First rush of panic passed, and Soundwave looked at the things rationally. Worst thing the doc could do now would be going straight to Megatron and file a complaint. But in this case - much as Soundwave loathed to lie to his leader -in this case he could stick to his version of sensitive info being disclosed and insist on acting upon both Knockouts and the Cause's best interests. Megatron would still chew them out for getting drunk, of course. But that would be only fair. Chances that Knockout was stupid enough to do this were about twenty percent. Other options that Soundwave could think of were of even less consequences. The spy was still in control. No one knew.
Of course, he still had to sort out all the chipped bits of his own drunken memories and assemble them into a non-controversal timeline but that could wait. Right now the Decepticon Cause took all his time and attention.
On top of decrypting the Iacon base and all the bau tasks Soundwave was in charge of he had to supervise the space bridge relocation to the orbit. Megatron really needed to appoint someone as SIC otherwise Soundwave feared it wasn't long before he would glitch under the workload.
He didn't even have the spare processing capacity to think over the perceived change in Megatron's tone when he addressed him. The warlord had always been treating him with some respect unlike many others, but it never stopped him from snapping, nor did he feel the need to hold back the rash words. Seemed like he felt this need now.
In a weak hope to clear his mind and vent a little Soundwave volunteered to fetch one of the Iacon's relics. The fight with autobots was expected, welcome and won. It cost him a crack in his visor and Laserbeak suffered a minor wound, but the only flying autobot in this sector was no flyer for some time and they've got the relic, so it was a win in Soundwave's view. Other than improve his moods, this would also serve as a reminder of his superiority both to his enemies and to his fellow officers.
The TIC's circuits swelled with pride at the praise from his superior. Knockout, on the other wing, failed at his mission and that decimated the chances he would report to Megatron - not when the favors were so drastically uneven. As the doctor was reminded of his place and rushed to dispose of a grenade that autobots had planted into Laserbeak - / Blasted Autobot Bastards!/ she commed - Megatron leaned in so close that his EM field reached Soundwave's spark, making the TIC throw all his resources to his sensors and self control, stopping all the peripheral activity. It was the first time they were so close since their fight. He drank Megatron's proximity like it was the best high-grade en, savoring every drop. Megatron's field was full of confidence and determination. He didn't dare to read him - he never dared to read him, that would be an offense, but the field... it bloomed with concentration and the slightest tint of worry. Soundwave froze letting the emotions rolling off his leader reverberate in his own circuits, careful not to give away the reactions that this proximity invoked in him.
Megatron seemed unaware. "Soundwave, if we are to maintain our advantage against the autobots, decoding the remaining Iacon database must remain your top priority"
Soundwave blinked under the visor. It took him a split nanoclick to return into business mode. Was it Megatron's way of reproaching him for taking unnecessary risk? Or was the warlord so worried about the race for the relics that he felt the urge to remind Soundwave of his priorities? Or was it a challenge? Was Megatron challenging him to prove that he was superior to the autobots, even though the traitor Prime knew the codes while he had to hack them?
Anyway, there was only one correct response to that. Soundwave nodded: /by your command, Megatron/
He could swear he saw a hint of a smile before the gladiator turned on the spot and walked out.
/Do you think he knows what he's doing to you?/ - Laserbeak inquired
Soundwave's engines started again one by one /Even if he does, he doesn't let this knowledge affect him/ - he commed back.
/So what do we do now?/
Soundwave rose and went for the door /we decode the base/ - he answered.
But before he could quit the medbay, a crimson arm stopped his forward movement. "Not so fast" - Knockout said, his optics flicking around the room. "I demand explanation. What was in that pieces you ripped from my memory?"
Soundwave looked down at the medic. Of all the options he could choose Knockout chose the one that put him into the most vulnerable position. Was it folly or was it a sign that the red vehicon trusted him?
/You've cleared his memory and he's asking you what it contained? I bet on folly/ - Laserbeak said.
