Chapter 74:
Day Twelve: Friday Evening Arizona Time 11:20 P.M.:
Megatron was hot with fury as he led Optimus Prime into the lunchroom. He was convinced that his archenemy was wiring a wire or, at least, working for the best interests of the humans rather than their own kind.
For his part, Optimus had mixed emotions about seeing his old friend, the former Champion Gladiator, yet still very strong and the powerful Leader of the Mighty Decepticons, wearing a black cape, black visor, and black gloves, the image of Cybertronian mourning. He looked every bit a widower even though he and Starscream were not Bonded.
The two each sat down opposite each other at a table.
"Megatron," Optimus Prime began, "before I say anything else, I just want you to know I'm truly sorry for your loss."
Megatron's expression was unreadable. All his following responses oozed with sarcasm.
"This is a tragedy," Prime reached a hand out, "he was very young; he didn't deserve this. Believe me; I'm saying he didn't deserve this."
Megatron didn't take his hand, "Make your point, Prime."
"Just get right down to it, eh?" Optimus nodded, almost laughing, but didn't when he saw there was no humor in his old friend's faceplates. "Alright, as you know, ever since I learned of Starscream's imprisonment, I worked with the United States government to gain his freedom."
Megatron: "Yeah, that sure worked out well."
Optimus Prime continued, "And it was last Monday that I and our United States allies learned of the tragic news of his passing…"
The words 'tragic' and 'passing' again made Megatron angry.
Optimus Prime: "I met with President Casey Abbott and his Cabinet Members the following evening to discuss the best course of action for all involved."
Megatron: "You mean how to deal with the Decepticons?"
"Not exactly; I meant for ALLof us to deal with the situation," Optimus tried to save the conversation, "for all involved to the best of everyone's satisfaction."
"Oh, really now," Megatron took off his visor and narrowed his optics, "can you bring my Second-in-Command back from the dead? Can you give my Air Force Commanders' their brother back? Can you do that, Prime?"
The Autobot Leader signed heavily, "No, I can't. But we have to discuss how we're going to go forward from here."
"Fine, so what's your plan, Prime?" Megatron snarled, looking at his opponent up and down as if to measure him.
Optimus Prime took a deep air intake, grateful he still had the other's attention, "The Autobots and the Abbott administration are jointly prepared to testify before the United Nations to call for sanctions against officials in the Soviet Union and for the prosecution of Submarine Captain Uri Chirikov on charges of War Crimes. I will personally see this through to a successful conviction."
"Sanctions?" Megatron was blank, "What the pit kind of sanctions?"
But Optimus was prepared, "Anything ranging from a trade embargo, which could affect their economic situation greatly, to banning travel, to cutting off financial aid if and when it's requested. Any number of things, Megatron."
The former Gladiator was aching to explode in fury and rage, but he was representing the best interests of the Decepticons, so he did his best to calmly explain their position, "Well, Prime, we usually take 'An optic for an optic' stance. That's not something your little 'sanctions' will do for us."
Optimus Prime: "Violence does not have to beget violence, Megatron."
Megatron: "It does in this case, Prime. And deep down, you agree."
"I don't agree," the Autobot Leader insisted, but still trying to handle this verbally, "these men should have due process and be judged by a jury of their peers."
"PEERS?!" now Megatron was angry, "WHAT THE PIT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT PEERS?! THIS MAN TOOK STARSCREAM APART PIECE BY PIECE!"
"I'm well aware of the reports, Megatron," Optimus pinched the bridge between his optics; his former friend's yelling was giving him a processor ache, "but going forward, I would like to work together on a solution."
Even without the visor, the Decepticon Leader's expression was unreadable.
"Megatron," Optimus Prime continued, "I came to talk about this, mech to mech. Leader to Leader."
"Look, Optimus," Megatron growled, "I have just spent the past twelve days looking for my Second-in-Commend, only to find out he was not only deactivated but had his remains desecrated, to the point I have nothing to even put in his grave on Cybertron!"
