Author's Note: Wow. Just wow. Thank you everyone for your support, all the favs, alerts and, of course, the reviews. Those are what I like the most, and I take my time in responding to every single one^^ A very enjoyable duty, might I add. I also allow anonymus reviews, so if that's what is holding you back, go for it.
Thank you P.A.W.07 for beta-reading this chapter.
Disclaimer: I still don't own Transformers. Soundwave keeps staring at me, though.
Chapter Two: A New Order
Optimus Prime stood on a small hill, gazing at the wreck of the spaceship. The sun had just risen behind him as he inspected the investigation of the ship. It had crashed on Earth several million years before they did; its engines had malfunctioned. The files in its computer system had been lost unfortunately so they would never discover its mission or destination. Nobody on board had survived the crash, and the resulting explosions inside the hull.
As soon as they were done they would hold a ceremony for the deceased. But, first, they had to make sure there were no weapons left in the ship: the human government had expressed their desire to study it. According to their agreement they didn't share military technology with the humans but the leader of the Autobots knew that if they were to disobey that rule by accident, their hosts wouldn't complain.
He climbed down the hill and made his way towards his wounded soldiers. The battle against the Decepticons had gone better than expected but there always were injuries. As always, Ratchet had taken care of them.
This time, it was Blaster who had suffered the most extensive damage. He claimed it was Soundwave who had shot him right when the battle had begun. Optimus didn't say anything about the matter, but his personal opinion was that when it came to Blaster's counterpart and arch-rival, their Communications Officer was a little paranoid. At the moment, he was telling the story for the umpteenth time to an apathetic Jazz who was hurt on his shoulder.
Blaster looked up when he saw their commander.
"Sir?"
"Blaster, I think you should rest a bit. Maybe go into a light recharge. It would help you, not to mention Jazz, to recover."
Blaster's face turned bright red. "Yes, sir. I just can't get over how that glitch sneaked up on me."
"Relax, my friend. I'm afraid you can repay him soon enough."
Bumblebee appeared beside them. "Sir, we're done with the scouting. No weapons found."
"Good. Prepare to move out."
The young scout frowned. "Sir, I don't mean to be disrespectful but are you sure it's a good idea to let the humans have it?" He motioned at the spacecraft.
"They have asked for our permission to study it, and I see no harm in letting them do so." Optimus then turned his head and found Prowl with his optics; his SIC was reprimanding the Twins for something. "Are Ratchet and Wheeljack done yet?"
"No. We've found several machines in the storage area but they're all busted. Wheeljack wants to see if they can repair them."
"Machines? What kind exactly?"
"Wheeljack says they were used to create spare parts. They think this was a trading vessel heading for a colony or something."
"I see. You haven't found out what happened to Megatron, have you?"
Bumblebee shrugged. "If you ask me, he got shot, that's all. We found signs of a fight in one of the storage rooms."
"Starscream?"
"Probably."
It was less than surprising. "Did you find anything else in that room?"
"Nope, just some boxes and another old machine. But that got hit as well."
Optimus thought about it for a moment. It seemed to be nothing more than another attempt by Starscream to take command, except that everything indicated he had succeeded this time. This would mean a huge change for everyone; throughout the war, Megatron had been the leader of the Decepticons. Depending on Starscream's leadership skills, now the Decepticon army would either fall apart or become even stronger. Unlike many of his soldiers, the leader of the Autobots refused to underestimate the Seeker.
It was too early to jump to conclusions though. The Decepticons have taken Megatron with them, which meant he was likely to be still online. They might just repair him, and then things would be back to normal in no time. For now, he would have to put speculation aside and wait.
What bothered him more was Soundwave. It had been his behavior that had made him wonder in the first place if something major had happened in the other faction. The Decepticon Communications Officer wasn't known for leaving a battle before anyone else, yet he had practically fled from the valley the previous night; he hadn't been heading towards the Nemesis either. Optimus had a feeling they shouldn't allow him to wander around, but finding Soundwave was far easier said than done. If he could easily disappear in their own base then how were they supposed to catch him out here? Still, he had sent out Hound and Mirage to a human city nearby: judging by the directions he had taken, that was the Decepticon's most likely destination. As for why, he couldn't for the life of him figure it out.
Except if he was hiding from Starscream. Being Megatron's most loyal officer, Soundwave was bound to have clashes with the Seeker. What Optimus didn't understand was why Starscream would try to hunt him down. The Air Commander wasn't stupid; he doubted he would drive away someone who could become one of his most powerful allies.
