The longest chapter so far and it's all Decepticon.


"Shockwave," Megatron's voice spoke in a dangerously slow and soft voice which actually made Shockwave, a very rare target of his master's wrath, nervous, "when exactly was the Seeker's new flight room meant to be ready?"

Pausing in his work, Shockwave's single red optic turned to face the door where Megatron had appeared though he hadn't bothered to come further into the room.

"It's difficult to give an exact figure, Lord Megatron," Shockwave replied, collecting himself and straightening up from his desk, "Facilities for indoor flight are highly difficult to construct and maintain."

Megatron's finger, the one that belonged to his right arm - his fusion canon arm - tapped against his leg in frustration.

"I presume," Megatron growled, "you are aware of what Soundwave has just described to me as Seeker Psychosis? It is not, as I was previously lead to believe, some humourous comedy act that Starscream's team liked to act out while in the throes of Cabin Fever."

Had Shockwave the ability to look startled or nervous, that would be the face presented in front of the Decepticon leader. "...I have, Lord Megatron," he answered in as calm a voice as he could.

Megatron made a 'humm' sound and casually glanced around Shockwave's office where schematics and designs and lines of code all for the future Flight Room were spread out on every available surface. There was no sign, of course, of any 'Thank You Card' from Starscream.

"And exactly when was this information supposed to be divulged to me, Shockwave?" Megatron asked. Shockwave had never felt more like Starscream in his life. For a fleeting moment, the scientist almost began to understand and even... feel sorry for Megatron's wretched SIC.

"I... did not feel the need to trouble you with that information at the present time," Shockwave said in a voice that was just as emotionless as Soundwave's although he was feeling plenty of emotion on the inside, "I admit the error in my judgement."

"Oh I'm glad to hear that," Megatron muttered, returning his sole attention to his scientist, "Very glad indeed. Now." His voice dropped into a threatening tone. "What's your solution except to get a move on with those new facilities?"

"It can sometimes take a while before the effects of Psychosis become dangerous, my liege," Shockwave hurriedly replied, "I would estimate we have a couple of earth weeks before any action is needing to be taken."

It didn't seem to appease Megatron as much as Shockwave had hoped.

"A couple of things stand out about that statement, Shockwave," his Master began, folding his great arms, "You say it "'sometimes' takes a while" which gives the idea that 'sometimes' it does NOT take a while. The other thing is the word 'estimate'. When I have a small force of sixteen insane Seekers trapped on the Nemesis with me, I'd like definitive facts and statistics, not estimations!"

"Like all things, Seeker Psychosis affects the victim in different ways and at different speeds," Shockwave went on, desperate to salvage something from this turn of events, "I cannot give concrete statistics until the effects have begun to wear in."

"So your suggestion is?"

This was Shockwave's only chance. "...Evacuate the Nemesis and relocate to the fortress below, leaving the Seekers contained up here," he suggested, "I shall lock myself in here until my work is done. Then, once I have successfully given the Seekers access to their new facilities, the Decepticons may return."

Megatron seemed to consider this in silence. Who knew what thoughts were ticking about inside his head.

"Any news on the Autobot surveillance?" he asked, his voice now void of the harsh tones that were usually reserved for Starscream.

Relieved, Shockwave shook his head. "Still strong, my Lord."


Wheezing Arrow almost squealed in surprise as a blue arm slammed against the door in front of him, barring the way. He turned terrified red optics to his leader.

"Do NOT go in there!" Starscream hissed, "That is MY room!"

"I thought all of this was your room?" He waved a hand around behind him where only a couple of other Seekers were milling about, sharing in one another's grief at being denied flight.

"It is. But so's that bit," Starscream told him, nodding to the door that lead to another smaller room at the back of Starscream's main quarters, "Especially that bit. And it's mine!"

It had been only a week since their daily flying routine outside the Nemesis were brought to a stop and, for a flock that was used to taking frequent flights on a daily basis, the cold-turkey quit was causing quite a bit of distress.

A mix of frustration and pent up flying energy gnawed in Wheezing Arrow's spark and, all of a sudden, he lost focus on who he was.