"Megatron…" Prime tried.
The former Gladiator rose from his chair, "And you're going to come in here and lecture me about SANCTIONS, and PEERS, and your human pals in the United Nations, the White House, and your precious little pet Sam Witwicky!"
Optimus was surprised, "Sam? What's Sam got to do with this?"
Megatron barked back, "I'm referring to your unnatural love of those wantonly brutal cockroaches that this blasted planet is infested with!"
Perhaps it was prevocational to mention the human child that the Autobot Leader had come to love as his own son because he now stood up as well and confronted his once-friend, "You know, you're not exactly innocent in all this mess!"
"ARE YOU SAYING THIS IS MY FAULT HERE?!" Megatron was enraged beyond belief.
"Well, who told you to go into a foreign county with guns blazing like a space cowboy?!" Prime asserted, "This isn't Iacon, you know!"
"How DARE you!" Megatron bellowed, "You of all mechs know that our Energon raids are all about the survival of our race and the survival of Cybertron as a planet!"
Optimus Prime: "When are you going to accept that Earth is our home now and Cybertron is a lost cause?!"
"No! That's where you're WRONG, Prime!" Megatron pointed a challenging digit at his once-friend, "Cybertron is our home! We're only here on Earth as a means to an end!"
"So, destroying one world to resurrect a dead one is your answer?!" the Truck shouted, "Where's the future in that? Is that the future you promised the Decepticons?!"
"You, you, you…You really are Sentinel Prime's nephew!" Megatron seethed, "You may think you're different than he was, but you're not! You are JUST LIKE HIM, Optimus! I saw that in you years ago!"
Optimus Prime: "And that's your answer for every argument, isn't it?! You're always punishing me for his sins against our kind!"
Megatron: "At least I'm DOING SOMETHING for our kind now! What have YOU ever done for our kind?!"
Optimus Prime: "I moved the Autobots to Earth for a fresh start! To give them some hope! A hope for a new future!"
Megatron: "By abandoning your home planet?! The planet that created us?! The planet that is still home to hundreds of thousands of Transformers?! Is that your answer? To just abandon them all?!"
Optimus Prime: "I'll have you know if it weren't for the Decepticons and all your acts of terrorism, this country would have aided Cybertron a long time ago!"
Megatron: "That's slag, and you know it, Optimus! What has the United States done for the foreign countries on their OWN planet, let alone ours?! Have they fed all the starving children in Africa? Have they rebuilt the economy in Vietnam? Have they even solved the homeless problem in all their major cities?!"
Optimus Prime: "Maybe they could if they weren't so resourcefully strapped by all your Decepticon Energy Raids! Did you ever think of THAT?"
Megatron: "I don't care about that because MY focus has always been about taking care of our own kind! And that will ALWAYS be my focus!"
Optimus Prime: "Were you taking care of your own kind when you led Starscream into his own death?!"
Now that went too far. Megatron shoved Optimus Prime backward, and the Truck hit a nearby countertop.
Megatron: "YOU ARE IGNORING IT! YOU KEEP IGNORING THE FACT THAT HUMANS KILLED STARSCREAM! Your filthy, no-good humans that you love so slagging much!"
"A few humans, Megatron. A FEW humans!" Optimus Prime struggled to keep his composure, "Your ignorance is what holds you back! You're lumping an entire species in with a few rogues!"
"A FEW rogues?!" the former Gladiator raged, "Do you honestly believe your politician friends wouldn't do the same to ALL OF US given the chance?!"
"No! I don't believe that for one second!" Optimus Prime shouted back, "The leaders of the United States government have shown me that they are honorable men and women! Believe me, if you had taken the time to meet with them as I have, you would know that for yourself!"
Megatron: "Forget it, Optimus! I learned a long time ago that meeting with political figureheads never amounted to more than a hill of scrap!"
Optimus Prime: "These people are different!"
