A/N: In this chapter, the scenes with Apis are a collaboration between myself and thedaringplatypus.

11. Leaving

It was a relief to have my thrusters repaired at last. Starscream went about his work with the ease of long practice.

"I've had experience," he said. "Skyfire and I went over all sorts of terrain, so both of us had to be accomplished in field repair."

Starscream had just volunteered more of his past than I had ever been able to coax from him. But he fell silent, lost in thought, and I resigned myself to curiosity.

Then, to my surprise, he spoke again. "The Academy hasn't changed much."

"You attended?"

"Long ago." He snapped something into place inside the thruster he was working on and my pede jerked in reaction. "We were scientists. Skyfire was my partner. And friend."

"What did you study?"

"We were xenobiologists—explorers. We studied other planets and alien species. That was more to get away from Cybertron and the Academy than anything. None of them liked me very much."

"Why not?"

"Jealousy. They said Seekers just aren't programmed for academics." He sneered at some imagined Autobot. "Just because I could do what they never…"

"I know how it feels," I said, remembering the scorn of my classmates and teachers. He looked up at me and for a moment there was a connection between us, something that bridged the astrocycles that separated us.

"Anytime we were on Cybertron, it was almost too much to stand," he went on. "The warning signs were there… energon shortages, class conflict. We spent as much time off-planet as we could."

He stopped, mouth pulling tight. I prompted him. "What happened?"

"An accident," he said, his voice flat and dead. "What we did was dangerous. We both knew that. Skyfire never took risks, always calculated everything, did his best to make sure that both of us came back alive. But I was sure that after so long, we'd be fine…" He shook his head. "If I hadn't been so impatient, we could have waited.

"There was an organic planet, far from Cybertron, that we wanted to investigate. We should have observed the atmospheric currents, but I convinced Skyfire to forget about the calculations and we tried to go to the surface. We hit a storm over the northern polar region. I managed to escape, but I lost track of Skyfire. I searched as long as I could, but…" He shook his head again. "That was the last I saw of him."

He stared resolutely at his repair work, optics burning. I saw the lie, but let it pass.

"When I came back alone, they all said I'd murdered him. They didn't even send a search party. You're done," he said abruptly, sweeping away his supplies. Just when I'd been hanging on his every word, he'd stopped. Typical. "How does it feel?"

I activated my thrusters at a low setting. "Feels good."

"Then help me with the paint. I'm sick of being invisible."

The cool paint soothed my stinging wings where my Autobot symbols had been scraped away, soft gray first and a brilliant red stripe after. Starscream painted the purple Decepticon insignia on each wing, front and back.

"When we get to Kaon, I'll do this properly," Starscream said. I looked more closely at his wings and saw the insignia scarred into the metal, though the color was faded. Those who had fought in the War had their sigils branded permanently into their armor. It showed their dedication and strength, their devotion to the cause.

Then it was Starscream's turn. He was incredibly finicky, but the result was worth it. He was brilliant to look at, flashy in red and white. I'd painstakingly recreated his Decepticon insignias.

While Starscream preened, I drifted to the window, watching mechs go about their business in the street below.

A snicker from Starscream made me glance suspiciously back at him. "What?"

"You won't see her out here," he said. "The shop's too far off."

"Who said I was looking for Apis?" I sputtered. He raised an optic ridge.

"Please," he scoffed. "Your processor's in the clouds. There'll be no living with you like this. Go on, get out of here."

I went straight for the door.

"Oh, and Nova?"

I came up short at Starscream's call, swiveling to glare at him. He smirked.

"Be sure to use your firewall."

I slammed my fist into the control panel to slam the door behind me, wishing it was Starscream's face.

I looked around the little shop, but besides a customer browsing through the shelves, there was nobody there. In the quiet, I heard a familiar voice coming in through the back and drifted closer to the storeroom door.

"Nova…" I jumped, but realized that she wasn't speaking to me. "Do you think he's a Decepticon? He's got a Seeker build, but no faction symbol."

"'Is friend 'ad th'marks. 'Cons travel together."

