Sorry for the delay with this chapter! I went on holiday to see friends in the States! And I've been a bit slow to pick back up writing in the week and a bit since I got home. Jet lag is no joke, lol. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this latest chapter!
Sunstreaker was just coming back to their shared temporary hub with a three high stack of energon cubes when he spotted N-0V4's wing tips vanish inside, his own step immediately getting lighter upon realising she was finally back from her flight!
He was just reaching the entrance to the hangar when he felt a worried pulse from his twin, and heard Sideswipe speak.
"N? N… sweetspark, what's wrong?"
He's setting the energon down the moment he's over the threshold, pulling the hangar door shut behind him before turning to take in N-0V4 fully.
Wings hung low, and even her purple shoulder struts were low against her arms.
Which were cradling a modest cluster of data pads.
"N?" He asked, stepping up beside her as she stood in the middle of their room, looking at them too.
Her expression was… he wasn't quite sure how to put it beyond indirect… grief?
Finally she spoke. "Optimus… had these… he found them in Iacon… hidden in a wall… they… they were written by my grandsire…"
Sideswipe had gotten up from their makeshift berth, coming up to her front and wrapping his arms around her hips. "The one that went missing?"
She nodded. "Yeah… Sire used to talk about him a lot… Optimus didn't realise he was my grandsire until he showed them to me just now… so… I'm… coming to terms with what I'm… holding…"
Sunstreaker joined in on hugging her then, his own arms ending up above his twins. "How about we sit down, yeah? Want to read one?"
She nodded at his suggestion to sit down. "Already read the most recent one… Optimus said I could show you two, but we need to keep the contents quiet for now…" She looked between the two. "You okay with that? He doesn't want everyone to get their sparks up… only for this to come to nothing…" She explained.
They glanced to each other for a moment before nodding. "Sure N, we'll keep this between us." Sideswipe answered, settling onto the berth next to her as she laid down.
Sector Seven had been very considerate of the fact that they needed a berth with a bit more cushion, and they were now the proud owners of a berth made of giant gymnasium mats, apparently humans used poles to vault themselves over great heights, over another pole, and land on these.
None of them really understood the appeal, but they made for a nice cushioned surface to… rest… on.
She held the data pad as she flipped along to the more important pages, though Sideswipe insisted they pause whenever he spotted one of Skyfire's little quips about this or that individual, making the odd remark himself along the lines of using it later himself.
The little remarks were enough to make a tenuous smile creep up on the side of her lips, which earned a brighter grin from Sideswipe.
Soon enough, the subject matter in her servos killed that moment of lightened moods, as she let the two read while she just stared at the the opposite wall, knowing their silence likely meant they were discussing it all over their bond.
It was a thing they did when both of them were handling something serious, or sensitive.
This time it was both.
Sideswipe broke the silence. "That's why we're on Earth? To find the Allspark? Keep it here in secret?"
"Keep the Decepticons from ever being able to amass an army large enough to really conquer the universe?" Sunstreaker followed.
She nodded along to them both. "Yeah… pretty much… we'll become it's guardians… if it's even here… and if it's not… it'll just stay lost forever, and we'll just, slowly rebuild here…"
"And your grandsire?" Sideswipe asked gently,
"If we find him… I'll see to the proper burial rites… my sire wasn't young when he vanished…"
"N… maybe he's still online somewhere?" Sunstreaker offered.
She huffed. "Is it bad I hope he isn't? How in the name of the pits… am I supposed to explain to him everything that has happened if he is?" She asked, wafting her servo about dejectedly.
Sideswipe gave the servo laying limp on her lap a gentle squeeze. "You won't be on your own to explain that N, we'll be right there with you…" He offered, looking up at her imploringly.
She looked to him and her expression softened from pensive to a little bit hopeful. "Right… right I have you two…" She got out in a voice not much louder than a whisper, before setting the data pad down gently and pulling both of them into an embrace with an arm each.
