12.Kaon


After a night of uneasy dreams in which Sprocket still screamed in terror and fought to live, I entered Starscream's quarters and found Skywarp. He tossed me an energon cube. "Starscream's busy with preparations, so you've got the orn to explore."

"Preparations? For what?"

"For our glorious return to the surface world or some poetic slag," Skywarp said with a snort. "We're getting ready to jump back in the fight. It'll give the Autobots something to chew on." He laughed, then waved a hand in farewell as he headed for the door. "Anyway, go have a look around. Try not to get your aft kicked."

"I'll keep that in mind."

I drank my energon in a rush and went out into the halls. Mechs watched me curiously; whether because of my wings, my novelty, or whatever usually attracted their optics, I didn't know. I ignored them. Instead, I peeked into any open doors I saw, finding washracks, storerooms, more hallways, common areas.

Then I looked into a dim room and saw a stilled conveyor belt and several dark piles. I went inside for a better look. The room was larger than it had first appeared. Shadows loomed around me. The glow of my optics gleamed off of broken metal surfaces and shards of glass. The conveyor belt was stained in several places. I looked closer—it was energon.

What is this place? I wondered. I peered closer at the nearest pile. A moment later I recoiled… was that a hand? Morbidly fascinated, I looked again and saw more discarded parts, some in better condition than others. They all came from different mechs, many battle-damaged. The only thing they had in common was that all were still usable.

"You're early."

The quiet statement made me jerk away from the macabre heap. A mech had appeared while I was distracted. The door hissed shut, throwing us into near-darkness. I tensed at the loss of my escape route.

The mech was neither overly large nor very small, with a wingless silhouette. The red glow of his optics bounced off my armor and the stacks of plating.

"Wouldn't expect to see you here for a while yet," he said. His voice was deep and husky.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Undertaker," he said. "Designation and function. Yours?"

"Nova."

"I thought so." He paced around me, scanning me up and down. "Fine set of wings you've got there. Haven't had new wings for a while. Seems to be the first thing to get destroyed."

"Uh—"

"Autobots like to strip a Seeker before we get there. Like the wings for trophies. Try to crash on our side when you go."

"I—"

"Forgive me if I ramble. I don't get visitors. You bring back memories."

"Memories? Of what?"

"Ah, Seekers, the most important parts always destroyed when they come in here. Wings, thrusters? Gone. Let me see." Undertaker came right up to me, strong fingers pulling at my arm. I jerked away. "Unmodified. No weapons. You'll need to fix that."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ah, just like his frame. Now there was a frame I'd have loved to get my hands on. Perfect form, beautifully made. That cannon would have been a prize… never would have passed that on without his permission. But can't get permission from the dead. You can tell anything you want to a shell and they'll just listen. It wears on the processor. All those astrocycles. Those wings of yours are nice. What would he think of you? Well, you won't join him for a long time."

"Who?"

"Unless I'm wrong." His optics took on a sinister gleam. "I don't get visitors. You're a strange one. You came early. Are you volunteering? Are you already offlined? Those pretty wings could serve another Seeker, so nice of you to keep them intact for me."

I backed away from him. "I'm not offlined," I said. "I was just looking."

"You haven't realized yet. I see. Strange ghost… haven't noticed…"

"I'm not a ghost! I'm alive!"

"Mechs who come in here never go out. A hand here, a pede there, repair, repaint, and recycle, no sense in wasting, but Primus, he was a mech with a frame I'd have loved…"

"I'm alive!" I repeated emphatically, backing into the wall before his relentless advance. I activated the command to open my chest. The blue glow of my Spark made him rear back, optics wide.

"Now there's something I haven't seen in a long time," he murmured at last. He looked up into my face. "You are alive… you are alive. You're back… no, not you, not with those pretty wings…" He looked back at my Spark and I closed my chamber uncomfortably.

"I'm leaving," I told him, skirting around him in the direction of the door.

"Mechs who come in here never go out," he said quietly, still staring at me.

"Then let me be the first," I answered. The door opened and I backed out. Undertaker's optics followed me until the door closed.

