Polyhex City-state, Sector Alpha-007, Imperial Amphitheatre
Cybertronian Date: 999867.92 - 8329 - 3401 (Solar pre-zenith)
Earth Date: 28 August 2070, 07:52 HOURS
The Imperial Amphitheatre was one of the major monuments of Central Polyhex, an enormous gladiatorial arena scooped out at one end of the Xystum Legionum Audacium that ran from it to the Grand Forum in sector alpha-001. Numerous flyways, highways and plazas converged on the amphitheatre - a hub of the city's vast transit network - in a knot of transit systems that ran under the vast metal square surrounding the bowl of the amphitheatre, above whose walls stood the statues of Polyhex's greatest gladiators and Decepticon warriors. At this time of day, before the solar dawn, the amphitheatre glowed like a beacon from within its colonnade walls and tiers of seating, and with a battle scheduled for sunrise the surrounding square was also lit and bustling with activity. Though Decepticon security was on high alert for enemy forces taking advantage of the light and activity for a bombing raid, on the ground there was an air of near unconcern over that possibility. It was as though the light itself was a symbol of their eventual victory, mocking their enemies and daring them to attack. As most of the city was under wartime blackout during the Cybertronian night, this display was all the more impressive, visible for kilocubits in every direction. Even in the Grand Forum.
Starscream was already present at the amphitheatre, his personal medical teams from the Rookery tweaking and tuning his every system to optimal as he lay silent and contemplative on the repair table of one of the many preparation bays in the warren of service areas that plunged deep beneath the arena into the under-city of Polyhex. To one side of the room, a second team of his most trusted mechanics and engineers worked on the currently dormant Pretender shell that formed part of his impressive arsenal. His weapon systems lay out on a second table, their components tested and tuned by the best gunsmiths in the Seeker ranks. Apart from Starscream and his support staff, the only other occupant of the bay was his lieutenant, Thundercracker, who was trying to hide the concern that he felt over the coming battle, and with each passing breem becoming more and more incapable of maintaining his calm.
Unable to remain silent any longer, Thundercracker spoke. "Are you sure this is such a good idea? We don't exactly have the info on Cyclonus to work out your tactics. Do you even know what he's capable of?"
"You worry too much, Thundercracker," replied Starscream, casting a glance over at his lieutenant without moving. "Cyclonus' belief in his own Unicronian superiority will be my greatest weapon."
"I guess," replied Thundercracker, unconvinced.
"I cannot fail, Thundercracker," chuckled Starscream. "My Pretender shell is the most advanced weapon system in the Decepticon army. With its firepower coupled to my own, I am unstoppable. Even Optimus Prime fears it!"
"I just hope you know what you're doing is all," sighed Thundercracker.
"When have you ever known me to act without thinking?" asked Starscream. "I always know what I'm doing!" Thundercracker didn't answer, unable to find a response that would be both acceptable to his commander and the truth. He couldn't help doubting Starscream's ability to win, and should Starscream lose he doubted that he alone could hold the Seekers together as a fighting force without him. He was no commander, and almost everyone knew it! Sure, he enjoyed the perks of being Starscream's deputy, but he didn't have the initiative to be overall commander of the Seekers. And he could not be bothered with answering the string of challenges from Concussion and other ambitious officers that would follow! "How long until sunrise?" asked Starscream, interrupting Thundercracker's chain of thought with the question, unable to verify the answer himself with most of his systems in diagnostic mode.
"Approximately nine breems, commander Starscream," replied a medic before Thundercracker could supply the answer.
"And how long until I am at optimal combat effectiveness?"
"Another breem for your internal diagnostics, sir," replied the medic, a dark-grey and red lightly built Seeker. "Approximately two for your shell and weapons. Following that, another breem for refuelling and fully integrating the fresh energon into your combined Pretender systems. In all, approximately three breems."
"Perfect," smiled Starscream. "I can't wait to wipe the arrogant smirk of that Unicronian scum's face!"
"If you can't beat him when we're finished, commander, he can't be beaten! This is the best work my teams have accomplished in all their functional cycles!"
"It had better be, Triage!" replied Starscream. "If you know what's good for you! My death will signal yours. My elite squadrons have their orders…"
"Then we have nothing to fear, sir," replied the medic. "With this level of mechanical preparation, your success is assured." Starscream was too busy revelling in his imagined victory to see the look of concern pass through the medic's optics, though Thundercracker caught a glimpse of it and his lips tightened slightly. Even the medics doubted Starscream's ability to beat Cyclonus! Of all the stupid and foolhardy things Thundercracker had seen Starscream do in the vorns he had served under the aerospace commander, this time he had really rewritten the stupidity scale! He just wished Starscream would live not to regret it. The only other option was his head on Cyclonus' wall.
