Notes: So, it's been on my mind to write a little follow-up to "Redemption," to sort of bridge the gap between the story and its ensuing continuity. So, here it is. It will, naturally, make absolutely no sense to you unless you've read "Redemption." It's a three-part story, of which this is the first part. Each part will be a self-contained little vignette. This one has a peek in on the Decepticons. The second (which I'm working on now) will follow up with Jazz. The third will have a look at what Starscream and Skyfire are up to. So, here you go with Part 1. Hopefully Part 2 will be up shortly and Part 3 will follow in a timely manner after that...

"Are we going to have a problem here, Soundwave?" Skywarp asked urgently, leaning all of his weight on his two hands, which were splayed against the tabletop that separated him from the Decepticons' head of Intelligence. He was leaning across the table, staring intensely at Soundwave, his nose mere inches from Soundwave's face. He was trying to ascertain even a glimmer of Soundwave's thoughts.

Soundwave, for his part, sat calmly, silently regarding Skywarp with a fathomless gaze. He had not even made an effort to pull away from Skywarp, which had been his first instinct when Skywarp had leaned toward him. Rather, he deliberately held himself firmly in check, making certain that neither his expression nor his body language would reveal anything to Skywarp about his own state of mind. He was quite determined to be, at least for the moment, a cold counterpoint to Skywarp's obvious nervous intensity. He was content to say nothing at all, content to merely observe the Seeker's actions and his state of mind. He knew that in any war of patience between him and Skywarp, he would always be the winner.

Sure enough, after holding Soundwave's stare for what seemed to Skywarp like hours, Skywarp huffed an impatient half-snort half-sigh at Soundwave and went back to pacing around the small conference room that was occupied only by himself, Soundwave, and Thundercracker. If he could have, Soundwave would have smirked in satisfaction. It vastly amused him to watch Skywarp warily tip-toeing around him.

It had been almost seven weeks since Megatron's and Starscream's disappearance and then Megatron's subsequent return to Decepticon Headquarters in decidedly less-than-optimal condition. The Decepticon leader had shown not a glimmer of consciousness since Soundwave had brought him back. It was Hook's firm opinion that Megatron would never awaken, that it would be a mercy simply to remove him from the machines that were for the most part sustaining his life, to be done with the whole business and move on with their lives. The fact that Megatron was perhaps permanently disabled was not general knowledge, but rumors were certainly flying around Decepticon Headquarters regarding his continued absence as well as Starscream's. Idle impatience was wearing on all of the two-hundred-and-some Decepticons currently residing on Earth, and unrest, according to a demanding-to-know-what-the-hell-was-going-on Shockwave, was slowly spreading around Cybertron as well. All the stalling in the world was not going to suffice to keep the other Decepticons calm for very much longer. They were demanding answers.

And, Skywarp allowed, they deserved some answers, some direction, some reassurance that things would be all right, if only so that anarchy would not explode all over the place. So, a general briefing had been arranged and was scheduled to commence in just a few hours. The largest storage area in Decepticon Headquarters had been cleared out to serve as a venue for the briefing, and Shockwave and his advisors on Cybertron would be patched in via commlink as well. Skywarp, with Thundercracker's guidance, had figured out what the Decepticons needed to be told and what they didn't need to be told just yet, and they had sketched out the direction that the Decepticons were going to take going forward, a direction that might simply be a short-term one to tide them all over until Megatron recovered…or it might be the overriding direction for them for…well, for forever. Whatever the case, all was in readiness. Skywarp, after much nervous and indecisive fretting, was ready to go, ready to lead, ready to do whatever was necessary to keep the Decepticons moving forward, whether he led for two weeks or for the next two million years or more. He was eager to get the show on the road, as the saying went.

The only stumbling block was that neither Skywarp nor Thundercracker were entirely sure of exactly where Soundwave stood. Since Megatron's disappearance, the spy had been even more monosyllabic than usual. Moreover, he had seemed content to let Skywarp guide the Decepticons, saying and doing nothing to gainsay him even though, as official third-in-command, he would have been fully within his rights to do so. He had, for the moment, simply chosen not to exercise that option. He had chosen, in fact, to do nothing, leaving a void which Skywarp, as Air Commander in Starscream's absence, had stepped in to fill. Initially, he had done so out of necessity more than out of desire. But over the weeks of since Megatron's incident, he had grown increasingly comfortable with the role with one nagging exception: Soundwave.

