CHAPTER 7 – THE CLOD AND THE REBEL
Tension was running high back in the cave, but it was relieved somewhat when an exuberant black-and-lilac F-15 came wheeling in with cheerful words of victory. Pleased as Garnet had been to receive that news, she knew it was too much to assume things were over and done with yet. We can't forget Zultanite's gemstone. If we don't find and bubble that, we could be reliving this lovely experience all over again in a matter of minutes. Having quickly explained the necessity of this to their 'allies,' Rose had boarded Stormbird, and Garnet a decidedly grudging Starscream, and they had set out to rejoin Amethyst, with Megatron and Ravage following.
As they approached, they saw Amethyst and Soundwave both sifting around in the rocks and the scraggly desert plants for fallen gemstones. Soundwave was gathering them in the palm of his left hand, while Amethyst was enclosing them in bubbles and warping them to the Temple as soon as she found them, but I can only see Organites, thought Garnet, anxiously. As Starscream decelerated and touched down, she kept watching intently, hoping to spot the large, iridescent cabochon of the pitiless Homeworld scientist, but she saw only one small, orangey, pearl-like stone after another. Amethyst paused in her bubbling when she saw Garnet emerging from Starscream's cockpit, and walked over to meet her, beaming widely, but much as congratulations were well-deserved, Garnet was in no mood to overlook the more pressing matter.
"Hey, Garnet, my main-" Amethyst started to greet her, jovially, only to be cut off in an urgent, unceremonious fashion:
"Zultanite's gemstone! Where- ?"
"Geez, relax," said Amethyst, frowning. "That was the first one I bubbled, of course. What, you think I'm completely crazy?"
"Is there a better word for someone who'd play blow football with a spider the size of Notre Dame?" asked Garnet, with a wry smile. "Definitely crazy … but brilliant, not to mention brave."
"I've a standard to keep up, what can I say? Can't take all the credit for the insanity, though. Where is she, my favourite aerial death machine? Come on girl, transform, and give me some skin … or steel, or whatever it is you've got," she added, as Stormbird transformed back into robot mode. As soon as her hands were fully-formed, Amethyst took an impressive standing leap and gave her a high five. "Woohoo! Team Tornado for the win! Hey, dude," she said, rather less warmly, as Megatron arrived. "The girls went and fixed your fusion problem for you."
"Evidently … You did well," replied Megatron, stiffly.
"You know, 'thank you' also works," remarked Garnet, eliciting an acidic glance for her troubles, although Megatron did immediately turn to Stormbird and address her with something not entirely unlike gratitude:
"You have my word this will not go unrecognised, Stormbird. While we are effectively outlaws on this miserable planet, there is a limit to what I can offer you, of course, but that time will hopefully be short. For the present, if Skywarp or anyone else," he emphasised, treating Starscream to a quick but threatening look, "dares to question your validity, they will have me to answer to." The young Seeker acknowledged the praise with a small smile and a respectful bow.
"QUERY, AMETHYST," Soundwave began to ask. He was holding out his hand, showing the small collection of unbubbled Organites still cupped in his palm. "IS THERE ANY URGENCY TO PUT THESE ONES IN STASIS?"
"None, I'm afraid," Rose answered for her, sadly. "Even if they reform, they will do nothing: just stand around and wait for orders from their mistress. They've no free will, no identities, barely anything that can be called a mind. This is a definition of 'mercy' that only Homeworld could have conceived of."
"AS I THOUGHT. SHALL I DESTROY THEM, THEN?"
"I've got to admit … I was wondering myself if that mightn't be kinder," confessed Garnet, grimly. "We've had no luck even trying to heal ordinary corrupted Gems, and with these ones it doesn't even seem like there's anything left to heal."
"Nevertheless … let's keep an open mind," decided Rose. "In spite of our lack of success, we haven't given up hope on any Gems, and who knows what opportunities … or miracles, even, the future might bring? Let me have them, please, Soundwave," she asked, reaching out both her hands. Soundwave tipped the Organites into her grasp, and she let Garnet and Amethyst each take a handful of them. Between them, they had the remaining Organites bubbled and teleported away in a matter of seconds. As Garnet was attending to her final gemstone, she noticed Megatron out of the corner of her eye, attempting to discreetly lift an object that had lain hidden in a partially crushed patch of prickly pears. He was trying to block their line of sight with his body, but one glimpse of its cylindrical silver barrel was enough for Garnet.
