During the war, Darctavious Prime was not idle.
While Cybertron shattered itself under the weight of ideology and hatred, he was far from the battlefield yet no less active. His chosen world changed with every passing cycle, shaped by intent rather than desperation.
He built.
At the core of his growing faction stood four leader-level Preservartrons the greatest combat power his people possessed.
Swift.
Astroworld.
Outwest.
Lockdown.
Each was personally elevated by Darctavious and imbued with refined energy drawn from the AllSpark itself, granting them power, stability, and combat superiority beyond any standard Cybertronian frame. They were not symbols. They were safeguards commanders capable of facing extinction-level threats and surviving.
Beneath them, the ranks expanded.
250 Elite-class Preservartrons formed the hardened core of planetary defense.They were directed by 200 Commander-class units, tacticians and coordinators who ensured unity without tyranny.Below them worked and fought 9,000 low-level Preservartrons, the foundation of the civilization.
Every one of them carried a spark imbued with Darctavious's own resonance, strengthened further by preserved AllSpark energy. Not domination connection. They could feel the Prime who had given them existence, yet they were not bound by him.
Together, they continued to build.
Cities rose. Infrastructure spread. New Preservartrons were forged, generation by generation. The planet evolved into something almost like Cybertron yet not a dead machine-world. Vegetation thrived alongside living metal. Oceans remained untouched. The world breathed.
It was not a full metal construct.
It was balance.
Darctavious enforced one law above all others:
Free will.
Each Preservartron chose their path.
Some joined planetary security and became soldiers or police.Others devoted themselves to mining and construction.Many entered administration, logistics, research, or governance.
Military structure still existed land, air, and sea divisions, each with squadrons capable of defense and sustained combat but war was never mandatory. Protection was a choice.
Special units emerged as well.
Elite operatives trained personally by Lockdown hunters, trackers, and infiltrators. Some remained planetside. Others followed Lockdown into the stars, joining him on his travels as scouts and intelligence gatherers, extending the Preservartron presence far beyond their homeworld.
And through it all, Darctavious himself evolved.
He honed his abilities relentlessly. Space bent cleanly to his will. Time obeyed with precision rather than force. Matter reshaped without resistance. The chaos of his early power vanished, replaced by absolute control.
He was no longer growing into his role.
He was a full-fledged Prime.
From above his world, Darctavious Prime watched over what he had built a civilization born not from war, but from foresight.
Cybertron burned in the distance of history.
Here, preservation had already won.