But again, he could only speculate until more information came in.
"Optimus Prime?"
Startled from his thoughts, he glanced down to see a human he hadn't met before. "Yes?"
The human cleared his throat. He wore a suit, a piece of clothing Optimus had long before learned to associate with the government. His voice didn't quiver when he spoke again, even though his heart rate betrayed his nervousness.
"My name is Dr. Jack Mandorn. I am the leader of the scientific team that will be studying the spaceship."
"Welcome then, Dr. Mandorn. How may I help you?"
"I came to check if everything is going well. Have your soldiers finished inspecting the ship?"
Optimus nodded. "Yes, although our scientists are still examining some of the devices found. You and your team can start your work soon."
"They will only arrive later in the morning," Mandorn said. "You have plenty of time."
"We will take the remains of the crew with us so that we can arrange a proper burial," Optimus said. "We might also take a few of the machines, if we can repair them. We will leave everything else here for you to study."
"Of course. My condolences."
"I did not have the pleasure to know any of them, but thank you. Our scientist, Wheeljack, will soon seek you out to brief you on what we learnt from our investigation."
"Thank you."
"Dr. Mandorn, I also have to warn you. We have good reason to think that not all Decepticons have returned to their base. They might be still nearby, although their intentions are unknown. Security is of the essence."
"There will be military troops watching over us. If you think we are in danger then maybe you should talk to their leader, Lieutenant Vasquez."
"I will. We shall remain in contact with them so that if you do get attacked, we can come to your aid."
He could see genuine gratitude in Mandorn's eyes as he nodded in acknowledgement. He decided that he liked this human: he seemed honest and brave. Neither characteristic was common among the politicians and diplomats he usually had to work with, and he welcomed the change.
He watched Mandorn as he excused himself and wandered off to examine the hull from outside. Optimus could see he was a typical scientist who couldn't wait to discover something new. He smiled to himself: just like Wheeljack. It was intriguing how different and yet how similar their species were.
He averted his gaze and fixed it on his soldiers, who were chatting in the shadow of the hull. He hoped Ratchet and Wheeljack would be done soon; he didn't intend to stay here for long. The ancient spacecraft reminded him of the times before the war and how much they had lost. It made it difficult to focus on the future.
But right now he had work to do. He had to contact this Lieutenant Vasquez and prepare him for what might come. No matter what was going on with the Decepticons, he wasn't about to let innocent people die in the crossfire.
- o -
Starscream decided that things were looking good. At the moment he sat on Megatron's throne debating what to do now that he had finally reached the top of the command chain. It should be something to strengthen his currently fragile position, of that he was certain.
He expected the Coneheads and the Stunticons to be easy to handle: the latter were young, the former stupid. The Combaticons he could blackmail into supporting him. Skywarp and Thundercracker would be loyal to him unless they found out Megatron was alive.
That was the biggest problem. Anyone who might follow his lead would turn against him if they knew that Megatron hadn't ceased to function yet. He had allowed them to bring the body back to the Nemesis because he knew there was no way to repair it. Sure enough, Scrapper had just reported that they had been unable to save the leader. Starscream hadn't bothered to act like he was sorry.
"Hey, Screamer!"
Starscream pursed his lips. "It's Lord Starscream now, Skywarp. Try to remember it, unless you want a new vocal processor to replace the one I'm going to tear out."
"Whatever, Lord Screamer. Just thought I'd tell you that Blitzwing and Astrotrain are gathering supporters to overthrow you."
Starscream looked at his wingmate now; Skywarp was standing at the door. The self-appointed leader of the Decepticons smirked.
"Where're they?"
"In the rec. room. What're you gonna do?"
"Remind them why I have always been their superior officer." Starscream got up from the throne and walked past the other Seeker.
Skywarp grinned. "Go Screamer! Show'em who's boss!"
He warped out just in time to avoid the shots.
- o -
Upon walking into the rec. room, Starscream found himself in a beginning rebellion. Blitzwing was standing in the middle of the room with Astrotrain by his side. It was interesting that they had teamed up again. Both of them were present on Starscream's imaginary list of problematic characters. They were holding a speech at the moment and the Air Commander (he had no intention to leave that title behind) could see that many of the soldiers were close to joining them.
"I'm telling you," Blitzwing said, "that glitch-head's going to ruin us. He's no leader and he'll never be, no matter what titles he gives himself. If we let him do what he wants, we won't stand a chance against the Autobots."
"Exactly. We have to stop him while we still can," Astrotrain said.
Clamor of approval filled the room.
