Flashback: Carried to Luna 1 by his stolen shuttle, the comatose Ultra Magnus's body is recovered by Tyrest and brought to Pharma, who is able to save his shrinking spark. Awakening, Magnus is immediately punched in the face by Tyrest; the Chief Justice is angry over Magnus's slide from fearsome lawman to public joke, which he considers the product of a nervous breakdown caused by Magnus applying the weight of the rules of war to those of everyday life in order to cope with the onset of peacetime. Tyrest deactivates Magnus's armor, which falls away from his body and reveals his true form, Minimus Ambus, within. When Ambus mistakes the Legislators for his replacement, Tyrest corrects him by introducing his new enforcer: Star Saber.

Present: Ambus explains the history of the Ultra Magnus identity to a confused Rodimus, which originated with a no-nonsense law enforcer whose reputation inspired Tyrest to keep his legend alive after his passing with a suit of armor cast in his likeness. Tyrest selected multiple 'bots to wear the armor, take the name, and serve as his enforcer, each one's body returned to Tyrest after they died by a recall trigger in the armor so the identity could be passed on to the next. Ambus was particularly suited to the job, as he is a kind of Point One Percenter known as a "load bearer", possessing a spark with a particularly strong animating force that allows his body to integrate the Magnus armor where a normal 'bot could not. This talk of the strength of Ambus's spark prompts Tailgate to ask how he can still be alive, given his fatal condition when last they saw him, and seems to find hope for his own worsening Cybercrosis in Ambus's explanation of Tyrest's miracle-working doctor. At Rodimus's further inquiry, Ambus continues to explain that the Lost Lighters are to be put to death for "harboring a criminal suspect", and that he had himself placed in the cell so he could record their conversation and prove to Tyrest that they were ignorant of the criminal: Skids. Having been unaware of Tyrest's alliance with Lockdown or the presence of the Titans, and baffled by their supposed crimes against creation, Ambus lets himself out to investigate. A moment after he leaves, the unconscious Skids and Swerve appear in the cell in a flash of light.

Meanwhile, just outside the prison—revealed to be suspended over a giant smelting pool—Cyclonus and Whirl concoct a strategy to rescue their teammates. Though Cyclonus is reluctant to bring their time on Luna 1 to an end yet, he nevertheless follows Whirl to a nearby armory, where the cyclopean Autobot rambles about his worldview and coping strategies while struggling with some door handles. Cyclonus opens the door for him, but as he steps back, a Legislator suddenly impales him from behind. Whirl springs into action, chopping the Legislator to bits with one of the many swords in the armory, blaming his own reflexes for saving Cyclonus's life. The pair investigate further, and soon discover the swords' captive owners, the Circle of Light. The Circle are quickly freed, and they all tool up for an attack on the wall of Legislators guarding the prison.

In Tyrest's medibay, the unhinged Pharma espouses the virtues of facility's bleeding-edge tech, with which he professes he can perform supposedly impossible medical procedures. Observing that Pharma has not taken back his original hands, Ratchet tries taunting him, accusing him of not being able to remove them from his body. Ratchet proposes a contest: the pair will work on two patients with the same injury, and the first to complete the surgery wins the hands. Pharma agrees and reattaches Ratchet's head and spark to his body, but Ratchet awakens to see with horror that his deranged counterpart has selected Ambulon and First Aid to be their patients. Pharma ignores his attempts to beg off the contest, and announces he will be cutting them in half. Ratchet assures them that bisection from the waist is an easy fix... until Pha

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