The Seekers had two languages: one verbally spoken and the other, a more primitive language, communicated through body language. No other Decepticon was aware of the secret language between the Air Command, not even Megatron. 'Wing Speak' was a spark-born ability which allowed silent but very basic conversation. The position and height of a Seeker's wings could tell the rest of the flock of the current 'mood' while wing movements such as flicks and twitches and slow flaps could say a variety of things.

Wings were also used to show respect - especially to those who ranked higher than you - and, right now, Wheezing Arrow was seriously breaching the Seeker code.

"OI!" Starscream snarled venomously, "Don't start! Knock those wings down an inch!"

Wheezing Arrow's wings had crept up a little too high for a Seeker who was addressing the Air Commander. Only Starscream had the authority to hold his wings at that particular angle. Anyone else who dared present his wings like that to the leader either had a death threat or was challenging the throne, so as to speak.

As though he were snapped from a trance, Arrow shook his head and stared at Starscream in terror, immediately lowering his wings, unable to believe what he'd done.

"Who's Alpha?" Starscream growled in a low voice, lifting his wings over their heads and baring his talons. The other Seeker slowly edged away from him, his head low.

"...You are," he whimpered.

Starscream seemed to relax a little. "So are you going to try going into my private room?"

"...No."

"Good."

Not waiting to be punished, Wheezing Arrow fled Starscream's quarters, startling Ion Storm on his way out.

Starscream briefly gave his private room door a worried look before glancing around to make sure he wasn't been observed and discretely hopping inside, locking the door firmly behind him.

Nearby, Thundercracker and Skywarp, who was still feeling a little touchy about Rumble and Frenzy, had seen and heard the exchange with absolute shock, paying little mind to their leader's skulking actions.

"Did Arrow just attempt a dominate display? To Starscream?" Thundercracker whispered to his Trine Mate.

The Elite Trine weren't always the most loyal of friends to one another (in fact, there were times they were all too happy to get each other in trouble for the sake of a little entertainment) but when it came to rankings, Thundercracker and Skywarp were well aware of their prestigious positions as the Right and Left wings of the Air Commander and they were NOT prepared to give up their status to the likes of another Seeker.

If Starscream lost his title of 'Alpha', Thundercracker and Skywarp would lose their rights to demand total and completely reasonable respect and dominance over the others.

And they'd have to wait in line for their energon instead of cutting to the front like they always do.

"The glitch!" so Skywarp hissed back, "I'll give him a little reminder of the pecking order."


Starscream's private room was considerably more cosy that his main quarters but that might have been due to the size. Compared to the rest of the room outside the door, the inner room was tiny, only just fitting in a seat and a few odd pieces around on the floor. In reality, the room was meant to be a storage room but Starscream had refurbished it into a private den where he could hide from other Decepticons and his duties as Second in Command for a while.

It was also an effective place to hide additional stowaways.

Now, let's get this straight: Starscream was no Bumblebee.

Starscream had little love, if any, for the human population of planet Earth and his response to stepping on one was a deadpan face and an emotionless exclaimation of "whoops".

He found their tiny size to be unsettling, their unpredictability unnerving.
Their fleshy organic bodies were creepy and their very biology baffled him.
The way they utilised things around them felt too advanced for a creature of their size and the way they seemed to stare and study Starscream was every bit as threatening as the way Starscream stared and studied them.

However, the worst thing was how humans, despite their size, their fragility, their primitive ways, had access to the Cybertronian playing field by using their vehicles - especially their jet planes. Starscream kept his distance from them at all times and the other Seekers were less than eager to share the skies with them too. It repulsed them to think that, hidden in those cockpits, were squishy organics sitting with their squishy hands all over the throttle stick and the dials and the buttons.

Of all the Seekers, Thundercracker was probably the one who tolerated them the most and had even commented that, sometimes, they could be quite cute and he wouldn't mind having one of his own if he could just get past the organic side of it. Starscream had, of course, rebuked him and told him exactly what he thought of that in as eloquent a way as Starscream could make it and the matter had been dropped.

So the last thing Starscream could reveal to the Seekers was the fact that he had gone and smuggled a human on board the Nemesis and into their fold.

For despite all that Starscream hated about them, there were certain aspects to humans that fascinated him.

