It wasn't until Frenzy pinged from the door and pushed in, carefully maneuvering with four cubes, each size of his arm, that Soundwave had carefully eased himself out of black-and-steel hands. Not that it had taken long for the Cassette to deliver the requested high-grade. Once the read-and-black minicon was out of the door (and earshot), Megatron broke the silence, reaching down for the top cube.
'In that previous life... were we..?'
Soundwave startled and looked back at him, optics wide with shock. 'No!' he exclaimed and then managed a more coherent answer: 'Assumption: logical, also false.' He reached for a cube himself and added with a soft chuckle 'Relations: professional at that time. Sympathy: not lost between us.'
'What changed?' - lazily asked the warlord, taking a sip.
'You' - Soundwave answered, following his example.
Megatron didn't ask, but the question hung in the air unspoken. And Soundwave knew he would have to tell everything eventually. He just hoped, they would be high enough to forget about it all after recharge. His probability calculations showed no good coming from revealing this info, but Megatron chose to ignore his warning already and it would be inappropriate to bring that up again.
'Suggestion: get wasted and forget about it' - the Communication Officer said evenly. His hope was futile. 'Talk' - Megatron responded with finality and that was an order.
Soundwave took a sip and started: 'Historical data logs: too big to keep in databank, too dangerous to store in external archive. Initial data: erased, replaced with summary. My apologies for insufficient details. In the beginning of the Golden Era, when Cybertron prospered, Nova Prime wanted to share this prosperity with other worlds.
'The space expansion program: initiated by Prime. First space adapted alt forms: constructed. Explorers, Shuttles, Stations, Jest, Contactors...as the missions progressed outward, colonies were founded... This is common known history. Neither Megatron, nor Soundwave: active at that time. Space program mecha came across quitessons. Contact was established.
'Then war began. Space expansion on hold, mecha recruited for war. War: won hard. Senate blamed Nova Prime's ambitions for the war. But Nova never relinquished his vision. Space bridges: invented based on trophy quints technology. Lost now. With this power, uniting the galaxy: possible. Peace for all races under Cybertron' strict and just ruling.'
'Peace through tyranny' - Megatron whispered and the spy nodded before taking another gulp and going on:
'Nova: both credited for winning the war and blamed for starting it. His actions and motives: questioned. He needed to prove himself. Soundwave: barely graduated training when Nova Prime departed in search for allies. As you know, he didn't come back.
Functionalists: gained power. Nova Prime: proclaimed traitor of Primus' Will. Altform modifications : banned. Space ventures: put on hold. Colonies loyal to Nova: cut off. Information that we, the space mecha of the expansion program, were to 'never exist' : acquired occasionally.
'Orders for mass deactivation: assumed by me. Measures were taken. Crash-landing on Luna Two: enabled to fake my demise. The space program: ceased to exist one cycle after. It started to _never have existed_. Logs and archives: corrected, erased, rewritten'
Soundwave paused to drink some more. Megatron asked: 'Why did they spare me of all?'
Soundwave shook his head lightly, while drinking and a small droplet of energon escaped his intake at the motion. He got it with his glossa and said: 'Initial assumption of deactivation: false. Waste of potential: presumably too big for functionalists. Personality wipe: Possibility to further use the space mecha... Successfully 'returning' them to civil function: all needed proof that Nova was wrong'.
Megatron watched him and thought that he hasn't seen his comrade so relaxed and open for a long time... even perhaps since the beginning of Decepticon uprising that he started... that he started based on Soundwave's incredible information. Which he believed instantly and without hesitation. As notion turned to movement, movement turned to uprising, uprising formed an army and army became an empire... on this long and hard way each step they took made Soundwave close a little more, camp down another part of him, distance, not just from Megatron, from everything. He kept a detached observer, protected by layers and layers of filters, optics, microphones, sonars, cassettes and finally his visor when all the rest were absent. It had been highly effective, for the amount of data he had to process and processes he had to control grew constantly and he had to maintain the bigger picture. But being able to look through all this even for a short while was nice for a change. Megatron carefully avoided asking himself if he believed yet another story of Soundwave... if he asked this question, he would have to act upon the answer, and for now he preferred to just watch.
The spy continued: ' Reprogramming Explorers, Shuttles, Jets... even Stations: easy. Contactors, however: not so much. Too different. Too specialized. Hiding: nearly impossible. Decision met: reformation. Let go of specialized equipment but keep the core programming. In secret.'
Megatron hummed softly 'You had a space engine' - he said more like a statement than a question.
'Affirmative. Space travel: improbable at the time. Instead: carrier module acquired.'
'Why? So you could have your little brats?'
Soundwave turned to him and smiled broadly 'A contactor needs to contact.'
'Low profile: kept for a long time. Searching for information. Information regarding presumed mass murder: never found. The one that made this decision: never found. Senators: all guilty. The rest you know' - a soft smile on the spy's faceplate. Soundwave smiled a lot. Sometimes he smiled at things that weren't funny in the least. Looking at this smile now the warlord got an impression that it was just another layer of protection that his third in command surrounded himself with.
'No, I am clearly still under informed. What part of your story of staged energon crisis was true?'
Soundwave's expression turned serious 'Every word. Soundwave: never lies to Megatron. This information: withdrawn because of its insignificance. And potential harm.'
'Hm. So you sought revenge when you discovered that secret energon stash...I can relate to..'
'No' - and Megatron blinked at that, - 'Revenge: futile. Proving the program useful: my goal at the time. Restoration of former glory. This hope: lost by the time the real nature of crisis was discovered. Revived, when I met you on the Arena.'
'Why, because you met one mech you didn't even like much?'
'Plural. Not singular.'
Megatron stared and Soundwave was smiling again watching the understanding shine in vermillion optics. 'Who...'
'Megatron: in possession of all information required' - the spy grinned and saluted him with the cube.
Megatron returned his gesture and found himself grinning too. A guessing game? It was so long since they last played one of those. This was definitely the high-grade influence, but he found himself willing to humor his third now. So.. who might it be?
