Finally uploading this here~
The dwarf planet Ucruna, the latest celestial body fortunate enough to join the Decepticon Empire, had four suns that shed their light down on the planet's blistered surface. There was no true "night" here.
Yet not a ray of that omnipresent light was shining in the windowless command room where the conquerors sat—where most of them sat, anyway.
Starscream was standing, his shrill voice echoing off the command center walls, his blue fingers splayed on the table as he leaned over to be better heard by their leader.
Or so Shockwave surmised, as he stared at the Seeker in his usual horrified fascination. Was the mech under the impression their audials were damaged? There was no reason to express oneself at such a volume otherwise. Shockwave's brief foray into psychological research (he had undertook the sufficient amount to ensure he could obtain adequate cooperation between mech resources, and to reach a satisfactory level of mutual comprehensibility with other mechs) indicated that increased speech volume levels beyond the base rate, tended to create negative emotions in mechs and had high probabilities of alienating them, rather than convincing them to align them to cooperate.
Shockwave turned his one optic towards Megatron, who validated the data by reacting with his own raised voice, his fists slamming the table as he hotly negated Starscream's statements on the usefulness of the local enslaved civilization. All indications of an anger-reaction aroused far beyond what would be logical simply based on the content of Starscream's statements. The "snide tone" that Megatron accused the Seeker of taking, the increased volume, had to be major components.
Shockwave didn't understand it. His leader's logic was generally sound, if simplistic and sometimes warped by emotional whims. If Starscream so frequently created negative reactions in their leader, why did Megatron not simply rid himself of the annoying Seeker? Megatron's arguments with Starscream almost never resulted in a favorable outcome. And Starscream's treacherous and contradictory actions usually evenly negated his talents and expertise, in the long run. There were several candidates for the position that would produce a higher net gain in productivity and success than Starscream.
Yet Megatron had reacted with anger and suspicion when Shockwave had, early in the war, made the entirely logical suggestion that he be replaced with Acid Storm or Thundercracker. The two often baffled him. He had considered undertaking a deeper research into Cybertronian psychology to better understand them, but the opportunity cost was always too high: it would not raise his own success rates enough to make it worth taking time from other projects that would contribute more to the cause.
Across the table, Soundwave waited in patient silence for the exchange of verbal blows to end, his visor calm but alert in case the blows became physical and he might need to step in in defense of their beloved leader.
Soundwave, at least, could be counted on to increase the net productivity of these meetings—as well as nearly every other project or action he was involved in. Never irrational or emotional, steadfastly loyal to the cause without question, and competent and skilled in his area of expertise. His objectives aligned with Shockwave's 98.2% of the time, and their mutual cooperation increased their chances of success. Their productivity rates increased exponentially the longer they worked together.
Soundwave was an extremely predictable factor in Shockwave's life. Others might have used the more emotional term "reliable" to describe the mech, but to Shockwave they were much the same. Predictable was good. Predictable allowed you to make plans and be certain they would reach fruition. Predictable did not baffle, or puzzle, or require extra processing power or time to understand. Soundwave was highly logical: his actions and words made sense, flowed from one another in understandable patterns that were orderly and efficient, chosen to raise probability of success and to maximize productivity in order to reach their goal.
Soundwave was a veritable rock in the stormy sea of the Decepticon Army, although Shockwave would never think of him (or anything else) in such a poetic and imprecise manner.
It was then, in the nanokliks when a null ray missed Megatron's gray plating by half a mechanometer, and a clenching black fist decidedly did not miss the elegant wing it plunged toward, that Shockwave made up his mind. It was not an impulse triggered by the highly charged events of the command room, but rather the inevitable conclusion of the cost-benefit analysis he had been running in the background of his processor for several orns now. When you worked with a mech for a millennia of vorns, you had a lot of data to sift through.