Their inquisitiveness - when something interested them or peaked their curiosity, they were like children wanting to know more.
Their resilience - despite being vulnerable to biological sicknesses, they seemed to stride through life with little worry. They even were willing to amputate their limbs in certain circumstances even though they couldn't reattach body parts like Cybertronias could.
Their ferocity - they thought nothing of grouping together and angrily trying to take on something several times bigger than they were.
Their mentality - the way they seemed to pack-bond with inanimate objects, forge close friendships with some individuals and not with others, protect complete strangers with their lives despite not having any real reason to do so.

Maybe it was how Cybertronian-like they were that intrigued him the most and which lead him to allow one young human to approach him one day while he was courageous hiding from his Master's wrath.

Looking back on that fateful encounter, Starscream couldn't deny that, from a human's point of view, discovering a red white and blue Cybertronian military jet in the middle of a copse of trees in the country was, no doubt, quite strange. Said jet unfolding into a dangerous Decepticon was another matter entirely. But the human hadn't fled and, for that, Starscream rewarded it's bravery by not killing it.

Slumping into his chair and watching her brush her hair with her tiny hair brush, Starscream knew that it had been a while and he still was trying to work out why he had become so fond of little Alexis. All he could think that it was something to do with the fact that she had been kind to him and, for someone like Starscream, kindness wasn't something you came across often, if at all, among Decepticons.

She must have sensed the sudden attention because she stopped in her preening and looked over her shoulder, blinking at Starscream and blessing him with a pleased smile. She then got to her feet, toddled over towards his wide feet and held up her arms, a way of asking to be picked up.

Any other human might have balked at the thought of a Seeker's lethal claws moving towards them but Alexis seemed to trust Starscream implicitly - something that only added to Starscream's wonder.

She was a petite, dainty little creature but she seemed to hold steady footing when balancing on Starscream's smooth metal armour, holding onto his sharp knee plates if she felt herself going over.

Her favourite place to be though was in the cockpit and she would tap the glass expectantly when she wanted to get in as she was doing now.

It had taken a while before Starscream had relented to letting her sit in there, not taking to the idea of a squiggly, wiggly organic scooting about inside him but Alexis was a headstrong young woman and what she wanted she eventually got and so she accomplished the task of becoming the first human to sit within the cockpit of Air Commander Starscream.

She would often sit in there when she got tired of being cooped up in the small room because Starscream would occasionally take her for a ride out and around the Nemesis when he was off duty (it was still risky and he had to avoid the likes of Megatron, Soundwave and Shockwave as though they had cybonic plague). Alexis had her favourite spot at the back of the cockpit in the passenger seat because that was closer to Starsceam's spark and she took comfort in the pulsing 'heart-beat' she could feel in the background.

Unfortunately for her, Starscream hadn't time to take her for a walk today and he apologetically put her back down on the floor, not daring to look at her crest-fallen face.

"As soon as I'm flying again," Starscream promised her, "I'll take you for a good long ride." He wasn't sure, however, just how long that would be.


In Soundwave's room, Rumble and Frenzy were engaged in a small wrestling competition which Laserbeak and Buzzsaw seemed to be spectating with great enthusiasm. Ravage couldn't have looked more disinterested but he did glance up when Soundwave entered his room, his hand already reaching up to his shoulder.

"Minicons, return," he ordered. They all stopped and looked surprised; there had been no word that there was a mission planned.

"Ooh!" Rumble eagerly said and clapped his hands, "Are we going somewhere?"

"Megatron's orders: we are retreating," Soundwave explained. It wasn't the answer his minicons were expecting.

"...Re-? Retreating?" Rumble repeated, turning to Frenzy and Ravage for confirmation, "But... from where? This is our base..."

"All Decepticons must evacuate," Soundwave said in an authoritive tone, "Now return."

Rather than choose to argue further, Rumble sensibly accepted what was happening and succumbed to the call of his Commander, jumping and transforming to fit snuggly into his compartment in Soundwave's chest. Frenzy was right behind him and both Buzzsaw and Laserbeak followed suit. Ravage was the last to enter, pouncing up and sliding in smoothly so that Soundwave's chest compartments now all had residents.

Soundwave closed up his chest and, feeling a little more heavier than he did before, collected his small number of personal belongings and closed up his room for the last time. He sincerely hoped that Shockwave wouldn't take long in his work so that he could return and everyone could get back to doing their usual job of winning the war.

Outside in the corridor, the Decepticon scientist was scolding a very sullen-faced Mixmaster who had been trying to run to catch up with the other Constructicons.

