20. Treason

"You, lead the Decepticons?" I demanded incredulously. Legonis shoved his blaster harder under Starscream's jaw.

"I will only tell you once again," he said, not quite confident yet. "Lower your weapons."

I signaled to Lugnut to power down his weapons and slowly lowered my own arms. Nothing good would come of stubbornness now, not when we were outnumbered.

"Much better," Legonis said, relaxing, but still menacing Starscream with his blaster. "Now we can talk like civilized mechs."

Starscream snorted. "How civilized is it when you've got a blaster pointed at someone?"

Legonis snarled at him. "Don't test my temper."

"Why are you doing this?" I cut in before Starscream could inflame matters any further.

It was Octus who responded. "We simply feel that the Decepticon cause would be better served by another leader, or leaders. Someone with more experience, with more of a, hmm, Decepticon vision. Someone… less… Autobot."

Was this really just because I didn't share their taste for devastation? I knew the only way to end this war was not through senseless violence. The Autobots would hold an advantage if the Decepticons aimed solely at conquering city-state by city-state, as Starscream had.

"We don't want to terminate you," Seizer added. "The troops seem unusually fond of you, and explaining things could be difficult. But if you were to step aside and lend us your support, everything would go much more smoothly."

"That doesn't mean we won't kill you if you prove stubborn," continued Legonis. "Really, Nova." Somehow he made my name sound patronizing, like an insult. "You don't know how to handle an army. You lean on this traitor for everything…"

"Oh, I'm a traitor?!" Starscream burst out. Legonis sneered at him.

"At best you'd never be more than a puppet," he finished to me.

"How is that different than what you want for me? I will never follow you."

"Pity," Legonis said. "Well, I am confident that we'll have sufficient support from the rest of the command team. As you can see, Skystalker and Thunderwing have pledged us their loyalty."

Starscream shot a venomous glare at the other Seeker, who looked back with slowly smoldering satisfaction.

"It's nothing against you, Nova," Thunderwing told me. "You've been bearable. But you are an extension of Starscream's will, and Starscream never respected me."

"Trineless slag," Starscream hissed. Thunderwing crossed the distance between them in one stride, finger shooting out to point at me.

"He is trineless!" he spat. "You would never change your opinion of him on that basis, I suppose, or you would give him new wingmates!" His voice lowered to a threatening, delighted purr. "I wonder, how will you like it when you are trineless?"

Never had I seen Starscream's face twisted into such an expression of hatred as it now was. He spoke slowly and clearly, quietly, but I heard him perfectly. "If you touch my wingmates, I will make you beg for death."

Before either could speak again, there came a shout from behind us.

"Vhot is going on here?!"

I looked behind me to see Stryka, Soundwave, and Flamewar.

"Ah, Generals," Octus greeted. "We were about to summon you. We need witnesses for a shift in power."

"Vhot kind of 'shift?'"

"To us," Legonis said. "Your support is appreciated."

"You are presumink much," Stryka rumbled, coming up beside Lugnut. "And you are darink to point weapons at my consort! Vhot is the meaning of this?"

"Patience, my dear femme. If Lugnut will lend us his strength, he will be unharmed."

"Zen I am your enemy, because he is never servink anyone but the true Decepticon leader," the massive warrior answered, tapping a finger on my shoulder – the equivalent of resting her hand there.

"Legonis: illogical," Soundwave put in. "Nova: superior."

"I don't know," Flamewar purred, and everyone looked at her. She smirked, putting her hands on her hips and turning her optics on me. "You're cute…" A teasing pause. "…but not that cute. And you did reject me for that sorry piece of scrap." She sauntered over, sliding between Legonis and Octus to lean on Legonis from behind. "You lot are just so… Decepticon."

I couldn't help but feel betrayed. I ought to have known. Flamewar was right, they were Decepticons through and through.

But Flamewar spoke again and I had to pay attention.

"But then… so am I," she said, and the end of an energon blade bloomed abruptly from Legonis's chest. Before the shell had hit the floor, she had turned on Octus, the next in line, and Starscream was free. In the split-klik of confusion, I hurled myself on the third member of the triumvirate, bringing him to the ground; in the same moment, I heard Soundwave ordering Frenzy and Rumble to eject, and Stryka barreled forward, roaring, "No bot is threatenink my Luggy-Poo!" before hitting Skystalker with the force of a cannon blast.

By the time Seizer had stopped fighting and begun begging, Legonis and Octus had greyed over, as had what remained of Skystalker after he had endured Stryka's wrath. There were two mechs missing.

"Where are—"

A rushing whistle preceded a ground-shaking crash that flung those of us who were standing back several steps. I saw Starscream's red-and-white wings rising from the new crater. He perched on the sparking wreck of Thunderwing, who – amazingly – still functioned.