"You need to leave that," she informed him, her stern tone bordering on veiled threat, and maybe I should have thought that through, she wondered, as Megatron turned to face them, his whole look now one of swaggering defiance. He was holding the Catalyser in his right hand, and making no more effort to conceal it. The arrogant git's just going to take that as a challenge. There are some days, I really need to be more in touch with my inner Sapphire …
"I think not," answered Megatron, his tone fully justifying her pessimism. "Call it a small recompense for what your kind have put me through today."
"What we've put him though?" asked Amethyst, incredulously. "Do they give out awards for being an entitled piece of- ?"
"It won't be used as a weapon, I promise," interrupted Stormbird, with hasty diplomacy. "We'll dismantle it, research its components, but that's all."
"That's a considerable 'all,' Stormbird," said Rose, reprovingly. "I don't think your friends are ready for Gem technology. In any case, much as I'd like to trust you, you can't make that promise for them … and I'm sorry to say I don't trust your leader in the slightest."
"But … Look, I know we haven't exactly gotten off on the best foot, but we wouldn't use it for that … would we?" she asked, or rather pleaded, and Garnet could only pity her as she turned to each of her Decepticon comrades in turn for some sort of reassurance, and encountered only one coldly grim face; one sneering and amused face; and one blank, inscrutable barely-a-face. "I mean, renegades we may be, but we have some standards … don't we?" she asked, more insistently. "Anyway, you said it yourself, Megatron: this device doesn't do anything for us that we can't do ourselves … less horribly and inhumanely, too."
"Think, Stormbird," urged Megatron, his voice as grim and discouraging as his face. "The sheer power of that fusion … If we could master the principles of this process, alter the formulation of the seed crystal so that the mutations obey only us, we could have access to the ultimate bio-weapon, and at such trifling cost."
"But … we have our own combiner teams already!" she pointed out, with rising dismay. "Constructicons, Stunticons … Nothing stops us from making more, and at least they're all real beings with minds of their own. Why do we need to debase ourselves with- ?"
"Because not only has that technology already been stolen and copied by the Autobots, but it is also a significant drain on our resources!" he snapped, his unimpressive reserves of patience already spent. "I'm not minded to debate this. Just be grateful I deemed you interesting enough to expend additional resources upon, although you begin to make me regret that decision."
"I am grateful … Doesn't stop me being disgusted," she added, boldly. "You're … or at least you were better than this. After what happened to our ancestors, what you once tried to stop-"
"Your ancestors? You dare lay claim to our heritage to manipulate me, when we all know that your heritage is nothing but protoplasmic slime and dust, to which I'm strongly minded to return you," he threatened, his right fist clenched and twitching apoplectically, along with the arm and its mounted cannon. That was enough of a signal for Garnet to summon her gauntlets again, and neither Rose nor Amethyst had been idle in materialising their own weapons. He can sack her if he wants – better all round if he did – but if he tries anything worse than that, the only 'fusion' he'll be getting is when I panel-beat his ugly face right up his-
"IN THAT CASE … I WILL CLAIM THE HERITAGE," said Soundwave, interrupting both Garnet's thoughts and the impending battle. "I CONCUR WITH STORMBIRD. THIS DEVICE SHOULD NEVER BE USED AGAIN." There was a long pause, during which Megatron's face flirted with expressions of incredulity, fury, and even faint flickers of hurt, but was unable to settle on any one, so it was Starscream who eventually broke the silence, with a cynical attempt at mirth:
"Perhaps, Megatron, it would be simpler if we got these two traitors a room before we took the weapon. They've obviously got something they need to get out of their-" but the innuendo died on his lips as Megatron fixed him with a very oppressive warning stare. Clearly, he was not ready forgive Starscream's recent and far more selfish attempt at mutiny just because of the now-general state of insubordination. Rose took good note of that, and addressed him reasonably:
"A wise leader, Megatron, would at least consider what his loyal friends have to-"
"You believe yourself to be a sterling example of that?" asked Megatron, witheringly. "The rebel queen who apparently got almost her entire army killed or mutated other than this pathetic remnant of exiles? I can do quite well without your advice, thank you, and in my book loyal soldiers do not question their leader's authority."