"Go slow," Shockwave told him, "We don't want to give the Seekers the idea that there's something wrong. Evacuate slowly and casually."

It dawned on Soundwave that he hadn't seen the Seekers in a while but that was probably because they were trying to avoid the others in an attempt to show that there was nothing wrong with them.

Clearly, everyone thought of each other as idiots on this ship.

That was certainly the case a good distance away as an oblivious Blitzwing, who shouldn't have been there at all, went dancing down the corridors in the midst of a merry time. He was prone to very sudden and very disconcerting personality switches at times but mainly drifted between a crazed tank who loved to violently fight and a crazed jet who liked to laugh at violent fighting.

It was safe to say that he and Skywarp were not allowed to be alone in the same room together anymore.

Turning a corner, he was blissfully unaware of the approach of one of Skywarp's teammates until he ploughed straight into the Seeker with a grunt. There was a annoyed hiss.

"Watch where you're stepping three-face!"

Blitzwing hopped up and down indignantly for a second, ready to have a throw down. "How's about YOU watch where... where..."

He broke off once he realised who it was: the Seeker's last survivng femme. And she was looking royally ticked off.

Recalling that news had come about the potential instability of the flying Decepticons, Blitzwing was quick to correct himself for fear that he was going to be cannibalised, "Actually, you know what? You're right and I'm wrong. Very sorry. Please don't go insane on me."

Slipstream's claws were rigid but she tilted her head curiously for a moment. "...What?"

Taking that as an opportunity to run, Blitzwing waved at her and spun around on his heel. "Bye bye," he sang and went trotting off, giggling loudly out of panic.

Unfortunately for him, Slipstream wasn't ready to let him go yet.

"What are you even doing up here?" she called after him, stalking towards him like a predator, "I thought triple-changers were meant to keep themselves in the fortress. Let me guess, Astrotrain kicked you out?"

Blitzwing knew he had to play this cool. "Turns out there's only so many times he'll let me play 'Dumb Ways To Die' on loudspeaker before he gets tired."

"Amazing," Slipstream grinned, a sadistic gleam in her optics, "I only have to spend two seconds with you before I get tired."

"Oh are you tired?" asked Blitzwing, bouncing up and down again, "You should, I don't know, rest or something. Go and, um, you know, lie down. Back in your room."

The grin was now gone from Slipstream. "...What in the actual pit is wrong with you?" she asked.

"Hey, you need to calm down!" cried Blitzwing, holding out his hands, "I think the question is, what's wrong with YOU, lady? I'm not the one whinging about not using my wings. Look at me!" He then bent over backwards and turned into a tank, trundling down the corridors in the direction of the nearest exit. "Ruthless!" he called out in triumph.


From that strange encounter, Slipstream walked in a daze, her vision dipping in and out of focus from time to time, fleeting moments of time just skipping past her.

She had no recollection of that last corridor she came down at all and if she'd stopped to ponder on that, she might have grown quite scared but, as it happened, she was distracted by her fellow Seekers upon turning a corner on her way to Starscream's quarters and finding the hallways full of them.

They were scratching their necks and behind their shoulders, gathered around Skywarp and Wheezing Arrow as they appeared to be trying to strangle one another much to the encouragement of the watching crowd. It was painfully obvious that the everyone's processors were beginning to wear down and there was nothing that could be done about it at the moment but wait.

Thundercracker was presiding over the event in complete silence.

"...What's going on here?" Slipstream asked and got the expected response.

"None of your business." After that, Thundercracker looked guilty, as he always did, and hunched his shoulders, as he always did, and very slowly drew out a long sigh, as he always did. "If you're looking for Starscream, he's in his room."

As it turned out, she was looking for Starscream but she took a few moments to reflect on the scene outside Starscream's doors.

"...Is this really it?" she murmured, blinking away her blurry vision again, "No flying for a few Earth spins and we descend into... this?"

Thundercracker's optic violently twitched but he didn't seem to notice that. He nodded over the crowd. "...Bitstream hasn't moved in hours."

Sure enough, the dark blue Seeker was slumped on his knees with his head turned up towards the ceiling, staring at one of the small lights above him.

"I'm not sure if he's stuck or if he's trying to burn out his visionary sensors."