"But he—Nova, I mean—he had some scoring on his wings. Like he had insignias before, but scraped them off. He could be one of us."

Before I could hear more, a visored mech appeared through a second door. "Can I help you?" he asked. I asked for Apis and he ducked through the back door. I was inspecting the tower of paint cans when there was a sudden thump and an "Oomph!" as the air rushed out of someone's vents.

I turned to see Apis pulling herself up from where she'd been thrown face-first onto the floor, rubbing her abdominal plating and glaring back through the door. She looked up, saw me staring, and her optics blushed gold.

"I, um, ah, Nova! Umm… hi?" she said, getting to her pedes and brushing futilely at the dust on her chassis.

"Hi," I said. She fidgeted nervously. More snickering from the back room.

Apis's shoulders rose clear to her audios and her handlebars flared out, and…

…and I must have missed something while staring at those furiously twitching handlebars because now the little visored mech from before was back and smirking at Apis. The femme was shouting at him, but her words slipped right through my processor because I was focused completely on the movement of her handlebars.

"…needed, Nova?"

I jolted. "What?"

Apis clasped her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels. "I said, did you remember something else you needed?"

I stared at her for a moment, then remembered that I had no reason for being here yet again. "I… ah…" I floundered, searching for anything to justify my presence and coming up short. "Um… actually… I was wondering… if you wanted to go somewhere?"

"Go… somewhere?" she echoed. "As in… like… a date?"

I nodded. A grin broke out over her face. "I'd love to!" she chirped. Then her face fell. "But… I can't. Not right now, anyway. I'm on shift." She threw a glance over her shoulder at the door. "Maybe… right when I get off?"

I nodded again. Then, in a sudden fit of boldness, I leaned down and mimicked what she'd done to me the last time we'd met, pressing my mouthplates to her cheek. Then, burning with heat, I pulled back, smiled, and left.

And then promptly had to go back in and ask what time she got off shift.

Apis, standing where I'd left her with one hand pressed to her cheek, recited the time in a dazed voice, and I repeated it back to her before fleeing to prevent anything else that might make her reconsider.

Several cycles before the appointed time, I stood outside the shop waiting for Apis. It's okay. We'll just go out for some energon, nowhere fancy, just one of those small, quiet shops that's still classy and carries good stuff and—

Slaggit. I'd been planning to take her to places I'd known in Iacon. I knew nothing about Khalkon or what was considered good here, or what parts of the city were considered safe, or—

A giant hand clapped down on my wing and I yanked out of my panicked musing with a startled yelp and an attempt to fire up my thrusters, but the hand prevented me from flying off.

"Woah there, calm down a klik."

I looked up into the orange optics of the tank who ran the shop.

"S-Sorry." Primus, I hadn't realized how big this mech was when I'd seen him before. Not to mention that dangerous-looking hand was on my wing...! I twitched. The monster mech got the message and moved his hand to my shoulder instead.

"'s all right. Now, yer th' mech takin' our Apis out t'night?" There was a gleam in his optics that I wasn't entirely comfortable with—at once joking, and promising bodily harm.

"Yes, sir," I said.

"An' you are…?"

"Nova. Sir." I didn't know why I was calling him "sir." Maybe so that he wouldn't get it into his processor to squash me like an organic.

"Nova. Where're ya takin' Apis then, Nova?"

"I… ah… I'm… not sure. I forgot—"

The tank grinned so widely that it was visible from beneath his clunky jaw guard. "Y' fergot this ain't where y'came from, izzat right?"

I nodded. The tank roared with laughter and clapped me on the back hard enough to almost send me sprawling. His hands curled around my shoulders and stood me upright again, but didn't let go once I'd regained my balance. The mech loomed into my space, not remotely laughing now.

"Any funny bisniss, any wrong moves 'r unwanted advances n'I'll rip out yer Spark," he growled. "Apis's like my creation, an' if'n you hurt 'er I'll kill you. Unnerstand?"

I nodded frantically. The tank pulled back to a safer distance. He grinned sunnily, as though he'd never threatened me.

