« The Transformers: Autocracy #4 »
"Cause and Effect"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	February 29, 2012
Story by	Chris Metzen & Flint Dille
Art by	Livio Ramondelli
Letters by	Robbie Robbins
Editor	John Barber & Carlos Guzman
Continuity	2005 IDW continuity
Chronology	Before the war

Megatron attempts to recruit Orion Pax to the Decepticon cause.

Synopsis

At the Jump Joint in Kaon, Megatron is telling Orion Pax how impressed he was with Orion challenging the corrupted Senate and proposes that they work together. Orion doesn't care for his offer, but keeps the conversation going to stall for time until reinforcements can retrieve him and Bumblebee. Megatron reveals that the reason Orion's team was attacked in Nyon was that Zeta Prime had information leaked to the insurgents so that he could use their deaths as a pretext for attacking the city, backing it up with Soundwave's recording of the recent security meeting.

Just as Orion Pax loses patience with Megatron, the rest of his team attack the Decepticons and rescue Bumblebee before escaping on board the Autobot transport, Sky Lynx. Megatron lets them go, believing that Orion will damage the Autobot cause himself with the information he has learned.

Back at Iacon, Orion asks Zeta Prime about his plans to attack Nyon, only to be ignored and accused of repeatedly leading his team into ambushes. Zeta gives him a chance to make up for his failures by capturing the insurgent who attempted to bomb them in Nyon: a neutral Transformer named Hot Rod.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Notes

• According to Simon Furman, one cycle is about 1 hour 15 minutes in IDW continuity, but the way cycles are used in this issue appears to mark them as a much longer time period. For example, Orion Pax has been trying to bring Megatron to justice for three cycles.
• Spotlight: Orion Pax and the previous "Shadowplay" story had Orion and Zeta knowing each other before Zeta became Prime, and having a casual relationship. Things have deteriorated badly since then.

Errors

• On page 6, panel 2, Sky Lynx's name is misspelled as "Skylynx".
• On page 8, panel 2, "you're" is misspelled as "your".
• Back in "Chaos Theory Part 1", when asked about the first time he and Optimus met, Megatron immediately recalls "the Battle for Sherma Bridge", a head-to-head battle with full armies warring on both sides. Prime then has to prompt him to remember their original meeting at the "Rydion" police headquarters. Beginning with this issue, Autocracy details a series of meetings between the two—including an alliance, a memorable betrayal, the first stirrings of the Autobot army, and a one-on-one battle—all of which clearly predate Sherma Bridge, and all apparently forgotten by Megatron, but proven otherwise when he corrects Optimus by saying it was Rodion, not Rydion, and by using a line similar to what Whirl said to him when he got beaten by him while he was in custody.

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