~Interviews~

Interviewer: Astatine! Astatine, any comment?

Astatine: Look. It's painfully obvious Optimus meant for /me/ to be in office. He pointed at me and said "that mech", meaning he wants me. Not Starscream.

I: That sounds a little haughty of you.

A: You wanted the higher powers to speak, and he did. Is that all? Good. Now go do something with your useless life, reporter!

Interviewer: Rodimus, I must say I'm nervous to ask about your interpretation of what we saw in there.

Rodimus: I don't have an answer, but Optimus seemed angry to be there, like...really irritated about something. He probably didn't want to be drug down here for something so trivial.

I: Do you think it was to support Starscream?

R: I don't know, honestly.

I: Then can I have your opinion?

R: Sure..It is my opinion that people are jumping to conclusions. Obviously we don't know what Optimus meant. We can only guess.

I: You're not a lot of help here, Rodimus. What am I going to tell everyone?

R: Tell them to make their own assumptions, because right now, that's all we've got.

~End of interviews~

Author's Note:

Starscream has received a hundred percent of the votes. Astatine literally has no votes.

Starscream held himself in the palace, rocking back and forth. One hundred percent of the votes of Vos, and that's it. Vos had his complete and utter support. The rest of Cybertron was less and less certain, shifting away from him after the scene. "Optimus. Why did you do this to me? I had a hard enough time as it is..." He looked up at the sky, folding his claws in a small prayer.

It was interrupted by Falcon, the Elite coming by to check on him. "Rodimus is surrounded by interviewers. Astatine trotted away real fast, proudly. Very proudly, like a show Pred at a competition..."

"Let him...I'm a good mech. I have a all the requirements. He's just a bully...a big, dumb..." His optics dimmed and his wings dropped.

"Mmm..sounds like someone needs to talk with Nightshade and Cyclonus. I'll fetch Rodimus and send him over to you three.."

"I don't wanna talk to them," Starscream mumbled, but he walked to the room the two purple bots were talking, drinking High Grade like regular Energon, Nightshade sprawled across a couch. Cyclonus was leaned back in a recliner. Rodimus was crosslegged on a stool, but when he saw Starscream walk in with Falcon, he perked up and ran to him, throwing his arms around him in a hug.

"Ah, the mech of the hour has returned to the spotlight," Nightshade said, examining her claws as Alpha walked in, sweeping her wings out in the large, open room.

"Finally, a place to stretch." She rubbed her shoulders and back, sighing. "So cramped in Iacon...when I heard this is were Starscream crouches like a vulture, I came right over." She waited her turn, then hugged her cousin. "How are you doing?"

Starscream's wings were still against his back and he sighed. "This is hopeless...Astatine is so much better..."

Alpha snorted and sat him down with a cube. "Listen, Seeker. People like underdogs and soft-sparked mechs like you. Astatine is haughty and thinks he knows everything, and he knows a lot, but you know a lot too. However, are you getting credit? No. You're just a dumb Seeker who a couple years ago didn't have as many rights as anyone else."

"Thanks."

"But the little guys, they like you. Nightshade, tell him what people are saying."

"He rules, he rocks, little guys for Screamer." She chewed on a claw, looking over at Alpha. "I don't know exact quotes, but I can tell you someone stopped me and said that she wanted me to tell Starscream that she's voting for him. Just by him being in Vos has allowed her adopted feral babies to go to school. In Vos instead of Kaon."

Starscream smiled down at his claws. He remembered her. She was worried that her adopted kids wouldn't have the same rights as Seekerlings did, as they were Seekers, just babies found in an alley when enforcement shot their feral mother. Halogen ruled in her favor, and Starscream wanted to be like him. Optimus helped him soften up, as did Rodimus. Nightshade kept him from getting too soft like Cyclonus, whose armor was a size bigger than the end of the war.

"It makes me a better cuddler," he said while cuddling Tailgate. Where was that little marshmallow?

Alpha slapped him on the back. "Drink up. You've earned it."

Starscream took a drink. It was stronger than normal. Nightshade's favorite.

"I prefer to pretend my troubles and pain don't exist," she said when she was younger. Her claws were laced with his own. "You do the job well enough, but High Grade is long lasting.."

Rodimus sat beside him, touching his shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Look, I can do this...I just need a request, Alpha."