Megatron: "That's what you said about Sentinel Prime!"
Optimus Prime: "Forget Sentinel Prime, for Primus' sake! This is the people of Earth we're talking about now!"
Megatron: "They're all the SAME, can't you see that? Oh, wait! You can't! Because you're of the regime! You've been part of every regime you've ever come across!"
Optimus Prime: "That's a lie! I never supported Sentinel's oppressive views!"
Megatron: "You had your OWN way of supporting him, and you know it!"
Optimus Prime: "That's not true!"
Megatron: "It's always been this way!"
Optimus Prime: "What WAY?!"
Megatron: "You've ALWAYS looked down on me! You may tell yourself lies that you didn't, but you did! You were always the scion of the Prime Dynasty, and I was always the son of the Energon Miner from Tarn!"
Optimus Prime: "That's not true! You just love painting yourself as an underdog! Always playing the victim card!"
Megatron: "I've always had to fight for everything I've ever had! Nobody ever helped me! Nobody ever gave me a handout! OR a hand-up!"
Optimus Prime: "That's because you've always pushed everyone away! You've destroyed every relationship you've ever had, Megatron! You destroy everything you touch!"
Megatron: "Because everything I touch is food for my hunger! My hunger for power!"
Optimus Prime: "At what price?! Are you going to get ALL your Decepticons killed one by one?!"
Megatron: "This will NEVER happen again because I intend to annihilate those dirty maggots that destroyed Starscream!"
Optimus Prime: "Annihilate?! Destroy?! Is fighting your answer for everything?!"
Megatron: "Has talking and feelings got you anywhere?!"
Optimus Prime: "It has gotten me a diplomatic relationship with fellow leaders!"
Megatron: "Who didn't even acknowledge your request for ONE soldier to be handed over unharmed!"
Optimus Prime: "Not all humans are dirty maggots!"
Megatron: "And not all Transformers are weak like you!"
Optimus was tired of this, "Fine, Megatron! You can hate me now! But I'm right, and you know it!"
Megatron: "I hate you because you've always hated me! I hate you too!" And he turned and faced the wall.
At that point, Prime knew he was getting nowhere; they were talking in circles. He had known Megatron for long enough to know that there was no reasoning with him when he got like this. Their conversation had devolved into petty insults.
Megatron had no intention of discussing things civilly with his counterpart, especially since he still believed Prime was wiring a listening device. Whether true or not, the issue of the humans was in the room with them.
Then Prime tried being stern, "It's going to make trouble for the United States that the Decepticons got on board that Submarine in Alaska. Russia thinks the Transformers that attacked had been alleys with the American government. President Abbott was forced to explain the difference: America is only allied with the Autobots."
The former Gladiator didn't care, "Transformers all look alike to the Russians. So, slagging what?"
"You've made a lot of trouble for America's government Megatron!" Prime asserted, "They think it was us! They even think that gas station attendant purposely let you on that Submarine!"
"What the hell do I care about that?" Megatron barked, approaching Prime to get right in his faceplates.
Optimus Prime: "Do you know what that could do to his family's reputation?! His wife has political aspirations!"
"Oh, what the slag are you?" Megatron almost sounded drunk; Drunk with grief, he guessed, "Are you the slagging ambassador for Earth to all Transformers now?!"
Optimus Prime could see the grief in the other's optics. Now the Autobot Leader tried a different approach; he tried to make a semi-apology to get back into a dialogue with the Decepticon Leader. He decided that sympathy for the dead Seeker was his best course of action.
"Okay…Perhaps I was a bit out of line tonight," Optimus began, "you and I tend to fall back into our old patterns. But that doesn't change the fact that I really DO feel bad about Starscream's death."
But Megatron was still having none of it; he refused to look at his once-best friend, "So you decided to show it by defending his murderers?"
"What happened to Starscream NEVER should have happened," Optimus continued in a remorseful tone, "what those Russian people did was atrocious. We agree on that."