"NOT YOUR AUTHORITY … YOUR OBJECTIVITY, PERHAPS," replied Soundwave, and although his tone was as emotionless as ever, his body language conveyed his remonstrance eloquently. "WHEN WE FIRST ARRIVED ON EARTH, HUMANITY WAS NOTHING TO US: AN IRRELEVANCE, A NUISANCE AT MOST. WE WERE CONTENT TO IGNORE THEM AS LONG AS THEY DID NOT INTERFERE IN OUR OPERATIONS. SOME ELEMENTS AMONG THEM, HOWEVER, ALLIED WITH THE AUTOBOTS AND SINCE THEN-"
"Since then they have been our enemies, yes! So what, again, are we arguing about? The Catalyser offers us a way to kill two shrikebats with one firestone: we cheaply weaponise these useless, unruly organics, just as Zultanite suggested-"
"VIABILITY QUESTIONABLE. DRONE GEM FUSIONS WITHOUT MASTER CONTROL OF TRUE GEM ARE LIKELY TO POSSESS LITTLE TO NO COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS, AND LESS INTELLIGENCE THAN EVEN A STANDARD COMBINER-"
"Silence! We will find ways to overcome that, but even if we don't that is only the half of what we will gain. Just imagine the effect on Optimus Prime's morale, when we start changing his precious humans en masse into mindlessly obedient, holographic puppets, and turn them against him. If that doesn't break the sentimental fool, I can't imagine what will."
"CONCLUSION … IS FLAWED. CONJECTURE: IT WOULD DO EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE; GALVANISE HIS RAGE, DEADEN HIS REMAINING QUALMS, AND VASTLY INCREASE HIS MOTIVATION TO DESTROY US UTTERLY. CONVERSELY, I HAVE NEVER KNOWN PRIME'S MORALE MORE SHAKEN THAN WHEN STORMBIRD, A FORMER HUMAN, DEFENDED US TO HIS FACE, AND MALIGNED HIS CAUSE. SHE ALONE IS A FAR MORE EFFECTIVE WEAPON OF PROPAGANDA AND SUBVERSION THAN THIS PLAN COULD EVER-"
"In case there's any doubt on this matter, I am sick of the sound of her name! At this stage, Soundwave, I am entirely prepared to admit that Stormbird was nothing more than a hideously unsuccessful experiment for which I bear full responsibility."
"LOGIC UNACCEPTABLE. BUT FOR HER AND AMETHYST, IT IS POSSIBLE NONE OF US WOULD STILL BE FUNCTIONING," insisted Soundwave, while Amethyst struck a heroic pose and Stormbird just looked miserable, although she did inch somewhat closer to Soundwave as he continued to defend her. "IN ANY CASE, THE EXPERIMENT HAS NOT BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL. YOU WANTED HER INDOCTRINATED AS A DECEPTICON. THAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED. SHE ARGUED OUR CASE BEFORE PRIME, AND FOUGHT ALONGSIDE US. EVEN HER OBJECTION TO THE USE OF THE CATALYSER IS ROOTED IN THE VALUES OF THE DECEPTICON CAUSE, AS SHE HERSELF-"
"I am the Decepticon cause!" snarled Megatron, impatience now having given way to total loss of self-control. "Its values are what I say they are!"
"I … NEGATIVE. THERE HAS TO BE MORE TO IT. NO ONE COULD BE INDOCTRINATED TO SERVE A CAUSE THAT IS ONLY BLIND OBEDIENCE TO ARBITARY COMMANDS. WE WILL CERTAINLY CONVERT NO AUTOBOTS TO THAT ETHOS, BUT IF WE SHOW THEM A LOGICAL DEDICATION TO THE INTERESTS OF OUR SPECIES THAT AVOIDS GRATUITOUS CRUELTY, WE WILL PREVAIL. WE COULD PURSUE STRATEGIC ALLIANCES WITH HUMAN FACTIONS SUCH AS STORMBIRD'S, WHO RESENT THE DOMINANCE OF THE AUTOBOT-ALIGNED FACTIONS, AND OFFER THEM FAVOURED STATUS IN A FUTURE CYBERTRONIAN COLONY. DIVIDE AND CONQUER. THAT WOULD BE A MORE EFFECTIVE USE OF HUMANITY AS A POTENTIAL RESOURCE, BOTH LOGISTICALLY AND IN PSYCHOLOGICAL-"
"I'm not remotely interested in human potential!" declared Megatron, with icy contempt. "If this weapon achieves nothing more than to turn the entire filthy species into apathetic zombies, and thus eliminates their drain on precious energy resources that we could better use, I'll count myself well repaid. Now, if either of you two backsliders have any ambition to redeem yourselves, I strongly suggest you fly this device back to base without further argument. Is that understood?"