I hurried away from that door as fast as my dignity would allow. Undertaker had shaken me. His rambling had seemed to have no substance, and yet I had the feeling that he'd said something important.

The hallway ended at an impressive door. I hesitated before it, reading the glyphs which traveled in winding spirals across its surface—knowledge, memory, truth, past, thoughts, and dreams—before it opened to let another mech out. I stepped aside to let him pass. Then, intrigued, I entered.

The soft blue glow of active consoles and shelf upon shelf of datapads permeated the large, dark room. There were a few others inside, absorbed in their work. It was completely silent save occasional footsteps or a soft murmur. I walked as quietly as I could, marveling at the sheer amount of data contained in one place. The anxiety from my encounter with Undertaker soaked away in the soothing atmosphere.

At the other end of the long hall was another door. I went through and found myself in a round room surrounded by six doors. Each was labeled with one of the six glyphs I'd seen outside.

"Are you looking for something?" a soft voice asked. I turned to see a mech—where had he come from? He was tall and thin; his frame suggested a flier, though he lacked visible wings. Pale red optics gleamed from his silvery face.

"I, ah, no... what is this place?" I asked quietly, reluctant to disturb the peace.

"The Archives," the silver mech replied. Something in his gaze felt strange, but I couldn't place it. "Each of these doors leads to one of our halls." He pointed to the door labeled "past." "The Hall of Records, the history of our kind." The next door displayed "truth." "The Hall of Truth, for scientists. Next the Hall of Thoughts, for those seeking theory and philosophy. The Hall of Dreams, full of stories for entertainment. And the Hall of Memory."

"What's in there?" I asked.

"Follow me."

He led the way through the door and into the next hall. There were no datapads here, only consoles. Three of the seven were occupied, the mechs sitting there linked directly into them, immersed in whatever data was being viewed.

"Here in this room are the compiled memories of all Decepticons," the Archivist said. "All who wish to copy their memory to the Archives may. It will be locked from public view until their termination; a mech may choose to pass his memories to those who follow. Would you like to leave your memories here?"

"Maybe later. So there are entire lives here?"

The mech nodded slowly. "Nearly every Decepticon who was ever online."

"Starscream's memories are here?"

"Yes."

I hesitated. "Megatron?"

"Of course." The Archivist's gaze intensified as he looked me over. "Yes. Up until the very last moment. Starscream brought everything back."

"What do you mean, he brought it back?"

"He was the only one who witnessed Megatron's termination. He retrieved the contents of Megatron's processor before the Autobots could and visited here earlier to deliver them."

"I didn't know," I murmured.

"Megatron's memory will remain locked. If you're looking for him, you may find him in someone else's memory."

Frowning, I took my leave. I would like to return here soon and leave some of my memory, some of myself, so that others might understand why I'd done what I had when I was long-offlined. I wanted to see Megatron, too, and understand him, and to see Starscream and learn more about him. Perhaps learning from past Decepticons would help me get by here.

As I made my way back to the command center, I reflected on what the Archivist had said. Starscream never talked about Axis. He'd never told me anything about his experiences in the War. I had to know what I was up against. I would ask Starscream about the War, the Decepticons, Earth, Megatron. If anyone would know, surely it would be him. He'd been Megatron's second-in-command.

I found Starscream in his quarters with Thundercracker, speaking softly together. They stopped as I came in.

"Nova. Been exploring?" Starscream asked. I nodded.

"I met a mech called Undertaker and found the Archives. Do you have a cycle? I want to talk to you."

Starscream threw a glance at the door. "There are things I really should get back to."

"Shockwave's managed for a centivorn without you," Thundercracker said. "I'm sure he can handle another few breems."

"But now, just when we've got everything—?"

"Talk with Nova. He's your sparkling. I'll let you know if there's a major crisis in the next megacycle," his wingmate said. I gave him a grateful smile as he passed. His energy field nudged mine affectionately.

Starscream gestured to his wingmate's vacated seat. "Undertaker? You actually went in there?"