"Spare me," the weak voice rose. Starscream sneered.

"You threatened my wingmates." His null-rays powered up, bright and dangerous, point-blank at the other Seeker's helm. "Oh, wait… you wouldn't understand that."

Ordinarily Starscream's null-rays were nonlethal. At that range, to that delicate circuitry, they may as well have been a fusion cannon. Thunderwing shuddered, then collapsed back to the cracked metal beneath him. I turned my attention back on the final conspirator.

"Mercy," Seizer sobbed beneath me, cowardice coming to the surface at the collapse of his allies. "Mercy, Lord Nova, please, I beg of you!"

Part of me considered it, but the greater part knew that it could only lead to more trouble. I hooked my claws under his chestplate to lift him halfway and lodged my free arm rifle between the plating. "I thought you wanted me to act like a Decepticon."

I felt no remorse at his termination; had I left him alive, he'd have tried again. I stood and checked that none of the loyal mechs (and femmes) had been injured, then glared at Flamewar.

"What?" she asked. "You thought I'd actually work with them? Ugh!" She snickered. "Or are you just mad because I called your boytoy something mean?"

"Soundwave?"

"Commander?"

"Make sure that Flamewar gets a few shifts of monitor duty in the near future, will you?"

"Affirmative."

I probably shouldn't have gotten as much satisfaction out of Flamewar's pout as I did.

The first task after we gave the bodies to Undertaker ("Make sure those wings are intact, he should like that," I'd said) was to treat Hurricane's frame with more respect. I couldn't find it in myself to be too sad about his termination, since he'd wanted nothing more for decavorns. I resolved myself instead to wait patiently for a new trine. I wanted one of my own more than ever, but for now the gap yawned widely in my programming.

The attempted overthrow taught me caution and vigilance. Although I wouldn't admit it, it had also shaken my confidence. I wanted what was best for the Decepticons, and Legonis's poisonous words had found their mark: You don't know how to handle an army. At best you'd never be more than a puppet.

I found a new appreciation for Decepticon nature, and I was careful to keep my optics and audios finely tuned to catch any signs of unrest in the ranks. The closest thing to that was discontent among our fliers. It was nothing I could quantify, just a subtle hint in their manner, a tendency towards gloom and sorrow.

Starscream approached me on the subject before I could discover its root. I'd been discussing our resources with Shockwave – there were factories and refineries in Kaon and Tarn and Trypticon, but we had few mechs to spare to run them. We had energon for now, mostly from the stock buried beneath Trypticon, but our supply would not last forever. In addition, the Constructicons remained absent, and we'd received no reports of their whereabouts. We had a few generally useful medics, but if what I'd heard about the gestalt was true, we needed their aid in the most desperate of situations. While our basic medics could only do so much to deal with major wounds, we needed mechs with the Constructicons' training.

Shockwave spoke to the end of his sentence, then, not missing a beat, asked, "Did you require something, Starscream?"

"Yes. Him." Starscream tried to pull me away, but Shockwave interrupted.

"We are discussing matters of consequence."

"And I'm sure that Nova is bored out of his processor," responded Starscream glibly. "I'll send him back soon enough."

Without listening to Shockwave's protests, Starscream gripped my arm and towed me unceremoniously from the command center.

"Don't I get any say in this?"

"Of course not."

"Of course not, how silly of me, I'm only the Supreme Commander."

He shot me a sly grin. "Don't even try that on me, scraplet. I was leader before you could ingest your own energon."

"And you're my creator."

"Well, that too." He nudged his wing against mine. "Not that that's much to brag about."

"I couldn't ask for a better one," I said, quiet and honest.

The smirk that tightened Starscream's mouthplates held an edge of pride and possibly an even more genuine emotion. "So you do like me. At times I wonder."

"Sometimes I can't help but wonder whether you like me."

"Do those times pass quickly?"

I laughed. "Sometimes 'sometimes' lasts for orns. Well? Is the great Starscream above liking?"

"I dislike to like," he answered. "But you aren't as bad as Megatron, so I don't dislike you."

"Good enough. Did you come just to save me from terminal boredom, or do you actually have something to speak to me about?" I recognized that he was leading me towards the Tower.

"Actually, yes, I do. Our fliers have been getting restless."

"Yes, I noticed."

"Vos," Starscream said, and I looked at him in confusion.

"What of it?"

"Our home city, where most of us were built and Sparked. We haven't been there for… astrocycles, some of us. Centivorns at least."

"You want to take Vos." It wasn't a question.

"It's a strategic position, it's nearby, there are slaves there… it will improve morale."

I sighed through my vents. "What will we have to do to take the city?"