"Perfectly, Leader … Not a chance," answered Stormbird, her tone unsteady out of sheer emotion, but harsh and defiant. Soundwave's was of course steady, yet somehow sadder:
"NEGATIVE, MEGATRON. I WILL KILL, CONQUER, DIE FOR OUR CAUSE IF NEED BE, BUT NOT THIS. THIS IS STRATEGICALLY UNSOUND, AND MOREOVER STRIKES AT THE MOST BASIC TENETS OF DECEPTICON-"
"You weren't even a Decepticon when I found you!" raged Megatron, bitterly. "Just some miserable freak of a defective who latched onto my cause, and now you have the audacity to lecture me on its principles? Perhaps Starscream was right about you two: you make a well-matched pair of ingrates, dragged up from nothing only to bite the hand that feeds you. You should spend some quality time together, null-rays, Starscream!"
He had sneaked the final command in so quickly that neither Soundwave nor Stormbird managed to react in time to prevent Starscream from raising his arm rifles and shooting them both simultaneously. As the beams struck them, small arcs of pinkish lightning danced across their bodies, and they collapsed, twitching and screaming. They soon fell still and silent, but Amethyst and Garnet wasted no time in filling the silence, wrathfully, while brandishing their weapons:
"You don't like taking criticism, let's see how you like taking my fists to your-" Garnet began, while willing her gauntlets to assume a larger, suitably mech-bashing size.
"Stormy!" cried Amethyst at the same time, in consternation, then both her voice and her eyes hardened as she turned her attention back to Megatron. "Oh, there's gonna be an extra pile of junk in my room tonigh-"
"Don't over-dramatise," cut in Megatron, his tone so cold and leaden that it did actually dampen their battle-rage somewhat. "They're only stunned. I shall be quite content to leave them to the tender mercies of your Autobot friends, when they finally deign to arrive. I imagine it will be some small consolation for them having failed miserably to deprive me of the Catalyser. Now, if you'll all excuse-"
"How thoughtful of you, Megatron," said a deep, stern, and familiar voice from above, while Megatron's face curled in an infuriated grimace. Garnet turned her gaze to the upper slopes of the valley, and saw a large party of Autobots descending, led by Optimus Prime, all of them in robot mode and with their weapons drawn. "Under the circumstances, though, I'd say consolation prizes are a moot point, wouldn't you?"
"Prime … You've made it at last, I see, well after the action," remarked Megatron, not very successfully masking his rage beneath scornful mockery. "I think it important to note, without the support of these meddling aliens you would have lost this battle hands down."
"And you would quite probably be dead," pointed out Rose, harshly. "I see I was wrong about you, Megatron. I had dared to hope that your enemies misunderstood you, that beneath all your ego and ruthlessness lay a genuine desire to help your people, but you really are the spiteful, paranoid fool they hold you to be. I've committed some serious stupidities in my time, but I would never have dreamed of sacrificing two brave and faithful friends for the sake of some wretched piece of tech. Actually, make that three," she added, as a low, metallic growling sound drew everyone's attention to Soundwave's body. Ravage was crouched over his fallen master, and staring at Megatron and Starscream with a look that quite possibly portended mangled metal throats.
"Speaking of the tech, hand that over," ordered Garnet, holding out a gauntleted hand. "The pair of you can sod off back home, then."
"Err, I'm pretty sure we haven't agreed on that," objected Cliffjumper, his blaster twitching dangerously and expectantly in his hand. "We picked up Tracks and Mirage back there, shot half to death. Those poor bastards are looking at spending days in the repair bay, not to mention all the rest of the payback we owe these Decepti-creeps. I don't see why we shouldn't show these two the same mercy that they've-"
"Please," urged Rose, calmly. "There's been carnage enough today. For their admittedly very small part in helping us to defeat Zultanite, I would be grateful if Megatron and Starscream were to be spared … after they have handed over the Catalyser, of course." For a few seconds, Megatron exchanged stares with her in silence, his eyes blazing and his teeth clenched, but after due consideration of the unpromising odds, he flung the device at her feet. Rose raised her sword, then brought it down upon the metal cylinder, shearing it in two and anointing the valley floor with mysterious oily fluids. She followed this up with several more strokes, until there was not a single identifiable component left of the thing, but only twisted metal, shattered glass, and organic mush. She then brought her foot down upon the seed crystal, fracturing it into innumerable glittering shards, while Megatron watched in bemused contempt.
