Chapter 6
The small group of Destrons arrived safely outside Iacon's Technological Science and Research Station, and Astrotrain transformed into his robot mode after the others had exited from his shuttle mode. Carrying the unconscious seeker in his arms, Megatron proceeded towards the large building without speaking a word. The others waited for him outside, watching him go.
As he headed straight for the laboratory, Megatron ignored the alarmed looks of the occasional Autobot as he walked past them, startled by the off-lined Destron he carried.
He walked through the laboratory's entrance, and Shockwave turned towards them. The guardian immediately moved to take Starscream from his arms, placing him down gently on an empty berth. He was familiar with the seeker; Megatron had spoken about him in the past, and he was also aware of his reputation amongst the Autobots.
Shockwave did not need to ask what had happened to him; he had seen a similar fate befall other Destrons. There weren't many Cybertronians who possessed the knowledge, or the skill, to be able to perform such an invasive procedure; other than himself, Shockwave knew of only two Autobots and one Destron who could even come close to the level of expertise that would be required.
He began to connect Starscream's neural center to specialized equipment and a monitor, and then gradually proceeded to bring his systems back online, save for some higher functions. He set his equipment to search the seeker for abnormalities, beginning with his core programming and then extending into the various sub-programs. It took almost an hour before the entire process was complete. Megatron had watched silently, as Shockwave meticulously analysed the output until, finally, he turned to his friend to inform him of what he had found. "The inserted codes are well hidden. They have merged with a number of his core programs, including his main memory module. I won't be able to remove them entirely without risking a complete system reset."
Megatron walked over to the berth, looked upon his friend. He finally spoke, for the first time since he had brought him to Iacon. "Can you restore him?"
Shockwave stood motionless as he analysed the probable outcome for the corrective procedure that would need to be performed, and then slowly turned to look down at the patient. "I should be able to remove most of the programming; however, restoring his system back to its original condition… is most unlikely."
The Destron nodded, not wanting to think of the alternative scenario should Shockwave fail to repair the damage. A complete system reset was not an outcome that Megatron cared to entertain. Such a procedure would mean that Starscream would not only lose his entire memory of all that he had ever experienced since his creation, but his very personality would be reset as well, which meant that he would, essentially, no longer be Starscream. "Very well. Do what you can," he told Shockwave, and exited the laboratory.
There was commotion outside the Research Station, as a group of Autobots confronted the five Destrons who had accompanied Megatron to Iacon. Behind them, other Destrons had been brought together by the Autobot guards. Megatron headed towards them as he exited the building, and demanded to know what was happening.
The team of Autobots was headed by Sentinel's advisor, Prowl, who proceeded to inform Megatron of their latest directive, which had been recently issued by the Autobot government. "All Destrons must leave Iacon, immediately," he said, with minimal emotion. "Your kind is no longer welcome here."
Several Destrons began to contest the directive, talking all at once, until Megatron motioned for them to allow him to speak. "We are not leaving," he said simply. "Not until we have what we came for."
Everyone quieted down, as the Autobot guards looked at one another in hesitation. There were too many Destrons gathered for them to be able to avoid a confrontation if they were to attempt to remove them by force, and Prowl did not want to create unnecessary trouble. "What is it that you have come here for?" he asked the leader of the Destrons.
"One of ours has been severely compromised. He requires special treatment, and is in Shockwave's care as we speak," Megatron informed him.
Prowl looked about at all the gathered Destrons, and then nodded in acknowledgement. "I'll have to confirm it. Wait here." As the Autobot proceeded to contact his superior, Megatron looked back at his original group, and then at the other Destrons. They appeared confused, unsure of their current situation and of what would happen to them now. Iacon had been their home for as long as they could remember, and now they would be driven away, banished to wherever they could find a new home. After a few minutes, Prowl returned with his answer. "We'll give all of you exactly one hour to leave Iacon. After that, we'll have to start making arrests. I'm sorry…" he told them, and the Destron crowd began to protest once more.
"Why are they being treated in this way?" Megatron asked the Autobot, his tone accusatory. "They have done nothing wrong."