There was no sudden jerking of Shockwave's helm in an "A-ha!" gesture. Nor did his single yellow optic glow brighter. Yet deep inside, unnoticed by him, his calm, logical spark flared just slightly, throwing off a little more warmth. The temperature variance was less then 0.0002 degrees, and thus was within stable operating parameters, and thus, did not trigger an alert in Shockwave's processor.
And yet it was logged.
The door to Soundwave's quarters slid open nanoklicks after the doorbell was pressed, the bland, neutral chime still sounding throughout the room from the mech's initial press. Most mechs that sought him simply knocked, although very few Decepticons ever visited Soundwave in his den. Soundwave had been notified of Shockwave's incipient approach long before the big purple mech was in sight of the door. Shockwave was not categorized as a threat, but as a member of high command he was always a person of interest, and his uncharacteristic deviation of his usual path—from laboratory to staff meetings, to laboratory and back, with few variations—was enough to catch the attention of the Cassettes' monitoring the video feeds.
Now Soundwave stared, impassive, at Shockwave's equally blank visage in the doorway. Polite, monotone greetings were exchanged and Shockwave was offered a seat at the small table in Soundwave's quarters. Soundwave did not bother initiating small-talk: he did not feel the need for it and knew that Shockwave likewise did not care to waste time on empty activities.
So once they were seated, he said, with no rudeness intended and none perceived, "Shockwave: state purpose."
"I have a proposal I wish to make to you." Shockwave said, laying a datapad on the table and pushing it towards Soundwave.
Soundwave picked up the datapad, powering it on. His curiosity was awoken: were it any other Decepticon coming to him about a "proposal" he would suspect an invitation to join in treachery; Shockwave, however, had always been as faultlessly loyal as himself, and seemed to have little desire for power for its own sake. Soundwave's optics scanned the documents on the datapad thoroughly, noting that they seemed to be little more than comparative analysis of production and success rates on various projects of Shockwave's, Soundwave's, and of one's they collaborated together on.
"Point: taken. Shockwave and Soundwave have high rates of success when working together. What is the project?"
"While my proposal may seem unexpected, given that the usual precursors to such a relationship are absent, I would like to propose...a sparkbond, between you and I." Shockwave said.
Soundwave froze. It was not noticeable, since he wasn't an expressive mech. He stared at Shockwave blankly. His cassette expressed his emotions perfectly however.
A loud "WHAT?" came from the berth where Frenzy had been feigning recharge.
Soundwave invented a cycle of air. "Shockwave: repeat?" he said finally.
"I would like to propose a sparkbond." Shockwave said.
From anyone else, Soundwave might have suspected a joke. Yet his telepathy detected no hint of humor or mischief coming from the large purple mech across from him. Only serious, calm earnestness.
"There are many benefits to such a relationship," Shockwave continued, "and virtually no negative side-effects."
Frenzy stormed over to the table, hopping right up on the surface and placing himself between the two mechs.
"Why would the boss wanna bond to YOU, One-Eye?" Frenzy demanded, putting his hands on his tiny hips and leaning into the scientist's personal space.
Shockwave did not seem put out by the reaction. He had anticipated it.
"Frenzy: desist." Soundwave said.
"Hmph." Frenzy hopped off the table. "And I thought you were s'posed to be all logical. Coming in here with a crazy marriage proposal...you're outta your circuits." he muttered, stalking back over to the berth. He sat on it and glared at Shockwave.
Shockwave began making his case. "The benefits, that the little one inquired of, are many. We would have an increased ability to collaborate on a larger number of projects, which would contribute to an overall greater rate of success for the Decepticon Army, and higher rates of productivity in many sectors."
Soundwave listened, not yet convinced. Although he was not a sentimental mech, a sparkbond was a deep thing, a serious commitment, that tied a mech to another for their entire lives, with few exceptions. They could be privy to one another's thoughts and emotions, and their fates would be seriously intertwined. Killing one would likely kill the other, and if Soundwave died, his cassettes would follow him.