"And you call me the fool," he remarked, with a derisive, joyless laugh. "Whatever difficulties we might have faced in using that device, you could have used it with ease, you must realise that? You and your allies could have formed a fusion ten times … or even ten million times more powerful than Spinel, powerful enough to obliterate not only all of us, but also the ones who exiled you here. You could have had your revenge on them, and become undisputed ruler of this world, or any other you cared to subdue. Why, if you'd adapted the device to work on other lifeforms than Earth organics, you could have had potentially infinite power." Garnet was hard-pressed to restrain herself as he waxed lyrical on this sordid dream, talking about fusion – the most beautiful, intimate experience two Gems can enjoy, if based on love and trust – as if it was no more than some all-you-can-eat buffet for megalomaniacs. Rose merely looked at him with a sad, ironic smile, before answering in an equally subdued tone:
"One day, Megatron, I hope you'll realise why that is the most barren, unappealing excuse for a vision … but I shan't hope too hard. Please just go. You're not quite the most depressing personality I've ever known, but you come close." A flash of angry, wounded pride briefly animated the Decepticon leader's expression, but it soon cooled as he looked around, and registered the not inconsiderable number of blasters now trained upon him. With a final glower in the direction of the Crystal Gems, he took to the skies, and Starscream wasted no time in following. Garnet was very happy to see the two of them recede into the distance, but the Autobots watched them go with a mixture of sullen and doubtful looks.
"With all respect to your compassion, Rose, we may rue that decision," said Optimus. "It would please me as much as you to believe that Megatron will some day experience a moral epiphany, but I daren't live in such a fool's paradise."
"I fear you're probably right, but I had other reasons," replied Rose. "With those two, you have the advantage that they're as petty as they are cruel, and that will always weaken their strategies. If Soundwave ever inherited the position, he would make a far more subtle and calculating Decepticon leader, and more dangerous to you. He made that much all too clear."
"Oh well, if that's all you're worried about, I can fix that for you, no sweat," said Cliffjumper, menacingly, while priming his blaster and advancing on the unconscious Decepticon officer. Ravage tensed up and growled more furiously than before, but failed to dissuade him. "We can take care of Macavity and Hurricane Audrey at the same-"
"Definitely not happening," said Garnet, holding out the the flat of her gauntleted right hand in a detaining gesture. Amethyst achieved much the same effect by stepping between Stormbird's body and Cliffjumper, and glaring at the latter defiantly. The Autobot warrior stood where he was, in numb incredulity, until Optimus laid a confirming hand upon his shoulder. Grudgingly accepting the situation, Cliffjumper shook his head and lowered his sidearm.
"Whatever. You know, we are supposed to be at war with these psychos?" he protested. "This is a damn funny way to go about winning one, if you don't mind my saying. If you knew what an evil, manipulative son-of-a-Skuxxoid that guy is …"
"Eh, I got some idea from the whole 'divide and conquer' spiel," Garnet conceded, "but the point still stands. For one thing, they're both helpless. For another, they might well have just helped save the entire human race from suffering a fate way worse than death."
"Well, I certainly look forward to hearing this explanation," said Optimus, although with a heavy air of scepticism. Nevertheless, he deactivated and shouldered his laser rifle. "Please, tell."
Darkness … Sweet taste … Tingling … Energon? … Hard surface under me, thought Stormbird, her senses slowly returning to her. Irregular … Stone. What happened back there? My head hasn't felt this bad since spring break. Tentatively, she opened her eyes, and when the blur had finally resolved into shapes, she saw the face of Soundwave looking down upon her, while above him was a ceiling of rock. She was lying down, her head supported by his left hand, but she was far from comfortable: her whole body was racked with aches, and she was too groggy to do more than stir feebly. She tried to speak, but, gave up the effort as Soundwave's right hand drifted into view, holding a small 'dish' of energon: another wireframe force field constructed of a few simple vertices, resembling a shallow, upturned pyramid. Angling a corner of it towards her, he tipped it carefully, letting the contents flow very slowly into her mouth. It tasted a lot better than she remembered it, or maybe that's just because my body knows I really, really needed that, she surmised, while feeling the pain fade away and the strength return to her limbs with every sip. By the time the dish was empty, she felt almost fully restored, and certainly capable of sitting up. As she did so, she realised she was back in the borehole cave. It was now dark outside, but her enhanced vision enabled her to see that they were under guard: two red-liveried Autobots – Ironhide and Cliffjumper, by her reckoning – were standing just outside the cave entrance, their weapons in their hands. The occasional glances they threw within were less than friendly, so Stormbird did her best to ignore them and focus on the interior scene. Ravage was prowling impatiently around the edges of the deep inner cavern, occasionally expressing his feelings with grating snarls. When he noticed she was sitting upright, he came over briefly and accepted to have his head stroked, but being a prisoner clearly weighed heavy on him, and he quickly went back to his ill-tempered pacing and growling. Megatron and Starscream were nowhere to be seen. No prizes for guessing why.
