Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Chapter 120 The Plateau Falls

After the fall of Scotsburgh, Ironburg received another battle report—the reconnaissance station on the outskirts of the Hydra Plateau had lost contact.

At first there were only three locations, then there were seven.

Then, the entire northern monitoring link turned gray.

The Hydra Plateau lies across Cybertron's eastern hemisphere's energy network, controlling seven nearby transport routes, three communication relay arrays, and high-altitude calibration access to the eastern industrial belt.

The Hydra Plateau is the gateway to the Eastern Hemisphere.

Now, the latch is starting to loosen.

-

When the troops defending the plateau first received the alarm, they immediately took precautions, but did not immediately assume it was a general offensive.

There were thicker fortifications, higher ground, a more complete fire control system, and more troops retreating from the direction of Scotsburgh.

They believed they could hold out until Iron Fortress completed its evacuation and neighboring cities were ready to evacuate.

The Decepticons did not directly break through the frontal defenses as they did when they attacked Scotsburgh.

They cut into the abandoned pipeline on the western side of the plateau, severing two power pulse lines. Subsequently, the southeastern transport route was blocked, forcing three garrison teams that were originally preparing to reinforce the plateau to remain en route.

The long-range artillery emplacements on the plateau could still fire, and the shields were still in place, leading the city's defense center to initially assess that the situation was under control.

Until the entire rear supply line turned red.

At that time, the Hydra Plateau still stood like a solid fortress.

But he was all alone.

The traces of sound waves are everywhere.

An incorrect retreat order was sent to the defending forces' channel, causing several defensive nodes to prematurely transfer their permissions, resulting in a brief gap in the firepower on the northern flank.

Nineteen seconds is enough for the Decepticon trackers to cross the first level of the high ground.

The air detachment cut in along the rocky ridge, turning the defensive structure of the Hydra Plateau from intact to tilted.

When the garrison commander requested confirmation of the order from Iron Fortress for the third time, he finally realized that what they heard was not support, but a trap.

He immediately ordered the external channels to be cut off.

too late.

The moment the communications array was hacked, the entire plateau defense line was as if a layer of armor had been peeled away. Every firing point, every transport route, and every blind spot in the defense was forced to be exposed on the Decepticons' tactical screen.

The sky in the distance lowered.

The first bombs landed on the flank of the plateau, forcing the positions to move and creating gaps.

The garrison on the Hydra Plateau began to retreat.

They still organized a counterattack, still fighting for every platform and elevator bridge bit by bit. Several makeshift fire teams even managed to hold off the Decepticons for two full cycles by manually locking onto them after losing control.

But the battle lines are still retreating.

It's like a metal plate that's been stretched too tight; the surface hasn't cracked yet, but the inside is already making sounds of being unable to bear the weight.

The second line of defense in the central section of the plateau was breached in the fifth cycle.

In the seventh cycle, the south-side elevator port was captured.

In the ninth cycle, the eastern energy relay station ceased supply.

When the retreat order was finally issued from the plateau command center, the sound was accompanied by static.

"All mobile units, retreat towards Iron Fortress."

"Maintain medical transportation priority."

"Non-combat personnel are given priority."

"Repeated, non-combat personnel take priority."

On the map, the colors of the Hydra Plateau were gradually changed.

When the last batch of defenders withdrew from the plateau, the Decepticon insignia was raised on the main communications tower.

The wind blew across the plateau, carrying the residual heat from the artillery fire.

With the fall of Hydra Plateau, the entire Eastern Hemisphere front has almost fallen.

-

Inside the Iron Fortress strategic hall, the projected map of the Eastern Hemisphere was blindingly bright.

Scotsburgh is marked in a dark color, and Hydra Plateau is also marked in the same color.

The system automatically connected the two points, subsequently expanding a large danger zone outwards. Several nearby cities were marked in yellow, three transport routes were marked in red, and the energy dispatch center continuously issued new warnings.

There was silence in the hall for a moment.

The jazz stood at the edge of the projection, his face expressionless. He looked at the map, his finger tapping lightly on the edge of his arm armor before stopping.

The police car looked down to check the damage data of the retreating queue.

The ambulance is confirming the medical access at the other end.

All the machines were working, but silence still hung in the middle of the hall.

Optimus Prime looked at the map.

After Scotsburg, they had raised their alert level and sent reinforcements to the east. But the Decepticons advanced faster than they expected and cut off their supply lines more precisely.

The reaction wasn't fast enough. In war, that's tantamount to defeat.

"Withdraw from the nearby defensive lines," Optimus Prime ordered.

His voice was flat.

"Prioritize the evacuation of non-combat personnel. The eastern industrial zone is placed under lockdown, and all transportation authority is transferred to wartime control."

The police car looked up.

