What Makes No Difference Is No Difference (WMNDIND 19)

-0-In an interrogation room on an Autobot Base

"So … what are you going to do here, Birdbrain? Die for someone who doesn't care about you and yours or live by telling me what you know?"

The coldness in Prowl's optics chilled Birdbrain to the superstructure. He shifted, choosing the only real option before him. He knew Prowl would do what he threatened. He looked at the handsome winger with a sour expression. "Megatron wanted us to come. He said he had a job for us."

"Go on." Prowl didn't move an inch. The mech was spilling and he let him.

"He wanted us to help him end Prime. You know … the usual slag and he wanted to take over the planet where he was. He wanted to terraform it or something … from organic to metallic. I don't know how but that's what he said. He wanted us to come and play football with the locals." Birdbrain sat back staring at Prowl with disgust. "Primus, I hate him. I hate him and Soundwave … Shockwave and all of them. They're useless."

"What about the others? What do you know about them?" Prowl asked evenly.

"Soundwave is with Megatron. He lives ten feet up Megatron's exhaust pipe. Starscream is there plotting to overthrow Megatron, I'm sure," Birdbrain said bitterly.

"Shockwave. Where is he? What is he doing?" Prowl asked coldly.

"He's not with Megatron. There's rumors about those two, rumors that might or not be true. Shockwave always seemed like he was Megatron's shadow, someone who served Megatron because that slagger let him hurt as many mechs and femmes as he wanted. Slagger is a mad scientist. He doesn't care who he hurts. HE DIDN'T GIVE A FRAG ABOUT US!

"But there's also rumors that they broke it off. Shockwave went his own way with his own plans. They also say that Shockwave hasn't told Megatron that he isn't on his side, that he's working on his own slag and it won't be for Megatron's benefit either. It seemed that way until you run into someone who says otherwise. I don't know. I wouldn't put it past them both killing each other for control of the faction, slaggers. Both of them are idiots. Megatron is less so sometimes but even he frags things up."

"Where is Shockwave?"

"I don't know. Someone told me that we were heading for him. I don't know," Birdbrain said.

"Your trajectory was taking you through the debris field of the system where Megatron resides but not toward him," Prowl said.

Birdbrain stared at the big mech staring back at him, sorting through what he understood about Prowl. All he really knew was he was Prime's enforcer and brain trust. He also knew that Prowl would snap his neck if it cut half a breem off the war and not feel a thing. "Then we were called by Shockwave using Megatron's codes. That means that they might not have fallen out. Or not. I don't get half their slag and I don't care. What happens to us?"

"Jail. We're shipping you off world to a more secure place," Prowl said. "If you want privileges when you get there tell me now anything else you know. I could use my little friend to find out but I'm trying to be merciful," he said patting the device sitting on the table between them.

Birdbrain snorted as he stared at Prowl sourly. "Don't bother. They don't exactly consult me but I do know that they work at attracting alien allies, both Megatron and Shockwave. I hear the traffic. I see the messenger ships out on the Rim. Word has it that old magic is being resurrected and it takes old magic to do it. That's their words, not mine." Birdbrain stared at Prowl, then the big winger stood up picking up the box as he did. "Take this person to the detention center and send word that we have six packages for the Warden."

The guards nodded, then grasped Birdbrain's arms. Hoisting him up, he walked past Prowl with a murderous look on his face. When he was gone Prowl stood a moment collating the data and seeking reason and rhyme in it. He looked at his servo, then grinned faintly. He opened the box, noting that once again it was empty of the device that he'd used on Praxus before The Fall. It'd been his go-to tool there, one he used to try to crack the upper caste conspiracy that had ended their world when it fell into revolution.

There were many things going on in the background, the shadow government that had been so tragically inadequate and stupid as to hold to actions that hadn't worked and led to so much rage. He was still sure in his gut that it mattered, those individuals and those actions. His vigilance about it hadn't ended with Cybertron. He looked at the image that was the only object in the box. It looked back at him as he stared at it, then he closed the box subbing it once more.

Shockwave was in Prime's system and he was up to something along the lines of terrible and horrific, of that Prowl was sure. They would have two battle fronts now. He would have to inform Prime of what he'd learned and perhaps between them they could figure out what nebulous nefarious scheme that one-opticed cyclops was planning. It was heavily apparent to Prowl that Megatron didn't have a clue. He walked out and began to prepare a message to be sent.

-0-Later on Earth in a base in Jasper, Wyoming

They walked in through the bridge, dusty, hungry and out of luck. They'd found no relics, nor even the trace of their energy. They would work their way downward toward the equator of the planet following the North American continent as they did. It was a big, big continent.

"What's the word, Ratchet?" Springer asked as he walked to the medic who was huddled over the console.

"Nothing yet. The satellites are giving me a lot of data which needs to be analyzed. Perceptor is doing that for me as I coordinate your searches," Ratchet said as Ironhide walked through with Bumblebee. They walked to the console to check the screen. A lot of territory was being marked off their search grid but a lot more remained on this, the first continental search of many to come.

"Any word out of system on the slaggers?" Ironhide asked of Ratchet.

"No, not yet," Ratchet said. "I don't ..." He turned to the console as the sound of an incoming message was heard. "I have a message for Prime from Prowl. Bee, get Optimus."