Imperial Amphitheatre
Cybertronian Date: 999867.92 - 8329 - 3410 (Solar pre-zenith)
Earth date: 28 August 2070, 09:07 HOURS
Cybertron's new home-star was beginning to rise over the western horizon as activity at the Imperial Amphitheatre reached its height. As bustling crowds of Decepticon warriors and sympathisers poured into the multiple tiers that ringed the combat arena, slave workers stood ready on the sidelines with refreshments for the senior Decepticon officials who would be present to view the spectacle of the coming fight. Outside the arena, salesmen stood ready to swindle energon off the spectators for an 'official' keepsake of the biggest fight of the decavorn. Some would come to regret their decision to attempt to cheat Decepticon warriors, if they lived long enough, but the majority would make a killing out of the inexperienced, the hangers-on and the trophy hunters by the end of the morning's events.
Mega Galvatron sat in the private observation lounge that straddled one wall of the amphitheatre, looking down into the arena on one side and down the statue-lined Xystum Legionum Audacium to the Grand Forum and the vast Hall of Warriors on the other. Scourge stood beside him, the doors guarded by several of his Sweeps. Once the crowd had taken their seats, the Supreme Overlord and his lieutenant would step out onto the high commanders' podium overlooking the arena to watch the fight. The Megatron part of him looked forward to seeing Starscream come to regret his arrogance. The Galvatron part looked forward to the spectacle of his fellow Unicronian destroying his opponent. The unified whole, however, was largely unconcerned by the outcome. Such primitive beings were below his notice. Which one became cannon fodder in his army and which died here - Starscream or Cyclonus - was an irrelevance.
Scourge was watching events in the arena as the assembled Decepticon forces took their seats, the bustle of activity eventually dying down. He could practically smell the energon that was to be spilled by the combatants. He longed to see the look of sheer horror on Starscream's face when Cyclonus tore his head from his shoulders. Eventually, everyone was seated, and he turned to his leader. "The Decepticons are assembled, mighty one."
"Excellent," smiled Mega Galvatron, rising to his feet a tower of metal that looked down on Scourge from above. "Then shall we proceed to the main event, Scourge?" He neither awaited, expected nor wanted a response. Scourge was irrelevant to him now. A primitive inferior being not worthy of being in Mega Galvatron's presence. The entire Decepticon army was nothing but a means to an end. The tool of his domination of the universe. And like all tools, intrinsically replaceable.
As the Plexiglas doors of the observation lounge parted ahead of him and he stepped out onto the short flight of steps that led down to his podium, a cheer went up from the assembled Decepticons. Word had gone throughout Polyhex that the Supreme Overlord was Megatron returned to them, and had virtually assured his hold on power. All the Scorponoks and Shockwaves in the galaxy would be unable to stand against him now. Their destruction and Mega Galvatron's ascension were only a matter of time! He basked in the cheers and glorifying of those assembled around him - ignoring the distaste of those parts of his mind that were Megatron - for several moments before descending to his seat on the podium with the rest of the Decepticon high command. As he took his seat, the cheers continued until Colossus, the Decepticon military operations commander, stepped forward from his seat below the overlord and addressed the crowd in gruff rasping tones. "My fellow Decepticons, your Supreme Overlord has returned to you! As a gift, he brings to you this fight between two of the greatest Decepticon warriors, the victor to assume the position of Decepticon aerospace commander, the loser to be terminated."
Below in the arena, a heavy reinforced door opened at either end, and from within each entered the two competitors. As Starscream and Cyclonus stepped into clear view of the assembled Decepticons, Colossus continued. "Behold the challengers. Starscream of Vos, and Cyclonus the Unicronian. May the Ultimate Warrior be with the one who deserves victory, and may the Pit take the unworthy loser!" He turned his attention to the two Decepticons in the arena. "Starscream of Vos, Cyclonus the Unicronian, are you ready to show your worth?"
"I am!" replied Starscream.
"Victory will be mine!" replied Cyclonus.
Colossus turned to the overlord and saluted. "The challengers await your word, my liege." Mega Galvatron barely looked at his operations commander as he stood, looking down at the two Decepticons with barely an interest. This fight held little point. If he could destroy one of them now he would and bring his victory that bit closer. Cyclonus and Starscream saluted him. Containing his sigh of impatience, he summoned one of his arm cannons from subspace and pointed it into the air over the stadium. With a thought, the blast of charged particles erupted into the atmosphere, fading into the far distance in Polyhex's yellowish smoggy air.
Even before Mega Galvatron had returned to his throne, Starscream and Cyclonus were on the move. Starscream fell back, attempting to escape his opponent's firing range, even as Cyclonus went on the offensive. The purple saboteur launched himself towards the Seeker, tackling him to the floor with a crash of metal. Before he could secure his hold, Starscream was wriggling free, the missile launchers in his chest firing a low-yield cluster bomb that threw Cyclonus into the air. He winced as he absorbed the recoil of the launcher and the close-range explosion of his own ordnance, pushing it aside even as his heel jets fired and thrust him upwards into the air. With a thought his robot form contorted into fighter mode, the F-22 soaring up over the arena, afterburners on full burn. With a skill practised over countless vorns, he rolled back in mid-air, turning down towards his opponent even as he activated his weapons systems. Cannons and missiles unfolded from his belly, and a flurry of null rays blasted the recovering Cyclonus from his feet.
