The Sound of Breaking Glass
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| "The Sound of Breaking Glass" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| Published in | More than Meets the Eye #21 | ||||||||||||
| First published | September 25, 2013 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | September 2013 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | James Roberts | ||||||||||||
| Editor | John Barber | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | IDW continuity | ||||||||||||
| Chronology | Current era (2013) | ||||||||||||
The Autobots pick up the pieces in the wake of Tyrest's defeat.
Synopsis
Rodimus and Minimus Ambus stand in Tyrest's control room, watching as Brainstorm, Grapple and Inferno work their way through the wreckage of the Chief Justice's space bridge, which has burned itself out. Remotely co-ordinating various operations, Rodimus takes charge in a way never before seen on the Lost Light, ignoring his own injuries to make sure other work gets done. Rodimus has not forgotten the promise he made to make amends, nor has Ambus.
Fortress Maximus meets Rung in the remains of Swerve's bar to tell him that Rodimus has offered him a promotion, but that he is unsure if he should accept since he remains fearful that he could suffer another episode. Rung assures him that he will be fine, but that he should come and see him if he needs to... only to Max to reveal that he won't be able to, since the promotion means he will be leaving the Lost Light!
Rodimus returns to his office, already embarrassed at its ostentatious decor and vowing to have it re-done. Weighed down with guilt, he recalls the discussion he had with Drift in the wake of Overlord's rampage: how he was willing to take all the blame to save Drift's reputation, but how Drift instead insisted that he take the fall. The ex-Decepticon had revealed that, when he had stabbed himself during the Chaos event, he had a premonition that told him, whatever the future held, Rodimus had to be present to face it. To ensure this could come to pass, Drift had allowed himself to be exiled.
Swerve joins Rung and Maximus in his bar, especially cheery after his success in divining a cure for Tailgate's cybercrosis. Presently, Brainstorm arrives for a private chat, and asks Swerve to keep his ear to the ground for any chatter regarding his briefcase, which he believes someone has opened. Their tête-à-tête is cut short, however, when Swerve notices a strange green glow emanating from Brainstorm's chest, prompting the scientist to run off.
After making the final adjustments to the machines that will support Tailgate's systems until his spark regains its full strength, Ratchet heads for the ship's body-locker and finds Minimus Ambus donning the Magnus Armor. When Ratchet gives him a hand and reveals a precise understanding of the armor's working, Ambus realizes that he knew about him all along, and asks why he never told anyone. Ratchet points out that doing so would have served no purpose, and that he had never ratted out any of the other Magnuses either: and he knew them all, right the way back to the original. But he has known Ambus the longest, and to him, he's the true Ultra Magnus. Uplifted, Ambus departs, and Ratchet turns back to the body-lockers and opens Red Alert's drawer.
Down on Luna 1, Rodimus takes Getaway to the hot spot they had previously discovered, only to find that it will not re-ignite. After scattering the remains of the Matrix over the field in commemoration of a new generation that never was, the pair are approached by Fortress Maximus and the reactivated Red Alert. Max has accepted Rodimus's suggestion that he become the new Duly Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord, and Red Alert—apologetic for "removing himself from the field of play"—wants to stay with him on Luna 1, to work with the Circle of Light survivors in rooting out pockets of Decepticon activity in the region. But the pair also bring news that Perceptor has been trying to contact Rodimus...
Responding to Perceptor's call, the team head for Tyrest's control room, where the scientist has successfully repaired the communications systems and is calling Cybertron. The first image to appear on the screen is a symbol marking the "Republic of Cybertron", making Rodimus think that Bumblebee has solved all the planet's problems, but could not be more shocked when the face that soon comes into focus is that of Starscream.
Sometime later, after the Lost Light has departed, Circle of Lighter Outrigger alerts Red Alert to the fact that the supposedly-comatose Tyrest has just moved. As Red peers through the peep-hole into the sealed chamber containing the Chief Justice's body, Outrigger explains that Tyrest appeared to be making a fist... and Red orders him to get Fortress Maximus immediately.
Because Tyrest has disappeared.
Featured characters
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Mentioned characters
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Quotes
Notes
Continuity notes
- This story takes place at various points in between the last few pages of the main story of this issue, and also incorporates a flashback to some unseen events set during issue #16.
- Rodimus thinks of Lockstock when recalling the deceased and bereaved; rather than an indicator that Lockstock has died, this most likely refers to the death of his good friend Tripodeca, whose passing was noted in #16.
- In said flashback, Drift recalls his self-impalement from issue #28 of the previous ongoing series. Although that issue depicted Drift doing the deed using one of his regular swords, it is retconned here to have been his Great Sword, with the implication that the sword's spark-channelling properties and its proximity to Vector Sigma were responsible for giving him a vision of the future.
- Brainstorm's briefcase was shown being blasted off his wrist in the previous issue, opening up the possibility for someone else to have opened it.
- The green glow certainly seems to imply that Brainstorm was keeping the Point One Percenter spark that he harvested in issue #17 in his chest compartment before locking himself in his workshop with it, as shown in the epilogue of the main story.
- Red Alert is awakened from the stasis he was placed in in issue #11. It turns out he really did try to take himself offline, and wasn't the victim of some greater conspiracy.
- From Ratchet, we get a longer list of the bots who have worn the Magnus armor before Minimus Ambus: Suture, Datum, Ramp and Blockus.
- The implication of the final scene, if you missed it, is that Tyrest has a recall trigger in his body, just like the one included in the Magnus Armor, and that he has escaped captivity by activating it. The main story in this issue made a point of noting that these recall switches can simply teleport their users away, rather than the manual relocation that Ambus opted for, explaining Tyrest's disappearance from a locked room here.
Trivia
- The "Countdown to 21" Twitter campaign that preceded this issue's released noted that this story's working title was "Stronger Hearts Than Mine Lie Empty", after the Ballboy song of the same name.
- "Breaking Glass" was written because of the sheer amount of stuff in "Remain In Light". In order to wrap things up and carry out some "big things" (Fortress Maximus become the Duly Appointed Enforcer, Red Alert waking up, Starscream making contact) in time for Dark Cybertron, a bonus prose story was needed. Of course once he had this extra story, Roberts started putting yet more stuff in like Ratchet and Minimus Ambus! [1]
Errors
- During Fortress Maximus' meeting with Rung, he reflects on "the shards of tinted glass in font of the ship's psychiatrist", rather than "in front".
Crew manifest
- Red Alert is brought out of stasis.
- Red and Fortress Maximus leave the Lost Light to staff Luna 1.
- Drift's "banishment" turns out to have been a departure of his own free will.
- Getaway joins the crew.
- At least 13 deaths, 6 new arrivals (plus 20 or so Faders), and three departures since the launch.
