Orion Pax, Part 2

The name or term "Orion Pax" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Orion Pax (disambiguation).

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"Jack, no! This is a really bad idea!" "Stick around, mom. I'm full of bad ideas."
"Orion Pax, Part 2"
Season	2
No. in season	2
Production company	Hasbro Studios
Airdate	February 25, 2012
Written by	Mairghread Scott
Directed by	Scooter Tidwell
Animation studio	Polygon Pictures
Watch this episode on YouTube

While the Autobots search for the Decepticons' space bridge, Jack prepares to face his destiny.

Synopsis

Starscream's scary face. Yeah, real creepy.

On the Nemesis, Starscream points his missiles at Orion Pax. After addressing him as "Optimus Prime", the former Decepticon realizes something is wrong as the cowering Orion insists he is just a clerk. Through a brief conversation, Starscream learns of Megatron's deception to Orion, and states that the archivist has much to learn. He seems ready to try and manipulate Orion's amnesia to his own ends, but is interrupted by a team of Vehicons. Starscream leaps into action and makes a quick escape, and Pax is ordered to remain in his quarters.

Back at base, Ratchet finishes adjustments on the GroundBridge's power level, hoping to increase its range. Raf pilots a test subject in the form of 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 maneuvers his way past many guards, blasting a door out in his bid for freedom. Seconds away from escape, a laser blast catches his tail, and he spins to the ground, badly wounded. Orion is soon visited by Megatron, who apologizes for the commotion. Orion asks why Megatron told him Starscream was dead, and he replies that Starscream is dead to the Decepticon cause — a defector to the Autobots. Megatron departs, but Orion's interest is piqued by Starscream's reference to him, and he begins to investigate this "Optimus Prime." On the database page for Optimus Prime (which displays a false image of a menacing-looking robot), Orion reads that Optimus Prime was the leader of the Autobot faction, not Doctor 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, Ratchet receives a high-frequency message of peculiar nature: it is addressed to him, and is from Starscream, the renegade Decepticon whom Megatron left for dead. The Seeker tells him that he must come alone with a medical kit to repair him, in exchange for valuable intel about Optimus.

Starscream: Can I get an Energon lollipop once you're done?
Ratchet: *slaps him*

In a forest, the Ground Bridge portal opens, to the surprise and dismay of Starscream, who is wounded and lying in a pool of his own energon, only for both Ratchet and Bulkhead step out. Ratchet plays no games with his help, refusing to repair him unless he gets some useful information. Realizing his compromised position, Starscream tells all, but is horrorified when he finds the Autobots already know it as well, 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 rust. The jet is amazed that his troops finished his project when he was gone, then laughs, realising that he has something to barter with, and smugly shows the medic where it hurts.

The group convenes at base to discuss the plan of action in 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, where 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.

Don't wanna close my eyes, don't wanna fall asleep...

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, demanding a status report. Ratchet and Bulkhead fumble over who should answer, as their voices will be recognised, and Bumblebee can't speak at all. Ratchet settles on Agent Fowler, and he is patched through. He manages to field the call, and turns it around, asking Breakdown how he is faring, 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 skillful hacker, manages to get past them and find an image that shocks him; it seems 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 him.

On Cybertron, Jack and Arcee follow the Key's signal and are surprised to find that it leads to Kaon, the Decepticon capital, much to Jack's chagrin, 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...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans	Others
Ratchet (4) Bulkhead (8) Bumblebee (9) Arcee (10)	"Orion Pax" (2) Vehicons (3) Megatron (6) Soundwave (7) Breakdown (15) Insecticon (16)	Raf Esquivel (5) June Darby (11) William Fowler (12) Miko Nakadai (13) Jack Darby (14)	Starscream (1)

Quotes

"You do not suggest that our leader...would speak falsehoods?"
(laughing) "You truly are being kept in the dark, aren't you?"

—Starscream, upon learning of "Orion's" deception.

"The Decepticon Space Bridge is located right here, deep within an energon mine."
"Adjacent to a raw fuel supply, clever. What's our intel?"
"A... reliable source."

—Ratchet talks to Arcee about their tip, without realizing he's calling a Decepticon reliable.

"Not everyone is destined for a ordinary life. Optimus Prime was once Orion Pax after all."

—Ratchet gives proof that anyone can be a hero.

"Command, this is Space Bridge Control! We are under attack! Command, do you read me?"
*commlink static*
*Bulkhead smashes the Vehicon's face*
"Shhhh."

—A Vehicon is reminded of the no-talking rule by Ratchet.

"Thank you, Starscream."
*Bulkhead looks at Arcee*
"Who else would it have been?"

—Arcee's too clever by half.

"Don't worry, Space Bridging is just like Ground Bridging."
*Space Bridge fires up with a loud noise*
"Just a little more intense!"

—Arcee tries to ease Jack's nerves about going on the big boy rides.

Fowler: "Somebody say something, pronto!"
Ratchet: "Rafael, patch in Agent Fowler."

—Agent Fowler gets exactly what he wants, just not what he expected.