Roaring his anger, Cyclonus back-flipped to his feet and with barely a pause launched himself into the air. Transforming to fighter mode, his nuclear-powered engines accelerated him upwards at a tremendous rate. Lasers lanced out towards Starscream from beam ports on his wings. Starscream banked sideways as he fired, the beams missing all but the tip of his starboard wing. "First blood to me, Starscream!" he shouted in triumph.
"A lucky shot!" replied the Seeker, banking sharply into his previous manoeuvre. Cyclonus banked after the more primitive Terran fighter, initiating a targeting lock on his opponent. At a thought, his four missile launchers fired, sending a volley of plasma missiles tearing through the air towards Starscream. As Cyclonus manoeuvred for another shot, his tactical processors monitored his missiles as they continued on-target.
At the last moment, with Cyclonus' missiles almost up his exhaust nozzles, Starscream pulled up sharply in a manoeuvre no human fighter could have replicated with primitive jet-turbine engines, simultaneously launching a pair of cluster bombs. As Cyclonus' missiles entered the explosive field of his own bombs, he detonated them by remote. Though the blast scorched his belly, Starscream escaped serious injury and flipped over onto a direct course for Cyclonus, trailing smoke from his damaged wing in his wake. His null rays targeted and fired, moments before a volley of cluster bombs launched towards the Unicronian.
Cyclonus banked away from the null rays, his tactical systems already detecting the missile launch and processing a countermove. As the bombs approached, a vent at his tail opened, releasing a cloud of antimissile countermeasures that detonated the incoming cluster bombs harmlessly. Swooping in low over the arena floor, he shot at high speed towards the opposite wall, Starscream coming close in pursuit with a blast of null rays. At the last moment, he banked up, skimming low over the crowded tiers. Behind, Starscream's engines shot into full reverse as he slowed to avoid impact. As Cyclonus' attention was distracted by his opponent's struggle, his wing-tip caught on one of the seated Decepticons, flipping the warrior up into the air and sheering the tip off Cyclonus' wing. As the injured spectator plunged back into the crowd on a lower tier, Cyclonus pulled sharply away from the enclosed tiers and back out over the arena.
Starscream transformed to robot mode as he came close to the wall, his feet grinding into the arena floor as he slowed himself to a stop, ignoring the pain and moments later switching back to fighter mode and roaring up after Cyclonus at full speed. His weapons systems engaged and locked on Cyclonus, and moments later a cloud of cluster bombs were soaring up towards the other Decepticon. As Cyclonus turned back towards Starscream, he hit the volley, their simultaneous detonations firing all around him. The multiple impacts sent waves of pain through Cyclonus' circuitry, almost forcing an emergency shutdown before he deactivated his pain receptors.
Starscream watched as his opponent flew clear of the blasts, his hull pockmarked and buckled but otherwise unharmed unlike the unfortunate spectators in the upper tiers who had been caught in the explosion shock waves and tossed out of their seats. "Why don't you die?" Starscream shouted angrily, firing his null rays at full power.
"It will take more than your pitiful weapons to destroy me, Starscream!" replied Cyclonus, his voice strained with exertion as he banked around Starscream's target locks. His own lasers fired down at the Seeker, who ceased fire to concentrate on evading Cyclonus' own target locks. Firing lasers and null rays, the two fighters streaked across the arena towards one another, their wing-tips and tail fins taking beam impacts from the other.
Collision warnings shrieked inside Cyclonus' head, red beacons flashing across his visual field. Starscream was mere hectocubits from him and closing, showing no sign of slowing down. If Cyclonus had had a mouth in fighter mode, he would have grinned as collision approached. At the last second he dropped below Starscream and engaged banking thrusters, his long low-profile form turning bow-to-stern and the prong on his nose-cone sliding forwards, the tip spiralling open. Cyclonus' engines fired, propelling his nose prong up towards Starscream's fuselage, a potent concoction of corrosive chemicals and acids ready to be injected into the Seeker's internal systems.
At the last moment Starscream transformed to robot mode, his hands closing around the prong even as he switched modes and pushing Cyclonus away from his hull. He flipped even as he pushed Cyclonus away, finishing his backward somersault by grabbing Cyclonus' tail fins. "Get off me!" Cyclonus roared, banking sharply to throw his opponent off. Starscream fired his heel jets to keep himself steady, his fingers gouging into Cyclonus' tail fins and buckling them out of shape. Removing one hand, he pulled his fist back to smash it through Cyclonus' fuselage, and Cyclonus used the opportunity to drop vertically. Starscream fell away, shearing off the tail fin in his hand in the process. Cyclonus roared as smoke erupted from his torn fuselage, and shifted to robot mode.
Cyclonus turned to Starscream, bringing his corrosion rifles from subspace. Twin streams of corrosive high-energy particles tore into his opponent's port wing, cutting it almost clear from his shoulder. Starscream clutched at the wound as he fell through the air towards the ground. His face twisting with anger, he targeted his arm cannons on Cyclonus and fired, null rays hitting the saboteur in the chest. Cyclonus felt the circuit-searing pain for a few brief moments before shutting it off. The paralysis, however, was not so easy to overcome. As he plunged towards the arena floor, he initiated an accelerated reboot of his motor systems. At the last minute, he managed to turn himself over and landed on his hands and knees on the floor.