"It's not like I knew beforehand," I pointed out. "You should put up a sign."

"And you got out alive? He tends to scrap mechs who wander in there. His processor is glitched, but no one else will take his function."

I remembered something Undertaker had said. "Do Autobots really take Seekers' wings as trophies?"

"They do. I've seen too many stripped Seekers after a battle..."

I shared his grimace. Wings were a Seeker's pride. The idea of losing my wings, even in death, terrified me.

"And you visited the Archives. Did you spend any time in the Hall of Memory?"

"The Archivist mentioned something interesting. About Megatron's memories." Starscream frowned. "You never mentioned you were there at Axis."

"Everyone was at Axis."

"But you were there when Megatron... was offlined."

"Did he say I killed him?" he asked.

"No. I just want to know, and you're the only one alive who saw it."

Starscream hesitated. "I'd rather keep it to myself, believe it or not."

"I understand. But I'd still like to know."

He sneered. "Of course, you'll order me to tell you whether I want to or not."

"I might."

Finally he looked past me, scowling at the wall.

"We shouldn't have been there. The Autobot fleet had stopped at the Axis cluster to regroup and repair themselves, and Megatron ordered the attack. We had the element of surprise, but Autobots can be surprisingly creative. I went to argue with Megatron... we always argued."

"Why?"

He snorted. "Because he was an idiot. I was there to tell him just how much of an idiot he was." He sounded bitter. "We argued. Then the world exploded. An Autobot gunner had hit the flagship right in the command center." He hesitated, and I wondered what he was editing out of the story. "And that was all. The Autobots boarded and took the survivors prisoner."

"If that was all, is it secret?" I asked.

"Don't push your luck, scraplet."

"Tell me what really happened," I ordered in frustration. "Show me if you can't say it."

His Spark-oath compelled him to obey a direct order. He glared at me, reaching unwillingly to his arm and tugging out a cable. I bared the corresponding port and he linked us together.

I had a moment to feel his consciousness swirling around with mine, roiling with pride and bitterness, yearning and anger, before he plunged me into a memory file. I watched through Starscream's optics as he and Megatron stood on the bridge of a starship, a ferocious battle raging outside.

"…foolishness when we should have gone on and secured our hold on Cybertron!" Starscream was saying.

"This is our chance to destroy Prime and his Autobots," Megatron growled. "They weren't expecting us."

"This 'battle' is a disaster," the Seeker scoffed. "Have too many vorns made you forget how to wage war in space? We need to pull back and regroup before we lose too many of our soldiers..."

"Pull back?" bellowed Megatron. "I'm finished retreating! Decepticons don't retreat! It's time we reminded them."

"Then continue this idiocy!" Starscream hissed. "I, for one, am taking my Seekers and—"

Megatron backhanded him hard enough to send the smaller mech sprawling. "Deserters will be punished," he snarled. "Your treachery knows no bounds, Starscream!"

Starscream shot angrily to his pedes. "And your stubbornness will kill us all! We can't—"

As he spoke, Megatron's optics focused over Starscream's shoulder. Without warning, he seized his second's arm, wrenching him forward and stepping between him and the windows in one stride. All of this took less than a klik, and then the world erupted.

The explosion blew fire and shrapnel everywhere. The force of it threw both mechs into the air. Starscream's wings and left side were a mass of searing agony as he landed heavily, barely online. For half a cycle he lay staring at the glowing shards of metal littering the deck, and then he mustered up his strength and lifted himself to one elbow, looking around.

Burnt and twisted metal lay among glittering pieces of reinforced glass all over the demolished bridge. The ship's emergency field shimmered over the breach, keeping everything from being sucked into the void. Megatron lay a body length away.

Starscream dragged himself to his commander's side, leaving a trail of energon. Megatron's once-proud frame was in ruins, and energon formed a spreading pool beneath him. The Seeker shifted so he could touch Megatron with his functioning arm. Red optics flickered, focused. No words were exchanged, though Starscream's Spark was a whirl of pain and confusion over Megatron's final act. The other mech reached up and touched Starscream's chest just over his Spark. Then his arm fell to the floor with a clang and his optics went dark and wrenching agony rent Starscream's Spark, like it was being torn apart—

"Enough," Starscream said, jerking away and leaving me trembling. I stared at him, my processor struggling to catch up.

