The Price Of Power.
Chapter Ten: Soundwave.
Optimus and Megatron met Soundwave and his mechs in the corridor. Soundwave's only show of surprise at Optimus' altered form was a slight pause before he greeted the pair.
"Lord-Megatron, Optimus-Prime. Salutations," he stated. "Accompanying-Soundwave: Wreckage,-Payload,-Swindle,-Hook,- Dead-end,-Dropkick,-Soundwave's-cassettes."
"Greetings, Soundwave, and greetings to the mechs that accompany you. Please accept our hospitality and enter our base. Please come in and be seated. Refreshment has been provided," Optimus said, knowing that Prowl had received his comm to ready the meeting room. As they entered, Optimus silently approved: all the assorted types of seats were provided, and the table was littered with cubes of low-grade.
Almost all the mechs, except Soundwave, seemed surprised. They all moved to take seats suiting their size and form, and as Soundwave seated himself between Optimus and Megatron, he intoned "Gratitude-expressed."
"May I bring through some of my mechs, and Thundercracker, Scorponok, Frenzy, and Barricade?" Optimus asked.
"Affirmative," Soundwave replied. Optimus sent out the relevant comms, and a few moments later, the named ex-Decepticons came in, along with Prowl, Mirage, Ironhide, Jazz and Hound. All found appropriate seats, with the exception of Frenzy, who headed straight for Soundwave, and Scorponok, who had been retrieved as a favour by Skywarp before her had returned to Starscream.
Scorponok scurried under the table, circled twice, and settled in a near-circle, his claws crossed, his body and tail curved round, his head resting but all senses alert. Optimus stopped and put a cube on the floor: the metal scorpion snagged it with a claw and drew it to where he could drink it. Soundwave opened his chest-drawer as Frenzy scrambled up, and Frenzy slipped inside. He gently touched Frenzy as he folded away, then closed his chest compartment again.
"Once again, Soundwave, we make you welcome," Optimus said, and Megatron inclined his head in silent agreement. "You spoke of talking, you wanted to discuss something. Please, speak, we are listening."
Soundwave stood, facing Megatron.
Information-received-suggest-Decepticon-cause-gone," he stated. "Confirm?"
"Yes, the AllSpark is gone, Cybertron is gone, I wish to stay here and be the Protector of our Prime, whom, it seems, is our only femme," Megatron replied. "This protection is necessary: Starscream has now tried to abduct her twice. Steps to give more protection are in progress, including a force-field to make the Base almost impervious to conventional methods of attack, but I will still protect the Prime personally. I see little point in taking revenge: all we wish to do now is live in peace on this world and share our skills and technology with the native sentient species. Would you like to join us?"
"Your-decision-logical," stated Soundwave. "Response:-negative."
"So, do you have another idea?" asked Megatron, who knew how Soundwave worked.
"Affirmative. Plan: find-uninhabited-world. Intention: colonise."
"I think I see where you are going with this," Megatron said. "You could attack this world and take it over, but its resources are already depleted and it would involve a lot of effort, including fighting the natives, for little gain. So you plan to find a new world with untapped resources and set up a colony on it?"
"Affirmative," Soundwave replied.
"However, you could have gone straight out and done that, so why haven't you? There must be some reason for discussing this," Optimus stated.
"Correct," Soundwave replied. "Soundwave-informing-Lord-Megatron. Invitation-to-any-here-extended-to-join. Starting-resources-desirable: fair-trade-of-raw-materials-offered."
"Yes, starting completely from scratch would be difficult with such a small group," Megatron observed. "Some starting machinery or labour would be a help, yes? I think you may need to negotiate with some of the natives, you have much to offer. As you suggested, a trade of needed ores or materials in return for equipment, plus I am sure that if you offered them help in return for finding them a new world to spread on to, they would be interested and even eager to aid you. However, you have not gone to them but to us. Why?"
"Decepticons-attacked-humans-earlier. Request-aid-in-opening-communications."
"I see," Optimus said. "You fear the natives will attack you because of the Decepticon assault on the Hoover Dam and Mission City, so wish us to explain to the humans that your group is a breakaway group who mean no harm, who wish to find a world of your own, and would like their help. In return, you might provide them with resources, technology and possibly a world of their own to colonise?"
"Affirmative," Soundwave replied. "Peaceful-contact-with-humans-and-Autobots-desired. Autonomy-also-desired."
"Well, it seems to me that the humans would have much to gain from co-operating with you," Optimus stated. "Trade links can be one way to facilitate exchange of necessary materials without losing your independence. I will speak with Captain Lennox, who will speak to others higher up the human chain of command about your wishes."
"Gratitude-expressed. Search-will-commence-for-suitable-worlds," Soundwave stated. "Problem-of-colony-growth-can-be-discussed-"
"At another time, please," Thundercracker interjected, standing. "The Prime is currently carrying, and any such decisions on sparkling-bearing must be hers alone."
"Yes, that was a promise we made to her," Megatron said, also standing. "There may be other femmes out there, we will search for them, but none of that changes the promise that we made, and on our side at least, the promise we made to Optimus will apply to any other femmes if any turn up: the freedom to go with whomever they wish to, and the choice to not go with anyone if that is their choice."
