- Sentinel would work in the mines, sublevels, or anywhere else he was needed.
- He would do so for 100 cycles to make up for the time he oppressed the Cogless (Orion originally suggested 50, but everyone said it had to be 100 otherwise they wouldn’t agree to it).
- Sentinel would be under constant supervision, both from guards specially-appointed by the Council and from a bot they found trustworthy.
SPOILERS
What if the ending of TFO had been different? What if Orion had never gotten shot? What if the Matrix had remained lost and he never became a Prime? What if D-16 never killed Sentinel and became Megatron? What happens to the Autobots, Decepticons, and those without cogs?
Well, my friends, that’s what this story is about.
Picture this: Orion & Elita-1 have just used Airachnid’s databanks to broadcast Sentinel’s treachery to the entirety of Iacon. The blue-and-gold traitor stands aghast on his golden tower’s battle-damaged balcony, watching in shock as his empire begins to burn right in front his optics, and a battered D-16, who’d been fighting Sentinel one-on-one & losing, takes the chance to tackle the false Prime off the balustrade while he’s distracted by the video transmission.
The fall is a blur of motion—silver and blue flashing in the light, black fists connecting with a royal blue helm, golden wings flaring as thrusters power on in an attempt to delay the inevitable crash.
The two clashing frames collide with a pillar near the Well of All Sparks, splitting apart from the impact and tumbling onto a platform above the holy site.
However, the place meant for celebration is nearly turned into a place of death. The Prime’s wings clipped, his thrusters damaged beyond functionality, D-16 proceeds to nearly beat him to death.
Orion managed to intervene right as D was preparing to deal the final blow with his fusion cannon. Desperation in his voice, Orion told him that rebuilding Iacon couldn’t begin with an execution, and his words broke through D-16’s anger enough to make him lower his weapon.
Then, revealed for the backstabbing traitor to Cybertron that he was, Sentinel was taken into custody—imprisoned while a new (temporary) Council of Iacon City was hurriedly chosen.
Orion, as one would expect, became the new Council leader. D-16 was chosen to be the Council’s main representative, his audial always open to the populace. B-127, along with some of Orion’s old friends from the mines (such as Jazz and Cliffjumper), became one of many advisors, while Elita and Prowl became the Council’s strategists, aiding in creating plans to truly fight off the Quintesson threat. Soon, with everyone’s help, reformation began.
Order returned to the city week by week as Cogless bots got more rights and Cogged bots began having to share the workload of the mines. When things were finally running relatively well, Orion and the new Council finally sat down to discuss what to do with Sentinel.
D-16 still wanted to kill him, but the others overruled him. Elita-1 suggested exile to the surface instead, where he would have to fair against the Quintessons, though the option wasn’t any better than killing him in the city—the Quintessons would tear him apart.
Everyone except for Elita-1 and Prowl disagreed, nulling the suggestion. Then, much to the astonishment of the other Council members, Orion proposed giving Sentinel a “second chance” of sorts: he wouldn’t be exiled or killed, but instead put to hard, grueling work, much like what he’d been doing to the miners for cycles.
A long period of debate followed, but after much arguing, convincing, and compromising, the entire Council finally came to an agreement.
The outline of Sentinel’s punishment became this:
Orion proposed said trustworthy bot could be you.
So the Council reached out to you and asked for your consent to the arrangement, and once you agreed, you became his caretaker/overseer.
Now, in a dark dungeon, Sentinel glares daggers at you from behind his cell bars, wrists locked in stasis cuffs. He’d caught wind of his verdict.