And just as it had for the past week, the former Gladiator's grief and sadness for his lost lover threatened to overtake him once again. But Megatron refused to let his sorrow show in front of his enemy. Instead, he just stood motionless, facing the wall, focusing on some mortar flaw.
Optimus approached now, wanting to put his hand on his friend's shoulder, "I saw firsthand during our battles…how much he meant to you."
"You have no idea, Optimus," it was meant to come out as a growl but instead came out as a whisper, "just say what you have to say and then get outta here."
The Autobot Leader was a bit surprised that Megatron hadn't gone crazy and tried to rip his spark out yet, so he began hurriedly, "Well, as I stated earlier, I myself and President Abbott want to see the perpetrators—"
"Don't you mean killers?!" the Gunformer snapped suddenly, turning to his face his counterpart.
"Killers. Right…" Optimus sighed, trying to talk like a normal mech with his once-friend, "Look, Megatron, I came here to talk, not to fight. I'm truly sorry for your loss, and I DO want justice for Starscream, just like you do."
Megatron growled, "Don't pretend you ever gave a flying gasket about Starscream, Optimus."
Optimus answered the best way he felt he could, "I see all life to be valued, Megatron. I'm not the bloodthirsty, destroy-all-the-Seekers mech that Sentinel Prime was. I even…still harbor hopes of one day peacefully ending our conflicts and living harmoniously on Earth and Cybertron with all our kind."
Megatron: "Our kind?"
Optimus Prime: "Cybertronians."
The Decepticon Leader just listened now.
Optimus Prime: "And as you know, I also see human life as of equal value to our lives and have tremendous respect for their government. The idea of some humans killing and dissecting a Transformer is incredibly disturbing to me."
Megatron sighed heavily and pinched the bridge between his optics. He was tired. Tired of negotiating. Tired of fighting. Tired of the unending ache in his spark for his lost Seeker. Tired of this planet known as Earth. Tired of telling the story of how Starscream was deactivated. Just tired. Finally, he said in a defensive tone, "How can I know I can trust you now, Optimus?"
The Autobot Leader begged, "We were once close friends. We would have done anything for each other. Remember? We can be like that again."
Megatron looked at Prime dead in the optics, "How can I be sure you're not wearing a listening device?"
Optimus Prime was surprised by this. Since he hadn't known about Laserbeak's transmissions, he didn't think he would be suspected of being a spy, "Well, do you have a wand?"
"A what?!" Megatron was thinking of a wizard's wand.
Optimus Prime: "An electronic wand that would detect a microphone."
"Oh, frig it, Prime," Megatron snarled, "you honestly believe those things work on us?! After all our battles, we've got more replacement metal than a junkyard!"
Optimus Prime sighed, "Is there any other way I can prove to you that I'm trustworthy?"
Megatron looked his archenemy up and down before finally deciding on his words, "If you aren't spying on me, then prove it! Confide in me something you would NEVER want the humans to know about!"
Optimus didn't fully understand, "Like what?"
Megatron narrowed his optics, "If you have a recorder or a microphone on you now, the humans will hear us. So, tell me something you would never say to a human being."
Optimus didn't want to lose this opportunity. He would have said anything at that moment.
"Okay, I understand what you're asking me…" the Autobot Leader sat back down in the chair, clasped his hands on the table to show that he wasn't going to draw a weapon or stop any nonexistent tape recorder or microphone, "There was an incident I'm rather not proud of…"
Megatron wasn't entirely interested, thinking this would be some goodie-two-shoes story about being three minutes late for roll call or something.
Optimus Prime: "We were still new to Earth at the time. I had gone on a mission to China. Hong Kong, specifically. Sam was with me. He had convinced his Creator to allow him to accompany myself and the other Autobots, and…against my better judgment, I agreed. It's a decision I will always regret."
The Gunformer rolled his optics, "Is this like one of those 'After-School Specials' the sparklings watch on Earth TV?"
