Author's note: Here's Chapter 52. Once again, I'm sorry about the delays. (For a better explanation see my profile page.) I appreciate all of you who have hung in there for all this time. Thanks for reading and for commenting and favorite-ing and the like. Transformers belongs to Hasbro and Takara, not me.
A Blessing and A Curse
By Quetzal1
Chapter 52
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Operations were proceeding according to schedule and Cyclonus was pleased. His command fulfilled its mission by warning the residents of the surrounding area of the change that had come. Since then, departure points were set up to facilitate the exit of those who wanted to leave. An automated system broadcast the relevant information around the clock and signs were posted everywhere. Thus far the average of those leaving compared to those who chose to stay was decidedly skewed, with the former being the majority. This was not surprising.
For the moment his troops had only to patrol the borders of their territory and the airspace of Chaar. That was, until work began on the airfield. He leaned back from his desk and looked out a nearby window. It would be constructed within sight of Darkmount. For security purposes, traffic leaving and entering their airspace would be closely monitored. He needed to devise a rotating schedule of seekers to assist with the construction. They wouldn't like it, but that was too bad. Over all, there were not yet any issues with insubordination or dereliction. Everyone was being kept far too busy for that. Once things settled down, the usual underhanded maneuverings would undoubtedly begin.
He would deal with petty intrigue when it became necessary. Currently, he had larger concerns. Locked away in the quarters he shared with Stormvolt was the chip containing Skywarp's information. Thus far she had not mentioned it again. His mind hadn't changed regarding making any modifications to himself, but it did occur to him that perhaps there was valuable information in the chip's contents. He and the femme had a peculiar relationship that had encompassed more than one form. Cyclonus wasn't a romantic at heart but the idea that they kept finding one another and becoming friends (and now much more than that) had a way of gripping his mind. But in some ways it was unfortunate that he wasn't the only one she kept finding.
The door to his office opened with a quiet swoosh noise to reveal Megatron.
"Greetings, Lord Megatron," said Cyclonus, immediately standing and giving no clue of the sudden twinge of guilt he felt.
"Greetings, Cyclonus," Megatron replied, entering the room and taking in the change of décor. "I see you have removed the last vestiges of that miserable traitor Starscream. Good."
"I was about to send the weekly reports to you," said Cyclonus.
"Yes, which is why I am here. I wish to discuss our current activities with you in person."
Cyclonus nodded but said nothing, watching Megatron closely. After the destruction of Unicron's remains, no one had seen their leader for many cycles. Cyclonus had his suspicions as to why. He lost no faith in Megatron as a leader, if in fact he was correct and the destruction of Unicron had severely drained him. What did annoy the second in command was not being advised of this condition. However, as with Galvatron, it was not his place to question.
XxXxX
Being an advanced race of machines, you'd think we'd have gotten beyond crap like this, Stormvolt thought, as she surveyed the number reports she had left to complete. The largest and worst was finished, but there were two others to go. She had taken the room across the hall from the ones that served as Cyclonus's office and their personal quarters with the idea that a little space between them during the day wasn't bad. The living arrangements were working out nicely. Thus far they had been much too busy to get on one another's nerves, not that she expected they would. One thing about Cyclonus, he didn't feel obligated to fill silence with talking unless he had something to say.
She leaned back in her chair and tapped a few buttons on the console in front of her. Those stupid reports weren't going to write themselves. Before she got started, her communicator activated. It was the head of Darkmount's security, a mech named Barricade. She didn't know much about him other than he was said to be a huge liar.
"Stormvolt, what is your present location?"
"I'm in my office. Why?"
"There's a mech at the front gate who wants to see you."
"So what's stopping him?"
"He's not a Decepticon, he's one of the deportees. You want his tail kicked out of here?"
"Did he give a name?" There was only one deportee who knew her as far as she was aware.
"Microntis. Does that sound familiar?"
"Yes. Have him brought up, please," Stormvolt said, keeping her voice even and businesslike to hide her surprise and curiosity.
It wasn't long before someone knocked at the door.