"Try U-Turn's place up'n the fifth sector. 'S nice n'respectable n'affordable." He gave me one more thunderous clap on the shoulder and walked back to the shop. "Nice meetin' ya, Nova."

Apis, on her way out, looked quizzically at the two of us, but the tank just smiled down at her and (much more gently) patted her shoulder. "'ave fun, sweetspark," he told her, before turning to glare coldly at me over his shoulder in silent reminder.

Then, thankfully, the mech went inside for good.

As I stared after the giant squeezing into the shop, Apis gently touched my arm.

"You okay, Nova? 'Crusher didn't scare you too bad, did he?"

I allowed her to lead me away from the shop. "Crusher?" It certainly fit.

"Yup! Steelcrusher's been like a creator to me since I came here." Apis beamed at me as we walked side by side through the crowd. "He's protective, but once he gets to know you he'll be fine."

I was unconvinced. Apis laughed at the way my face scrunched up and we slipped into easy conversation as I followed Steelcrusher's directions.

It was odd to walk through the crowd with her, obvious to anyone that I was with her, and not receive any filthy looks. Back in Iacon I couldn't walk down a street without being glared at and whispered about. It was nice to not subject Apis to that. It was also a novel experience to feel my wings getting curious and appreciative stares. For the first time in my life, I flexed my wings wider and stood a little bit taller, basking in the optics of the crowd.

I'd half-expected Steelcrusher to lead me to some hole-in-the-wall dump that would guarantee this… date to end in humiliation. But it was a nice place, surprisingly clean.

By the time we'd ordered our energon, the conversation had taken its inevitable turn towards our backgrounds.

"So how'd you make it to Khalkon?" Apis realized what she'd asked the klik after she said it and shut her mouth, her handlebars twitching. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry, I was just…"

"From the northwest," I said, once I could draw my optics away from those distracting handlebars. "We came in through Polyhex." It would be nearly impossible to trace us back to Iacon from that information, though my accent and make could be a dead giveaway. I was quick to change the subject. "How about you?"

Apis looked down into her energon cube. "I'm from Altihex," she said, confirming my initial observation. "But I've lived here with Steelcrusher a long time."

"He's not your creator, then?"

Apis shook her head and toyed with her cube. "He was a friend of my creators. He took me in, after…" She trailed off.

"I'm sorry," I said. I reached across the table to lightly cover one of her hands with mine. Apis gave me a shy smile and folded her other hand over mine.

The brief silence was more comfortable than earlier. Her handlebars flicked, reminding me of Starscream's burning-with-curiosity wing-twitch. My faceplates heated up as she ran her fingers across my wrists.

"Most Decepticons have scarring here," she said. She looked up, optics scanning the new symbols on my wings before settling on my face. "But you don't. Even when you came in for repairs, you were in better condition than most. And you don't act like the rest either. They don't trust anyone. They act like they're ready for someone to attack them. You act like… well, like what an Autobot should be."

"Thanks, I think…?" I ventured, but I made a mental note to step carefully—Apis was sharper than I gave her credit for, and I didn't want her to know too much.

"I wish…" Apis hesitated, looking down at the table. "I wish more people were like you."

Her gaze shifted from my wrists to my face and back. Finally, she couldn't hold it in. "You don't have to tell me," she said in a rush. "I don't mean to pry. I just…" Her handlebars drew in towards her neck. "You make me wonder."

We left the restaurant and walked side by side through the darkened streets. It was late, and the town had settled down. We walked closer together now, the backs of our hands brushing, and we smoothly shifted from conversation to easy silence.

Apis suddenly stopped me, grinning. "Follow me!" she whispered, grabbing my hand and ducking into an alley. I let myself be pulled along, turning so that my wings didn't scrape against the walls. While Apis could move with ease, the narrow alley was a bit cramped for me.

"Apis, where are we?"

But she just twisted for another grin as she turned into a stairwell. "You'll see!"

She let go of my hand so I could maneuver. The stairwell seemed to go on forever, and I began to feel claustrophobic.