Prowl hesitated to answer, and he had to speak over the angry voices behind them to give him his reply. "It's just a precautionary measure. We don't want any Destron rebels to compromise Iacon, especially with Liege Maximus' forces growing stronger."
"These Destrons are not rebels," Megatron reminded him, indicating the those from Iacon. "They have nothing to do with any of the resistance groups."
One of the Destrons from the crowd stepped forward. "He's right. We don't want any trouble." It was Scrapper, the purple and green leader of his construction crew. His five team mates stood behind him. Alongside them were the Insecti-trons; Shrapnel, Kickback and Bombshell.
"I'm just following orders," Prowl told them. "If they have an issue with the new directive, I suggest they take it up with Sentinel."
"Sentinel won't listen to them any more than he'll listen to me," Megatron informed him, growing increasingly frustrated with the Autobot's attitude.
"Look, I have nothing more to say about it," Sentinel's advisor replied, also showing an increasing level of frustration.
"This conversation is getting us nowhere," Megatron said, finally. He turned back towards the crowd of Destrons, addressing them. "It appears that the Autobots no longer wish to help us." He paused as they responded, demanding answers.
Megatron considered their options. If the Destrons were no longer welcome in Iacon, then they needed to establish a new base of operations, one in which they would be safe from not only the Autobots' growing resentments and mistrust of them, but from the other Destron groups as well. However, he could think of only two locations on Cybertron that might be suitable for such a purpose; Kolkular, in Kaon, and Darkmount, in Polyhex, but both these places were currently occupied. Yet, if they were to run and hide, they would eventually become divided and then, in such a weakened position, easily conquered by the various rebel groups. Given that Megatron already faced the very real possibility that he might lose his good friend to the cruel punishment that had been inflicted upon him by Kaon's tyrannical war lord, he was not in any frame of mind to run from this new setback.
Megatron finally arrived at a decision; a decision that would not only allow him to exact revenge for the suffering that his friend was made to endure, but one that would also ensure his fellow Destrons would have some place to call home. He addressed the crowd again. "More than ever before, we must come together with a common purpose. We all share the same right as any Autobot to lead a life of our own choosing, free from fear or oppression." He paused, watching the crowd's reaction; he seemed to be garnering their support with every moment that passed. "My fellow Destrons, together we are strong. United, no one will be able to defeat us. Stand together, and we can take Kaon! Stand with me, and I will lead us… to victory!"
The Destrons cheered. They had longed for a leader who was willing to guide them and show them the way towards a brighter future; someone who they could look up to, who would finally be able to step up and offer to take control of their destiny. He had not planned for any of this; but, somehow, it seemed that Megatron had become that leader.
When Megatron returned to the laboratory almost an hour later, he was confronted by Sentinel Prime and a few of his Autobot guards. The Autobot leader had taken the opportunity to visit the ill-famed Air Commander in person, while he informed Cybertron's guardian of the new Autobot directive.
"What are you doing here?" Megatron confronted him. "He is of no concern to you," he said, indicating towards Starscream. Shockwave, who had been intently working to extract the erroneous programming from the seeker's control circuitry, had ignored Sentinel for the most part.
"He is a Destron," Sentinel retorted, "and not just any Destron, but one who has been the cause of much dissention in the past. Quite simply, he cannot be trusted." Sentinel moved towards the Destron leader, presenting him with an unspoken challenge. "I have an order for his arrest. As soon as Shockwave has completed his work here, you will hand him over to me."
Megatron stood before him in defiance. "I will do no such thing, Sentinel Prime. He is under my protection now."
Sentinel sneered at him, looked upon him with obvious disdain. "We shall see about that." He turned towards Shockwave, who was still fully focused upon the seeker. "Shockwave, step away from the Destron." When Shockwave did not respond to his command, Sentinel tried again. "I'm not going to tell you again, Shockwave. Step… away… from… Starscream."