"Enter," said Stormvolt. The doors opened and a big mech stepped into the room and roughly dropped/tossed Microntis onto the floor. She considered reprimanding the Decepticon, but decided it would be a wasted effort. They didn't believe in treating anyone in their custody in any way other than guilty, regardless of whether or not an offence had been committed.
"Thank you. You can go, I'll see him out," she added, rising from her chair and stepping around the side of her desk. As soon as the doors slid closed, she went to Microntis and helped him up.
"What are you doing here, and what happened to you guys? I came back later on and you were gone," she said. "Where's Exactor? I didn't think he was well enough to travel."
The small mech looked away and then back up at her. "Exactor ceased functioning the next day."
"Oh, no. I'm sorry Microntis, I…. "
He was shaking his head slowly. "His systems had been on the verge of failure for a while now. There was nothing you could do to stop it. However, your actions did make his last hours more pleasant."
"That's good to know. But I wish you hadn't taken off like that. I would have helped you with the… arrangements afterward."
"We discussed that long ago. He rests among his own now."
After an awkward silence, she asked: "Why did you come here? It's not the safest place."
"I came to declare my intentions formally," said Microntis, backing away from her slowly.
"What intentions?" She was uneasy. What was he going to do?
He went down on one knee and bowed his head. Before he had a chance to speak, the door opened to admit Cyclonus and Megatron, both of whom immediately stopped to survey the scene before them with great interest.
"And what have we here?" Megatron asked.
"This is Microntis. I met him the first day we went out to give notice to the population in the western sector," said Stormvolt.
"I see. Did you invite him here?"
"Lord Megatron?" Said Microntis, rising from the floor. "Please excuse the interruption, but may I explain?"
"By all means," said Megatron, crossing his arms and staring down hard at the diminutive mech.
"I ventured here of my own accord. Stormvolt found my mate and I. He was gravely injured and she tried to help him."
"Is that so?" Megatron shifted his cold stare from Microntis to the femme and then back.
"Yes, my lord. She went out of her way to show mercy on us."
You aren't doing me any favors, buddy, Stormvolt thought while cringing inwardly. Mercy was not a prized attribute in this crowd. However, she admired his nerve.
"That does not explain your presence here," said Cyclonus.
"No sir." He turned and faced the seeker, going back down on one knee as if he were about to propose marriage. "I am here to declare my allegiance and service to you, Stormvolt. My life is yours now."
"Whoa! What are you talking about?"
"You did what you could for Exactor."
"And failed miserably."
"Nevertheless. If he had survived, he would have owed you his life."
"But that's just it. He didn't."
"No, but you made the attempt. And for that you have my gratitude."
"Gratitude is fine, I guess, but you don't have to do this." She looked at Megatron and Cyclonus helplessly. The former seemed mildly annoyed and the latter, baffled. What the hell was he going on about? It made absolutely no sense.
"You know, Microntis, openly declaring one's allegiance to another who is not the leader might be considered treasonous," said Megatron.
"Her loyalties are my loyalties," said Microntis.
"No. I can't allow you to do this. Do you realize what you're saying?" Said Stormvolt, raising and abruptly dropping her arms in frustration. She desperately wanted to speak to the mech alone, to talk him out of this, but she feared her amazement had already caused her to be careless and say too much. Megatron was staring at her with frank disapproval.
"Stormvolt, I wish to have a word with you," said Megatron. To Cyclonus, it sounded like by 'have a word with you' he actually meant 'give you a thorough beating,' but there was no way for him to intervene.
"Of course, Mighty One," said Stormvolt, immediately trying to minimize the damage she had possibly done.
"Cyclonus, take our guest and wait for me in your office," said Megatron.
"As you command," said Cyclonus, glaring down at Microntis. The little mech quickly stood and scurried from the room without having to be told.
The door closed behind them, leaving Megatron and the seeker alone.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Shockwave made a minute adjustment to the huge apparatus suspended over two casings on the table below it. They were similar in design to the container that had housed Megatron's replacement body, the difference being that these were much smaller and currently empty.
