Summary: When a young Optimus Major appears in the Decepticon Army, he rises through the ranks quickly. He has the spark of long defeated Autobots, which poses a problem. Will he follow his spark, or bend to the will of the Decepticons?

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. All rights of them go to Hasbro. I only own my OC's (Stalk, Strike, Skidplate, etc.)

Author's note: Welcome everyone! I had this idea and just had to write it. It should be interesting, but I hope you enjoy it. It takes place in an alternate universe, but a bit different than others. Optimus and the other main Autobots weren't made yet, so the Decepticons took over Cybertron with ease. Alpha Trion and Ultra Magnus are the only Autobot survivors of the short Decepticon-Autobot war. I hope you enjoy it!

Prologue

The war was over before it had started. Megatron was ruthless and swift, and took no prisoners. The Autobots didn't stand a chance.

First he went for Sentinel Prime. Megatron walked up to the palace door, shot it open, and strode right in. Then he walked up to Sentinel and ripped out his spark with his bare hands. Our leader fell, and so did our last hope of winning.

Ultra Magnus and I, Alpha Trion, were holed up in the Hall of Records when Megatron burst in on us. He came in and told us that every other Autobot was dead, and that we were the only ones left. That's probably why he took pity on us. That and he asked us if we wanted to die. Neither if us did, so he took us prisoner. I lied, he only took two prisoners.

Ultra Magnus served Megatron for a few stellar cycles, and then he was chained up in the bowels of Kaon, only given enough energon to survive. I've only seen him twice, and each time he looked worse than the last. His paintjob was scuffed and dirty, and his optics didn't have the sparkle they used to. He was gouged up everywhere where the cons had decided to use him to test their weapons.

I, Alpha Trion, faired little better. I was made the librarian of a huge library on the outskirts of Kaon. The only problem, I needed to organize everything, and no one ever came. I was under constant watch, a prisoner of sorts. Maybe one day, I can raise an army of new Autobots to fight back. Until then, I wait.

"And that concludes our lesson for today, class. The terrible Autobots were finally brought down by our glorious leader, Czar Megatron. Now, any questions?" Knockout asked, looking around at his pupils. A red and white mech raised his hand, and Knockout turned to him, "Yes, Ratchet?"

"Were the Autobots really so terrible?" he asked. There was collective gasp from the class, and Knockout narrowed his optics.

"See me after class, Ratchet. The rest of you are dismissed." The class got up and left, while Ratchet stayed at his seat.

Knockout came up to him, "Ratchet, you know a question like that is enough to get you expelled."

Ratchet hung his head, "I know, sir."

Knockout pondered for a moment, "Well, you are my star pupil, so I'll let it slide. Just don't do it again. If it's something your reading, don't read it anymore. Do you understand?"

Ratchet looked him straight in the eye, "Yes sir."

"Excellent. Don't worry; tomorrow we'll start on some medical stuff. Decepticon history is just a requirement this year."

"Understood. I'll never do it again," Ratchet promised.

"Perfect," Knockout smiled. "Now run along. Have some fun." Ratchet raced out the door, and Knockout watched him go with pride in his spark. Everyone went through one of those phases, it would be pounded out of him soon enough.

"Get your sorry crankcases into gear!" Dirge roared. Optimus hurried into the line, making sure everything was in order. Dirge seemed pleased, since he didn't make them do shifters.

Dirge paced back and forth in front of them, a slight smile on his face. "Now, I've been training with all of you since the beginning. You have all gone through the Beginning and Intermediate Academies, and now you've made it here. Many of your comrades have dropped out or been expelled before this, but you have all made it to the Advanced Decepticon Academy. From now on, all of you have earned the rank of Minor, and shall be addressed as such," his smile widened. "I hope some of you will make it to the Elite Academy and beyond. Congratulations at your first day of the Advanced Academy, troops!" Everyone cheered. Optimus felt pride in having earned the rank of Minor.

"You are all free to do as you please until tomorrow," Dirge said. "Dismissed!" The troops ran out in single file, with Optimus Minor at the head. As soon as they got out of the training grounds, they split off and went in separate directions.

Optimus transformed and began to drive around aimlessly. He really had nothing to do for a while. Maybe he'd go see Thundercracker later.

As Optimus cruised along the outskirts of Kaon, he saw a large, dark building he had never noticed before. On the front it read: The Library of Ages. Optimus hadn't been to many libraries, so this might be interesting. He braked and turned sharply, heading for the darkened building.

Optimus transformed and approached the door. He made his way inside, and stared. The library was enormous and cloaked in shadow. It was so big that you could wander around for megacycles and never find your way out. Optimus was trying to look at everything, and then suddenly came face to face with a Cybertronian. It was a mech, and he was very old; old enough that you could see rust on the edges of his armor plating.

"Can I help you?" he asked with a voice like a shaver.

Optimus was so startled that he couldn't talk for a moment. Finally, he got out, "Who are you?"

"I am Alpha Trion," the old mech answered, "the librarian. May I help you?"

"Just browsing," Optimus began to edge away from the creepy mech. "Are you the only one here?" Alpha Trion jerked his thumb behind him and moved away. Optimus saw a gathering area filled with tables and chairs, and spotted a lone white and red con studying something in front of him.

Optimus came up to the mech and gave a gentle cough. The mech started and turned to him. "Who are you?" the mech said critically.

"Optimus Minor," Optimus replied, extending his hand. "And you are-?"

"Ratchet," the mech replied, shaking Optimus' outstretched hand.

"Nice to meet you," Optimus told Ratchet as he made his way around the table to sit opposite the mech.

"Likewise," Ratchet replied. "So, you're a Minor, eh?"

"Just promoted today," Optimus said proudly.

"Congrats."

"I haven't really seen you around. Are you-?"

"Part of the Medic Academy. You wouldn't know me."

"Oh."

They sat in awkward silence for a while, and Ratchet seemed to be thinking over something. Finally, he said, "Do you really think the Autobots were evil?"

Optimus knew he should report the mech, but that same question had been nagging at him for a while as well. He pondered it for a moment, "I'm not sure. They are our enemies."

"Were," Ratchet corrected. "There aren't any left. Don't you pay attention in history?"

Optimus brushed off the question. Instead, he said, "It's the Elite Guard's job, Ratch."

"Only my friends call me Ratch."

Optimus leaned forward, "Can't we be friends?"

Ratchet shrugged, "Sure. We won't see each other much, though."

Alpha Trion had been listening to every word. "Optimus," he said, "Ratchet's a good con. He comes here often, so you can get to know each other that way."

"Maybe…" Optimus mused.

Alpha Trion disappeared into the shelves of records and came back a few clicks later. He laid a bunch of records on the table and smiled at the two, "These are some very interesting reading. You should try it."

Optimus and Ratchet shrugged, grabbing and looking at some of the records. Then, they got comfortable and began to scroll through them. Thundercracker would have to wait.