Starscream woke to Shockwave gently shaking him awake.

"I apologize for disturbing your recharge," he said. "But my temporary fix on your code is starting to break."

Starscream could feel it. His helm felt like it was being slammed up against a dam as water rushed all around him. He winced and closed his optics. "What do we do?"

He heard Shockwave shift, and when he cracked open an optic, he could see that he was kneeling on the ground beside his berth, looking at him at optic level. "I have a solution, but I feel that you have to be fully informed as to what it means."

Starscream would take anything at this point if it got rid of this debilitating weakness he felt. He nodded to Shockwave, bracing himself for what was probably bad news.

It always was.

"As far as I can tell, the coding was not designed to be isolated like this. My analysis revealed it is unstable because some important parameters were never established. Namely, the parameter of 'master' is undefined. In lieu of having a master, it treats everyone as a master, and to stabilize it, we need to define this parameter to a single mech."

"And I'm guessing it can't be me."

"No. You cannot be your own master," Shockwave said. "I tried that first, but the code would not accept it."

Starscream frowned. "What does my life look like after we establish my 'master?'"

Shockwave sighed. "This individual would have control over your coding, and this person would have direct access to it and manipulate it. You would be bound to their commands, and you would want to do them. It will be similar to how you are now, except focused on one person."

That really annoying numbness was creeping back over his plating as he thought about how unfair this was. It wasn't really worth exploring as a thought process because there wasn't a choice. "And I suppose this is a permanent function?"

"We should treat it as such. I don't see any way to immediately transfer the designation."

Starscream gritted his denta and bowed his helm, trying not to show his despair. So much of his tiny existence had been about not controlling himself and his own actions. His lack of agency had defined him from the moment he had woken and looked at Hook for guidance and even his own name. And now? He had to submit himself to another mech completely?

Starscream shivered. "So, this was designed as slave coding?"

Shockwave's optic dimmed. "There have been many applications of the pacification program, and it does appear the strain that survived in Teletraan's database was one that had some servitude applications."

Starscream was nodded bitterly. Of course, it was.

"However, there may be a way around it," Shockwave continued gently. "The 'master' could give you a layer of coding that would allow you to operate as your own mech. You would still be unable to do certain things, like perform violence, but some of the more incapacitating elements of the program could be mitigated. You could be able to speak your mind if your master wished it. You could damage property by accident, though you may still not want to."

There was a small kernel of hope there, then. Feeling bold and maybe a little cheeky, he smirked up at Shockwave.

"Well. Applying for the job?"

Shockwave's optic betrayed his surprise. "Wouldn't you rather it be your trine?"

Starscream thought about it and wondered why they hadn't been the first names in his mind. "They would do their best, I think. I love them very much, but… no. It can't be them. I'm not sure they could resist the ability to protect me by controlling me."

Starscream leaned back against the head of the berth, going through his other associates. "Skyfire might also be a good choice, but I'm not sure I could do this to him. He already carries other heavy burdens." Starscream closed his optics again and thought through the other mechs he knew. "There are some halfway decent Decepticons and Autobots who might give it their best shot, but no, I couldn't give this to anyone else."

Shockwave was still staring at him with his single optic wide. Starscream tilted his helm. "You are a logical candidate, Shockwave."

Shockwave looked down at the berth. "Starscream. I feel compelled to tell you that I am one of the last mechs your former self would have trusted with this duty. It is likely you only trusted Megatron less."

Starscream was even more sure of his choice now. "You won't let me down, will you Shockwave?" he said with a half-smirk. "Besides. I'm not that mech anymore."

Shockwave exvented. "You are correct. You are a different mech." Starscream was almost amused to see how flummoxed Shockwave appeared to be. "But… there are things that you don't know about me, about my coding, about my tendencies, about my function in the Decepticon army that if you knew, you might change your mind."

Starscream nodded. "Shockwave. There is no one else I trust more than you."

There was another frozen moment where Shockwave just stared. "You hardly know me, Starscream."

"Maybe I don't know you with four million years of history, but I think I know you pretty well, Shockwave." Starscream was being a little obstinate, and he knew it. But he also was very sure of his choice.

Shockwave stood slowly and then held out his servo for Starscream to take. "If this is what you desire, then I will put myself in the role. Can you walk back to my lab?"

Starscream took the servo, pulling himself up and out of the berth.

The procedure was relatively simple. Once they were back in the lab, Starscream was plugged back into the scanners, and Shockwave could put his name and ID in the blank space. Then Starscream fell offline into a reboot.

When he came to, he blinked carefully. "Okay… yes. Things are certainly different."