Starscream approached his downed opponent, oblivious to his own damaged wing in his sense of victory. His arm cannons targeted Cyclonus' head, and a smirking leer parted his lips. "So, Cyclonus," he gloated. "My pitiful weapons cannot hope to destroy you, can they?" He moved closer, wanting to see the look of inevitability on his opponent's face as he terminated him. "They don't seem to have done that bad a job, do they?" His smirk broadened as he charged his cannons to full power. "Goodbye, Cy-"
Cyclonus' clasped fists slammed into Starscream's abdomen as the saboteur swung his full power at the Seeker. The sounds of shattering glass and rending metal filled the air as his hands tore through Starscream's exo-plating and shattered his fighter-mode cockpit. Starscream fell back, too shocked to even vocalise the pain flooding his circuits. As he fell, red warnings flashed in his visual field.
pelvic motor circuit damage - unable to switch to backups - immediate repairs essential
Starscream looked up helplessly as Cyclonus regained his footing, his own legs unable to respond to the commands from his cerebro-circuits. As Cyclonus walked towards him, he targeted an arm cannon, only for Cyclonus to kick it away. His foot pushed down on Starscream's forearm, crushing it and the cannon barrel, eliciting another wave of emergency warnings in the Seeker's visual field.
"Not so smug now, are you Starscream?" chuckled Cyclonus, withdrawing his corrosion rifles from subspace and targeting Starscream's torn abdominal plating. "Well, it was more of a challenge than I was expecting, but unfortunately it has to end." Starscream stared helplessly up at the two weapons targeted on him, and felt a blind rage flood up inside him. It could not end this way! His death was unthinkable! And then his tactical processors offered up their solution. Starscream smiled, initiating his subspace systems and opening his pocket several cubits behind his opponent.
Subspace pocket accessed - activating shell - thermal carbine charged
The techno-organic humanoid ploughed into Cyclonus from behind, barrelling both itself and Cyclonus over Starscream's head and to the floor of the arena, scattering Cyclonus' rifles from his grip. Starscream smiled as his vision doubled, showing him the visual field of both his own optics and the eyes of his Pretender shell.
Bringing his shell's sensor and motor systems to the fore in his consciousness, his own body sank into the background and his shell became his primary sensorimotor system. Cyclonus lay before him, struggling to throw his powerful techno-organic body aside and regain the offensive. His black-gloved fist smashed into the Unicronian's face, spiked knuckles tearing facial exo-plating to reveal the underlying support structure and circuitry of his right cheek. He followed through with his other fist, sheering the left cranial horn from its mount with the pleasant sound of shrieking metal. "You don't stop me that easily, Cyclonus!" he snarled, his voice slightly deeper from the vocal circuits of his shell. "I warned you not to underestimate me!"
"You think," grunted Cyclonus, "that this hulking flesh-creature is going to fair any better than your robotic form did?" As he finished speaking, he finally managed to get his knees in between himself and the shell, launching it over his head.
Starscream twisted in mid-air, landing nimbly on his feet and drawing his thermal carbine rifle from subspace. He targeted Cyclonus and fired, only the saboteur's quick reflexes saving him from the high-energy beam, though his exo-plating bubbled and sheered away where his upper arm received a glancing hit. Starscream circled around him, staying between him and his fallen weapons. "Now whose weapons are inferior?" Starscream jeered. "This is the most advanced Pretender technology known to Decepticon science!"
"Pah!" spat Cyclonus. "All the Pretender shells on the planet are next to nothing when compared to the powers of the Chaos Bringer!"
"I don't see him standing here, Cyclonus," Starscream laughed. "As I recall, he was so powerful that one Autobot destroyed him completely!" What remained of Cyclonus' face twisted into an enraged sneer, and he launched himself at Starscream's shell, roaring incoherently. The force of the impact shocked even Starscream, and he was smashed into the ground to a few centicubits. Cyclonus' fists smashed into the shell's armoured hide repeatedly, sheering chunks of armour from the underlying techno-organic flesh and circuitry. Starscream pounded Cyclonus in the chest and face, sheering off more of his exo-plating in the process, but failed to subdue his opponent's assault.
Cyclonus pummelled the Pretender shell below him, allowing his rage and destructive lusts - gifts from Unicron - full sway. Nothing could stand against him as he repeatedly smashed fists into the humanoid, barely aware of himself or his surroundings. With one final roar, he clasped his hands together and smashed them down into the shell's torso. The damaged armour shattered, shards showering him and embedding in the shell's underlying flesh, and his hand crushed through the underlying structure and deep into the shell's hollow innards. The shell screamed, an almost mechanical sound, and the scream was taken up by the crippled Starscream robot behind Cyclonus. His roar unabated, Cyclonus grabbed the edges of the rupture in the shell, and pulled apart. The shell's structural integrity failed, ripping it in two under the force of Cyclonus' unrestrained strength.
