Disclaimer: Transformers © Hasbro; Meanstreak © yours truly.

Reminder: Please be aware that some - if not all - of these characters are not acting as their G1/movie counterparts for reasons that will be explained... eventually.


Starscream hadn't exactly expected a warm reception upon returning to the Nemesis, but it wasn't as if he'd been expecting to be thrown into the wall the second he stepped into the council room either. Yet there he was, picking himself up off the floor while keeping a wary optic on the current leader of the Decepticon army.

By right of succession, it should be he in the role of leader; however, when he'd taken the task of leading an advance squadron, Shockwave had stepped into the role Starscream was essentially abandoning. A part of the jetformer had bristled at the idea in the beginning, but the four years he'd spent planet-side had given him the time to step back and take a look at his life.

By the time of the Mission City battle, he had long since decided that the secrets carried by so few of their faction were far more important than who was calling the shots amongst the Decepticons.

Plus, he mused as he stood tall once more to stare into the single optic glaring at him, Shockwave was far more suiting for the role of maniacal dictator that Megatron had cultivated.

"Report," the larger mech commanded, displeasure apparent in his form as Starscream took the time to brush non-existent specks of dust from his armour before turning his attention back to him.

"Megatron is dead," the jetformer said calmly. There was no verbal reaction from any of the other Cybertronians in the room, but he could almost feel the shock and dismay of those who'd been truly loyal to the former leader; two mechs off to one side seemed to thrum silently with relief while the optics of the only fembot in the room seemed to brighten with pleasure at the news.

So those three are still holding true, he thought to himself, smirking mentally when a brief reprimand touched his mind before slipping away again. He should have been more trusting, at least in that small number.

"And the All Spark?" Shockwave asked, his words holding a hint of aggravation with Starscream's brevity thus far. "Were you able to retrieve it?"

"Also destroyed. One of the planet's higher life forms was responsible for both." Shockwave's entire form thrummed with annoyance at the news. "There is nothing for the Decepticon Empire on this rock."

He didn't even see the mech move; one moment he was giving his report and the next there was a powerful hand clamped around his throat, pressing him hard into the wall already dented from his earlier collision with it. Starscream knew that if he remained still, Shockwave would crush his vocalizer and leave him effectively mute. It wouldn't be the first time the mono-opticed de facto leader had done that to one of those under his command.

"Are you actually suggesting," the dictator snarled, "that we leave this world to Prime's forces?"

"There is nothing for us on this rock," Starscream pressed, already noting that his vocalizer was crackling. If the pressure continued for much longer it would take a miracle worker to reverse the damage. "We should return to Cybertron and-"

"And die with our planet?" Shockwave growled and slammed the Air Commander into the wall one final time before releasing him. "True, Prime and his men will shortly outnumber us in this sector, but there are more of us than them. We shall reconvene in one stellar cycle to decide on our next course of action. You are all," he added with a sweeping glare of his single optic, "dismissed until then." With that, the large mech stalked out of the council room, followed by his personal guards. The others trickled out of the room, most ignoring Starscream although the two that had expressed relief paused for a moment to meet his gaze before passing by.

"Starscream," a quiet voice rasped close to a whisper beside him. The jetformer looked over as he climbed back to his feet once more, taking in the form of the femme. She wasn't small or sleek like most other fembots, instead having a bit more bulk to her. It was likely that alone keeping her from being fully disregarded amongst the ranks; scouts, good ones, were not easy to come by, and Meanstreak was definitely good at her task.

"Yes?" Starscream asked, wincing at the sound of his voice. Shockwave really had fragged it up; the whining pitch coming from his vocalizer was annoying even to him.

Meanstreak quirked a brow ridge but didn't comment. "Soundwave requested that I escort you to your quarters," was all she said before turning to head down the hall.

Starscream followed, allowing his sensors to become used to the quiet femme's presence again. There had been a time that she would be telling him everything that had happened in his absence; now, however, she was more likely to hold her glossa. Just another result of Shockwave's favoured method of shutting up those who said something he didn't like; Meanstreak could now only speak in either her quiet rasping whisper or a harsh shout, reserved for the battlefield and emergencies.

It could have been worse than two-volumes-only or a high-pitched whine. Shockwave had rendered one of their number fully mute thousands of years ago.

"I will speak with Thundercracker and Skywarp," the fembot said as they arrived at the door to Starscream's quarters. "Whatever is decided, we shall be ready to follow within the stellar cycle." She gave a brief nod of her head and continued down the corridor.

The jetformer watched until she turned the corner, instinctively reacting to a Cybertronian younger than himself in the manner he'd long ago grown accustomed. Once she'd vanished from sight, he sighed and rested a clawed hand over his cockpit. There was an answering tap, still weak, but reassuring the mech all the same. He keyed in his pass code and stepped into his quarters, locking the door behind him.

::You should know better than to antagonize, Star,:: flitted through his mind, a thread of amusement accompanying it.

"Why must you continue to call me that?" Starscream asked, giving the other mech in the room an annoyed glare. The expression held for only a few seconds before he relaxed marginally and crossed to where the other stood. "How bad has it gotten?" he asked quietly.

Soundwave gave the equivalent of a mental sigh, the only sound from him a huff of air through his intakes. ::You remember how Shockwave was before you left. Multiply that by ten thousand and you may have an approximation.::

Starscream's expression darkened. "And I noticed that no attempts have yet been made to repair either your vocalizer or Meanstreak's."

::Of course. He does not wish to have his orders questioned or for a femme to remind anyone that she is around unless it could save a mech in battle.:: Soundwave's thought-speech trailed off for a moment. ::What of Frenzy?::

The jetformer knew what the true question was, and in reply opened his cockpit to allow the small silver mech to crawl out as best he could. Soundwave waited until Frenzy was clinging to the outside of Starscream's armour to reach for the Cassetticon; Frenzy made a tiny sound of greeting before curling up against the metallic blue mech.

::Not nearly as bad as I had feared from the state of your thoughts, Star,:: Soundwave noted, sending a wave of love to the youngling and smiling as it was returned. ::Rumble has been climbing the walls since you arrived on the Nemesis, he has been that worried over his twin.::

"Lies! All lies!" a voice, pitched at a frequency just below Frenzy's spoke up from an adjoining room. "We just know how Shockwave is, that's all!"

Soundwave's frame shook in a silent laugh as Starscream turned his optics to the ceiling as if it could answer all his questions. "Who did we wrong, to have been given such a willful sparkling?" the jetformer asked no one in particular.

As Rumble began to vehemently deny that he was a sparkling anymore, drawing the attention of his brothers and sister, Soundwave turned his attentions back to Frenzy and began making repairs as best he could while upholding a silent conversation with his bondmate. ::There is little choice, now.::

::Technically, Soundwave, there are two choices. We remain here and risk discovery, or we try to seek asylum.::

::When shall we leave?::

::We can't remain here too long, nor can we be seen leaving. Given how many of us will defect, it won't take Shockwave more than a stellar cycle to notice we're gone.::

Soundwave silently went over their number – himself, his bonded, their younglings, the fembot scout, and his bonded's trine – and agreed. So many vanishing without a trace would be missed almost immediately.

They would have to act quickly upon arriving on Earth.