Shockwave was eager to test the limits of the programming. The applications of this could be extremely beneficial to an army that sometimes had issues with loyalty -

He stopped himself, looking into Starscream's optics. Perhaps… that testing could be done at a later time.

"Some of this will have to be trial and error. The pacification program is capricious at best, so I'm hoping my initial commands will interact well."

He sent them over by direct feed. Starscream accepted them and read them over, smiling as they integrated into his systems. "You are quite clever, Shockwave."

"I suppose I should be flattered with that coming from you."

The commands established Starscream as an associate of Shockwave's, not a servant. Starscream was free to exercise autonomy over his frame and environment, whether in Shockwave's presence or not. Certain words would precede an actual command; that way, the programming wouldn't activate accidentally like it had with Thundercracker. And on that note, all previous edits to the code were erased. Starscream was free to open doors in accordance with his master's wishes.

But one command would likely give Starscream pause, and Shockwave knew when he had reached it. The programming would be coming up to soothe him, tell him his master knew best, it was right and correct. He didn't need to be anxious.

"You are upset."

Starscream swallowed. "I… trust you. But I am… curious," he said carefully. "Why do you have a command allowing the copying of the pacification program?"

"I may need to make a backup in case a cascade failure happens."

Starscream was still slightly anxious, but it was lessening. He wasn't sure if he were convinced or if it was the programming lulling him into security.

Starscream then started to grit his denta and reached up to hold his helm. He exvented harshly. "It feels like my processor is crawling with insecticons."

Shockwave nodded. "We might have introduced too many commands at once. I anticipate you might have some aches for a little while as the program integrates again with everything. Unfortunately, I do not have any pain relief here in my command center. We will need to visit another base to gather what you may need."

Starscream perked up at that idea.

"My only concern," Starscream said, still holding his helm, "is that these mechs will see me and know where I am. And that information would get back to Megatron."

Shockwave nodded. "They would never contact Megatron directly. This base is for the aberrant seekers of the army, and any communication to and from Cybertron goes through me."

Starscream blinked in confusion. "Aberrant?"

Shockwave offered his servo to Starscream to lead him to their transportation. "Yes. You will understand when you meet them."

Starscream took his servo without hesitation, and though he wobbled a little, they were able to make their way down the corridor to the non-sentient vehicle bay.

"This reminds me of the time you assisted me in taking back Cybertron from the Combaticons," he started in an attempt at a conversation. "Both of us working together to achieve a common goal."

Starscream looked at him in confusion. "I doubt I was that accommodating."

"Well, you did try to prevent me from stopping the earth from colliding into its sun by shooting me," Shockwave said fondly.

Starscream looked disturbed. "Why did I do that?"

"Presumably to kill Megatron. Though, you were excited that the Autobots would also perish."

Starscream blinked a few times and then went back to staring ahead. He was clearly trying to think through the logic of his former self, but Shockwave wanted to save him the trouble. "You had very complicated thought processes that I often enjoyed trying to unravel as a kind of puzzle game, but ultimately the logic progression escaped me."

Starscream smiled a little as they reached the hovercraft they would take to the Right Wing, and Shockwave assisted him in getting into the craft. Starscream settled into the seat, trying to lay back to get comfortable, and they started to move.

Starscream watched as the landscape went by, finally seeing Cybertron in all of her ruined glory. He understood now why Sunstreaker had been slightly rude to him when he had been in such awe of what Cybertron used to look like in his paintings.

The reality was depressing.

Some parts of it were intact, but much of what he saw was destroyed. War tore the planet apart at the seams, and now most of the inhabitants were behind walls or in hiding.

Shockwave was quiet beside him on the ride over. Starscream thought he might be contemplative, but you could never tell with him.

The new commands were settling in, and he could feel different than he had before. More free, in a way, to think and do things naturally. Starscream thought he could insult someone now, which was great because he'd really love to send a few communications to Optimus and Jazz if he got the chance. Maybe Mirage if he thought he would listen.

He glanced at Shockwave out of his optic corner, still wondering about that extra command about copying the programming. It had been a little surprising to have that command slip in there without Shockwave telling him about it first. But it did make sense for him to have a copy if Starscream was accidentally corrupted.

"It is unlikely that the seekers at this base have knowledge of your programming change and memory loss," Shockwave said. "It is up to you if you want to inform them or try and maintain that you are the same as always."

Starscream smiled softly to himself as he stared at the broken landscape. Shockwave always found a way to give him choices. It was endearing.

"How would you suggest I act if I want to keep my condition a secret?"

Shockwave briefly turned his helm to look at him. Starscream had a small smirk on his face.