"They abandoned us?" she asked, with grim confidence rather than curiosity.
"AFFIRMATIVE," answered Soundwave, closing his hand around the empty dish, which vanished like a popped bubble. "STARSCREAM'S NULL-RAYS HAVE UNPREDICTABLE SIDE-EFFECTS. YOUR MOTOR RELAYS AND SENSORY NETWORK WERE DE-ENERGISED. AMETHYST REQUESTED … OR RATHER INSISTED THAT OUR CAPTORS SUPPLY ENERGON TO EXPEDITE YOUR RECOVERY."
"She's a trooper. Guess things aren't looking too good for us, then?"
"THEY SEEM TO BE NEGOTIATING OUR FATE," he replied, noncommittally. "CONJECTURE: THEY WILL BE LENIENT TO YOU, UNLESS THEY WISH TO TANGLE WITH THE BUSINESS END OF A CERTAIN HOLOGRAPHIC WHIP."
"And … to you?" she asked, dreading the answer.
"UNCERTAIN. FIRING SQUAD, PERHAPS," he speculated, with a small shrug that she found offensively casual. "WE HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF HISTORY, NONE OF IT GOOD."
"I'm not accepting that, no way."
"I DO NOT IMAGINE THEY WERE INTENDING TO GIVE YOU A VOTE ON-"
"No, I mean if they try to execute you, they'll have to go through me."
"THAT IS … RIDICULOUSLY ILLOGICAL AND SENTIMENTAL."
"Yeah, I know. Shoot me. Sorry," she apologised, albeit needlessly, as the less-than-tasteful joke had an unexpected effect: Soundwave involuntarily emitted a rapid, staccato series of wordless, metallic vocalisations, barely distinguishable as laughter. Accompanying him with a small burst of melancholic giggles, Stormbird let her head rest against his upper arm. "I don't know if I like the sound of Autobot 'leniency' anyway. Do you think they'd reformat me?"
"UNLIKELY. TO DO PRIME ALL THE JUSTICE HE DESERVES, HE WOULD BALK AT SUCH A TECHNIQUE. THE AUTOBOTS DO HAVE LESS INVASIVE METHODS TO IMPOSE TEMPORARY MIND CONTROL, HOWEVER. DOMINATOR DISKS, FOR EXAMPLE. THEY CAN OVERRIDE LOGIC CIRCUITS, PLACING YOU UNDER AUTOBOT CONTROL WITHOUT CAUSING ANY IRREVERSIBLE HARM. IN ESSENCE, A KIND OF PAVLOVIAN ENFORCED PROBATION, UNTIL CONFORMITY TO AUTOBOT STANDARDS BECAME SECOND NATURE FOR YOU."
"Real horrorshow," she quipped, lethargically. "You know, I definitely think the firing squad sounds more appealing."
"THEN I WAS RIGHT: YOU ARE A TRUE DECEPTICON."
"Thank you. I'm not sure Megatron would agree with that, though. I think being tasered and thrown to the wolves was probably meant as a subtle hint that I'm not up to the job."
"YOU ARE A PROUD, FEARLESS, ANARCHIC CRIMINAL OF PRINCIPLE. IF THERE IS NO ROOM FOR THE LIKES OF YOU IN THE DECEPTICON CAUSE, IT IS NO VERY GREAT REFLECTION ON WHAT THAT CAUSE HAS BECOME … WHAT SOME OF US HAVE ALLOWED IT TO BECOME THROUGH OUR APATHY AND COWARDICE," he added, his drooping head conveying the self-reproach that his tone could not. "IS IT TOO LATE TO ARREST THAT DECAY? WOULD THE EFFORTS OF A MERE TWO ROBOTS MAKE ANY MEANINGFUL IMPACT? NOT THAT ESCAPE IS LOOKING PROBABLE, BUT-"
"A noble sentiment, Soundwave," said a solemn, familiar voice, not exactly warm, but very genuine. Stormbird looked around, and saw Rose Quartz entering the cavern, closely followed by Optimus Prime, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. She's regenerated her form at last … although she looks like she was a little more rushed than she'd have liked. Pearl's formerly neat pink hair had reformed in a wildly asymmetrical shock, the legs of her bodysuit were of uneven length, and her ballet flats were of mismatched colours; one pale pink, one aqua. In deference to her courage, her sacrifice, and the very self-conscious air of dignity with which she was carrying herself, Stormbird suppressed the urge to giggle, which was more than Amethyst did. "Escape, however, is academic," continued Rose, then turned to Optimus. After a moment of silent rapport between them, the Autobot commander turned to his prisoners.
