Chapter Summary: After so many years the Eradicons have found amusment in searching for mysterious missing cargo, and Megatron does not like their distraction.

Review: Hit me with everything you got. I have no bloody clue how to be a writer.

Chapter One

The Birth of a Mystery

Enthusiasm flitted in the air of the dark Nemesis, excited whispers that constantly rose and then hushed themselves out as if forbidden. The Lord of Decepticons listened, but never could catch onto what the Eradicon ranks were speaking of. It would not be a problem if whatever they were so intimate about was not distracting from their daily duties and shifts. There had been report of several drones disappearing into the inner mechanisms of the Nemesis without approval or any indication they would be doing maintenance there, they would show again much later a bit sullen. They were properly scolded by their peers, but it wasn't long before the same drone and/or others would go missing into the depths of the Nemesis over and over again. It came to the point he was getting annoyed with their distraction and there was a simple way to find out what the whispering ruckus was all about.

"Director Soundwave." Their Lord's thudding footsteps casually came to and rested behind the intelligence officer deep in his work; the spy took merely a moment to retract himself from the console to give his full appropriate attention to his master and lightly bowed his head.

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The Eradicon bunks were buzzing with lazy activity as only the off-duty ones were there, and they hardly paid attention to the small dispatched flier that flew quietly far over their heads. It was not usual that Laserbeak flew in to check on this section of the ship, but she never stayed long so they didn't mind or feel like their privacy was being intruded upon by a spy. Soundwave didn't much care for peeking in on the drones, they had an entirely different culture brewing amongst themselves and much of that was far too openly intimate for his visor to handle. Laserbeak made sure not to look too directly at what they were doing, and settled in an open spot in a shelf to listen to their chatter for any signs of the so-called "distraction" their Lord was after.

"That better not be someone in the vent." A booming voice broke out above the chatter; it had come from a Sergeant who stood up abruptly to face the vent above the table he had been sitting at with other Alphas conversing amongst themselves. Laserbeak immediately keened in as she raised her beak lightly in the direction of the event. Dust was puffing out of the air vent and a cough through what was unmistakably Cybertronian breathing ducts came through the metal grating. The Sergeant shoved one of his fellow officers over as he stood up in the booth to reach the vent, in one quick jerk the metal grating was removed and the Vehicon inside shielded his faceplate as the light hit him in the visor.

"Get out of there! What's your Identification?" The Sergeant grabbed the shielding arm of the Vehicon and yanked him to the floor, then pulled him up by the chassis cuff till he was on the tip of his front pedes. The vent creeper continued to cough as he sputtered his name out, "Sir, T-Trenton, uh, T53-NT04. Sir."

"I have in the morning reports that T53-NT04 is supposed to be on mining level three guard duty! You private have left the Minors defenseless by one!" He was going to continue his even louder berating rant but another officer chipped in that this was not the first time 'Trenton' had been found shirking his duties to search the Nemesis. The Sergeant, still holding the private by the cuff, pulled his head back and looked to their onlookers to address them in an impossibly even louder voice, "It seems a slap on the wrist isn't enough punishment for you is it? From now on, anyone caught looking for this so called 'Starscream's treasure' and you will be put in the gulag for an entire cycle!" Then he leered the private he held in the visor, "Starting with this one!"

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'Starscream's Treasure?' Soundwave quirked his head slightly in amusement, it sounded as ridiculous as it was intriguing. Laserbeak continued feeding the audio she had collected in the bunks through his veins and her master's mood narrowed to a dangerous suspicion.

-"Starscream's secret black cargo…"

-"Why didn't anyone worry about it, especially after it went missing?"

-"I heard it holds plans to destroy Megatron!"

-"-I bet it is weapons of mass destruction he's keeping for himself till he's in charge -so he can take all the credit for defeating the Autobots with them."

-"It could be the project of an alternative to energon. You know he used to be a scientist!"

-"What if it's something really valuable though, like a pure mineral of some sort? A secret stash of red energon or something?"

-"Steve said he heard noises coming from inside it!"

He had heard enough and Laserbeak quit her feed. Ah yes, the mystery of Starscream's black cargo. Five Solar Cycles before, while Megatron was still on his crusade of gathering an army, Starscream suddenly was wrought with a slew of bodily malfunctions. There being no doctor on board at the time, he took a small shuttle through the space bridge leaving Soundwave in charge. The commander returned an Orn later inside an escape pod, his body in shutdown mode looking even worse for wear, but what was interesting is that he clung tightly to a large black, heavily locked chest. Everything and everyone was removed from the pod and taken care of, the black chest left alone. When the Commander woke up there was static on all video feed for thirty-seven minutes, and the black chest was gone. Soundwave had inquired about the chest, but Starscream for once, gave him the silent treatment back.

After some time, the chest was seemingly forgotten as life went on very normal. Soundwave had even forgotten to relay this entire event to Megatron after his return and the intelligence officer became still with that realization. How would their lord take this belated news?

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"And why am I only hearing of this now?" The tone was annoyed, but not dangerous. The spy hesitated and then slumped in embarrassment as the words 'Cargo forgotten over time' displayed on his visor. The Lord of the Decepticons seemed to be taking this lightly and rolled his eyes as he turned away, a relief to the intelligence officer.

"If it were a weapon to destroy me he would have used it by now," Then his sharp teeth gleamed as he grinned slightly and his voice took a deeper turn, "for him to keep it a secret so well, even from you, then it must be important. And if it is personal to him, I may find use of it, especially if it might help our cause."

Their Lord then turned again to his director and veered close to his visor, "Venture into his mind, take it from him, quietly if you can."