"Apis?" I called out again, but the femme was gone around another twisting corner, leaving behind only the echo of her laughter and a flash of orange.

"Come on, Nova!" she called out. "You're almost there!"

I surged forward, and suddenly I was on a rooftop. There was a crate of datapads, a small light, and a blanket laid out there, all looking well-used.

"Look up, Nova!" Apis's voice came from somewhere above my head. I only briefly took note of her swinging pedes hanging from an outcropping above the door before I saw the stars.

The stars. Primus, I'd never seen so many of them.

I'd flown at night before, but I'd never been able to see the sky like this. I knew what was out there—solar systems, stars, other planets— but I'd never seen them painted so beautifully across the dark blue sky in shades of purple, blue, and white.

"Wow," I whispered. Apis jumped off of her perch, leading me over to the blanket spread out on the roof. She flopped down, putting her hands behind her for balance as she leaned back to look up at the sky.

"Amazing, isn't it?" She patted the space beside her. "Sit down before you put a crick in yer neck, Nova."

I lay back and tucked my hands behind my head, looking into the sky.

"This is amazing," I said. "I've seen the sky before, but this?"

"It's the city lights," Apis said. "Out here we don't have the light pollution, so once everyone goes into recharge and turns out the lights, you can see everything. It's beautiful, right?"

"Yes," I agreed, sneaking a glance at her from the corner of my optic. "Beautiful."

"What's it like to fly?" She reached up as if she could grab the spiral of a galaxy in her tiny hand. "To see this and know that you can have it all just by firing up your thrusters?" The longing in her voice was hard to miss.

"It's hard to explain. Flying is… enlightening. Humbling, enabling, amazing… it's freedom." I fell silent, searching for words I didn't have. Apis sighed longingly.

Suddenly struck by an idea, I turned my head and grinned at her.

"How would you like to find out?"

"Eenngghh… are you sure this is a good idea?"

Apis had been ecstatic at first, but now, looking over the edge of the rooftop and supported only by her pedes on top of mine and her arms tight around my torso while mine looped securely at the small of her back, she was beginning to have second thoughts.

"Of course I am." I grinned down at her. "Trust me. I'm a Seeker."

She winced and tucked her face into my canopy. "I trust you, I do, it's just AIEEE!"

I stepped off the building mid-sentence, making her cut off into a panicked scream. She clung to me, practically winding around me as she offlined her optics.

"Apis," I coaxed, sliding my hands up to her neck and shoulder and gingerly stroking her handlebars to get her to relax, "Apis, it's all right. You can look up now."

Apis peeked over her shoulder. When she saw that we were hovering safely, she stuck her head all the way out. Seeing how far we were from the ground made her cling a little tighter, but she vibrated with happiness.

"Nova," she whispered, awestruck, staring out over her town and up at the brilliant stars. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

By Apis's request, we flew most of the way, but when my thrusters began aching she was quick to insist that we walk so as not to undo the repairs I'd just gotten. Our interlocked hands swung between us. We rounded the last corner and hesitated across the street from Steelcrusher's shop. Apis groaned at the sight of lights in the lower shop levels.

"He waited up for me," she groaned. "Like I'm still a sparkling."

"He cares about you."

"Yeah, but I'm not a protoform anymore. I can take care of myself."

I couldn't resist a grin in response to her pout. "Oh, sure."

She gave my arm a playful shove. "Slagger!"

I laughed and caught her other hand in mine. We both paused, not wanting to give up the moment.

"I had fun," Apis said. "Thanks."

I cleared my vents. "Thank you for not laughing in my face."

"Why would I laugh? You're an interesting mech, Nova. Not hard on the optics, either."

I thought I might short-circuit from the heat of my faceplates. Apis sighed. "I guess I might as well get it over with," she muttered, glaring at the lights of the shop. "My room's up on the third level, so it's not like I can sneak past them…"

"I can," I reminded her. "Do you have a window? I can fly you up there. That way, no interrogation until tomorrow."