"You want me to talk with the big mech Alchemist."

"Can he get Optimus to talk to me?"

"I'll see what he can do."

~The next day~

"This morning, a femme with her three feral sparklings were murdered by black-painted mechs. Elites Falcon and Mace investigated and this evening they reported that they suspected Astatine's supporters, though they were not going to point any fingers. They also suspected Kaonians and other ferals, the latter less likely that the other two.

Rosalyn was a devoted mother who adopted the three sparklings when she found them in the alley during an acid storm. Their mother had been killed by another feral and were left to fend for themselves. Experts said that they wouldn't have lasted another day without a warm place to live and good Energon.

However, it seems all her work was for nothing as today she and the sparklings were given back to Primus directly through the Well.

Starscream had a few comments:

"She was such a nice femme. I met her once, while learning about her case with Optimus. He played with the babies. I was surprised that they were like Seekerlings. I mean, what else would they be? Monsters? No, no. Ferals were made when Decepticon breeders were released after the war to roam Cybertron, and they reproduced at a surprising rate. As most were Seekers, they had three and six sparklings at a time.

I will miss Rosalyn and her babies, and I hope their lives continue to inspire and educate us. Thank you. Good night."

Astatine also shared his opinion.

"Really, I hoped I would have gotten a call that the supporters went after Starscream. Honestly, I'm not surprised. Really. Femmes aren't treated like mechs. Had she had a mate and actual kids, she wouldn't have been murdered. Yes, I know this as a fact. She listened to Starscream and Optimus as they patted her head and told her it would be all okay. But it's not. Ferals are pests and should be shot on sight. In fact, when I'm in charge, I'll kill them all myself. No bagging limit, haha, no time limit. Just keep reloading and shoot 'em dead."

I apologize for the young viewers out there listening to-"

Starscream turned off the projector, looking slowly back at Rising as he sat with Nightshade's trine and Cyclonus' twins.

Risingstar hid behind a pillow. "Daddy? Are the ferals really all going to die?"

"Not if I can help it, lovely." Starscream walked over. "Would you like to play a game?"

"Can we watch Wreck-It Ralph instead?"

Starscream chuckled softly. Optimus linked Cybertron with Earth for Rodimus' benefit so he could keep track of Daniel, but after he passed...Rodimus spent his time searching their Internet and watching TV. Nightshade joked he'd turn into a human, but then when she had control of the projector, she and Cyclonus would watch Bones, Psych, and Monk, always guessing who did it, how, when, and why.

"Okay, but then you all go to bed."

A chorus of "no"s followed his command. Rodimus walked in, rubbing his optics with the back of his servo. "Oh, let them stay up late."

"Yay" came quickly after that.

Nightshade walked in through the front door with Tailgate and Felix, Phoenix racing down the stairs to the library for some late night research. "Primus knows they can't stay up after nine human time."

At nine-oh-five exactly, all six sparklings were out.

"Out like lights," Cyclonus purred as he lifted his twins. Rodimus was sleeping soundly with Rising on the floor, and Nightshade was carrying her trine off to bed.

Starscream turned off the projector, then laid a blanket over his mate and son. He walked outside into the garden and sat by the pond, hugging himself. None of the Primes had visited, even though Vector made frequent trips back and forth from the Realm to his dreams...

"Oh, Primus, what have I done to deserve this one-sided conversation, huh? Should I back out? Should I quit?" he asked the pond.

Megatron limped over to him. It would have surprised the Seeker, but he heard the old mech creak and groan up to him.

"You need oil."

"Astatine has been my number one priority. Plus the price is just too ridiculous."

"Sit down before you turn to dust, you old wreck."

"That's the nicest thing you said to me all day," he said as he sat next to the Seeker. "You know, there was this really dumb data clerk. In way over his helm every day all day no matter what. He never quit. He ran for Prime, too." He looked at Starscream. "And he won."

"What was he like when he was Orion?"

"Perky, optimistic...happy-go-lucky...the opposite of you right now."

Starscream shoved him off the bench, but then helped him to his pedes and guided him to his berth. "Your hip okay?"

"I'm /fine/, for the billionth time. But I think you should sleep...maybe you'll dream. Who knows?"

And as though on cue...

Starscream dreamed.

About Optimus.