/Soundwave to Knockout: relaying this information now would make the memory extraction meaningless./
"Don't give me that! You had no right to poke around my memory banks!"
Soundwave sent a chuckle package into the link with Laserbeak. By the Allspark! This mech was a con, how could he be so naive?!
/Soundwave to Knockout: permission had been requested. Erasing the data - in Knockouts' best interests./ He switched gears and added in more personal way /Trust me, doctor, other options were far worse. Let it go/
Knockout stared at him with a mixture of doubt and suspicion.
/Soundwave to Knockout: you're in my way/ Primus knows how Soundwave managed to put steel into his impersonal messages, but somehow he managed it.
Knockout moved aside automatically and called out to Soundwave's retreating back "This is not over!"
/oh... but it is/ - and Laserbeak sent him a smile.
Logically, it hadn't been long before Airachnid surfaced again. This time she dared to challenge Megatron personally. Or was she thinking she could use her charms to persuade their master of her use? Hardly.
He traced her, naturally.
Megatron left to deal with the traitor and Soundwae wasted no time in sending Laserbeak after him. He had to bear witness to the bitch's demise. /Megatron didn't order me this, so stay out of his sight/ - he instructed the drone. Laserbeak pinged back /affirmative/
"This is undoubtedly a trap!" - Dreadwing exclaimed, his worry for his leader overruling his resentment toward Soundwave. Soundwave nodded. Now was clearly the time for them to get over their differences.
"Are you monitoring our Lord's life signal?"
Soundwave nodded again and pointed to one of his consoles. Really, Dreadwing just had to clear his optics. As Dreadwing watched, Megatron's signal approached the coordinates of Airachnid's transmission and disappeared. "What happened?!"
/Soundwave to Dreadwing: underground/
Dreadwing turned to throw a glance at the Communications Officer. It was the first time Soundwave commed to him directly since his return to the Decepticons.
Laserbeak couldn't match Megatron's flight speed, so it took her a few more clicks to get to the site. Soundwave urged her to fly into the mine and then return to the surface to pass up the visual.
As the visual came in, Soundwave caught the pacing warrior by the arm and turned him back to the consoles. "Do not ever..!" - Dreadwing thundered but stopped at the sight of the visual on the consoles. Their master was fighting an insecticon?! On Earth?! How?!
/Soundwave to Dreadwing: Megatron superior/ It was a cold assessment of the fight unfolding. The insecticon was no match for the gladiator - too slow, too slopy.
Laserbeak turned, preparing to dive into the cave once again and her cam caught a ground bridge vortex and Prime with his henchmen stepping through.
'I'm going after him!' - Dreadwing rushed out. Soundwave's comm found him on the way to the upper deck.
/Soundwave to Seekers squads 2 and 4: Assemble on the upper deck immediately. Megatron is under attack. Operation: urgent reinforcement. Dreadwing in command.
Prepare for bridging in 1 cycle/
Clanking sounds of heavy peds running filled the Nemesis.
Megatron would have to hold his ground till reinforcements arrived. For the moment, it was all Soundwave could do without directly disobeying his lord's orders.
The TIC should have proceeded with the Iacon base decoding, but he had hard time concentrating on the task - he kept switching between checking the battle site for life signals and Laserbeak's feed. Finally Megatron appeared above ground accompanied by Dreadwing. They were returning. Judging by their speed, he was alright or at least able to fly.
Relief washed through the spy's energon circuits. That had been a close call. /Laserbeak, operation recon. Stay out of autobots sight. Objectives: Airachnid, autobots, survivors./ Upon receiving a "roger" from his drone, he switched to the commlink:
/Soundwave to all crew: operation successful. Megatron: returning. Medbay - stand by. Salvage team: prepare for bridging upon further notice. Operation: utilize the scrap./
And with that he finally switched to the Iacon base.
It wasn't long before Dreadwing was appointed SIC position.