Apis grinned up at me. "That would be great."

So we ended up hovering in the air before Apis's window. After she was safely inside, she stuck her head back out to speak to me. I dropped down to optic-level.

"Really, Nova, thank you," she said. "I had a great time."

"Good," I said lamely, then reset my vocalizer. "I had fun too."

The silence came back and this time it was awkward, waiting for something.

Apis was the first to break it. She bit her lip, glanced this way and that, and then took a deep intake. She carefully put one hand on my shoulder, and slowly, giving me time to stop her if I wanted to (but I didn't want to, really didn't want to), leaned in, and gently pressed her mouthplates to mine.

The next thing I knew, I was flat on my back on the ground, there was the static in my sight that came from rebooting after a short-out, and Apis was in near-hysterics at my side and babbling that I'd fallen and she hadn't known what to do and she'd panicked and she'd called Starscream and…

Primus, she'd called Starscream. I was never going to live this down. I groaned and covered my face with my hands.

The worried chatter tapered off and I looked between my fingers to see Apis wilted at my side. "Apis?"

"Yes?"

I hurried to reassure her. "It's not… you didn't do anything wrong."

I was rewarded with a hopeful smile. "Then… why'd you groan and cover your face?"

"Starscream is never letting me forget this," I admitted. Her handlebars perked up happily.

Well, I decided, if Starscream's going to taunt me anyway…

I leaned up on my elbows. Apis went still, optics staring into mine, searching for… something. I hoped that she found it.

Might as well make sure it's worth it.

I closed the distance between us.

…and woke up on my back again a few kliks later, this time with Starscream cackling in the background.

I groaned and slapped my hands over my face.

Starscream had a lot to say about my glitch, usually accompanied by uncontrollable snickers. Only later, when we had readied ourselves for recharge, did something approaching seriousness return to both of us. Starscream's optics glowed through the darkness.

"You realize we can't stay," he said.

"I know."

"Our designations and faces are all over the datastream. I'm surprised that your femme doesn't already know who you are."

I hadn't considered whether Apis already knew more than I'd told her.

"She can't come with us where we're going."

"I know. Why are you telling me this now?"

"We leave tomorrow night."

I'd known we would eventually leave Khalkon, but I'd hoped that I could have more time with Apis. My Spark sank.

Starscream broke the silence again. "If you plan on saying goodbye, do it tomorrow."

It was painful to see Apis' face light up with happiness at the sight of me, only to fall when she realized why we were there. Knowing that the next time we met, if I ever saw her again, would be a long time away made this even harder.

"I knew you had to go," she said. "And I know the chances we'll meet again are slim, and that it probably wasn't smart to get involved… but I don't regret it," she whispered, reaching out to brush against the back of my hand. I was quick to catch her and Apis tightened her small, slim fingers in my larger ones.

"Even if I only got to be with you for a few orns…" She leaned up and kissed the side of my mouth, just far enough away that it wouldn't make me crash. "…I'm so grateful that I got to meet you at all."

We left Khalkon by air as shadows fell. I tried not to think about what I had left behind.

Tarn slipped away far below and Kaon appeared beneath us. The city crouched dark and brooding in the blasted, desolate land. Once-proud towers lay shattered on the broken streets. Once-thriving thoroughfares were deserted. There was no dust here; instead, the air felt stale and dead. The oppressive atmosphere pushed down on me as we landed in the grimy outskirts. All around I felt the optics of long-deactivated mechs staring at me, judging me. My sensors played tricks. Whispers met my audios, too soft to understand; figures moved in my peripheral vision but were gone when I looked. Kaon was an ancient city, a city of angry ghosts. She sheltered her children somewhere beneath her war-torn surface and threatened her enemies with a sluggish, yet potent, malice.

Starscream motioned me back towards a blackened building; a sign crunched deafeningly under our pedes as we slipped away.

/They know we're here,/ he commed. /The Autobots monitor activity everywhere in the city. But the others have been waiting for us./

We waited in the silent darkness. The growing shadows reached out their tendrils to ensnare chunks of rubble.