"Please let me get this out," Prime was dead serious, looking at that moment as if he didn't care anymore what would happen next, "I was with my team and Sam. We were in the city. And…there was this human there."
Megatron still wasn't interested.
Optimus Prime: "He was part of our unit. He worked for the Central Intelligence Agency of America, but he was part of our enclave in Hong Kong. From what I came to understand later, he'd worked for the government for over thirty years and was looking to retire soon."
Megatron couldn't help but see the similarities between this human Prime was describing and the elusive Captain Uri Chirikov of the Soviet Union.
Optimus Prime: "He was alone with Sam and me. The agent made some kind of threats," he shook his helm, looking down, "I can't even recall the exact words, but…the gist of it was he was looking for a payoff from the Autobots so he could retire well off. Well, one thing led to another. He…he pulled his gun on Sam. I-I lost it and…" he cut off the conversation.
The former Gladiator raised an optic brow, "And?"
"And…I killed him," Optimus Prime confessed, all defenses down. "His name was Harold Attinger."
This was shocking to the Decepticon Leader, "You what?"
"I killed him," Prime repeated, "he was going to kill Sam if I hadn't."
Megatron was loving this, "You killed a human?" he grinned, "You destroyed one of your precious meatbags?"
Prime sighed, "Megatron…"
"Okay, okay," Megatron could barely contain himself, briefly putting his grief aside, "so, what happened?"
"Well, Sam and I…we never told the others," Prime continued, "we told the local authorities that it had been a shootout with the Decepticons, and the agent was killed. His body was flown back to the States, and he was buried with full military honors. I was in attendance."
Megatron listened now, "Attinger?"
Optimus Prime: "His name was Attinger, yes."
And for a moment, Megatron forgot who he was and who his friend was in their respective factions. He smiled and tapped Prime's arm, almost playfully, "Did he bleed a lot?"
Optimus Prime: "Yes."
Megatron: "Did he die right away?"
"Yes," Prime cut him off, "Look, Megatron, I did what I did to save Sam's life. It was his life or Attinger's life, do you understand?"
"Oh sure, sure," Megatron, still grinning, admitted, "I'd kill for my guys too."
"It's obviously not…" Prime looked away, "Something I'm proud of. And frankly, my actions were a direct violation of the Peace Treaty between the Autobots and the American Government. If the truth were to get out…"
"Your aft is scrap metal," Megatron finished the other's sentence.
"Well, it certainly would be frowned upon," Prime signed, "now do you believe me that I'm not wearing any device?"
"Yes." It was just one word, but it was all the Decepticon Leader had to say. He sat beside his counterpart, mimicking his pose with his hands on the table, "What's your plan, Optimus?"
The Autobot Leader was so relieved by the change in his once-friend's tone. He began to lay out his plans, "We need to charge Captain Uri Chirikov with War Crimes on the grounds that, by killing Starscream, it was part of a wider plan to create a conflict with the Decepticons and the governments of Earth."
Megatron: "Alright…I'm still listening."
Optimus Prime: "But in order for him to be arrested and the case to result in a conviction, we need for you and the Decepticons to cooperate."
The Decepticon Leader narrowed his optics again.
But Prime continued, "We need information that would support the theory that Starscream's death was a wanton destruction for the sole purpose of creating a War on a global scale. Because their defense attorneys could easily argue that Starscream and the Decepticons were trying to kill them."
"Well," Megatron admitted, fidgeting, "we WERE taking their Plutonium, but it wasn't any different for all our other Energon raids. We only started firing back at them after they were firing on us."
Prime was interested in this, "You are certain that the seamen shot at the Decepticons first?"
Megatron: "The seamen AND the Russian Military. We had what we wanted at that point! We were leaving for Primus sake!"
"Military?" Optimus hadn't heard this one before, "What makes you so sure the Russian Military was involved?"
Megatron: "We saw their tanks!"
"Maybe it wasn't the military," Prime thought out loud.