Starscream narrowed his optics. How did they dare criticize him? They were nothing compared to him, no more than two rambling fools who didn't know a thing about leading an army.
"What interesting ideas you have," he said. The room fell silent as everyone turned to look at him. Blitzwing and Astrotrain weren't intimidated by his presence: defiance was written on their face as they glared at him.
Starscream moved closer, like a predator stalking its prey. "I'm curious now. If you think I'm unfit for leadership, then you must have excellent ideas on how to defeat our enemies. What have you come up with? Zone defense with an army of trains?"
Blitzwing straightened up. "You're not scaring us, Starscream. Nobody wants you for leader."
"Problem is, this is not a democracy. I couldn't care less about what you want."
"Is that what you told Soundwave too?" Blitzwing said.
"Soundwave is a traitor, not to mention completely crazy. He killed Megatron, attacked me as well, and then flew away."
"Only the Coneheads are stupid enough to believe that story."
"Then go and see for yourself or ask the Constructicons; they've just finished examining the corpse."
"Well, if it was really Soundwave who killed Megatron then he should be the new leader," Astrotrain said. "You did nothing to earn the title."
"You think so? Then I guess it's time to change that."
Starscream had already prepared his null-rays and now he fired. Astrotrain went down in a single shot. Blitzwing managed to fire back but Starscream dodged and took him out as well. The room erupted in cries and yells. No other shot was fired, though; Starscream pointed his null-rays at the general public. Skywarp and Thundercracker appeared beside him.
"Anybody else care to challenge me?" Starscream asked, one of his trademark smirks playing on his lips. He had been Megatron's highest-ranked officer for a reason and everyone at the base knew that. They just needed to be shown that yes, he was still as powerful as ever.
The reminder worked. They gave him angry looks but nobody dared to move.
"Good," he said. "As for my first order as leader: I want Soundwave offline. Since he's probably cloaked his energy signal, we'll have to search for him. I think he's still close to the shipwreck so first we'll go there. Any questions?"
"Yeah. How do you think we can catch a professional spy?" Thundercracker asked.
Starscream flashed his wingmate a dark smile. "Be creative."
In truth, he was wondering as well. How was one supposed to catch Soundwave, who was infamous for being able to fool an entire army?
The answer was simple: one needed to think like he would. It was safe to assume that he didn't approve of Megatron's current state and wanted to change him back. He would soon go back to the ship.
And when he did, the trap would be waiting.
- o -
"All right. Tell me you've suddenly developed a sense of humor and this is a joke."
The look his creator gave Frenzy convinced him that it definitely wasn't a joke. The young Decepticon glanced at his brother for support, but Rumble seemed just as lost as he was.
They were hiding in an abandoned warehouse. Rays of sunlight filtered through the holes in the roof and enlightened the crates and boxes scattered around the building. But the cassettes weren't interested in the environment: they were busy being astonished at the sparkling lying on top of a large table.
Soundwave may not have been a qualified medic, but he had a lot of field experience. Together with his knowledge of sparklings, this had allowed him to save Megatron. The little one was in recharge at the moment, still trying to recover from the shock.
Frenzy looked at the Communications Officer. Soundwave was sitting on the ground, tending to his own damages at last – lucky thing he always carried a medkit with him. He didn't look tired but all his creations could sense that he was, in fact, exhausted. He hadn't recharged for two earthen days and had also spent almost a joor repairing the tiny, fragile wiring of the sparkling.
In two breems the temporary repairs were done. Soundwave put away the medkit and got up.
"You should recharge," Ravage said from his place atop a large crate.
"Negative. Safety level of building: low. Staying here would be inadvisable."
Rumble rolled his optics. "Come on, boss. We're gonna stand guard for ya. Go get some sleep."
"Exactly," Frenzy added. "We can't move anyway. We've got to wait till night."
After some moments of debating, Soundwave had to admit the suggestion was logical.
"Rumble?" he said, lying down.
"Hmm?"
"Stop using human expressions."
"Oh. Sure. Got it." The purple cassette grinned and saluted.
Frenzy shook his head. "So, who should be first?"
Ravage snorted. "You wouldn't notice Omega Supreme if he was trying to sneak up on us. Better leave the guard duty to Laserbeak, Buzzsaw and me."
Rumble glared at his older brother. "Are ya sayin' I'm ignorant?"
"Oh, of course not. Why would I say such a thing?"
Rumble clenched his fists. "I'll beat the crap outta ya!"
Ravage laughed and jumped off the crate. He headed outside. Rumble almost went after him but Frenzy caught him in time.