This experiment was the first of its kind and Shockwave was determined that it would be successful. There was the thrill of scientific accomplishment, but far more important to him was to win Megatron's approval. Protoform material had already been loaded into the reservoir and was awaiting injection, but before that stage he needed to prepare the sparks.
The shelves in the adjacent room were much less full since he had removed the containers that held extinguished sparks. There were many healthy sparks remaining and several that were beginning to die. He didn't want to waste valuable protoform material, but neither did he want to lose any sparks. The experiment would determine future selection, provided it wasn't a failure all around. He glanced around the shelves, his hand moving over the containers before finally grabbing a small, black box with a brightly lit, green indicator and the one beside it that was showing orange on its monitor. These would do.
He read a plate on the sides of the boxes that told him who the creators of its contents were as he returned to the laboratory. All of them were dead as far as he knew. That was fine with him and it didn't matter in any case. Once a new spark was produced, it was submitted to medical staff and underwent a process similar to what was going on now. Ordinarily, there was enough protoform material to make a full sized individual, but because there was such a shortage they were forced to try a new approach.
Shockwave moved a series of levers and there was a hiss as protoform material was injected into the casket like cases on the table. Moving quickly but carefully, he attached the black containers to the cases and then slowly pulled the release on each of them, allowing the sparks to merge with the protoform liquid. If this worked their ranks would eventually expand to include a heavily armed assault vehicle, an asset that was never unwelcome, an a seeker, which he felt there were already too many of. But it remained to be seen. There were many variables to sort out in the coming cycles and no doubt there would be difficulties too. The mech turned to face the monitoring equipment and waited. At this point, it was all there was to be done.
XxXxXxXxXxX
"Well, well. On the planet for less than one Earth month and already you're building a following," said Megatron.
"Oh no, I'm not trying to do any such thing! It's true that I did try to help his mate, but it wasn't to make them owe me," said Stormvolt.
"If I were to give you the opportunity, you would attempt to persuade him to leave wouldn't you?" Megatron asked.
"Yes," said Stormvolt. When his questions came out sounding like statements, it was pointless (and dangerous) to attempt a lie.
"Why?"
"Being a Decepticon isn't for everyone. I don't think he has the correct… disposition to survive among us."
"I would have said the same regarding you at one point, and now look."
"It's not only that. I don't want him to feel like he has to be my personal slave or whatever he's getting at just because I tried to help."
"You will be glad of his presence soon enough."
Oh shit, here comes something I'll bet I don't like, Stormvolt thought. It never, ever failed when he dropped a remark like that. And she said nothing, waiting for him to continue, the steps of this dance well remembered.
"Has it occurred to you that perhaps there are neutrals who want to stay here? And it isn't as though there aren't many, many ways in which they can be useful to our cause. In fact, there are hundreds like Microntis who have elected to remain in our territory and I have already chosen a task for them.
"You have?"
"Yes. As you know, one of the terms in our peace agreement with the Autobots was complete ownership and control of Chaar. Until we get our portion of Cybertron restored and establish trade and exploration, we will be dependent upon ranazite derived energon," said Megatron as he casually paced back and forth. "We don't have enough Decepticons to cover both areas satisfactorily which is where Microntis and his ilk become useful. They will be sent to Chaar to mine and refine ranazite."
"Is that safe? I mean, how do we know none of them are spies for the Autobots? And isn't part of the agreement fair treatment of non-Decepticons who stayed here?"
"I harbor no delusions that the Autobots won't find out about this tactical error on their part soon enough. However, being stationed on Chaar would make it extremely difficult for anyone to spy on us here. And you may rest assured that each of them will be thoroughly investigated."
"I see."
"As for fair treatment, they will be compensated for their labors."
"I don't mean to sound like I oppose your plan, Sir, but all I see are obstacles."
"Such as?" Megatron asked indulgently.
"Okay, we pay them, in energon I presume, but where will they live? What do they do in their off hours? We didn't really leave the place in much better shape than we found it."
"Always thinking ahead, though not with all the information. You will have at your disposal Cybertronians whose main programming directive is industrial in nature. They like nothing better than to create and construct. Repair and improve."
"Kind of like Constructicons." Wait, I will have at my disposal?