Beyond Bitstream, the rest of the corridor was void of life and it was enough to remind Slipstream what the purpose of her coming was.

"Out of curiosity," she said, "have you seen any other Decepticons around lately?"

Thundercracker shrugged. "They've been avoiding me so no. Been very quiet in this sector today," he replied.

Slipstream's face darkened and without saying a word to Thundercracker, strode firmly over to Starscream's doors and entered them without waiting for permission. There was no-one else in the room when she came in and Starscream's glossy red, blue and silver frame was the most eye-catching piece out of everything in there.

He was lounging in his chair, foot tapping against the side and hiding his face behind his sharp fingers when he briefly peered past them to see who had entered.

"Oh for slag's sake, Slipstream, not now," he groaned, "Spare me your cutting words for a few cycles, would you?"

"Who said I wanted to waste energon talking to you?" Slisptream scoffed, shaking her vision back into place again.

Starscream dropped his hand and glared at her as he got to his feet. "You have that face on," he said, stepping towards his store of energon high-grade.

"Face?" Slipstream patted her cheeks. "This is my only face."

"And as beautiful as it is, it's giving a plain message that you're wanting to talk to me."

"You know us so well, Commander," Slipstream muttered but soon dropped her snarky attitude, "I've only come to give you a report. Spying and collecting information is my job, after all."

"Mmmmm." Starscream took a long drink and smacked his lips. "Very well, give your report."

"The Decepticons are avoiding us," Slipstream told him and found all her worries and anxieties pouring out of her mouth, "We haven't seen Megatron since the ban, Shockwave hasn't said anything, we've barely-"

"Slipstream," Starscream's gravelly voice interrupted her, unintentionally soothing her flyaway thoughts, "what are you trying to say?"

Slipstream rang her sharp fingers together. "...I think they're leaving us."

Her commander looked bewildered and frowned, lowering his glass and wings. "...How do you mean?"

"I caught Blitzwing wandering about up here."

"That can't be right. Triple-changers are stationed in the fortress."

"The only way he could have gained access to the Nemesis is if the service lifts were active. I've heard them going to and fro." One second, two second, three second, four... "...I think they're leaving us." Five Second, six second, seven second, mor-

"...Seekers, with me!" Starscream shouted, abandoning his drink and utilising his long legs to cover the distance to the door, throwing it open and startling everyone outside, "All of you! WITH ME!"


"How long until everyone has cleared the Nemesis?" Megatron asked.

"93% of Decepticon forces have evacuated," Soundwave replied, "The last service lift will be any moment."

"Except for the Seekers," Megatron couldn't help but add and glanced at Shockwave, "Do they suspect?"

"I..." Shockwave began but seemed to change his tune, "Unknown. The highest probability is that they do not."

Megatron growled in irritation. "Probability, estimations, guesswork..." he muttered, "Where's concrete information when I need it?"

"Concrete information is that you and Soundwave must make your way into the fortress now," Shockwave told him, a sense of uneasiness coming over him and almost sending him back to his workspace there and then.

"Lord Megatron," Soundwave warned, "incoming message. Autobot origin."

"A message from the Autobots?" Shockwave murmured suspiciously.

"Play it through," Megatron nodded. A moment later and the voice of Optimus Prime rang out in the corridor to the listening audio receptors of the three Decepticons present.

"Megatron, my message must be brief for I fear that my fellow Autobots may... attempt to have their own additional and rather unsavoury messages passed on. We have gained intelligence from Earth's atmosphere that a large force of Quintessons, two warships, are en route to this planet. I do not expect that you are in any doubt of their intentions. Bear this warning in mind and defend yourselves."

That was it.

After the brief message, the three of them were silent for a moment.

"...We're all thinking it," Megatron murmured, "I know we're all thinking it, but don't. No-one is going to ask how this situation-"

"MEGATRON!" a distant scream from a Starscream echoed down the Nemesis, followed by the pounding of thruster heels on metal.

"...Could get worse," Megatron finished and clapped his scientist on the shoulder, "Shockwave, the best of Decepticon luck to you. Farewell."

He had barely finished his sentence before he and Soundwave sprinted for the service lift and Shockwave took off towards his room, practically diving in through the doors and deadlocking them behind him as, outside, a flock of angry Seekers realised their imprisonment.