It is traditional that the second part of the debate be held in front of the last Prime's statue, and so it was that Starscream and his fellow Seekers pulled in a scale replica of Optimus Prime. Astatine was offered the honor, but he denied.
"I wouldn't touch that thing if my life depended on it," he said to Cyclonus, but for the record, he had a better phrase: "I am not worthy."
"Optimus would agree," Megatron muttered. "Though...perhaps he would have had a subtler insult."
Starscream waved Megatron off. "Don't give me your sour mood...I already have my own."
"I've noticed."
Cyclonus waited until Starscream was back behind his podium and Astatine finished socializing with his current mate, his three-ex mates, and his five sparklings, all grown, except one.
One little femme, much much younger than her siblings, and not related to any of the femmes in Astatine's "circle".
Starscream had his own sparklings, but they were pardoned into the back room, save the oldest three hanging out in the back, though few knew they belonged to Starscream. Only the youngest looked like him, with shiny silver armor and a red helm crest, much like his father's. But of the three sparklings, that's the only shared trait. Everything else is due to their mother. The only time Starscream displayed his children was at parties...expensive parties. And not because Starscream was ashamed. Seekerlings don't do well in crowds, and as Risingstar was still a sparkling, he didn't want to expose him to too much too soon.
Once Astatine was back, Cyclonus looked at Rodimus and nodded once. Rodimus, as the new bearer of the Matrix, would have to "pray" to Optimus Prime, to invite his spirit back down to inhabit the hollow statue and watch to give his approval or disapproval.
In the past, statues have shattered and cracked, and one even cried. Starscream suspected this time, there would be an even greater demonstration of the Primes' power.
"Alright, everyone fall in. Let's get this over with. Rodimus? Start the-"
Rodimus was already mumbling, leaning his forehelm into the chest of the statue, a small mechling at prayer. Starscream held his breath. Astatine snorted. Cyclonus growled. The rest of the room was a mixture of awe and disbelief. When Rodimus had finished, he stepped back and turned to look at Cyclonus, nodding. He didn't even look at Starscream.
The debate continued as it had, with Cyclonus asking questions, Astatine jumping in and Starscream waiting for long moments before speaking, almost tiptoing across while Astatine pulled right through. To some, it looked as though the Seeker was nervous and shy. To others, it looked like Astatine was haughty and proud. But the truth?
The second half of the debate was not remembered. It was what happened during that gained the most attention.
Cyclonus was informing the crowd of the mechs' recent business and accusations, such as Starscream's recent accusations of plotting with Megatron to overthrow Rodimus, to destroy "something sacred", and "the murder of thousands of infants", fueling every evening on Dark Energon "just like his master". There was another case where Starscream blessed a sparkling on the street with Optimus as a witness, and the parents reported that the two mechs forced them to believe in Primus. The charges were dropped after the four spoke privately, Prowl as a witness. Cyclonus read off the police reports, turned the page and looked at Astatine.
"Astatine has been accused of raping a minor, forcing a mech to stop believing in Primus, and is believed to own a storage room full of Dark Energon." Cyclonus turned the page several times. "That's the gist of it. I'm not reading it all. What is this with Dark Energon?" Cyclonus sighed and turned to the statue of Optimus. "Prime, if you can hear me, come down and bear witness." The mech was less than enthusiastic and he turned back to the mechs.
"What do you have to say about the charges, Starscream?"
The Seeker slowly curled his claws into fists, then unclenched them before he spoke. "Well, it doesn't make much sense for me to overthrow Rodimus. He's my mate and you can't 'overthrow' a Matrix-bearer. You'd have better luck begging the wind to stop blowing. I'm not going to destroy anything sacred. That would take time I simply do not have. I would never murder, and I do not fuel on Dark Energon."
"No facts for us to prove that?"
"Just my word."
"Mhm.." Cyclonus looked over at Astatine. "I really don't want to know, but you'll tell me anyway."
"No comment."
"I'm shocked."
Commotion grew behing Cyclonus, but he was busy trying to fulfill his duty and drag as much information out of Astatine as he could. But as the screaming and shouting grew to a complete uproar, he turned and watched as the Prime's statue glowed and slowly raised its arm.
It pointed right to Astatine.
It's mouth fell open and an unbelieveably loud voice came from it, saying THAT MECH before the statue burst into powder. The windows burst, everthing glass shattered, and several mechs had to be led to the Med Bay as their audios needed re-tuning.
The debate was shut down early