"Hmm. Perhaps if you scoff and sneer a few times if they ask you questions, it will achieve the desired effect."

Starscream arched an optic ridge and then couldn't help himself and chuckled lightly. "Really? That's your estimation of my former personality?"

Shockwave shrugged. "It wouldn't be out of character."

Starscream actually laughed now, despite the dull ache in his helm. His laugh died down, and he folded his arms across his chest. He didn't really want to ask the next question, but for some reason, he suddenly needed to know. "If you could have him back, would you take the opportunity? Scoff and sneers and all?"

Shockwave his helm to look at Starscream again. Starscream observed that Shockwave couldn't always figure out his tone and had to look at his face for additional clues. Starscream found himself being overly expressive to help Shockwave understand him.

And right now, he was concerned about how Shockwave would answer.

Shockwave turned the vehicle down a path that looked regularly cleared and repaired. They must be nearing the base.

"I would only bring him back if I could keep you too."

Starscream blinked, finding himself bewildered into silence at that reply.

They reached the large doors of the base's front gate that opened for their vehicle automatically. Inside, some seekers straightened nervously when they saw them and waited for them to come to a stop in the courtyard.

"C-commanders," a short, orange seeker greeted. "We apologize; we were not expecting you."

"Yes. It appears your communications are down. Otherwise, this surprise inspection would not have been a surprise."

The seeker swallowed nervously. Behind his white visor, Starscream could see him looking curiously at Starscream and then returning to Shockwave. "I've sent a message to Commander Tachyon, and she should be here shortly, sirs."

"She can meet us on the way to the medbay. We'll start there," Shockwave replied.

Shockwave exited the vehicle, and Starscream did his best to do the same in his own power. It wasn't hard to hold his face in the approximation of what he thought his former self would look like; aloof, maybe, and irritated. His helm still ached, and he still felt weak despite having slept a lot of the day away.

He could feel Shockwave watching him but only thinking of stepping in if he asked for help. For some reason, that mattered, and it warmed his spark.

Shockwave led the way, and the short seeker hurried his pace to try and keep up. Starscream looked around and noticed the base was clean, if not a little run-down.

"This is the first time you've been here, isn't it?" Shockwave asked him, his optic dancing in amusement.

"Yes, I don't believe I've had the… pleasure," he said with a frown.

The orange seeker laughed nervously. "No, commander, I don't think you ever needed to visit here! You might not remember me, but uh, my trinemates and I served with you on Earth briefly before you sent us back. And just to say, sir, what an honor it was-"

"Why did I send you back again?" Starscream interrupted, squinting.

The orange seeker opened and closed his mouth. "If you don't remember, it probably doesn't matter! Ah, Commander Tachyon, thank goodness."

A green seeker with a red visor and a facemask appeared before them. "Thank you, Prolix. Commanders, how can we assist you today?" She fell into stride beside them, and Starscream thought she was doing an excellent job of not appearing nervous. Every other seeker they happened to see went wide-opticked as soon as they saw them.

He wondered who had the worse reputation: Shockwave or himself.

"Ah, Wing Commander Tachyon. I require some of your pain medication for an experiment I am running. Acid Storm told me you might have a supply," Shockwave said.

Tachyon's wings twitched. "We do, sir. Though not all of it is strictly military-issued."

Shockwave stopped walking and turned to her, his yellow optic narrowing. "Really."

She didn't flinch. "Yes, sir. It is still effective, though, and should still fit your needs… I presume. But it is not standard because we haven't received a resupply in months."

Shockwave stared at her for another moment and then nodded. "Well, then, I'm particularly interested in what you have. And where you are getting it."

Tachyon's gaze imperceptibly shifted to Prolix, who went incredibly still. Shockwave was about to turn to follow her gaze when Starscream decided to step in. "What does it matter, Shockwave? Let's get what we need and leave."

Shockwave's optic dimmed in slight amusement. Apparently, Starscream had hit the right haughty tone with his wording

"Very well," Shockwave said. "Lead on, Commander Tachyon."

Tachyon nodded curtly and began walking again.

This was somewhat amusing to be pretending he was his old self with Shockwave. It wasn't like before when he was with the Combaticons and struggling for context clues in a dire situation. He was being treated with wary caution instead of… pitied.

He decided he kind of liked this base.

Starscream commed Shockwave. :You are awfully harsh on these mechs.:

:Harsh? I am straight to the point. They like that in a commander.:

Starscream glanced over at Prolix, who was walking beside them, his wings high and nervous on his back. Tachyon similarly walked stiffly, though she hid it better than the others.