"Accepted," Soundwave said, standing. "Fuel-requested. Search-will-commence. Return-in-thirteen-point-five orns. Acceptable?"
"Six human months? I will tell Captain Lennox," Optimus promised. "Ironhide? Please take our guests to our refueling bay and allow them to fill their tanks. I look forwards to profitable and peaceful links between your colony and our settlement in the future."
The various mechs filtered out, Thundercracker and Barricade looking pensive.
Scorponok's metal features gave away nothing of his thoughts.
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As Starscream came back online, his optics focused on an unfamiliar environment, but a fairly familiar scowling face.
"Ratchet." He acknowledged. "Where am I?"
"In my medical bay, where I have just finished putting you back together." The medic replied.
"I suppose you expect gratitude: you have it. I must admit that I never expected my own trine-mate to turn on me like that," Starscream admitted.
"You were attacking a carrier, another taboo alongside forcing, which is the intention you stated last time you tried to take the Prime. More to the point, it is his sparkling she carries."
"Well, I suppose that would explain it, but my needs are like any other mech's."
"The other mechs here have the grace to ask, and wait for her to wait until she feels ready." Ratchet said. "They also are content with each other for recreational rather than procreational purposes. You could call a ceasefire, make diplomatic or romantic overtures, it would be far less stressful for you both."
Starscream snorted.
"Like she'd really accept?"
"She might," Ratchet said. "The Prime believes everybody deserves a second chance, I think she might if you approached the right way."
"What, groveling and begging and hoping she'll forgive me? I am a Seeker and a Decepticon, I don't do things that way."
Ratchet sighed, seeing that he was unlikely to make any difference to Starscream's decision.
"Your tank is half-full, and Skywarp has come to take you back to your base, you should not use the wings for twenty-four hours to allow your body's self-repair to finish the work I did on mending them."
Skywarp stepped in from behind a partition.
"Come on, Starscream, it's time to go back," he said. He went behind the Air Commander and wrapped his arms around him.
"My thanks, Ratchet," he said, then was gone, taking Starscream with him, in a bang of displaced air.
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"Did you manage to get working on that cell?" Starscream asked once they were back.
"I made a start," he said.
"That is good, because I do not intend to give up on my plans," Starscream explained. "We will get the Prime, whatever it takes, and we can both get sparklings from her. We must begin preparing other Bases so we can keep moving her so they do not find her. We could even build an inaccessible base that can only be got to by using your ability. Perhaps a sealed mountain cave that can only be reached by warping, we could visit her there safely unobserved. In fact, perhaps that is what you could do next, start looking for somewhere like that to secrete her, where the Autobots would take time to find her and would not risk trying to break her out because it would endanger her."
"What has happened to you, Starscream?" asked Skywarp, his distaste clear in his voice. Starscream looked up and saw that Skywarp's face reflected the disgust in his voice.
"When I first met you, you were an idealist, a scientist, a poet, an acrobat, and a dancer," the other Seeker said. "You had a love of life, a desire for justice, and a respect for femmes that you told me your Creator had drummed into you. The war has changed you, and I don't like the change at all. Now you're power-hungry, more arrogant than I remember, and willing to take a femme by force, all out of a twisted desire for revenge. You are willing to sacrifice those ideals you had, and break some of our greatest taboos, over a war that is over and need not be re-ignited."
"Skywarp, their fancy words and ideals have turned your head," Starscream replied. "Of course I want revenge on the Autobots, and of course their squishy allies, and I won't beg to anybody for anything, least of all Optimus Prime for the favour of a sparkling. She'd love that, you know that, and she'd love to deny me just to hurt me. She'd want revenge too, and that is how she'd take it, by denying me a sparkling, a winglet of my own. Which means that I must take what she will not give."
"You haven't even asked, and have just stated that you are unwilling to do so," Skywarp said. "This is not the Starscream I vied for the attention of, not the Starscream who had me giddy with joy when he accepted me into his trine. You've become twisted and bitter. You're like a stranger to me and I don't want any part of your plan. Maybe you've forgotten your ideals and taboos, but I haven't, and I want no part of your twisted plans. In this, Starscream, you are on your own."
Starscream opened his mouth, about to refute this, but before he could get a sound out, Skywarp disappeared with a bang, air rushing in to fill the space he had stood in. Starscream shut his mouth, astonished at Skywarp's outburst and abrupt departure. Although not as malleable as Thundercracker, he'd never realized Skywarp had such strong opinions, he could usually talk him around.
He began to wonder if Skywarp was correct, he did recall his Creator insisting that femmes should be treated with respect, but a sudden pain in his head and chest made him stagger, tearing his thoughts from his musings. As he sank to his knees, he realized with a shock what the pain was.
Both Starscream and Thundercracker has severed their trine-bonds with him.
The knowledge that they too would be in pain from this brought him no comfort at all, they, he knew, would still have each other, while he had nobody to turn to, no other bondmate to help comfort him. He felt despair, tried to force it down.
"I don't need them. I don't need anybody."
He hadn't realized he was speaking the thought aloud until he'd finished, and he noted that it sounded as unconvincing as the thought itself was. Despair washed over him again: for the first time since he'd picked Thundercracker and Skywarp out to be his trinemates and had bonded with them, he was alone.
He shook with shock, grief, despair, and finally curled into a ball and screamed his distress and loneliness out loud.