"If we withdraw, we will be forced to abandon most of the outer regions of the Eastern Hemisphere."

"I know," Optimus Prime said.

Every node that was about to be abandoned was clearly lit up.

"We cannot send more troops into areas that have already been cut off," he said. "We must preserve reorganizable forces and rebuild a second line of defense."

The jazz murmured after a moment of silence:

"They'll say we abandoned them."

Optimus Prime remained silent.

That statement is correct.

Many machines cannot see the scheduling diagram, do not understand the cut-off supply lines, and do not realize what will happen if they continue to persist.

They'll only see the Autobots leave and the Decepticons arrive.

They will feel fear, anger, and a sense of being left behind.

Optimus Prime cannot stand in front of every machine to explain.

He has no right to demand that every person who has lost their home understand him.

"Let them live first," he said.

The jazz looked up at him.

Optimus Prime did not avoid his gaze.

The hall came alive again.

Orders were passed down one by one, the transport convoys began to change course, the refuge routes were replanned, and the medical fleet took off from the flank of the Iron Fortress.

All systems are running, and all machines are executing.

Optimus Prime stood still, watching the colors on the map change continuously.

It turns out that some orders are issued when there is no certainty.

-

After two cycles, Optimus Prime went to the judicial center.

Iron Fortress has entered a higher level of combat readiness, and the outer layer of the judicial center has also been enhanced with additional defense procedures.

But the corridor leading to the deeper hibernation area remained quiet.

This place seems to have been temporarily spared from the war; there are still some things that haven't been allowed to be trampled on.

Before Optimus Prime entered the central hub, he saw the previous visitor record.

Visitor: Megatron.

Access permissions: Neutral protocol confirmed.

External monitoring: Temporarily disabled.

Optimus Prime stared at the record for a long time without moving.

He knew Megatron had been there, but he neither deleted the record nor revoked access for future visits.

However, this tacit understanding will not last forever.

The door opened.

The light in the hibernation chamber was very dim.

The vector is still there, as quiet as if left alone by time.

The data on the monitoring screen scrolls slowly.

Optimus Prime stopped in front of the hibernation pod.

Many years ago, when he was still Orion, he stood before her and spoke many things. About the system, about history, about whether they could pull Cybertron out of its corrupt old order, bit by bit.

At that time, they were discussing how to build the future.

Now, he wants to tell her how to back down the defenses.

"Hydra Plateau has fallen."

He finally spoke, his voice very soft.

"The defense in the Eastern Hemisphere is retreating. After Scotsburg, we thought we could reorganize our defense."

He paused for a moment.

"We don't have that much time."

There was no response from the hibernation pod.

Optimus Prime looked at the bluish-green light on her chest.

"Megatron was here."

"I gave my permission."

The room remained quiet.

He lowered his head, his gaze falling on the transparent armor on the outside of the hibernation pod. His silhouette was reflected there, the red and blue armor appearing cold and austere under the cold light, looking more unfamiliar than he had imagined.

"I don't know how long this tacit understanding can last."

He said.

"I don't know where we can put you when it can't continue."

After saying those words, he fell silent.

The vector should not be the object of contention between the two factions.

She was once the chief judge, the head of the judicial center, and the one who tried to bring the law to life on Cybertron.

She belongs neither to the Autobots nor the Decepticons.

But war can blur everything that was once clear.

Protection becomes possession, and possession is disguised as protection.

Optimus Prime was well aware of this, which made him even more exhausted.

He recalled the retreat order from the Hydra Plateau, the areas on the map that were forced to be abandoned, and the civilians who would feel abandoned.

Megatron stood before her, and perhaps he said something.

He suddenly felt that the distance between him and Megatron was being widened by the war, yet in some places they were forced to overlap.

They all came to see her and told her things they couldn't say to others.

Everyone hopes she can give an answer.

She lay asleep, unmoved by either side.

This is probably the cruelest kind of fairness.

"I know what orders to give."

Optimus Prime said that he paused for a long time before continuing.

"This makes me sad."

Optimus Prime stood for a while, then placed a backup copy of the evacuation route in the Eastern Hemisphere into the judicial central storage system.

Deliver a belated report to a trial bench that will never wake up.

Then, he raised his hand and gently touched the outer armor of the hibernation pod.

"I will do my best to save more machines," he said.

He could not guarantee anything once the war began.

Optimus Prime turned and left, the door to the hibernation chamber closing behind him.

Outside the corridor, the battle lights of the Iron Fortress lit up layer by layer. New orders were being transmitted to all the defense lines, transport convoys swept over the city, and the engine sounds of the hospital ships drowned out the distant alarms.

The judicial center remains quiet.

On the map of the Eastern Hemisphere, the colors belonging to the Decepticons continue to spread.