Starscream felt every circuit in the shell explode with pain through his neural connection. Unable to shut off the incredible rush of sensory data and warning beacons, the pain shot through every inch of his cerebro-circuitry, overloading circuits and memory cores. His body shuddered with the overload, and as warnings flashed red across his visual field his vision dimmed and the painless darkness claimed him.
Still proclaiming his rage at the top of his vocoder's volume range, Cyclonus stood over the devastated shell, its body ripped in two and sparking circuitry and energon waveguides trailing from the edges. A pool of white bio-nutrient mingled with iridescent oils and green lubricants around it. As the last of his rage escaped through his vocoder, his burning red optics turned to Starscream's robot mode. He walked towards the fallen Seeker and lifted him up by the neck in one hand. Starscream hung limp in his grip, and he turned his optics to the high commanders' podium to signal victory. He lifted his other arm, a beam port opening in his forearm and targeting on Starscream's head. One command from his cerebro-circuits and Starscream would be terminally deactivated. Above him, Mega Galvatron looked on dispassionately, completely disinterested in him or his battle. Cyclonus met his commander's gaze. And saw nothing.
His optics dropped to look at the destroyed shell, and then across to Starscream. How he wanted to terminate his opponent, to finish him once and for all. He looked again at Mega Galvatron, for some sign that the Supreme Overlord had cared who won the fight, and saw none. His sense of victory diminished, replaced by a feeling of irrelevance. The fight went out of him. He dropped his arm, the beam port iris closing as he did so. Without another word, he tossed Starscream aside and walked to Mega Galvatron. "My lord," he called. "I am victorious."
Mega Galvatron looked down at him: such a small and insignificant insect, like all the Cybertronians. They were irrelevant. His destiny was beyond this primitive metal world. Beyond this primitive galaxy. He was the most powerful being in the universe, and it was all just fodder to him. A resource to be harvested for his own needs. He spoke, his tone neutral and disinterested. "I salute you, Cyclonus."
"My liege," whispered Colossus. "Starscream still lives. He has not terminated him!"
Mega Galvatron looked at the military operations commander with unconcealed indifference. Eventually, he turned to Cyclonus. "Why do you not terminate your challenger, Cyclonus?" he asked.
"I tire of this charade," replied Cyclonus. "Why should I care to destroy something so clearly beneath my notice?"
"Those are the rules!" shouted Colossus. "It is the nature of the challenge! You must terminate Starscream, or be terminated yourself!"
"And who will terminate me, Colossus?" laughed Cyclonus. "You?" Colossus fell silent, though his anger bubbled beneath his face-mask. "Supreme Overlord, I request that Starscream be allowed to live," called Cyclonus. "May he be denied a warrior's death like the traitor he is!"
Mega Galvatron repressed his sigh. Had he breathed, he would have yawned. He bored of this waste of his attention. He stood up, waving a dismissive hand in the direction of Cyclonus, before climbing the stairs to the observation lounge. The other high commanders watched him go with varying degrees of chagrin, anger and contempt. Scourge stepped forward to address the Decepticons. "The Supreme Overlord has accepted Cyclonus' request," he told them. "Cyclonus is now Decepticon aerospace commander. May anyone who wishes take Starscream's remains." Without another word, he followed Mega Galvatron to the observation lounge as Cyclonus crossed to the exit from the arena. A murmur of confusion and indignation ran through the tiers as the Decepticons began to leave.
Polyhex City-state, Sector Gamma-107, the Rookery
Cybertronian Date: 999867.92 - 8330 - 141 (Solar pre-zenith)
Earth date: 7 September 2070, 09:32 HOURS
He was in darkness, completely adrift in a sea of sensory deprivation. Even the autonomic impulses of his body were absent from the back of his mind. But once again he was aware of this limbo. No welcoming oblivion had claimed him when his body had gone off-line. Other Cybertronians had little recollection of deactivation. Of reaching a point this close to terminal systems failure. For Starscream, however, this release was denied. He had slept soundly for nearly 50 kilovorns aboard the Ark following its crash on Earth, as oblivious to it as the rest of the deactivated Transformers who had shared that makeshift tomb. But that had changed on Earth. He had absorbed the powers of the Underbase, and it had destroyed him. He should have died then, but he had found himself lingering on inside his body. The Underbase had changed him. Cursed him to this half-life whenever death beckoned. It had robbed him of a final release. Though he had found this a boon in the beginning, it was fast becoming a curse. Without a functioning body, he had no means of connecting with the physical world. Remained trapped in this unfeeling limbo, broken only rarely by glimpses of the world outside his personal hell and even then unable to interact with it. Surely even the Pit had to be preferable to this!
systems reboot initiated - awaiting diagnostic checks - please stand by
It had been such a long period of darkness, that the initial signal from his body came as a shock. A sense of elation filled him. His Seekers had come for him. They had known he was still trapped inside his deactivated form! He would be resurrected from this half-life and have his vengeance!