Soundwave was nothing if not an entirely unknown and unknowable quantity. He might be content to let Skywarp lead going forward, content simply to continue to serve as head of Intelligence…or he might not be. There was really no way to know, certainly not from any outward signs that Soundwave himself displayed, but the matter needed to be settled before the briefing started. Soundwave, however, wasn't being very cooperative, and Skywarp was quickly losing patience.

Thundercracker, however, was not.

"We're out of time here, Soundwave," he rumbled calmly at the master spy. "A decision needs to be made one way or the other, and it needs to be made right now."

The junior Seeker's voice was all confidence, all certainty, all steely resolve. Soundwave unhurriedly turned his head to level his gaze on Thundercracker and was almost surprised at what he saw. Thundercracker stood off to the side, feet planted firmly a bit more than hip-width apart, his back ramrod-straight, shoulders square, hands on hips, expression calm but focused and determined. The transformation in him over the last few weeks, Soundwave noted absently, was truly remarkable. Where once he had been wholly uncertain of himself, always second-guessing himself and always, therefore, ultimately ineffective, he had of a sudden – and perhaps of necessity – come into his own in the wake of Megatron's loss.

Soundwave considered himself a keen observer of, among other things, his fellow Decepticons. And eventually, observing Thundercracker rather closely had led him to suspect that of the primary trine of Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker, all of Starscream's and Skywarp's loud bravado aside, it was actually Thundercracker who was, at his core, the strongest of the three in terms of strategic intelligence and potential determination. Therefore, Soundwave had come to consider him the most dangerous of the three and had always warned Megatron to keep a close eye on him. His warnings had always been particularly strident because Thundercracker had such a deep influence on Skywarp, whom Megatron had always implicitly trusted for reasons that Soundwave had never understood. Megatron had always scoffed at the notion, clearly focused on Starscream's far more obvious treachery. And yet, as soon as Megatron was gone…There was Thundercracker stepping in, clearly prepared to take Megatron's place, via Skywarp, and to do what he felt needed to be done. Moreover, he was clearly quite happy that Megatron was, for all intents and purposes, gone. From what Soundwave knew of the events prior to Megatron's and Starscream's ultimate reckoning and Thundercracker's rumored part in those events, Megatron would have done well to listen to Soundwave more closely, indeed…

It was all irrelevant now. What was done was done. And now…Well, Soundwave was fully aware that Thundercracker was the real power behind Skywarp. Skywarp had the charisma, to be sure, as well as the drive and the "people skills" necessary for leadership; Thundercracker, however, had the intelligence, the practicality, the tactical thinking, and perhaps even the cunning necessary for effective and productive Decepticon leadership. Together, Soundwave acknowledged, the two Seekers were indeed a force to be reckoned with.

The question, of course, was whether or not Soundwave wanted to reckon with that force. He knew himself well. He knew that he had the intelligence necessary to lead and the tactical skills as well…but he also knew that he sorely lacked those "people skills" that Skywarp had in spades and that, ultimately, were the most important quality for an effective leader to have. Neither did Soundwave have anyone to fill in those holes in his personality, as Skywarp had. Neither could Soundwave instill the level of fear in others that had, ultimately, kept Megatron in his position for eons. Had he that, then he wouldn't need the people skills. But he had never worked through fear; subtle manipulation had always been more his forte. It was an excellent quality for a spy to possess, but not so excellent in a Decepticon leader. So logically, Skywarp – with Thundercracker's support – was the best choice for the job. Soundwave fully acknowledged that, given the harmony with which they customarily worked together, the two Seekers in the room with him were the Decepticons' best chance to survive and possibly even to thrive now that Megatron was perhaps permanently incapacitated.

Still…

Still, Soundwave was a Decepticon, and all Decepticons were at heart fueled by a desire for power, for control. Without that desire, they would not have chosen nor remained long upon the Decepticon path. Leadership of the Decepticons was potentially the ultimate power, potentially the means to control everything in the galaxy and perhaps even beyond. There was a lure there, definitely, a strong one. And Soundwave, if he acquiesced to Skywarp and Thundercracker's proposition, would effectively be giving away that potential power that was, indeed, rightfully his. He had to decide whether or not he was willing to do that.

