal and are surprised to find that it leads to Kaon, the Decepticon capital, which is now abandoned except, as Arcee puts it, for "vermin". As they advance on foot, they cross a bridge, unaware that underneath them, one such vermin is transforming and beginning to follow them.

To be continued...

Tropes:
"Decepticon Mook: Command, this is Space Bridge Control! We are under attack!
 * Bond One-Liner:


 * Commlink static*


 * Punch*

Ratchet: *holding radio jammer* Shhh."

"Raf: Y'know, there's this thing in gym class where you have to climb a rope, all the way up to the ceiling. It's really hard, and I've never been able to do it. But when I told 'Bee about it, he believed in me, which made me practice a ton. Finally, just a couple of weeks ago, I made it to the top!"
 * Hollywood Hacking: With a few keystrokes, Orion decrypts Decepticon information about Optimus Prime.
 * Shout-Out: Agent Fowler's conversation with Breakdown is reminiscent of Han Solo's conversation over the detention level comlink.
 * The Stool Pigeon: Starscream gleefully tells all he knows for a few Band-Aids.
 * Verbal Backpedaling: Megatron had told Orion that Starcream was dead. Of course, when Orion sees Starscream alive, Megatron has to revise his earlier statement, saying that Starscream was "dead to our cause."
 * World of Cardboard Speech: Raf tries to deliver one to Ratchet after he fails to build a Space Bridge:

Ratchet: What does any of this have to do with GYM CLASS??"

"Ratchet: Rafael climbed to the top of the rope in gym class...we can do this."
 * By the time the episode finishes, though, Ratchet seems to have picked up Raf's meaning. When the 'Bots get ready to storm the SpaceBridge Command: