Blackarachnia could hear the sound of her own breath within the quiet hum of Prime's quarters. The room was a cramped space and nearly pitched black save for the red outline of Prime. Blackarachnia clenched the blade between her servos and listened for a sign of conscious movement. Nothing. Lifting the sharpened object above her head with one hand, she moved her other towards the sleeping Prime only for a pair of bright, blue optics to snap open across Optimus's faceplate. Spotting the gleam of a knife, the Autobot leaped from his recharge slab, clapping his hands together and activating the overhead lights. The room illuminated, blinding Blackarachnia's optics and resulting in her dropping the blade.

'Whoa!' Optimus hurdled over his slab and unfolded his axe, battle ready.

Blackarachnia massaged her four optics and extended a servo towards the tenacious Autobot. 'Wait! This isn't what it looks like, I swear—.'

Optimus banged the hilt of his axe against his slab. 'Ironhide! Blackarachnia is trying to kill me!'

'What!?' Ironhide's head popped out from underneath the recharge slab. 'I freaking knew it!'

Blackarachnia raised her hands above her head. 'Okay, first of all, I wasn't trying to kill you, second of all...' she stared at Ironhide skeptically. 'Why are you under Prime's bed? Were you there this whole time?'

Ironhide brandished a digit towards her. 'Don't change the subject, Decepticon!'

'Wait, is this where you sleep?'

Optimus leaned over the slab to face Ironhide. 'There is no shame in the duty of a fully-fledged bed bro.' the two robots slammed their fists together, shouting in unison. 'BED BROS!'

Ironhide nodded loyally. 'I got your back, bed-bro. No monsters under the bed tonight.' He grinned. 'Except for me.'

Blackarachnia shook her head. 'This is why I sleep in a jail cell instead.'

'Anyways!' Optimus thrusted his axe forward, locking it inches below the ex-Decepticon's chin. 'What is your deal?'

Blackarachnia's optics narrowed. 'Pick up what I dropped and see for yourself.'

'Done.' Ironhide, still lying beneath the slab, had lifted the sharp object above his head, handing it to Optimus.

'It looks like a knife.'

'Well spoiler alert: It's not, take a closer look.'

Optimus squinted his optics. 'Don't tell me…'

'It's a shopping discount card. One that's shaped like a knife.' She said, truthfully.

Optimus raised the card to the light. 'But… why? Who designs a card like this?' he tapped his index finger against its tip. 'It's sharp too. Wait a second, this can absolutely substitute for a knife!'

'Oh, I heard of those.' Ironhide said, snapping his fingers. 'Yeah, the folks at Talon IV were sick of the crime rates and decided to turn their currency into weapons for self-defence! Want to steal a purse? Good luck except—oh that's right, thanks to its built-in scimitars, you no longer have any fingers.'

Optimus flipped the card around. 'It's so inconvenient…' He retreated his axe, folding it back into his lower arm. '…yet everything considered—completely believable. If what Ironhide says is true, I owe you an apology, Blackarachnia.'

Blackarachnia let her arms drop and exhaled. 'Thank you… I found it back when I was raiding Snaptrap's ship. Stepped on it really. I still have the scar on my foot…' She shook her head. 'But seriously, I just checked the radar and it turns out we'll be passing over Talon IV in about an hour. So like, we can stop by its legendary shopping center and pick up some supplies if everyone's up for it.'

'Sounds like a plan.' Optimus stared at Ironhide, who casually remained beneath the bed. 'Any objections?'

He snorted, staring down Blackarachnia from below. 'I just don't get why some people are checking the radar at four in the morning.'

'I live in a prison cell. It doesn't make it much easier to sleep.'

'Oh. Fair enough.'

The three robots remained where they were, silent. Optimus cleared his throat. 'So uh… Ironhide, you wouldn't happen to be—.'

'Stuck under the bed? Yes.' He stretched his arms up towards them. 'Mind pulling me out?'

Talon IV, a planet once flourishing with history and culture stemming from a lost-civilization—long since stripped away and terraformed to make room for the galaxy's industrial development. On one side of the planet was a well-populated area consisting of a maze of market's and shopping districts and living quarters populated by a plethora of alien species, on the other was a vast wasteland of nothingness. Thundercracker liked the latter side better, and that's just where he found himself.

Fixing his goggles back over his optics, Thundercracker returned to his self-appointed duties of polishing Skywarp's stasis tube.

'Is he still unwell?' Obsidian asked, hovering over the blue Seeker.

'Yeah, kind of.' He tapped at a panel and the horizontal tube opened upwards, exposing Skywarp's body to the warm, Talonian air. 'He's better than before actually. It shouldn't take long for him to return to his senses.'

'I see.' Obsidian had been staring at Starscream, the Seeker commander was sitting in his makeshift throne (Thundercracker had built it himself using tree branches and glue). He was facing the other way, concealing his face from the others.

'Starscream eh?' Thundercracker noticed, motioning to the commander. 'What do you reckon he's thinking of?'

'Something, hopefully.' Obsidian hovered towards him but stopped. Something seemed off. 'Hm… Strika?'

The large robot blinked out of her daydream, nodded and placed herself in front of Starscream, staring at him in disbelief. 'Oh you've got to be kidding me!'

Thundercracker whipped his head between the two Decepticons. 'What, he's not dead is he? That wouldn't make any sense…'

'Asleep…' Strika clapped her hands together over the seeker's head, snapping him awake.

Starscream let out a yawn and dragged a lazy digit over his optic. 'Do you mind?'

'Do you? Is this really a time for… for naps?!' She pointed a meaty digit towards the empty sandy landscape. 'We are stuck here wasting our time in the middle of nowhere. All the while our enemies continue to escape our grasp. But then there's you: acting as though you are on some kind of vacation!'

'Your point?'

Strika clenched her hands into fists, resisting the urge to beat Starscream down. 'My point is that you're unfit! The Prime is nowhere in sight and we are still stranded in neutral space!'

'Strika…' Obsidian placed a spindly servo on his cohort's shoulder. 'Allow me.' The hovering Decepticon cleared his throat, clasping his hands neatly behind his back as he leaned towards his commander. 'Starscream, I believe that I speak for all of us when I say we'd have an easier time sleeping at night if you were to brief us as to how you expect to ensnare the Prime.'

Starscream folded his arms over his chest and squinted at the Decepticon. 'You're asking if I have a plan.'

'To summarize, yes.'

'To summarize, I totally do. Why do you ask?' He leaned forward from his "throne", drawing his face closer to Obsidian's. 'What, are you saying you have a better plan of attack? If so… then good. It is your job as strategist after all.'

'Starscream, please. I am one of the most decorated military geniuses in the Decepticon hierarchy. I have won countless battles, taught some of the most sophisticated of plays to some of the most notoriously single-minded gun-fondlers. I have even inspired strategies that are being adopted by the Autobots themselves. I've plenty of plans tucked away in my head, but that… that is for when we actually achieve in our goal of locating him, first.' The strategist pressed a thin digit against Starscream's chest, pushing him back into his throne. 'It is your job as the leader of the Seekers to, how should I put it: Seek the Prime out. I theorize battle strategies, ways to eliminate targets. It is the Seeker's duty to find those targets ahead of time.'

Starscream clasped his hands together, staring at the flying Decepticon through fiery orange optics. 'Are you done?'

'Yes.'

'Good. Now please, take a seat as I explain how dumb you are.'

Neither Obsidian nor Strika reacted. Thundercracker pretended to be busy working on Skywarp, as to keep himself uninvolved.

Starscream pushed against the arms of his makeshift throne and lifted himself to his feet. 'First, riddle me this, what do you see around you?'

Strika craned her head around skeptically. 'Sand… dirt… some weeds—tumbleweeds. Oh hey, there's a tree.'

'Et tu, Obsidian?'

'Nothing. Nothing of value whatsoever.'

A cat-like grin spread across Starscream's face. 'Now, what should you be seeing around you. Not what's there now—but what should be here in its place.'

Strika pondered this for a moment, though Obsidian responded with a blunt: 'I don't know.'

'Oh I'm sorry. If your tiny, baby, minds don't understand, then I suppose I'll just have to explain myself.' He gestured to the landscape around him. 'Purple hallways, wayward computers alight with battle stats and target visuals, soldiers marching obediently through the corridors, sharing information as they equip for battle with path blasters and fusion rifles. That is what remains to be seen—that's where we belong. We're not searching for Optimus Prime because we won't, it's because we can't, not in this condition. Don't get me wrong, Astrotrain is a very… nice, individual. But we cannot afford to keep calling him up whenever we want to be somewhere.'

Obsidian drew a digit to his chin. 'Go on.'

Starscream bared his teeth as he released a small, ball-like object from his grasp. The orb sputtered in the air before splitting apart and forming a large, violet hologram; taking the form of the symbolic flagship of the Decepticon battle fleet. 'I have a plan take back the Nemesis.'

Obsidian seemed unsure. 'The Nemesis? The most heavily fortified ship in the Decepticon armada? …Any idea where to look?'

'Not to worry, I have already gone over the details with Soundwave…'

Strika folded her arms. 'How did that go?'

'Quite well actually.' Starscream said hesitantly.

Four hours earlier… A pit stop located in neutral space…

'I HATE YOU!'

Soundwave's hologram shone brightly in the dark. 'Considering how long we have been forced to behave in one another's presence, I can assure you the feeling is mutual.'

'Oh don't you act like we're on equal footing here, Soundwave. You're living the dream as leader of the Decepticons while I'm out here breaking my back trying to find Megatron's killer on backwater planet after backwater planet. It's all grits and glory to you, and organic waste matter for me.'

'Then I see we are both precisely where we belong.'

'I—.' Starscream stopped, realizing where Soundwave was getting at. He punched through the hologram, his breath-rate escalating. 'I'm going to kill you the next chance I get.'

'No you won't.'

'And just why—.'

'Because I'm willing to give you what you want.'

Starscream settled his breathing. 'That's a broad spectrum. And just what do I want?'

'You tell me. I can't read your mind—not from halfway across the galaxy.'

The Seeker commander turned away from the transmission. 'Respect… That's it, I want the very respect I lost around the time I lost the Nemesis.'

Soundwave went silent.

'What? What are you thinking?'

'I just find your answer… off-putting—See, I thought you wanted leadership.'

Starscream stared into the middle distance. 'Soundwave… I don't want leadership. Not for the sake of leading anyway, maybe I did once before but… I thought you knew that.' He shook his head. 'No. I want to lead because I know it's the last thing Megatron would want. I want to lead because Megatron would despise the notion—it would be the ultimate revenge fantasy. The day I take control of the Decepticons is the day I take a metaphoric piss on Megatron's grave.'

Soundwave's visor narrowed. 'How suave. Concerning the Nemesis… I had a small chat with Slipstream not too long ago. 'Gave her information regarding the possible whereabouts of Optimus Prime.'

'You're giving out hints?!'

'Only to those with the currency for it.'

Starscream folded his arms. 'I can't believe this…Alright then, tell me what you told her.'

'I told her there were sightings of an Ark-class spaceship nearing Talon IV.'

'And this is true?'

'I don't know. According to my sources there is…'

Starscream cracked his fingers. 'Then that's where they'll both be.' He planned out a set of co-ordinates in his head, stopping only momentarily to consider his own source. 'Something's… no.'

'Pardon?'

Starscream pressed the tip of his index finger against the hologram. 'Why are you telling me all this? What do you expect is going to happen?

'I expect no payment from you, Starscream.'

'That's not what I mean, what do you gain from giving me this advantage? Unless…' A grin curled across Starscream's lips. 'Oh. I see now.'

'I have my own reasons, Starscream.'

'You think Slipstream is about to win, don't you?'

Soundwave didn't move.

'That's it then, you don't want Slipstream to win! But why? Why her specifically? Or is it even personal to begin with? Do you fear the inevitability of someone stealing leadership from you?'

Soundwave relaxed and lowered his shoulders. 'Starscream, you are an endless source of single-mindedness.' He raised a large servo over his head. 'This goes beyond whatever you believe in, conqueror, until then, the Nemesis, and Optimus, are yours to take. Do as you wish.' He lowered his hand, and the Hologram dissipated, leaving Starscream alone once again.

Now

'Okay, wait one darned minute. Why don't we just kill Prime before they do?'

Starscream, Obsidian and Strika stopped and stared at Thundercracker. He wrung his hands together over Skywarp's cannisters as he tried to explain himself. 'The reason Slipstream is here is because of Optimus. Shouldn't we be here for the same reason?'

Starscream snickered to himself as he approached his fellow Seeker. 'Thundercracker, Thundercracker, Thundercracker… We have to kill Optimus before Slipstream does. Unless we are lucky—that is, lottery winning levels of lucky and manage to shoot Prime down beforehand, Slipstream will use her massive flagship literally built to raze worlds to eviscerate him off the face of the Universe. In short we're going to need to take the Nemesis for ourselves.'

'We won't be able to.' Strika said, reluctantly. 'Soundwave said that if any Decepticons try killing each other, we'll have uh, death to answer to. Not his exact words but generally speaking…'

He raised a hand to the bulky Decepticon. 'He also said we were allowed to defend ourselves. If a seeker shoots you, you shoot back, simple enough?'

She shrugged. 'I should be able to handle it.'

'Good.' Starscream turned to Obsidian, smiling from ear to ear. 'Who's the one without a plan now?' He raised his hands above his head, rotating his wrists like they were a pair of rotors. '"Look at me: I'm Obsidian, I don't know what the ground feels like and can't make my own plans without being dumb. Dur durr, Herpity doo! See, that's what you sound like, you nerd!'

Obsidian remained unimpressed by Starscream's display. He waved a servo towards Thundercracker. 'Perhaps we should attempt negotiations beforehand. Thundercracker, any ideas as to how we can expect to find a comms signal.'

The blue Seeker leaned against Skywarp's horizontal pod. 'If the Nemesis is anywhere, it'll be floating within the outskirts of the town complex. Our best bet would be to go there and scan for nearby networks.'

Strika made a pair of quotation gestures with her digits. 'In other words, if we want to "commune" with them, we're going to have to infiltrate the city first.'

'Let's not get ahead of ourselves.' Starscream interjected. 'There's no need for infiltration—it's not like this planet wants us, but it's not like there's anything stopping us from just walking in.'

Obsidian clasped his hands together. 'Then we go to the city, pick up a signal, and make contact with Slipstream.' He nodded. 'Good. I love it when there's a valid plan of action.'

'Of course.' Starscream pressed his heel against his wooden throne and placed his hands on his hips smugly. 'Prepare yourselves Decepticons, for we move forward now. Under my awesome leadership we will absolutely annihilate the Autobot—'

'AAAAGGGGHHHHH!'

Starscream swung his head around, nearly falling off his throne. 'What the hell?!'

Lying faced up in his canister, Skywarp shrieked, his optics fired a white beam of light out of either socket. A blood-red liquid erupted from his mouth and streaming out and down his chin, muddling his screams. Thundercracker tried to calm down his brethren only to be swatted aside by a flailing limb, crashing into the dirt. Purple energy wafted around the screaming seeker as he rattled in his cylinder, screeching repeatedly: "GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME!"