Finally, Shockwave stood up to his full height, and turned around to face the Prime. He slowly walked forwards, until he came face to face with the Autobot leader. The two Transformers were more or less evenly matched, both in stature and in strength, though Sentinel was more heavily armed. "I do not take orders from you," the purple Cybertronian replied unemotionally, which only roused Sentinel's anger even more.
"You will do as I say!" Sentinel growled in a fit of rage, and motioned for his Autobot guards to arrest the Cybertronian guardian, but they were no match for him. In less than a nanosecond, Shockwave had transformed his left hand into a laser gun, and had fired it at the Autobot guards without hesitation. The powerful blasts sent two of the guards sprawling as they fell to the floor. The other two backed away, reluctant to challenge the large Transformer.
The monitor near Starscream's berth began to sound in alert, and Shockwave turned towards it. He needed to return to his work; the delicate procedure required constant monitoring in order to avoid a cascade failure, which would cause irreversible damage to the patient.
"Go," Megatron told him, "I will deal with Sentinel."
Sentinel's optics glowed in anger at the Destron leader; he was not about to give up his position so easily. He activated his shoulder-mounted fusion cannon, and pointed it directly at Megatron. "How ironic that you shall be destroyed by the very weapon that was created by our mutual friend here," he said, speaking the last three words with sarcasm. Shockwave had, indeed, invented the fusion cannon which the Autobot leader now wielded, though he had never intended for it to be used against his Destron friend.
Megatron's own weapon was no match for the fusion cannon. "Don't do this, Sentinel. Allow Starscream to leave with us, and I promise you, he shall never set foot in Iacon again."
Sentinel laughed, mocking him. "You Destron fool! Your kind are all the same. I should have had you all destroyed the moment you started thinking for yourselves." He gave the Destron a contorted smile, and charged up the fusion cannon. "Now, say goodbye, Megatron," he said, and fired the cannon.
The power of the charge seemed to electrify the atmosphere in the room, and for a moment Sentinel thought that he had defeated his adversary. However, Megatron had pre-empted the shot, and had moved out of the path of the blast. Before Sentinel realized what was happening, the Destron leader charged towards him, tackling him. His right fist made contact with Sentinel's face, and the Autobot leader stumbled and fell to the floor. Relentless, Megatron placed a foot on his torso, holding him down, and without warning grabbed hold of the detachable fusion cannon and tore it off Sentinel's shoulder mount. Then, as he pointed it down at Sentinel's chest, the Autobot leader looked up at him in horror.
"You were saying?" Megatron returned and, with the same level of coldness that the Prime had shown towards him, he fired the weapon, and Sentinel was instantly deactivated.
Megatron stepped back and looked around him. The remainder of the Autobot guards, who had watched the confrontation in shock, now backed away, heading for the exit, and Megatron did not stop them. He examined the fusion cannon is his hand, and decided that it would suit him far better than it had ever suited Sentinel Prime. Then, he walked over to the berth; the purple guardian had been carefully monitoring the progress of Starscream's recovery operation, and now looked up at him.
"It is almost complete," Shockwave said, and then glanced towards the cannon in Megatron's hand. "That can be modified to fit you," he offered.
Megatron nodded in approval. "You can no longer stay here," he said, changing the subject.
Shockwave nodded. "Agreed," he replied. But the simple fact was that, with the recent turn of events, he would have no place to go.
"You are welcome with us," Megatron told him. "Once we have removed the Liege from his seat of power, Kaon will be ours."
Shockwave considered the offer, but did not give a reply. Instead, he looked toward the monitor near Starscream. "The process is complete," he said, and then proceeded to remove the equipment from the seeker.
Megatron watched him intently, and was almost too afraid to ask his next question. "Can you reactivate him?" Starscream seemed to be at peace; he had a calm, restful expression on his face. The complete opposite to what he had been aboard the shuttle.
Shockwave nodded once, and then slowly reached across to the seeker's control port beneath his helm. He hesitated. "The procedure was largely successful; however, as predicted I was not able to reverse the code completely. His automated responses may continue to show some instability, although to what extent I cannot say with any certainty. In time, his systems will adjust and, with luck and… some encouragement… he will learn to override the erroneous programming through his own force of will." Then, once he'd finished speaking, he reactivated the seeker.