:Somehow, I don't think you are coming off how you think you are,: Starscream said loftily. :And I have yet to understand how these mechs are… aberrant.:

Another seeker crossed them with black plating and a yellow stripe. "Commander Tachyon. This is an outrage," he hissed.

"Wingsmoke," Tachyon said tiredly. "I'm a little busy at the moment."

"No, but Commander, I didn't get my ration of energon- and I am hungry!"

Shockwave tilted his helm. "What is that in your servo then, soldier?"

Wingsmoke looked down at his servo holding a cube of energon and then looked up at Shockwave with an incredulous expression. "This is my sparktwin's ration. Obviously."

"Someone must have reset the dispenser," Prolix offered. "A simple mistake, Wingsmoke."

"No, no, this is blatant prejudice, and I demand to be taken seriously-"

"Alright, Wingsmoke. I'll take you to get your ration," Tachyon said. "Apologies, Commanders, I will join you shortly." She grabbed Wingsmoke's arm and dragged him along, presumably to get him another ration.

"I didn't think seekers usually had sparktwins," Shockwave stated.

Prolix was wiping a servo across his face. "He doesn't have a sparktwin, sir. He just thinks he does."

They continued walking down the corridor with Prolix leading the way. Shockwave made a humming noise. "Isn't that just a way for him to get extra rations?"

Prolix looked back over his shoulder. "He's not consuming them, sir. We usually go and collect his extra rations at the end of the week and return them to the supply."

Starscream blinked and then smiled softly. These mechs were oddly accommodating of each other.

"Commander Starscream!" called a voice from down the hallway. A pink seeker strutted down the hallway, smirking and approaching them.

"And Commander Shockwave!" growled Prolix through his clenched denta.

The pink seeker slowed his tracks, suddenly noticing Shockwave, and his smirk fell. "Uh, right. Uhm. Been a while… commander," the seeker said, walking around Shockwave and giving him a wide berth before sidling up next to Starscream. "What do you think of my crown?"

Starscream realized they must have known each other based on how close the mech was standing. His optics glanced up to the top of the mech's helm and noticed a golden crown sitting there with bright fuchsia gems glittering in the light.

"I found it, and I thought, you know who might be jealous of this crown? Why the good old air commander, and then you just happen to show up today!" The mech's optics were shining brightly.

"It is very… nice," Starscream said slowly. The mech furrowed his brow and pulled back, and Starscream realized he was being too complimentary. He thought hard and decided to add, "Very… gaudy."

Prolix snorted, and the new mech shot him a pout. "Comet," Prolix said. "Why don't you help me escort the commander to the medbay?"

"I'd be delighted, Prolix," Comet said with a smirk and fell in step with the rest of them.

These seekers were weird, Starscream thought, but they were oddly endearing. This base was so much more casual than the Decepticon base back on Earth.

They arrived at the medbay a short time later. "Honeycogs!" Comet called. "You have some surprise guests!"

"Scrap!" they heard from deep within a treatment room. The medbay was littered with small beds and what looked like toys for small mechanimals. Starscream thought he saw something furry dash under a berth and was shocked into silence. "Uhm, just a minute!" the anxious voice called.

"What do you want-…. Comet," said a gruff-looking bright green seeker. He appeared from another room, stood up straighter, and saluted upon seeing Shockwave and Starscream.

"Surprise!" Comet said with a smile. "Look who it is, Zeewing."

The green seeker glowered. "A heads up would have been great-"

Shockwave sighed. "We require pain medication. Patches, analgesics, anything you have."

The mech came forward and regarded Starscream carefully before going to a cabinet and pulling items out. More loud banging noises came from the back room with more colorful curses. Whatever Honeycogs was doing back there, it could not have been regulation.

This place was an absolute circus, and Starscream loved every moment of it. There was so much chaos around them with the mix of personalities and randomness. No wonder Shockwave was reluctant to come here.

:You're smiling.: Shockwave observed, perhaps trying to warn him.

:Apologies. I'm genuinely delighted by this base.:

Shockwave narrowed his optic in confusion but said nothing else.

"Alright, we have some guests-" a smaller light pink seeker said, coming out while wiping her servos on a rag. "Rust sticks," she said with an open mouth when she saw everyone gathered in the medbay.

"You don't often visit, do you Shockwave?" Starscream teased, folding his arms across his cockpit. "I can't imagine why."

Shockwave turned to the green seeker at the cabinet again. "The pain relievers. Now."

Zeewing gathered up a bundle of items and put them into a bag. He seemed reluctant to give them. "They aren't strictly… military-grade, sir, but the directions are on the packages."