central cranial processors initiating - memory cores at 97.4 efficiency
As his biomechanical circuitry activated, Starscream felt himself integrating with them. His spark-consciousness spread into cold metal circuits and a spark of full consciousness returned. As his spark and circuits became one, his memories of the darkness faded to a haunting shadow in his subconscious, to be remembered only in his dreams. The awareness of his autonomic systems came into focus, the once remote reboot messages flooding him with data. Systems checks and boot records surged through his consciousness as his brain came to life. He was aware of the success of the checks, his boot files uncorrupted by his prolonged deactivation. He became aware of internal chronometers, their autonomous systems having ticked away even during his time off-line. A time that amounted to over seventeen hectobreems, nearly seven solar periods.
sensors online in 10 kliks - vocoder system activation in 17 kliks
Starscream's sensor systems began to reactivate, beginning with his tactile and thermal sensors. He was in a cool room. Judging from the air current patterns it was quite a large bay. A hard surface was below him: a repair table. Cables and tubes were connected to several umbilical ports around his body. As electromagnetic sensors activated, he sensed power systems within the room, and the close presence of several Cybertronians. The sounds of dripping fluids and humming power lines came into his awareness as his audio systems came online, whispered voices all around him. Radio-wave sensors activated, before switching to idle-mode. Finally, his optic sensors activated.
At first he detected a dim light that brightened as his sensors came to full strength. As autonomous light-responsive subsystems adjusted his visual circuits to the available light and his lenses came into focus, the room swam out of the light and into his view. He was in one of the Rookery's repair bays, a team of Seeker medics and mechanics standing around his repair table monitoring his system reboot and operating medical equipment to guide his own stumbling internal reboot programs. One of the medics - the Seeker called Triage - looked into his face, checking for visual signs of reboot problems. "Sir, are you online? This is Triage. You are back in the Rookery. We recovered you after the fight."
Starscream struggled to speak as his vocoder activated, a stuttering whine of feedback eventually resolving into struggling words. "What happened?"
"That isn't important now," replied Triage. "You need to achieve optimal system performance first."
"Not important?" Starscream shouted, the strain of overloading his vocoder with emotions so soon after reactivation sending a wave of red warning messages flashing across his vision. "I will decide what is important, medic!"
Thundercracker stepped into view, pushing Triage aside as he turned his attention to Starscream. "You lost, Starscream," he shrugged. "Cyclonus crippled you and then tore your shell in two. The neural shock from its destruction almost killed you."
"Almost?" asked Starscream. "Cyclonus should have-"
"Cyclonus spared your life," Thundercracker spat in disgust. "He denied you a warrior's death. Took your honour as a Decepticon warrior as well as your rank and title. And worse, Mega Galvatron has made the Sweeps his primary aerial assault forces. We Seekers have been reduced to guarding Polyhex. We are the laughing stock of the Decepticon army."
"Spared me?" asked Starscream, his mind torn between his elation at his continued survival and his rage at being shamed by his opponent. After a few moments of contemplation, his optics narrowed slyly and a slow smile spread across his lips. "More fool him!" he said. "Let him gloat, Thundercracker. Let them all gloat. Let Cyclonus and Scourge lead their glorified drones into battle against the Autobots. While they are busy doing that, we will be making our own plans. In the end, the Seekers will be the ones claiming victory!"
Polyhex City-state, Sector Gamma-107, the Rookery
Cybertronian Date: 999867.92 - 8330 - 940 (Solar pre-zenith)
Earth date: 12 September 2070, 00:30 HOURS
The corridors of the Rookery were alive with activity as well as a mix of apprehension and indignation. As Starscream strode down the corridors with Thundercracker by his side, his emotions were firmly in the latter camp! Thundercracker was being unusually quiet, and had been since Starscream's humiliating defeat. As it had many of the Seekers, Starscream's defeat and the subsequent reassignment of the Seekers to guard duty had hit Thundercracker as a personal humiliation and insult, one that Starscream felt they blamed on him. Starscream had made no effort to speak to his lieutenant in the days since he had reactivated in Triage's repair bay, though he had made rousing speeches to a largely demoralised Rookery with little effort. In truth, he couldn't bring himself to admit his own humiliation at Cyclonus' hands. For years he had been the brunt of Megatron's anger, and he had accepted that humiliation from the Decepticon High Commander in the knowledge that one day he would be in that position and would have his revenge, but to accept the humiliation of being defeated in a trial by combat with the likes of Cyclonus and then to be left alive was more than he could currently process.
And to add insult to injury, here were he and his Seekers rushing around in preparation for an official visit from their new aerospace commander Cyclonus. Well, if Cyclonus was expecting grovelling he would be sorely disappointed! Starscream would not demean himself to the likes of that purple-horned idiot! Oh, he would show Cyclonus the respect he deserved, what little that was. He may have won, but it was only a matter of time until Starscream showed him the error of believing in his own invincibility! One day Starscream would have Cyclonus at his feet, and he would not debase his victory with a weak show of compassion! Cyclonus' head would decorate the wall of his quarters.