They pressed as flush to her as they could, their engines rumbling low in an attempt to soothe her.
They were content like that for a time, before Sideswipe spoke. "So, we got any idea where on Earth the Allspark may be?"
She hummed, wings twitching. "Wheeljack's going to have to be brought into the loop… none of our scanners are capable of detecting the Allspark's unique signature… luckily Skyfire was able to document the residual energy that it left behind before it faded out entirely… so we'll be able to trace it's residuals… though with how fast it was shot off from Cybertron… it's impact velocity on Earth was likely just as fast… and I highly doubt it's just going to be sitting pretty on the surface somewhere after all of this time…" She paused. "I'm rambling again, aren't I?"
Both just smiled up at her and continued their hug.
Darkmount Kaon
He hadn't seen Starscream in close to an Orn…
His digit tapped slowly into the groove he'd made in the armrest.
After a few more otherwise silent moments, Megatron looked to Soundwave, whom had been standing motionlessly next to his throne, in his otherwise empty throne room for the last eight Joors.
"Soundwave." He growled out.
His TIC didn't even twitch before answering. "Yes: Lord Megatron?"
"Where is Starscream? I was expecting his ornly attempt on my spark… he is late." He growled.
Soundwave took a moment before responding. "Starscream: Preoccupied."
The tyrant could feel his optic twitch. "With what." He growled.
Soundwave's helm tilted slightly to the side, as if pondering it himself like he couldn't fully believe the answer either. "Starscream: Training the clones."
"Training drills? Ahh, good… they must be fully ready for our final attack on those pathetic Autobots…"
"Megatron:... Incorrect." Soundwave responded.
The throne earned a few more claw marks as his servos clenched. "What… did you just say… to me?" He snarled.
Soundwave didn't so much as flinch. "Megatron: Incorrect. Starscream: Training Vosian Seekers to be… 'productive' as 'Non combatives.'"
There was a long pause as Megatron stared at his TIC, before he spoke. "He is… doing… what?" He was practically spitting out his incredulity.
Unknown to his Master, Soundwave took a moment to subtly roll his optics. "Starscream: Retraining his forces, two hundred are already working to complete Shockwave's new lab. They will then be re-assigned to lifting the Nemesis out of the crater it is currently resting in, to allow the Constructicons to repair the ships super structure."
"Bruticus should be perfectly capable of doing that." Megatron growled.
"Megatron: Incorrect. Bruticus: Has limits to his strength. Nemesis: Far exceeds that limit."
He growled. "Oh but two hundred Vosians are enough to surpass that limit?"
"Calculations: Suggest yes. Further calculations: Cybertron needs rebuilding."
He snarled again. "That is the job of the Autobots once they have been broken and put in their place!" He snapped.
"Autobots: Not on Cybertron. Autobots: In hiding. Search units: Unsuccessful in locating Autobots. Casualties from search: Seventeen."
His scowl persisted. "So they are failing…"
"Megatron: Incorrect. Search Party casualties, occuring on planets with already established populations, or planets with recorded high mortality risks. Organics: Well armed in defence. Search Units unused to molten cores suddenly erupting under them. Current Search Perimetre, expanding as planned. Fuel consumption: Becoming a concern."
He rolled his optics. "Of course it is… do they not know how to plunder energon!?"
"Vosian Clones: Untrained in such a process. Many planets: Do not support energon development. Energon: Sparse resource off Cybertron."
He huffed. "Do we have some shuttles that can take Energon out to the Search Parties?"
"Negative: All shuttles were dispatched, at your order, to hunt for Autobots."
He snarled again. "Then build more!"
"Negative: Current Labour force, untrained in the safe construction of shuttles. Conclusion: Unnecessary waste of resources and clones."
"Then tell Starscream to get some of those useless soldiers of his, to start learning how to make shuttles!" He snapped.
"Order sent: Estimated completion of first shuttle, nine orns."
His optic was furiously twitching now. "Why… so… long?" He strained out.