"It hurt," I said, momentarily unable to think of anything else.

"Of course it hurt, my wings were half-melted. I should get back to the command center."

I followed him, determined for answers. "When he died, it hurt your Spark." I'd never heard of such a thing.

"No matter. I need to return to my work."

We were almost at the command center. "Hey," someone called. I turned. The mech who'd spoken looked young, his frame a newer model based on an Earth design.

"Oh, excellent," I heard Starscream mutter.

The groundling took two steps forward. His red-and-black plating was battered, and I noticed scars on his wrists. An escaped slave.

"What are you looking at?" he snapped.

"You called me," I said defensively.

"You looking for trouble?"

"Not really."

"I know about you, Autobot. You can't pass as one of us!"

There were murmurs from the mechs who had gathered to see what was going on. I hitched my wings higher, narrowing my optics angrily.

"I'm as Decepticon as you are."

The red mech smashed his fists together. "Then prove it. I'll see you in the arena."

He departed, along with many of the gawkers. I glanced back at Starscream, who looked equal parts amused and resigned. "What just happened?"

Starscream's mouthplates twitched into a smirk. "You've been challenged. We settle disputes through duels here."

"What dispute? He just… I didn't even…"

"What does it matter? You've been challenged, and if you back down they'll think you're weak."

There was a flash of purple between us and Skywarp was suddenly there. I jumped straight into the wall in surprise.

"Hey, Nova! Is it true you got challenged already?"

"Where did… how did you…?"

"I see the grapevine is still functioning as efficiently as ever," Starscream said dryly.

"What's a grape—never mind! How the slag did you-?"

"Don't blow a circuit," laughed Skywarp. "How did you think I got my designation? The Autobots had my teleport on lockdown but Screamer—"

"Don't call me that!"

"—fixed the thingy but that's not important now, did you or didn't you?"

"He did," Starscream said.

"Nice! This I've gotta see. Try not to get your aft kicked!"

He was gone in another flash of purple. I glanced anxiously at Starscream, but his smirk offered no sympathy.

"We'd better get moving," he said. "Wouldn't want to be late, would we?"

I bobbed along unwillingly at his side. "How serious are these duels, exactly?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"On who's fighting and how angry they are. You'll draw in quite an audience. That groundpounder seems to know where you came from."

"I didn't even do anything!"

"Do me a favor and win. I'd hate to see a Seeker beaten by a groundpounder."

I understood that there was more than Starscream's pride at stake. He'd taken a risk bringing me here; if I failed to prove myself, it would reflect poorly on him.

We entered the largest area I'd yet seen in Kaon. The cavernous chamber was full of noisy Decepticons.

"The arena," Starscream told me. "Sparring grounds. Duels are fought in the center, where the seats are."

"Is it always so crowded?"

"This is a special occasion."

"I'm so special that I get to have my aft handed to me in front of half the fragging Decepticon army?"

Starscream's optics flared. "You'd better not."

We approached the arena, where Skywarp and Thundercracker were already waiting.

"Your opponent has given up his weapons," Thundercracker told me. "An honorable mech."

"You mean he didn't have to?" I was growing more nervous by the klik.

"Of course not," Starscream said. "You're allowed to take off, but only if you land in the ring. If you step out or get forced out, you forfeit. Aside from that, anything goes."

"Wh- anything?" All three nodded. "When does it end?"

"Whenever the victor chooses," Starscream said. My intakes hitched nervously. "I have the authority to call a halt if things get out of hand. Don't make me do that. Favoritism will get us both killed."

The crowd was getting impatient, and my opponent looked edgy. With no further words, Starscream and Skywarp went off for a better view. Thundercracker accompanied me to the edge of the ring.