The heavy reinforced doors of one of the Rookery's hangars slid open ahead of Starscream and Thundercracker, and they stepped through onto the vast hangar deck. In preparation for Cyclonus' arrival, the cargo ships and other shuttle craft had been cleared from the hangar into the storage bays below it, and a greeting party of two Seeker squadrons stood awaiting the new aerospace commander's arrival. The outer hangar doors were open to Cybertron's atmosphere in preparation, and the landing beacons were lit to guide Cyclonus and his entourage into the Rookery. As Starscream took his position with Thundercracker, Concussion and the Rookery's other senior officers, the hangar intercom system activated. "Hangar one, this is Rookery security," said a low feminine voice, "we have visual confirmation of the Darkmount delegation on approach." Her tone turned dark as she continued, practically spitting the first few words. "Aerospace commander Cyclonus has requested landing clearance."
Almost all the Seekers present bristled at the union of the title of aerospace commander with Cyclonus' name, not least of all Starscream. Eventually, he spoke. "Security, this is Starscream in hangar one. We are ready here, Huntress. Please pass on my sincerest greetings to commander Cyclonus and clear him for landing." Starscream felt the sudden urge to purge his fuel tank as he said Cyclonus' name. The humiliation was almost beyond his capacity to bear. Hailing the Unicronian dog as his commander was repellent. As Huntress affirmed Starscream's order, he turned to the assembled Seekers and had the squadrons line up on either side of the landing area while he and the senior officers stood at the end of the lines facing the hangar entrance.
For several decakliks they awaited Cyclonus' arrival until the sound of the new aerospace commander's powerful nuclear-turbine engines cut the air and his low-profiled aerospace fighter mode came into view outside the hangar. Behind him followed five identical fighters in the same purple and silver as their leader, and behind them came twelve blue and silver Sweep hover-ships. As they entered the hangar, they transformed en masse to their robot forms: Cyclonus at the front with five indistinguishable clones, and behind them the twelve blue and silver Scourge clones. Cyclonus stepped forward, his red gaze meeting Starscream's yellow optics and smiling at the defiance and anger hidden there. Starscream stepped forward from his officers and saluted Cyclonus before bowing his head in a show of service. "Commander Cyclonus, welcome to the Rookery," he said, keeping his tone steady with a show of immense willpower. "I trust your flight was uneventful?" No Autobots chose to launch an attack and wipe you out of the sky? he continued in the privacy of his thoughts. I'm sorry to hear that. Well, better look next time.
"So this is the Rookery," said Cyclonus, looking around with distaste. "Yes, I can see why you Seekers like the place so much." I cannot believe I was once this pathetic!
"So, commander," said Starscream. "Is this a sightseeing visit, or was there something you wished to discuss?"
"We'll get to that," said Cyclonus, his optics eyeing Starscream suspiciously. There was a tone of disrespect in the Seeker's voice even after his humiliation, and Cyclonus did not like it. Perhaps he should have just killed him in the arena after all. "We have things to discuss in private."
"I see. Then perhaps we should retire to my offices for a meeting."
"Agreed," he replied. He turned to the Sweeps. "You two, with me!" He indicated two of the Scourge clones, and they dutifully fell into step behind him. He turned to Starscream. "Shall we proceed?"
"As you wish, commander." Starscream indicated two of the Seekers to follow before leading Cyclonus from the hangar, their respective accompaniment falling in behind.
Starscream's offices were a large suite of rooms deep within the core of the Rookery, protected from attack by both heavily reinforced walls and the depth of its location within the Rookery's structure. As Starscream and Cyclonus passed the antechamber their respective warriors stayed in the small waiting area while the two commanders entered the large elliptical briefing room beyond, from which doors led into more private chambers. Starscream indicated to Cyclonus to take a seat at the large elliptical table in the centre of the room, and then sat opposite him. As he took his seat, he addressed Cyclonus. "So, what are these private matters we have to discuss?"
Cyclonus eyed his opponent cautiously before speaking. "Much as I would prefer for you and your Seekers to rot here in this tower to your own inferiority, the Supreme Overlord in his wisdom has deigned to request your assistance in his first strike against our mutual enemies, the Autobots."
"So, your master has sent you as his errand boy, has he?" Starscream's smile could barely express the full extent of his pleasure at this news.
"I am no one's errand boy!" growled Cyclonus, maintaining his calm with a supreme effort of will. There was too much truth in Starscream's comment for his liking. When he and Scourge had found the deactivated remains of Megatron and Galvatron, fused by the explosion of Shockwave's bomb, they had thought that they had found the answer to all their prayers. Orns of careful rebuilding had taken the shambling ruin of a Transformer and forged it into a Supreme Overlord they had thought worthy of leading the Decepticon Empire: Mega Galvatron. But the being they had nurtured into existence was not everything that they had expected, and that fact worried Cyclonus. "The Supreme Overlord has devised a strategy that will strike a crippling blow to the Autobots, and prove once and for all to Scorponok's renegades that we are the future of the Decepticon Empire."