"Duration: Five Orns training in the safe construction from existing blueprints. Two orns for component production. One orn for assembly of craft. One orn for safe testing to work out any technical issues. Nine orns, the earliest estimation of the first new Shuttle to be complete."
"And let me guess… the energon will run out for all of the search parties by then…" He growled.
"Correct: Each Search Unit has enough energon left to search for a single orn, before they would not have enough left to return to Cybertron."
The snarl persisted. "Let me guess, that would be when I would have to call and end to the search, and order them all to return?"
"Affirmative: Else, casualties from starvation increase by 75%."
He harrumphed. "How are our energon supplies?"
Soundwave didn't answer right away.
"Soundwave. How are our energon supplies?" He pressed with more emphasis.
"Energon supplies: Insufficient for supporting the entire Vosian Clone Army if all return. Energon Mines: Dormant."
His optic took a moment to pause, then went right back to twitching, just to reinform the Tyrant he was still doing that. "What happened to all of the drones?"
"Drones: Used as Cannon fodder in the push to claim Tyga Pax. Autobots: Decimated Drone populace due to rigging the entire city with localised explosives."
"So we have no drone force to work in the mines… are the production factories not churning them out?"
"Drone production centres: Resources re-allocated to Vosian Clone production. Megatron: Ordered the redistribution. Quote: "What blasted good are those sparkless husks? Redirect all resources through Shockwave, he'll put them to good use.""
"And now Shockwave is using those resources to make a new lab after the old one became… How did he excuse wanting this new one?"
"Space: Inadequate."
He snorted. "Inadequate my left pede… He had best start showing some results from that 'project' he's been working on for half of this blasted War…"
"Shockwave's Project: On hiatus."
The other optic started to twitch. "Since… when?"
"Shockwave: Would explain better than I."
"At least make an attempt Soundwave." He snipped at his TIC.
Soundwave seemed to do the closest he could manage to replicate a long suffering vent. "The Seeker: N-0V4, escaped with the only prototype that did not explode. N-OV4: Erased all data on the project during escape. N-0V4: Set fire to Shockwave's lab… And kicked in anything that didn't burn."
Megatron hummed, tapping a digit against his faceplate. "No wonder Optimus practically snatched her under his wing. Gumption was always something he liked."
Soundwave nodded. "Shockwave: Claims he cannot continue the project until he reclaims the… 'Coil'... Shockwave: claims it was forged from the core of a dead star."
Megatron felt his optic ridges rise at that. "Can he not just do that again?"
"Star Core: Not obtainable by Cybertronians. Star Core: Obtained from the nest of a World Eater. Recommendation: Do not take the chance, World Eater might ignore their dietary preferences, out of Spite"
"Why would a… wait… World Eater?" Megatron asked, suddenly feeling a bit of concern about him never having heard of such a creature before.
"Affirmative: World Eater, term inadequate but also somewhat accurate. Feast upon the burning husks of planets that have tight orbits around their Stars. When they find a Dying Star, they gorge on that instead, leaving only a tiny core of… Star Core. Scientific Term, analysis was still pending at the outset of War. Properties include containing enough power to ignite a solar Nebular into a new infant Star. Having such a high density it exudes enough gravity to cause a noticeable dip in-"
"That's enough, Soundwave. I care not for the Core. Why was I never informed about 'World Eaters'?" He enquired.
"World Eaters: Common knowledge?" Soundwave offered tentatively.
Megatron just rolled his optics. "Leave me Soundwave. You have, dutifully, provided me with a large amount of varied information for my processor to work through. And tell Shockwave to focus on getting at least one Drone production centre back into operation, his precious new lab can wait."
Soundwave nodded, bowed, and made his leave of the throne room.
Megatron simmered on his throne for a time, temper set aside as his processor worked over it all.
"A forged Star Core… I wonder if Optimus even knows what he's got following him around like a starved Scraplet…"
I'll leave that for you all to chew on~ Until next time!
Moon.