Night fell over Kaon.

Voices—real voices—reached our audios, indistinct at first but growing louder. Soon we could hear their movement, loud and clumsy in the dead air.

"…nothing here, I swear. You know how the sensors are. Probably just a glitch mouse." This one sounded scared. Young, too, maybe even younger than I.

"You know the drill. Anything disrupts the sensors, we have to investigate. You're probably right, but still…"

"You've heard the rumors, right? About Guardrail's team?"

"And Twin Twist's before that, and Spectrum's before that."

"Primus, I can't wait to get out of this slagging place. I tell you, nothing could be alive here. This is slumming it even for Decepticons."

"Patrols don't just vanish off the face of Cybertron."

"You don't think there's ghosts around here, do you? I've heard…"

"No such thing as ghosts. You could chat my audios off with all the things you've heard, Sprocket. Do you see anything?"

"Not on visual. I'm picking up traces of an energy signature. Think we should call for backup? Because that's sounding really good."

"Topspin's unit is coming from the eighth sector. They'll take a while, since the road collapsed."

"This city's got it in for us. I tell you, I can't wait to get out of… hey, there's some residual thermal energy here."

"I've got it too. Charge up your blaster." The second mech raised his voice. "This is Autobot security. We know you're here. Surrender now and you'll remain functional."

Starscream shifted, making as though to stand.

/What are you—/

/Trust me,/ he answered, and stood up, motioning for me to stay put. "Don't shoot!" he cried. He'd layered his voice with so much terror and pleading that I was almost fooled. I knew better. "I surrender!"

The Autobots drew near.

"Keep your hands where we can see them," the elder ordered. Starscream extended both arms towards them.

"Like this?"

With a shift of his plating, his completed null-rays emerged, already humming with energy. He fired.

"Hey, wh—!"

The younger Autobot's cry ended suddenly and there were sounds of a scuffle. I stood and saw Sprocket struggling with a pair of mechs. Each managed to pin one of his flailing arms, though he still screamed and kicked. A third Decepticon moved in front, blocking my view. There was the sound of shattering glass, a painful crunch, and the Autobot went limp.

The Decepticons tossed the shell aside as its color began to fade. There were five in all, red optics piercing the darkness. All of them were dull grey, the color of dead, Sparkless metal.

The mech in front, the largest, threw a salute. "Welcome back, Lord Starscream. Stealth Unit Alpha Commander Hardtop at your command. Acting Commander Shockwave sent us to escort you and your companion to the sixth sector entrance."

"Thoughtful of him." Starscream motioned to me and we stepped out into the street. /Stay behind me and keep quiet./

Hardtop turned to his troops. "Rampage, Stonewall, take care of that one." He jerked a thumb at the other Autobot, who lay offlined but alive. "If you'll follow me, my lord."

He led the way from the scene. It wasn't quite fast enough to avoid hearing the rending screech of metal and then horrible silence.

Our escort moved with muffled steps. They were part of the city; it was difficult to pick their grey forms apart from the shadowy ruins.

"It's our job to keep the Autobots afraid of the city. The ghost stories are our doing," Hardtop said. "That's what the paintjobs are for. We're the real ghosts of Kaon."

We ducked through a dark doorway into a cavernous hall. The ceiling looked prepared to collapse and crush us. The Stealth Unit paused around a featureless patch of floor and Hardtop scuffed away a sheet of metal to reveal a single dataport. He linked to it and a moment later part of the floor slid aside, revealing a dark staircase.

"The sixth sector entrance," he declared. "Do you require a guide?"

"It hasn't been that long," Starscream said. "Return to your stations."

The grey mechs melted back into the shadows, leaving no sign that they had ever been there. Starscream and I descended the staircase, the trapdoor closing behind us. The tunnel was low and dimly lit, but wide enough to accommodate our wings. Eventually it grew brighter and more regular. Noise grew from a low hum to the sound of movement and industry.

"Lord Starscream?" I muttered. He shot me a scathing look and changed the subject.