"You are free to go: all three of you," he announced, gravely. "Difficult as I find it to believe what Rose Quartz and her friends tell me, I trust them implicitly. I would probably rather not know where you choose to go, but that is your own affair. I set no conditions on your freedom. Your courage has earned you the right of self-determination."
"Thank you," replied Stormbird, sincerely, if sadly. "I don't think you need worry too much, though. I can't imagine we'll be too welcome if we show up at Decepticon HQ after tonight's little incident."
"Hmm. Shall you tell her, Soundwave, or shall I?" asked Prime, with a note of irony. Soundwave shot him a look – somehow managing to convey irritation even through his blank mask of a face – then he turned to Stormbird and explained:
"MEGATRON'S WRATH IS FIERCE, BUT QUICKLY SPENT. HE HAS A … CAPRICIOUS STREAK."
"You know, that was a real missed opportunity to use the word 'childish,'" remarked Garnet, earning herself a quick glare before Soundwave resumed:
"IF HE ENFORCED A ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY AGAINST REBELLIOUS ELEMENTS, STARSCREAM WOULD BE DEAD SEVERAL THOUSAND TIMES OVER. NOR DOES MEGATRON CARE TO DWELL ON HIS FAILURES. LIKELY PROGNOSIS: IF WE RETURN TO BASE, RESUME OUR REGULAR DUTIES, AND KEEP A REASONABLY LOW PROFILE FOR A FEW DAYS, THIS WILL BLOW OVER COMPLETELY. STARSCREAM'S PATHETIC POWER GRAB, OUR MINOR REVOLT, THE ABYSMAL FAILURE OF THE MISSION ITSELF, OF COURSE … ALL WILL BECOME NON-SUBJECTS. THE OFFICIAL LINE WILL PROBABLY SOON BE THAT YOU WERE RECRUITED TO WORK ON THE TIDAL GENERATOR PROJECT, AND THAT IS ALL."
"And after that's done, my terrorist training begins?" she asked, rhetorically and gloomily. "I appreciate this Soundwave, more than I can say, but whatever the Decepticon cause used to be, I really don't think I'm cut out for it now."
"You know, some might say that the honourable course of action would be to offer to make these two both Autobots," suggested Pearl, very pointedly, bur earning herself only an awkward silence for her pains. After a few excruciating seconds. Optimus made a stab at breaking it:
"Well … I … err-"
"LET ME SPARE YOU THE EMBARRASSMENT, PRIME," interrupted Soundwave. "I WOULD SOONER EAT A VAT OF COLD SHRIKEBAT VOMIT AND WASH IT DOWN WITH TINCTURE OF COSMIC RUST. I CANNOT SPEAK FOR STORMBIRD, OF COURSE, BUT-"
"Yes, you can," said Stormbird, more diplomatically, but very firmly. "Thank you, Pearl, and thank you, Prime, for even considering that option, but I'm certainly not cut out to be the good little American girl scout, either. I suppose I could always move to Cybertron, try and make my way as a neutral, though I guess that'd be a pretty lonely sort of life in this day and age."
"LONELY, VERY DANGEROUS, AND ILL-ADVISED, BUT THAT SUGGESTS TO ME ANOTHER POSSIBILITY. IF YOU ARE WILLING TO TRANSFER TO CYBERTRON, THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF WORK THAT NEEDS DOING THERE. IT WOULD NOT INVOLVE YOU IN ANY HOSTILE ACTIONS AGAINST YOUR FORMER PEOPLE, AND IT MIGHT BETTER UTILISE YOUR SKILLS. SHOCKWAVE IS A FAITHFUL COMMANDANT, BUT DURING HIS AEONS-LONG STEWARDSHIP EMBARRASSINGLY LITTLE WORK HAS BEEN ACHIEVED IN RESTORING CYBERTRON. OUR HOMEWORLD CONTINUES TO SUBSIST OFF WHAT PALTRY SUPPLIES OF ENERGY WE CAN SCAVENGE FROM EARTH … AND THAT THE AUTOBOTS DO NOT PREVENT US FROM SENDING BACK THERE. THE PROBLEM WOULD BENEFIT FROM A FRESH MIND, ONE WITH CREATIVITY AND CURIOSITY. I MAKE NO PRETENCE THAT IT WOULD BE AN EASY LIFE. YOU WILL FIND CYBERTRON AUSTERE AT BEST, AND SHOCKWAVE COLD COMPANY. IT WOULD, HOWEVER, GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT WITH YOUR ACQUIRED HERITAGE, AND I WOULD SPARE WHAT TIME I COULD FROM MY OWN DUTIES TO VISIT AND AID YOU IN YOUR ACCLIMATISATION … IF YOU THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL, OF COURSE," he respectfully, if needlessly added.