Shockwave continued on. "As communications head, I am sure you can fully appreciate the benefits a sparkbond would bring. Communication between members of high command is essential. With us often being separated by vast distances of space, an unbreakable line of communication between two distant members of high command would be invaluable."
Soundwave tilted his head, listening. Shockwave wasn't wrong. He was also due to ship out in two weeks, back to Cybertron to serve as governor while the rest of the Decepticon military continued to expand Decepticon interstellar control. Breakdowns in the lines of communication, even temporary ones, could have devastating effects on logistical and military coordination. That was part of why Soundwave was so valuable an officer.
"Proposition: dangerous. Death of one sparkmate: mutually fatal. Damage to Cause if both extinguish, irreparable."
Shockwave's single yellow optic gleamed at him. Soundwave suspected he'd anticipated Soundwave's objection, and was pleased the conversation was following the course he'd formulated. It was not going to go the way he'd planned though, and Soundwave was glad at least, that Shockwave disdained emotional reactions and would not react badly to being rejected, or hold a grudge.
"It's true that one sparkmate's death often follows another. There are many factors that outweigh that risk however.
The risk of one dying along with their sparkmate can be mitigated greatly by an action that is known both in popular wisdom and proven in case studies: the openness of the bond at the time of death and the synchronicity of the sparks both increase the chances of mutual fatality. We could greatly reduce the possibility of mutual death simply by keeping the bond closed in times of great personal danger, and by not synchronizing our sparks frequently through sparkmerging."
"Soundwave: would like to see data." he said.
"Of course. I am sending you my complete data packet on it now, with a summation of the most relevant studies." Shockwave said.
Soundwave was immediately greeted by the ping of a data packet to his HUD, and initiated download and decryption of it.
"In regards to the Cause, my estimations show that the death of either one of us, singular, would cause equally irreparable damage to the Decepticon Cause as a plural, mutual death would cause. We are both literally irreplaceable; the chances of the Cause surviving the absence of either of us for long are terrifyingly low."
Now that was worrying to hear.
"However, my calculations indicate that a sparkbond between us, and the increased cooperation and communication it would allow, would serve to increase our chances of each of us surviving the war. A sparkbond between us would increase chances of preserving and advancing the Cause, not destroy it." Shockwave paused. "I will send you a packet of the data and algorithms used to calculate the risk, so that you may assess its validity. Do you have any further questions?"
Soundwave couldn't believe he was actually considering it. But no dishonesty was detected from Shockwave, and Soundwave knew the scientist was skilled and logical enough to have decided on such a course of action only if it really were a good, mutually beneficial decision. He would still assess the data. And get input from his cassettes.
"Shockwave: aware of symbiote bonds?" Soundwave asked. His cassettes were part of the package. He had many would-be suitors and even past lovers who had been unable to accept that the cassettes were part of the family, and had to be just as accepted and cared for as Soundwave was.
"I am fully aware of the nature of symbiote bonds and of the relationship between a host and their cassettes. Your cassettes' safety and well-being would be as much of a concern to me as you yourself would be." Shockwave said.
That was a relief. Soundwave had one other concern. It was not a deal breaker, but was certainly a factor.
"Shockwave: would expect interfacing?"
"We could engage in interfacing if you desired it. I have no need for interfacing myself."
"Soundwave: similarly inclined."
Soundwave could feel a soft wave of approval from Shockwave. The other mech's emotions were always muted, low-intensity things, but they were there.
"I would expect our relationship to change very little, the exception being the aforementioned benefits like the increased ability to collaborate, and a greater investment in each other's survival."
Soundwave nodded, showing his understanding. "Shockwave: should expect answer within the orn." Soundwave said.
Shockwave rose from his seat. "Thank you for hearing me out, Soundwave. I hope that you will come to the only logical conclusion." with that, he walked out the door.
Before the door swooshed close behind him, he heard an aggrieved cassette wailing,
"You can't possibility be considering it, boss!".