"The Stealth Units utilize recent technology that hides their energy signatures. Eventually, I hope, all Decepticons will leave no trace of their presence."

"Wouldn't it be difficult to locate our own mechs?"

"It's a problem. I'll have to check on Shockwave's progress."

Starscream paused, turning suddenly to face me.

"Before we go on," he said, "you need to know it won't be easy. It won't be like Iacon, where I could keep an optic on you. I can't help you. Decepticons leap on weakness; you can't be mine. You have to take care of yourself. Trust no one, be quick on your pedes. Try not to insult anyone. You don't have a trine to back you up. If you're pushed, push back. If an officer gives you an order, follow it. Right now, you are nothing, no more than the dust in our turbines, do you understand?"

I nodded. I couldn't get by on a glare or a sneer in this new territory. I'd need to prove myself, and until then, I should tread carefully.

The hallway opened into a large chamber. The light was dimmed for the night. Much of the cave had been constructed by Cybertronian hands, but some was naturally formed.

The mechs here, the few still awake, were clearly escaped slaves. Most were in some state of disrepair; I wondered whether this was due to a lack of materials, medics, or both. Most had red optics. All wore the purple Decepticon insignia… and all were staring at us.

"Lord Starscream," someone said at last. The greeting was repeated, murmured by dozens of vocal processors. Starscream took it in stride, sweeping his way through the crowd. He'd always been arrogant, but now I saw him in his element: in power and loving it. The stares that followed Starscream—fearful, uncertain, resentful—inevitably landed on me. Their optics burned into the backs of my wings.

I held my head high and exuded cool superiority as I followed my creator through the subterranean city. There were sparse furnishings and a vast network of doors and hallways that Starscream navigated with ease.

"You'll learn your way around," Starscream said. "We're nearing the command center now, so most of these are officers' quarters."

"Where do I stay?"

"Near me. Be grateful. Not everyone gets his own room." We passed a pair of guards who straightened as we walked by. "Don't speak unless spoken to. And don't say anything stupid."

Doors slid open before us and Starscream led the way into the command center. It was a large, circular area built on two levels, one an astrometer or two higher than the other. Busy mechs occupied the consoles and screens scattered around the walls. They scrambled up as we entered.

Two mechs observed the rest from the second level. Both bowed as we ascended. One, a mech with dark purple plating, stepped forward. I was taken aback by his featureless face: he had no mouth, no olfactory ridge, just a single red optic.

"Congratulations on your safe return, Lord Starscream," he said. His cultured voice came as a shock. I'd been expecting a voice of lesser quality, not this crisp and precise speech.

"Shockwave," Starscream said. "I trust the preparations have gone smoothly?"

"Indeed. Have I informed you of the safe arrival of our Communications Officer?" Shockwave indicated the mech beside him.

"Soundwave," said Starscream. The second mech, his face hidden beneath a red visor and a silver mask, inclined his head.

"Starscream: acknowledged. Query: identity of your companion?"

Starscream chose his words with caution. "A new recruit. Nova assisted in my departure from Iacon."

Both mechs watched me closely. Soundwave's stare was disconcerting. I felt that he could see through Starscream's story and straight into my processor.

After they had talked for several cycles, discussing numbers and weapons, Starscream motioned to me. "We've had a long journey," he said. "We require recharge."

Shockwave bowed again. "As you wish, my lord. Your wingmates have prepared your quarters."

Starscream visibly cheered up. "When did they arrive?"

"An orn ago."

Starscream's quarters were close to the command center. As the door slid open, two Seeker-shaped cannonballs shot out, slamming him into the wall across the hallway.

"Screamer!"

"Don't call me that, idiot!" Starscream's hand appeared out of the tangle of mechs, jerking to the right. "Door, inside, over there. Yours."

I stepped inside my quarters and gasped. The rooms were even more spacious than those in Iacon. This couldn't be standard for "new recruits." I asked Starscream about it as soon as he disentangled from his wingmates. He answered with a mysterious smile.

"They were vacated," he said. "Recharge. I have work to do. So will you."