"What the slag are you doing? Do you want to sit there and watch out for Autobots all day?"
Rumble grunted but stopped. "Just ya wait!" he yelled. "Crazy panther…"
A moment later they both felt their creator's gaze on them.
"Rumble?"
The youngling humped up his shoulders. "Yeah, boss?"
"Stop yelling."
"Uh, sure. Sorry, boss."
Soundwave was back in recharge in seconds. The twins stared at him.
"Ya know, I'm kinda worried about him," Rumble whispered.
Frenzy nodded. "He recharges way too little. And if we stay out here, chances are that won't change anytime soon."
They walked to the table. Megatron recharged in peace and let out tiny clicks every now and then.
"Never thought I'd say this about Megatron," Frenzy said, "but he's sorta cute."
"Yeah. Not sure he's worth it, though. All this trouble."
Frenzy shrugged. "I won't question Soundwave's judgment. Besides, once this is over we'll waltz into the Nemesis and save the day."
"If ya say so."
Frenzy grinned. "Come on, bro. How hard can it be to beat Screamer?"
"Heh, true. That dumbass."
"Don't use human terms."
"Slag it, Ravage."
"Besides, would it kill you to come outside? You say you're concerned about Soundwave but you keep talking and yelling right into his audio sensors."
Before Rumble could've retorted, Soundwave's voice boomed through the link. "Argument unnecessary. Chances of quiet: zero."
"Ouch. That hurt, boss."
Frenzy sighed. "Come on. Let's let him recharge. And keep quiet."
"It's ya who's talkin' all the time."
"Do not leave the vicinity of the building. Should anything happen, alert me. Soundwave out."
The two cassettes walked out of the warehouse, onto an alley. They couldn't see Ravage, even though the link told them he was in the neighboring building. Their eldest brother could be just as stealthy as their creator.
Frenzy was certain he and his twin brother would never be like that.
"So, what're we gonna do?" Rumble asked.
"No idea. There's nothing around here. Not even a video games store we could raid."
This was going to be a long day indeed.
- o -
"Wave?"
Soundwave stirred. He hadn't fully recharged yet.
"Waaaaaaaave!"
He onlined his optics and jerked back his head when he saw Megatron's face inches from his own. The sparkling yelped and fell off of his chest, but he caught him. At the same time, he scanned his surroundings – no danger detected. He could sense his cassettes scattered around the building but that was all – the only notable thing was that it was already dark outside. Apparently, he had spent the entire day recharging. He returned his gaze to Megatron.
"Define problem," he said.
"I'm bored!"
Soundwave got up and walked to the table. Megatron sensed what was about to come and squirmed, but to no avail. Soundwave put him on the table and held him down.
"Be still," he commanded.
Naturally, the sparkling didn't obey. Soundwave emitted infra-sounds to soothe him and it worked.
At least as long as he didn't try to inspect the repairs because, at that point, Megatron began to squirm and giggle.
"Is he ticklish?" Frenzy asked, appearing next to his creator.
"Sparklings: generally ticklish," Soundwave replied.
Having finished the short examination, he released Megatron. The sparkling dropped to the ground and trotted away, only to fall on his aft after literally running into Rumble.
"Ya okay, lil' fella?" Rumble grinned. "Ya better watch out around tha' big mechs."
Frenzy frowned. "Like you?"
"What do ya mean?"
"Nothing."
"Ya think I'm small?"
"Of course not."
Rumble glared at him. "I don't believe ya."
"You two produce the dumbest conversations I've ever heard," Laserbeak said. He flew in through a broken window and sat on a barrel.
"Nobody asked ya, birdie."
Tired of being ignored, Megatron started to cry.
Rumble threw him an annoyed look. "Someone, shut him up."
Soundwave walked over and lifted the sparkling. Megatron hiccupped then fell silent, beginning to fiddle with his shoulder cannon.
"I can't believe we used to be like that," Frenzy said.
"Trust me, you did," Ravage said, walking in and taking a seat on a box.
"Affirmative," Soundwave said. "The same applies for you."
Ravage sent the mental equivalent of a grimace through the link. Rumble laughed.
"So, what are we going to do with him?" Frenzy asked.
"Change him back, what else?" Rumble said.
Soundwave looked down at Megatron. Of course, changing him back into his former self would be most preferable, although that might be more difficult than his youngling thought. In order to find a reverse process, first he had to know what had happened inside that ship. And there was only one way to find it out.
"Laserbeak, prepare for flight. Operation: reconnaissance."