Bee hurried onward. "I'll be right back," he said as everyone watched him go. It was still strange to hear his voice, calm and mellow once again.

More mechs came through the bridge and checked in with Ratchet.

As they did Prime entered the room taking a data wafer message from Prowl. He read it, then handed it to Ratchet. "Prowl interrogated Birdbrain and he said that Megatron had called them to come. He was supposed to help Megatron conquer this world, find relics and use them for some unknown purpose. There is talk of terraforming Earth and power struggles in the hierarchy. Megatron may or not be cognizant that Shockwave is playing his own hand. He was the one actually calling them to come. He mentioned this remark: 'Word has it that old magic is being resurrected and it takes old magic to do it.' I am not clear what that means."

"It can't be good, right?" Bulkhead asked as he stood next to Drift. "I mean … old Buckethead must have some stupid idea that using the relics is going to help him. I thought the relics were related to you, Optimus. That only a Prime could use a Primal weapon or tool."

"That is true for most of them but some do not require the energy of a Prime or the Matrix to function. That is the part that concerns me now. We have to find all of them. Now that we know Shockwave is nearby we have another direction in which to watch for trouble. Until we know more, there is little we can do but search," Prime said. "Is there any luck on that front, Ratchet?"

"No, Optimus … I'm afraid not. We're marking off territory as each team reports in. Until then, we have to keep moving along and trust to hope," Ratchet said.

"Understood. Let us do this thing then. It could be that we have an unknown purpose to thwart by our effort," Optimus said.

The group turned to the console, got new coordinates, then went to the bridge to go. It would go on day and night for a bit.

-0-Shockwave

He stood on the icy rocky surface of his planetary redoubt. The humans once called it Planet X but now that they'd discovered its effect gravitationally on the minor planets that peppered the debris field that circled the edges of their solar system it had another name, Planet 9. There were many small planetoids here, this being the biggest and given that it had a large accumulation of raw energon either by planetary accretion or because it was seeded long ago, it was a perfect place to dig in and build a platform.

His group was large and had many ships, all of which would soon be withdrawn from the surface by elevator. One would be hard pressed to know he was here with his burgeoning underground installation. He watched the chaos in the sky above him, the slamming and passing by of debris around his gigantic atmosphere-free home world.

His drone-like workers and soldiers did his bidding no matter how onerous given they bore his control devices in their software. He'd gathered a big force, then stealthed his way here. He didn't want to let Megatron know that he was impatient with him and had his own agenda. He would act on it, watching Megatron and to a lesser degree, Prime, from here. His two biggest rivals, Soundwave and Starscream would be where Megatron was so they were also under examination.

He brought a computer-like focus to his work and had none of the personality modulators like conscience and empathy that might change his focus or still his actions. He had that ripped from him during The Clampdown, forced as he was to endure shadow play and empurata because as a once highly respected and ethical scientist he'd hidden those being sought by the government.

When he was finally released disfigured and emotionally sterile, he found his place in the hierarchy of Megatron's command, his sense of grievance and vengeance a cold, rather than hot thing. As he worked there, he began to formulate what it would take to bring the universal balance back to level. In his mind, the submission of all things, the leveling of every object, device and individual to his ideal of perfection and balance drove him with a singular all consuming passion. It would take the eventual control of the Decepticons and the submission of everyone everywhere to his logic and calculations to make it happen but he was patient. Shockwave was the very object and ideal of patience.

A huge meteorite slammed into the ground nearby spraying him in its blizzard-like shock wave of ice and snow. It was howling outside anyway but he endured it stoically. He was waiting for six mechs and their peculiar talent, one he had observed himself at the side of Jhiaxus. He was waiting for Monstructor to arrive. He would wait a long time.

-0-On a ship to a forward secured base

Birdbrain sat against the hull, his body magnetized to it along with that of his five 'brothers'. Given that they'd volunteered, given that they shared zero familial connection to each other, nevertheless, they'd become under Cybertronian law brothers in every sense of the word but separation. It was part of the protocol of gestalts that they be 'family' so that if consent was needed for whatever Jhiaxus required one could speak for all.

Jhiaxus thought of everything, Birdbrain considered bitterly. He looked at the others, four of them who had their vocal capacitors off lined for the duration due to cursing and flailing and wondered what was waiting at the other end of the flight. He knew it wouldn't be as bad as Garrus 9 now was where Overlord was waiting for Megatron.

That crazy fragger was phase six and hated it. That is, Overlord hated doing someone elses bidding like they were supposed to but he loved his enormous power. He figured he would best Megatron in a fight, then proclaim himself … something. King of the world? Emperor of the universe? Birdbrain didn't know. He just knew that he hoped Overlord would stay at Garrus 9 because when he ran out of Autobots to torment he wasn't above using Decepticons in his sadistic battles royal.

The ship flew onward as Red Alert and Inferno sat with them, watching them with their usual intensity. They would fly onward into a dense planetary and cometary region where a base was built and Autobot soldiers were collecting. It was here that Impactor based his Wreckers, Fort Max was recuperating from his encounter with Overlord, the Supremes were regrouping to assist the Prime where he needed them and civilians, always civilians were fleeing. They disappeared into the night.

-0-TBC 2-24-16 01-24-2021