/How come he's the hero now?/ - Laserbeak's query made Sounwave pause his typing for a moment. /He's earned it/ - the spy commed back before assaulting the console keyboard again.
Ravage couldn't believe his luck. Seemed like between all these worries Soundwave forgot or deemed unnecessary to check his logs from the blasted drinking pity party. The cat was partly upset by this fact - he had undertaken unprecedented measures to hide this part of information from his host - it was nearly a pity all this effort hadn't been required.
While Soundwave had been recharging the buzz off, Ravage spent time plotting. When the time came, he slipped out of their chamber a little earlier than his shift would require.
His plan required assistance. Normally he would turn to his host or other cassettes when he needed assistance, but it was just him and Laserbeak now and the surveillance drone would never do anything behind Soundwave's back. Not for Ravage, anyway. That left him with the new boy in town - Doug. He was nearly sure the vehicon would come. Not so sure he would take part at his plan, but Ravage prepared him a surprise that would make him play along. Should make him. If the eradicon refused, the cybercat could always scrap him and throw the remnants down the transporter - and scrap the consequences!
When time came, Ravage lazily throttled along the corridors, the details of his plan still rolling in his head. Unlike his host or any other big mechs worth mentioning, Ravage didn't have a quantum processor and couldn't calculate rpobabilities. Strategy was not his strong side. But the technimal was a good tactician which made him a perfect candidate for complicated, but pre-defined tasks. Usually, the feline would rely on his superiors for weighting reasons and determining targets, while he retained freedom as to when and how to bring his targets down.
This time, however, the objective was slightly more complicated. How could he stop Soundwave from being miserable if Soundwave himself was the one that was making Soundwave miserable in the first place? Soundwave wanted to bury his trauma - that Ravage could understand, but pushing it down wasn't the solution - it was infesting his host from the inside.
Otherwise, surely Soundwave would have already recovered?
If the spy realised that Ravage knew his secret, he would cleanse this info off the cat's databank and that would mean that all hope for completing the ultimate mission of making Soundwave happy (or at least not miserable) would be lost for Ravage.
/Saving the info - top priority/ - Ravage concluded, approaching the docks. He didn't yet know what to do with it, but that would come later. This way or the other. Luckily, dozing up with high-grade wasn't the only way to scramble the logs. And seemed like he knew a safe place for his data - provided he encrypted it against the eradicon's excessive curiosity.
As Ravage entered the transporter docks, there had been a bunch of eradicons awaiting the mine shift change. Again, Ravage wasn't entirely sure if D011G was among them. The cat paced to the neerest console and logged in with Soundwave's codes. He had to raise on his hind legs to look at the energy signatures. Soundwave would find out of course, but Ravage kind of hoped he would, that would only support the cat's alibi. Yup, there was Doug, socializing with his kind./Don't look my way/ - Ravage warned him and paced by the group of vehicons. His ears picked up some interesting gossip regarding why Megatron chose not to scrap the Prime when he had a chance, but Ravage was sure Soundwave's mics and cams caught it too, so he didn't bother memorizing it.
/We need privacy/ - the cat commed, /follow me/ and he pranced toward spare parts and scrap metal storage, sneaking in as soon as he was out of everyone's sight range.
Doug took his time and the cat was starting to worry when the con finally showed up. Using Soundwave's code to lock the door behind them, Ravage turned to face the violet vehicon.
"So... what is going on?"
Instead of answer, Ravage jumped him, kicking him off his peds. The vehicon fell on his back and before he recovered from his surprise, the feline was on top of him, heavy paws pinning his shoulders to the ground. Long sharp teeth moved into the loose neck cabling stopping a millimeter away from ripping the main energoin circuit. Doug froze. Ravage froze too.
When nothing happened for a whole click, the vehicon tried to move. Ravage pressed his tusks into the delicate tubes and growled a warning.
"I thought we were past the idea of scrapping me?"
/You'd be surprised/