He had always been loyal to Megatron, to a fault. He had served Megatron faithfully, had learned well from him, even, and had enjoyed an amicable relationship with him that most – if not all – other Decepticons could not claim. He had never sought power for himself, if only because with Megatron firmly in control, Soundwave knew that power would never be his. Knowing his place in that way had always contented Soundwave. He was satisfied with simply performing his duties well, using his considerable skills to serve Megatron's cause in whatever way that Megatron dictated. Unlike Starscream, he had never seen the point in trying to gain more for himself than that which he had been allotted to him by a fair and powerful leader.

So, Soundwave had to ask himself now if acquiescing to Skywarp's proposition would change anything for him. It was pointless to resist change; Megatron could not possibly lead them at the moment, and in all likelihood he would never be able to do so again. So, shifting his loyalty could not be construed as a betrayal on his part. In addition, his duties would be the same comfortable, familiar ones that they had always been; he would merely be serving someone else, taking orders from someone else. Given all of that, he would likely be just as content as he had been prior to Megatron's…difficulties, should he officially hand over leadership to Skywarp. True, he and Skywarp had had their differences in the past, the majority of them stemming from the fact that Skywarp had always delighted in trying to humiliate Soundwave with an endless parade of puerile pranks. But surely, as official leader of the Decepticons, Skywarp would no longer have the time for such frivolity…

Soundwave felt something click into it rightful place in his mind just then, something that had been out of place and jangling constantly at him, all out of tune, ever since Megatron had told him of his plan to do away with Starscream once and for all and certainly since Megatron had quite obviously failed in the execution of that plan. Starscream, Soundwave deeply suspected, was still out there somewhere, waiting, observing, biding his time. The jangling was Soundwave's own uncertainty, his own indecision. He'd vehemently cautioned Megatron against following through with his plan regarding Starscream, cautions at which Megatron had scoffed as cowardly and trifling. After finding Megatron for all intents and purposes dead, Soundwave had subsequently been completely uncertain as to what course to follow. Pursue Starscream? He was certain that he would be able to track him down, wherever Starscream had gone; he had an extensive network of informants both on Earth and on Cybertron. But then what? Take matters into his own hands? He had not the desire nor, when he was honest with himself, the ability to do so.

Nor, when he truly searched himself, did he truly have any real desire to lead in Megatron's place.

Instead, he was being offered something much more in line with his skills and his own desires and talents. By continuing in his present duties, he could both serve the Decepticon cause – whatever that was going to be going forward – while still having the freedom to make certain…inquiries…after a certain Seeker and, no doubt, after his large ex-Autobot friend, as well. Moreover, he would also have a great deal of influence with the new Decepticon regime, perhaps even more influence than he had ever had with Megatron, who had rarely listened to even the most sage advice, particularly when he had been in certain recalcitrant moods that had usually been sparked by Starscream's various plots and plans.

The idea appealed. It appealed greatly, in fact. Skywarp had just declared his firm intention to assert himself as leader of the Decepticons for at least as long as Megatron was out of commission. He had asked Soundwave point-blank whether or not Soundwave was intending to assert his acknowledged right to take over leadership of the Decepticons, thus countering Skywarp's claim. It was a question over which Soundwave himself had been deliberating for quite some time. Now, Soundwave finally had a firm answer, both for Skywarp and, more importantly, for himself.

"There will be no problems," he announced succinctly and emotionlessly, as was his wont. He felt that there was no need for any further elaboration.

In response, Skywarp let loose a long-held sigh of relief and, abruptly stopping his manic pacing, he slumped wearily against the nearest bulkhead. If he could have, Soundwave might have smiled at the Seeker's utterly predictable response. Something, however, compelled him to look over at Thundercracker again, who he found was regarding Soundwave perhaps speculatively, frowning thoughtfully at whatever was running through his head at the moment. As Soundwave met his gaze, Thundercracker gave him a curt nod and an indecipherable look.

"Good choice," he said coolly, quietly, and then without further ado he turned on his heel and headed decisively for the door. Soundwave and Skywarp, after exchanging a glance, followed. As Soundwave followed the two Seekers down the corridor toward the storage area that had been designated as the briefing venue, Thundercracker's odd expression frozen in his mind, he idly wondered what would have happened to him had he held his ground and insisted upon following the official chain of command.