"Yes," she answered, looking up and meeting his gaze. "That would definitely help … and I'd like to see Cybertron, anyway. I mean, I know it's more or less a dead world now, not like in those history files I've read, but I'm sure I'd find it interesting," and let's not forget my sophomore Goth phase, when it was all Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and late nights up in dorms watching cheesy vampire flicks and the 'Evil Bear' series. I'm sure I can keep myself sane in a mausoleum, even a cybernetic one. "If you really think Megatron would go for that idea, I'm game."
"Cool! Alien planet adventure!" enthused Amethyst, again perfectly misjudging the mood of the moment in a way one just couldn't help but smile at. I love this girl. "Can we visit?"
"OBSERVATION: I FAIL TO SEE HOW WE COULD STOP YOU."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot, we are kind of badass."
"Totally badass," agreed Stormbird, but her smile quickly gave way to a very subdued expression as she turned to Optimus again. No more avoiding this bit, though. "Err, there's one more favour I really need, Prime. Could you let my family know I'm alright? They're probably sick with worry already, and it might come better from you … being respectable, and all. I mean, don't tell them everything. Maybe just say I've been recruited for some classified research job. You can leave out the finer details: becoming a robot, working for an enemy power, and so on. I'll break the rest of it to them eventually, but it's going to take some thought."
"I'm sure that can be arranged," answered Optimus, magnanimously, especially considering I just agreed to build infrastructure for his enemies. I might not care for his politics, but you've got to admit the guy's a gent. "One last thing before you leave, though: I believe this is yours," he declared, holding out a familiar black-screened data tablet to Soundwave. It was somewhat different from when she had last seen it: partially on account of being in one piece, but also because the frame looked shinier, less tarnished, with the age-worn ornamental mouldings standing out more sharply than before. Cautiously, Soundwave took it and examined it.
"RAVAGE GAVE ME TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS HAD BEEN DESTROYED," he said, while turning it over in his hands and removing the backplate. "THE CIRCUITRY APPEARS INTEGRAL … ALTHOUGH I NOTE SOME OF THESE COMPONENTS ARE NEW."
"Finding exact replacements for nine-million-year-old components was never going to be possible," explained Optimus, "and the frame needed to be recast. Still, Ratchet assures me that all of the original data was saved. You will find it complete and unaltered. I will not say I wasn't sorely tempted to have it erased … but that would do nothing to heal the scars of the past, either."
"INDEED. IT APPEARS TO BE A COMPETENT RESTORATION, AND WITH NO DATA-GATHERING BUGS OR INVASIVE SOFTWARE THAT I CAN DETECT … DO NOT TELL ME YOU WOULD NOT HAVE CHECKED FOR THOSE AS WELL," he added, as Optimus tilted his head in a wordless but sardonic gesture. His inspection complete, Soundwave replaced the backplate then stowed the tablet within his chest compartment. "FOR WHATEVER IT IS WORTH, YOU HAVE MY GRATITUDE."
"It would be worth more, perhaps, if you resolved to learn from this experience."
"I LEARN FROM ALL OF MY EXPERIENCES, PRIME, ALTHOUGH I CANNOT PROMISE I ASSIMILATE WHAT YOU MIGHT CONSIDER TO BE THE RIGHT LESSONS. STILL … I CONCEDE THAT THIS HAS BEEN A THOUGHT-PROVOKING FIASCO. IF NOTHING ELSE, A SOBERING REMINDER THAT POWERFUL, DYSFUNCTIONAL ALIEN REBELS SHOULD BE WARY OF CONSIDERING THEMSELVES UNIQUE IN THIS CHAOTIC UNIVERSE," he remarked, while the Gems assumed a variety of innocent, 'who, us?' expressions. Stormbird smiled and shook her head. It may not be shaping up to be an easy life, but with these guys even slightly involved, there's not much chance of it being dull.