"To a certain degree. Furthermore, with the rebuilding of Cybertron there will be a wealth of items you can use to fashion whatever is required on Chaar. I will personally advise the Constructicons to assist you in the selection of materials."
"Assist me?" Asked Stormvolt.
"Yes. This is where you enter the equation."
XxXxX
Microntis knew he was taking a huge risk in venturing to Darkmount but he would have been unable to live with himself if he had allowed the debt to remain unpaid. Even if Stormvolt continued to refuse him and he was ultimately tossed out, he would find a way to repay her. As it was, he wasn't sure he would be kicked out. No, now he wondered if he would survive at all. He stood in the center of a large office and felt much smaller than he was thanks to the way Cyclonus was standing there glowering at him.
"What is the real reason you are here?" Cyclonus asked, his voice low and ominous.
"It was as I explained to Lord Megatron, Sir," said Microntis, bowing his head and trying to be as courteous as possible. "My mate Exactor, had he survived, would have owed Stormvolt his life. He did not, and since he is gone, I will repay her generosity."
Cyclonus said nothing but stared down at the mech. It defied logic. If she had not failed, he would understand this Exactor being indebted to Stormvolt to a certain extent. But as her efforts were unsuccessful, he was unable to fathom why Microntis felt so obligated to her. Perhaps it was a boundless depth of feeling for his lost mate that compelled him. Whatever it was, Cyclonus did not trust him and he was mightily displeased that the little mech's appearance had gotten the femme into trouble with Megatron. It was that idea that prompted his reply.
"I see. Whatever happens to you now is entirely Megatron's decision. However, if he permits you to stay I will be watching and you would be very wise not to cause any problems."
"I only wish to serve."
Cyclonus replied with a doubtful grunt.
XxXxX
"Don't you think there's someone else better suited to such a huge project? Stormvolt asked.
"Equally suited? Yes. Better? No. I require one who is intelligent and who also possesses a reasonable amount of honesty," said Megatron. "And you have a knack for diplomacy, which is a rarity among us."
She didn't have a decent argument but neither did she want to be assigned to Chaar. Why not one of the new guys who hadn't had the pleasure? Was it punishment for trying to help Exactor?
"This is an important project that must get underway immediately. Tomorrow you will relocate to Chaar. Astrotrain and Blitzwing will ferry your charges there and together you will begin its transformation from a dead planet to a hub of productivity."
"Relocate? I have to stay there full time?"
"Except for when you are here to make reports directly to me every five cycles," said Megatron. "I trust you do not have a problem with that?"
"No," you bet your ass I do. "It's that I was…"
"Don't worry. I am sure Cyclonus's schedule will eventually be free enough to accommodate visits. And once Energon production is stable and we can spare someone else, you shall be relieved."
Great. It could take years for all those pieces to fall into place. In the meantime she was stuck back on the rock with a bunch of dinky 'bots who might not be as chummy as Megatron made them out to be, and worse than that, it didn't sound like she'd be seeing much of Cyclonus either. Yeah, definitely felt like punishment. Well, damn.
"Come, I will inform Cyclonus and then you are free to make arrangements for the transition," said Megatron.
"As you wish."
XxXxX
Cyclonus nodded thoughtfully as Megatron explained what was going to happen.
"And you, Microntis, will serve as assistant to Deputy Air Commander Stormvolt in addition to acting as liaison between her and your fellows," said Megatron, turning away from Cyclonus.
The mech appeared delighted at the prospect until he caught a glimpse of Cyclonus glaring at him from behind Megatron. The burning red optics promised nothing but trouble.
"Thank you, Sir. I am honored," said Microntis.
"And now if you will excuse me," said Megatron, "I will leave you to your preparations."
He turned away and exited the room. No one saw the nasty half smile he wore as he strode down the hall. Excellent. That couldn't have worked out better. Soon they would have plenty of energon and their territory would be free of undesirables. But that wasn't all. With the arrival of Microntis, he had been given the means to set another chain of events into motion. He despised waiting but that was his only option before he saw if his actions resulted in the desired outcome.