Starscream's optics came online, and he looked up at the two Transformers standing beside him. He slowly sat up, and then examined his hands, turning them over, slowly clenching them into fists and then opening them again, as if to reassure himself that he was still alive and functioning properly. He slid off the berth and stood upright, and then slowly focused his gaze upon his mentor. "Megatron," he acknowledged, as the two of them watched him intently. Megatron was prepared for the worst; imagining a repeat of the scene in the shuttle. But this time, however, he received a completely different response. "Please, forgive me…" Starscream started. "On the shuttle… I… I wasn't myself…"
Megatron stopped him before he could say anything more. "There is no need for that." He glanced towards Shockwave in silent communication; the procedure, indeed, appeared to have been a success and he was much relieved that, for the moment at least, Starscream was back.
The seeker noticed the fusion cannon Megatron was holding, and then glanced across at Sentinel Prime, who was still off-line on the floor nearby. "What have I missed?" he asked, impressed, his familiar sense of humour slowly returning.
"Oh… not much," Megatron replied, his spirits now lifting.
Starscream gave him a cynical look. "Why do I get the feeling that there's something you're not telling me?"
Megatron responded with a reassuring chuckle. "You'll find out very soon, Starscream," he said, and smiled knowingly. "I think you'll be most pleased."
'Most pleased' proved to be quite an understatement. Just outside Iacon, Starscream watched the gathered Destrons in astonishment. He had never expected them all to come together like this in support of a common goal; removing Liege Maximus from power. Megatron had informed him of the Autobots' new position against the Destrons, to which he had responded with a knowing look. "That does not surprise me," he had said.
Starscream, having been reunited with his trine mates, now stood beside Megatron as their new leader addressed the Destrons once more. There was a certain level of excitement and trepidation as they debated amongst themselves how, exactly, they would defeat the Liege, but their new leader soon provided them with the answer, setting them on a course that was the beginning of a new, and unexpected, revolution.
"We will not be able to overpower the Liege's forces by brute force alone; he has twice the numbers that we have currently, and safeguards a substantial amount of energy and resources for his own use," Megatron began, and the crowd quieted down to listen. "If we are to defeat him, we must adapt quickly. We must call upon all of our unique strengths and abilities." He paused, and the crowd murmured their approval. "It is only with guile, that we shall be able to fool them; with cunning that we shall be able to infiltrate their defences. With tools of deception we shall quell their pride and bring down their arrogance." The Destrons continued to vocalize their support, as tentative cheers and words of encouragement broke out amongst them. Megatron allowed them time to reflect upon his words before he continued. "We must become more than what we are, not only to survive, but to prosper. We can no longer be Destrons – classed as second rate and treated as inferior. We must evolve… and reinvent who and what we are, so that we may distinguish ourselves from all others…" The cheering erupted again, but this time it was louder and stronger. The leader glanced towards his two companions – Starscream to his right and Shockwave to his left – and saw their approval, their satisfaction. "From this day forth, we shall be called…" He hesitated, looking for the right word.
Starscream finished for him. "Decepticons…" the Air Commander uttered, and then repeated the newly coined term. "We shall be called Decepticons."
Megatron silently appraised the name for their new group, before he gave a small smile. "Decepticons…" he repeated, sounding out the word. He liked it. In fact, he had liked it the very moment Starscream had first come up with it all those years ago; Decepticon had been a name Starscream had given him whenever he had managed to outwit the seeker during one of their spirited philosophical debates. "Yes," he said, nodding his head in approval, and then turned back towards the crowd, addressing them once again. "We shall be called Decepticons!" he repeated in a loud voice, so that all gathered could hear him.
The crowd responded with shouts and cheers as support for their new leader, and their new group, gathered momentum. "Decepticons!" they chanted in response, the collective voices of the former Destrons coalescing into a single entity. They repeated the word over and over, fists punching the air in a demonstration of their determination and approval. "Decepticons!… Decepticons!"