"Has he?" asked Starscream. "He plans to do in one attack what Megatron could not do in the last 4 centivorns? And what is this miraculous plan of his?"
"I dislike your tone, Starscream," snapped Cyclonus. "Remember the oath you made at Darkmount! Mega Galvatron is not Megatron. He does not accept disloyalty from anyone!"
"I meant nothing, commander. My loyalty to the Supreme Overlord is undying."
"Remember that, Starscream!" warned Cyclonus. "His reaction to your faithlessness will be swift and deadly." Starscream bowed his head obediently. Cyclonus continued. "Mega Galvatron plans an assault on the very heart of Autobot culture. An attack that will leave the Autobot army in chaos and the civilian population with neither guide nor guard." Starscream's tactical processors absorbed Cyclonus' words, attempting to pre-empt him by finding the strategy being revealed. With every word, he felt more and more uneasy. "When our attack is over, the conquest of Cybertron will be a simple matter of mopping up the remaining resistance. The Autobot armies will be headless, and easily crushed!"
"He wants us to attack Iacon?" asked Starscream incredulously, his tactical processors exhausting all other possibilities. "Please tell me that is not his brilliant strategy!"
"Iacon is our target, yes," replied Cyclonus, unable to keep all of his own doubts from his voice. "The Supreme Overlord has calculated that without the leadership of Iacon, the other city-states will be easy targets."
"But the chances of launching a successful attack on Iacon at this stage in our conquest of Cybertron are 4257 to one! The Autobots have placed their elite forces in defence of Iacon's borders. The central city hub is protected by ground-based and sub-orbital assault platforms. It took us over a kilovorn to conquer Iacon during the Great War, and the city-state wasn't nearly as well defended then."
"You reveal your cowardice, Starscream," chuckled Cyclonus. "And you call yourself a Decepticon warrior!"
"A true Decepticon knows when to strike, but also when to wait," he replied. "There is no cowardice in avoiding a meaningless death, any more than there is bravery in dying in a suicide mission!"
"But that is not your choice to make, Seeker! It is the Supreme Overlord's decision. As a Decepticon you should follow without question!"
"Decepticon fuel flows in my lines, Cyclonus. The fuel of an enemy never vanquished, but waiting for the opportunity to strike. Successfully!" His lips twisted in a wry smile. "If you were any kind of Decepticon, you would know this to be true. But is it Decepticon fuel within you, or the fuel of a Unicronian pawn? Well?"
"You would dare to question my loyalties?" shouted Cyclonus, standing so fast that his seat was thrown across the room.
"No," replied Starscream. "Only whether they are a little misplaced. Now is not the time to attack Iacon. Surely you must see that? Any attack on Iacon will result in the decimation of our forces! Why throw away our lives so recklessly?"
"Because it is our duty as Decepticons," replied Cyclonus. "Our duty to serve the High Commander of the Decepticon armies. And that position is held by our Supreme Overlord. Mega Galvatron must be obeyed, whether we agree or not!"
"So, you don't agree with his plan?" Starscream smiled.
"I never said that!"
"You didn't have to. It was clear from your tone. So, how many of your Sweeps will be lost in this suicide mission our glorious leader has devised for us?"
"That is not my concern," replied Cyclonus. "Nor is it yours how many Seekers will die! Mega Galvatron has ordered that your best warriors reinforce his own forces and our Quintesson allies, and you will provide them." He looked down at Starscream, his optics narrowed to crimson slits. "You are no fool, Starscream. You know that you cannot deny the Supreme Overlord's request and live. Your Seekers will join this assault despite your own misgivings. None of us have any choice… Mission tactics and statistics will be communicated to you in due course. I leave the choice of squadrons to you. You know who your best warriors are." Without another word, Cyclonus turned and left the briefing room, leaving Starscream alone.
As the briefing room doors closed, Starscream rested his chin in his hand deep in thought. Cyclonus was as against this assault on Iacon as he was. Well, he may despise Cyclonus, but he could not deny the mech's tactical and strategic skills. The chances of escaping this assault with losses of less than eighty percent were minimal. They may destroy the leaders of the Autobot army and the civilian government in the process, but whether they would be able to capitalise on their success with their ranks decimated was doubtful. Even if the Quintessons provided reinforcements, he did not rate the chances of a Decepticon victory that was not hollow. Mega Galvatron may win his battle at Iacon, but with all likelihood it would lose him the war!
Starscream stood up and headed into his private office that branched off the briefing room. He would provide Seekers to this insane crusade. Cyclonus had been correct that he dared not deny Mega Galvatron's request. But by leaving the choice of squadrons to Starscream, Cyclonus had given him the potential for manoeuvring. Oh, he would take enough of his elite warriors to make a show of it to Mega Galvatron, but the majority of the Seekers would be low-ranking cannon fodder. That way, when the Supreme Overlord and commander Cyclonus had their elite forces decimated, the Seekers would have an edge in terms of skill and experience. As he sat down at his desk, he activated the computer terminal and brought up the personnel files for the Rookery. At the same time, he opened a communications channel, and ordered his senior officers to meet him in the briefing room within the groon.