Astra Prime: Cybertronian Weather Goddess

Death of the Firstborns

Astra Prime watched in silence as the night sky over Egypt was filled with a strange white mist. She had been on Earth for billions of years, witnessing the rise and fall of civilizations, the birth and death of species, the glory and tragedy of history. She was the Fourteenth Prime, the Prime of Weather and War, one of the ancient and powerful Transformers who had created and protected life in the universe. She had seen many wonders and horrors, but nothing like this.

The mist seemed to come from a portal that opened in the heavens, emitting a faint humming sound. Astra sensed a dark and malevolent presence behind it, a force that filled her with dread and anger. She followed the mist with her optics, curious and cautious. She saw that it stopped at some of the houses in the city below, where the doors were smeared with blood. There was no sound, no movement, no sign of life. Then she saw that it entered the houses that had no blood on their doors. Astra heard it then. A simple gasp, then nothing. The mist left each house with no blood, carrying something with it. Something precious and innocent. Something that should not have been taken.

The process was repeated throughout the city, and then throughout the land. The mist took the lives of every firstborn child in Egypt, regardless of their age, gender, or status. It spared none, except those who had marked their doors with blood. The mist then disappeared, leaving behind a constellation in the sky. The Constellation of Osiris, the Egyptian god of death and resurrection. Astra recognized it from her studies of human mythology. She also recognized the meaning of the blood on the doors. It was a sign of allegiance to another god, a god who had sent this plague upon Egypt.

Astra gasped in horror as she realized what had just happened. She felt a surge of grief and rage in her spark, her core of life and emotion. She could not understand why this had happened. Why had none been spared? What had they done to deserve this? They were innocent and had nothing to do with the stubbornness of Pharaoh Ramesses II, who had refused to let his slaves go free. Who was responsible for this? Who had dared to challenge her authority as a Prime and a protector of life?

She shifted into a human female form, blending in with the locals. She wore a simple white dress and a veil over her head, hiding her metallic features and glowing optics. She silently walked inside one of the Egyptian buildings, where the crying and wailing of the bereaved parents echoed in her audio receptors. She felt tears streaming down her faceplates, empathizing with their pain.

She saw two men standing in front of a stone slab, where a small body lay covered with a white cloth. One of them was Ramesses II, the pharaoh of Egypt. He looked older and weaker than he had before, his eyes sunken and his skin pale. He held his son in his arms, his firstborn and heir, who had been struck down by the plague. He didn't look at the other man right in the eye. He spoke with a croaked whisper, his voice barely audible.

"You... and your people... have my permission... to go", he said to the other man.

The other man was Moses, the leader of the Hebrews, who had been enslaved by the Egyptians for generations. He carried a staff in his hand, which he had used to perform miracles and signs in the name of his god. He looked at Ramesses with pity and sorrow, knowing that he had once been his friend and brother. He gently placed his right hand on the pharaoh's shoulder, as if to offer him comfort.

But Ramesses swiped his hand away and said with grief, "Leave me."

Moses said nothing as he turned away from Ramesses and walked out of the building. He did not look back at his former friend or his dead son.

Astra followed him with her optics, sensing a heavy amount of guilt and horror coming from him. She realized that he was the one who had brought this plague upon Egypt, by invoking the name of his god. She had seen him before, in a vision that she had received from Primus, her creator and father. A vague vision of Moses freeing his people from bondage and leading them to a promised land.