"You have one nano-cycle to respond or—"
"This is Space Bridge Control. Situation normal."
"Normal? You sure about that?"
"We were just calibrating the subsystems and we, uh, had a surge, but it's fine now. How are you?"
"Uh...uh... Never better. I know it's thankless down there. Keep up the good work, huh?"
"Will do. Control out."

—Breakdown and Fowler demonstrate that hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good "how are you" at your side.

Notes

Continuity notes

• The braces on Raf's legs from last episode are gone. This is not so jarring as it seems at first, as the events of that led to his condition (in "One Shall Fall") took place two months prior, according to Fowler.
• Ratchet notes that Breakdown would recognize his or Bulkhead's voice. The latter is due to Breakdown and Bulkhead's rivalry (seen from Breakdown's first appearance in "Deus ex Machina"), and the former is probably from Breakdown's encounter with Ratchet in "Stronger, Faster".
• Kaon, the Decepticon capital, makes its first actual appearance, following Megatron's dream recreation of it in "Sick Mind". Jack remembers it from the events of that episode after Arcee identifies it.
• Ratchet mentions that no one is more accomplished at space bridge engineering than Decepticons. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron reveals Shockwave initially re-discovered the long-lost science of space bridges when he found one on Cybertron.

Transformers references

• The false image of Optimus Prime had some resemblance to Generation 1 Ultra Magnus. We later learn that this is because the image is of the Prime incarnation of Ultra Magnus.
• Arcee uses the classic transformation sound when she returns to robot mode to cross the bridge into Kaon

Real-world references

• The scene of Fowler talking to Breakdown is a reference to a similar scene in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. However, this time the guy on the other end responds more warmly to the "how are you?" bit.

Errors

ER MAH GERD I NERDERD THERT

• As the Autobots are boarding the lift which takes them to the space bridge, Ratchet seems to be missing a number of parts, including the white plating on the bottom half of his legs, the red plating on his forearms, the white plating from his chest, and his face. Bumblebee is also missing the headlights on his chest, and Arcee's chest is missing its outer blue layer.
• There's no evidence of Dark Energon on Cybertron, much less any zombies, despite Megatron having used enough to cover the entire planet in "Darkness Rising, Part 5". Possibly, the Terrorcons' Dark Energon ran out and they went back to being off-line.

Trivia

• Aww, Breakdown cares about the worker bots.
• This is the second time Megatron denounces a mistake relating to Starscream that he "does not intend to make again".
• A neat, slowed down version of Bulkhead's weapon transformation is seen, as opposed to the normally lightning fast animation employed.
• Bulkhead claims he could disguise his voice by making it higher. That shouldn't be hard.
• Adaptations of this episode include a screen-capture-style comic version as part of The Orion Pax Saga.

Foreign localization

French

• Title: "Orion Pax, Partie 2" ("Orion Pax, Part 2")
• Original airdate: ?

German

• Title: "Orion Pax, Teil 2" ("Orion Pax, Part 2")
• Original airdate: 23 October 2012

Japanese

• Title: "Kibō Henkei! Cybertron-sei o Mezase" (希望変形!サイバトロン星をめざせ, "Hopeful Transformation! Aim for Planet Cybertron")
• Original airdate: 13 October 2012

• Not only does the Insecticon speak, but does so in the voice of Waspinator from the Japanese dub of Beast Wars. Much like characters in that dub, it speaks incessantly and out-of-universe for the sake of humor, promising to do its best "next week".

Brazilian Portuguese

• Title: "Orion Pax, Parte 2" ("Orion Pax, Part 2")
• Original airdate: 4 June 2013

Italian

• Title: "Orion Pax, Parte 2" ("Orion Pax, Part 2")
• Original airdate: 9 October 2012

Home video releases

All releases listed are in English audio unless otherwise noted.

DVD

2012 — Transformers Prime — One Shall Stand (Shout! Factory)

2012 — Transformers Prime — Season Two (Shout! Factory)
2013 — Transformers Prime — Vol. 14 (Avex Trax) — Japanese audio only.
2013 — Transformers Prime — Folge 7: Orion Pax (EDEL:kids) — English and German audio.
2013 — Transformers Prime — Season 2 Volume 1: Orion Pax (Madman Entertainment)
2014 — Transformers Prime — Season Two Collection (Madman Entertainment)
2014 — Transformers Prime — Season 2 Vol. 1: Orion Pax (Primal Screen)
2014 — Transformers Prime — Saison 2 Vol. 1: Orion Pax (Primal Screen)
2014 — Transformers Prime — Stagione 2 Vol. 1: Orion Pax (Primal Screen) — English, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish and Norwegian audio.
2015 — Transformers Prime — Intégrale Saison 2 (Primal Screen)
2015 — Transformers Prime — The Complete Season 2 (Primal Screen)
2015 — Transformers Prime — La Seconda Stagione Completa (Primal Screen) — English, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish and Norwegian audio.

Blu-ray

2012 — Transformers Prime — Season Two (Shout! Factory)
2015 — Transformers Prime — Season Two Collection (Madman Entertainment)