"I will lead the fliers we have here in Kaon. It will not take long: Vos was built for us, and groundpounders can barely move there, let alone hold it against an aerial assault. It won't take long at all."

"Fine," I decided. "When do we leave?"

"You will stay here."

"What?!" I stopped. "What do you mean, I'll stay here? I won't stay behind when there's a battle to be fought!"

Starscream stopped as well, turning to face me. "You will. You'll stay behind and help Soundwave sniff out our spy. It begins now: I've just called all fliers to the Tower. They will be the only ones who know our destination. If the Autobots are ready for us, then a flier has betrayed us. If not, a groundpounder."

"Right… but I'll need your help."

"You don't need my help," he said softly. After a moment he grinned again. "You'll have Soundwave to take care of you, and I'll be back soon to keep everything from falling apart." He gestured up at the Tower's entrance over our heads. "Shall we?"

We flew up together, coming out into the large space where fliers collected. It didn't take long for the air force to gather; they all knew where they were headed, and it excited them.

"An impressive sight," I said, and I meant it. Assembled before me were fliers of every build: shuttles, gliders, Seekers, spinners, stealth planes, tetrajets, atmo jets. And at their head stood Starscream, all sleek lines and smooth, aerodynamic plates. He smiled at my words and turned to address his troops.

"Brethren of the air!" he called, and all optics were on him immediately, mine included. "Brothers," Starscream added to his wingmates alone, before returning his attention to the fliers at large. "We fly to Vos!"

The reaction was a roar that simultaneously made me want to offline my audios and dial them louder. Each winged creature expressed his joy differently, but all were united in their longing for their home. Starscream basked in it, his optics narrowing into slits. The gathering gradually hushed, all staring intently at their commander in rapt anticipation. For a nano-klik that felt like an astrocycles, there was utter silence, as each mech waited for the order. Starscream, if possible, held himself higher.

"Decepticons," he said, "transform and rise up!"

They complied with a roar of thrusters and a deafening cacophony of shifting plates and grinding gears. I would have given almost anything to join them. But my duty was to remain in Kaon, so I watched the armada take to the sky, Starscream at its apex. The scream of their engines echoed in my audios long after they had vanished from sight.

"All right, Soundwave," I said, sitting down across from him. "How do you intend to catch the spy?"

"Method: telepathy."

I tilted my head doubtfully. "You mean to search every processor in this army until you find an Autobot?"

"Affirmative."

"Then start with the command team," I told him. "That's the most urgent."

"Affirmative." Soundwave's helm dipped, then lifted. "Suggestion: begin immediately?"

"Yes, excellent."

I was about to get up when a chilly tingle whirled through my fuel lines. I hit the seat again, feeling Soundwave's consciousness brush against mine. "Me?" I managed.

"Above suspicion: none."

I shuddered at the feeling of his mind within my processor before it vanished. I knew he was still there, since he wasn't speaking.

How unnerving, knowing that he could read my thoughts… that he could see everything, from my earliest childhood memories to my close moments with Starscream, from my intimate encounters with Ramrod to my tender moments with Apis to…

Optimus. My Spark lurched – he would see our rendezvous. What would he do? What would he say?

It was a short while before Soundwave's visor flashed and his hold released. "Task: completed."

He said nothing more. I waited for it, sure that any moment he would ask why I'd gone to see Optimus. It had to be coming.

But still Soundwave remained silent, regarding me impassively. I shifted, uncertain.

"Concern: unnecessary," Soundwave intoned. "Your reasoning: understood."

Air hissed out of my vents in a sigh of relief. "Thank you. You should move on to the others."

"Affirmative." The Communications Officer rose, inclined his head in my direction, and carried on.

I was in the command center when the reports started coming in from Vos. It infuriated me not to be there, seeing and hearing it all for myself. My control over the battle was diluted by distance, but Starscream was at his best, directing the aerial troops with far greater competence than I could have.

Finally, the welcome call came that the Autobots were retreating. I allowed myself to sit down for the first time in megacycles. Someone brought me a cube of energon and I gulped it down, suddenly realizing just how low my fuel had gotten.

"Leave a portion of your force there," I commanded, relaying my orders to Starscream through Soundwave. "Bring the freed mechs back here."

"The Autobots flee towards Praxus," he answered. "Our fliers have an advantage over them in speed; we could stop them before they reach their destination."

"No. They retreat, so let them go. We can take things next to Praxus."

"All right, fine. We'll get some settled in here and be on our way tomorrow." He cut the link without so much as a farewell… typical Starscream.

"Have Trannis come back with some of the force at Trypticon," I said. "Our next destination is Praxus."

Praxus was an Autobot military stronghold, no civilians, and the move was justified. We'd been shown good fortune so far; perhaps it was time to truly put it to the test.