Shockwave took the bag and looked at the label, and froze. There was a long pregnant pause in the room as the mechs all waited.

"This says this medication is for a turbohound."

"Yes, but it is synthesized off of the same compounds as the formula for mechs. You just need to double… the… dosage," Honeycogs said, her voice growing quieter and quieter as she bore the full weight of Shockwave's glare.

"Then I require all of it, soldier," Shockwave said, holding out his servo.

Zeewing's optics hardened, and then he turned to continue to fill the bag. Starscream realized that Shockwave would completely empty them out, leaving them with nothing for themselves. And it seemed this base did not often get resupplied.

"That's… not necessary, Shockwave," Starscream said. "We just need a few for our purposes." He received some odd looks for that statement. He tried to stare back in what he thought was an imperious look, but a painful throb hit through his helm, and he had to stifle a wince.

Shockwave regarded him for a long moment. "Very well," he said, taking the bag from Zeewing. "We will be leaving now."

The assembled mechs were a little shocked at the abruptness of Shockwave ending the surprise inspection and quietly looked down at the ground, perhaps feeling they had failed in some way.

Commander Tachyon appeared in the doorway. "I will escort you out then," she said with a sigh.

Starscream followed her out, becoming contemplative. "Commander, how often are you resupplied?"

Tachyon furtively looked at Shockwave and then trained her gaze back on Starscream. "It isn't regularly."

Starscream frowned again. "Why is that, Shockwave?"

Shockwave clearly didn't understand what Starscream was really asking. "Supplies are given out to the various bases by priority and contribution to the war effort. Many of the soldiers here are not fit for active combat. Prolix, for example, is a terrible shot. Honeycogs was previously a veterinarian for mechanimal pets. And Tachyon here is part of a broken trine."

Tachyon's back straightened, and her optics flared briefly behind her visor. Starscream saw it, even if Shockwave didn't.

"I see," Starscream replied quietly.

"Rather than spread them out across the other bases, I concentrated all of the mechs that don't contribute in one place. That way, the other bases are more effective."

Starscream thought he detected a little bit of shame in Tachyon's wings, but she also seemed to be someone who was holding down a base of misfits with little to no help from higher command. She had probably figured out some way to make it work for them.

But he wasn't surprised to hear what Shockwave was saying. It was interesting to see it in practice- that if he weren't Starscream, former Decepticon Air Commander and second-in-command of the army with more than enough personality and history, he probably would have been sent here with the rest of these seekers. He had figured out that Decepticons weren't known for their charity, but his tanks turned a little to see himself getting preferential treatment.

Another group of seekers arrived in the hallway, and two of them stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Shockwave, and they actually bowed.

"Commander," they said in unison.

"Ah. Yes, excuse me, Starscream," he said, walking over to them. They talked in low tones, and Starscream couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

Starscream turned and leaned closer to Tachyon. "I'll see if I can get you more regular shipments from him. What do you need the most?"

Tachyon looked at him incredulously. "Apologies, commander, but I don't need anything from you. No favors, no special treatment, no… quid pro quo."

Starscream felt like he had been slapped, but he supposed it was deserved. "I'm not asking for anything in return," he replied. He thought about it for a moment and then affected a small smirk. "It would delight me to make sure this base got some supplies instead of… Acid Storm's if you catch my drift."

Tachyon's hard optics glittered in amusement. "On that, sir, we are agreed. We need metals right now to synthesize spare parts. A lot of us are running around with a few loose components."

"I will see what I can do."

She watched him out of the corner of her optic. "Are you going to be on Cybertron long, sir? I thought you were banned from coming to Cybertron without Megatron present after the Bruticus incident."

Starscream thought about it, tapping his chin, and then winked. "I won't tell him if you don't."

Tachyon exvented exasperatedly and held her servos up. "Whatever you say, Air Commander."

Starscream actually found himself chuckling when Shockwave rejoined them, and they walked off back to their vehicle.

~Notes:~

EEE sorry about the long wait.

Couple of things- I had quite a few cameos here and I hope you just thought they were fun, they aren't *really* going to be seen again, and it was really to illustrate a point. Why *is* Shockwave helping Starscream? Stay tuned... lol

TackyTacs owns Commander Tachyon (and maybe Wingsmoke? Lol he's kind of public domain I guess)
Zatnik owns Zeewing
Star-Filled-Ink owns Honeycogs
Badskeletonpuns owns Comet
Two random seekers lol well I ran out of cameo space, but Echo/Kayda, you all know who they are
I own Prolix

Used with permission and I started talking about doing this MONTHS ago lmfao