/You understand how important this is?/ he asked over comm. / They're testing you, and testing Starscream. There are enough doubts about him already./

/Wait, what? What do you—/

He pushed me into the ring, the border of which was carved into the floor and lined with glyphs. My opponent watched me intently, grinning.

"Come on, Autobrat," he taunted. He was larger than I, though not by much, and if the cheering was any indication, he was more experienced in the arena.

The red mech made the first move, feinting forward and darting back. He'd been testing my nerve; I hadn't flinched. While he processed this, I lunged. He had quick reflexes. He jerked aside and punched at my unguarded back. Faster than I'd expected. I caught a flash of his still-grinning face and a lick of anger rose in my Spark.

Who was he to doubt my place here? I was a Decepticon. I belonged here.

I fought with everything that Starscream and the trine had taught me, but the slagger was always one step ahead, and still smiling.

"Is that all?" he asked as we were pressed close. I could hear his vents whirring. At least I'm making him work at it. Without waiting for a reply, he hooked his leg around mine and swept my pedes from under me. I grabbed him as I fell, steering so he'd land on the bottom. He heaved upwards to flip us over, pinning me. "I thought you might make it difficult, but that wasn't so hard. Kind of pathetic, actually."

Cold fury surged in my Spark. Baring my denta in a snarl, I ground out, "Finish it first, then brag."

I bucked up, loosening his hold on me and head-butting him in the face. As he floundered, dazed, I seized his throat and reversed our positions again, slamming him into the ground so hard that something cracked. I'd wiped the smirk from his faceplates. I felt a dizzying satisfaction at his pained gasp of "Yield!"

Noise reached my audios and after a moment I realized that they were cheering. For… me.

They shouted and laughed, yelling praise and advice. I caught the gist of what they were saying and realized in a horrified instant that they wanted me to terminate him.

Was that the Decepticon way? Those weak enough to lose weren't worth the energon they consumed? I could do it, so easily, just by exerting more pressure on the delicate cables of his neck, or slicing vital wiring with just a twitch of my claws…

I could almost feel the energon spilling over my hands. Something inside me wanted this, wanted it enough to make my fingers twitch just a bit tighter, and I felt the other mech shudder.

To hold another mech's life in your hands is a grave responsibility.

I released his throat and stood, taking a step back. There were a few disappointed groans, but they kept cheering all the same. As the crowd began to disperse, I reached down to help the red mech up. He accepted my outstretched hand as other mechs flooded out of the seats, some heading for the hallways, some pausing to give me an appraising stare.

"I thought I was done for," the red mech said.

"You would have had me if you'd been armed," I said. "Almost had me anyway." After a moment's hesitation, I offered, "I'm Nova."

"Ramrod," he returned. "That was a good fight. We should try that again sometime."

"Er…" I hadn't expected such a drastic turnaround. Moments ago this mech had been going for my Spark and now he sounded as if we'd met over high-grade.

"No hard feelings. You could have offlined me for the sport of it."

"You could have shot me in the face," I said.

"Why don't you find me sometime and I'll show you some tricks? You've got the makings of a fighter. And that's a smart thing to be around here—Decepticons like fighters."

"Like Megatron?"

Ramrod grinned. "So I've heard."

Starscream was suddenly at my side, Skywarp hanging on my back. Thundercracker was more reserved, but he radiated calm approval.

"That's a good kid!" Skywarp crowed, helm bumping affectionately against mine. He caught sight of Ramrod and shamelessly looked him up and down. "Ooh, he's a keeper."

"What…?!" I shrugged him off, embarrassed.

Starscream pulled me aside. "Well done," he murmured. That was all, but I stood a little straighter at the pride in his voice.

"Nova!"

This was from Ramrod, who had edged away from the amorous Skywarp. He gestured to another part of the room. "Want to spar some? Show me that head-butt of yours again and I'll teach you a reversal."

"Uh, sure," I said uncertainly. I'd never been accepted into any of the social circles back in Iacon, so I had no idea how to act now. I didn't think Skywarp's winking-and-nudging was quite what Ramrod had in mind, and it was certainly nothing like I'd felt around Apis.

Perhaps this was what it was like to make a friend.