Megatron threw his hands up in exasperation.
But Prime continued, "What if it was a militia or some commando group working for Chirikov or…" he was cut off by Megatron's optics glaring at him.
Megatron: "I DON'T CARE!"
Optimus: "It doesn't make sense that a Submarine Captain that has allegedly gone rogue from his government would have tank support," then he paused in his thinking, "Unless…"
The Decepticon Leader was getting sick of the other's pondering, "WHAT?"
"Wait, Megatron," Optimus wondered, "that could only have been Bishop Dimitrios Volkov was somehow involved."
Megatron snarled, "Why only him?"
"Because it appears he's running the Soviet Union's government without consulting the Secretary General," the Autobot Leader explained, "surely if the two individuals were working together, the Captain would have contacted him to send backup forces."
"Two guys?!" Megatron barked, "Only two guys did all this destruction?! Come on, Prime! Don't tell me the rest of the cockroaches in Russia weren't in on this!"
Optimus Prime: "But we don't have any proof of anyone else's involved, Megatron."
"They were doing SOMETHING with that Plutonium, don't you think, Prime?!" the Gunformer spat with sarcasm, "Maybe they're building a super weapon to blow up the U.S.! Ever think of that?!"
It was definitely an uncomfortable thought for the former Librarian turned Autobot Leader.
Megatron continued, "What are you gonna do? Have the Soviet Union turn one guy over to the cops while they were ALL involved?! No Prime, I intend to make every last one of them pay!"
Optimus Prime countered, "But you might end up making innocent civilians pay along with them."
"WHO CARES?!" the Decepticon Leader hollered, "They're all part of the Submarine Captain's crew anyway!"
"What if the crew of the Submarine didn't know they were doing anything illegal?" Optimus pleaded, "What if the gas station attendant or the people in Canada didn't know? How would they know if what they were doing was against their leaders how would they? Do you believe they could have foreseen the chain of events that occurred? Did you know that Starscream would die when you approved your battle plans? Did Soundwave?"
"Don't talk to me about Soundwave," the Gunformer muttered as he turned away, although he did think that the Autobot Leader had a point, even if he would never admit it.
"Exactly," Optimus nodded, "with international conspirators, it's important to prove exactly who was knowledgeable before, during, and after this tragedy."
"Murder, Prime, it's called MURDER!" Megatron scraped his digits across the table, "Get that through your tutu-wearing frame!"
There was a long pause.
Optimus: "What?"
Megatron didn't answer; He was so tired of this song and dance. He couldn't play games anymore, not with Starscream gone. What was the point of fighting a War without the only being he ever truly loved? But he refused to allow himself to collapse in his grief and sorrow in the presence of his archenemy, even IF said archenemy was offering his assistance.
Optimus Prime tried to get back to the investigation, "Do you know…or have any idea…what date Starscream passed?"
"The fourteenth," was the Gunformer's flat statement.
Optimus Prime was suddenly overcome with crushing guilt. That would have been five days after the original assault on the Submarine. And that was the day Mirage told him about the phone call, but only after he had been wrongfully incarcerated by his own Teammates. Had Mirage been able to tell him the previous night…the night of the phone call…the night of the desperate cry for help…
"I wish I could have done more," the Autobot Leader offered, "once I found out what had happened, I acted as quickly as possible. But there were tremendous stalling efforts on the part of the Soviet Union officials."
Megatron just listened.
Optimus Prime: "I understand now that Starscream was already dead, and that was the reason behind their reluctance to share any information."
"Then you see now why I have to destroy those cockroaches for what they've done?!" Megatron snarled, "Do you understand now why they can't get away with this and just walk away, scot-free?!"
"All I'm asking for now is time, Megatron," the Autobot Leader put out a hand, "Time. Time for the authorities to investigate. Time to make arrests of the conspiring individuals. Time for the trials. All the Autobot and the Abbott Administrations are asking for is for you and the Decepticons to agree with us on is time before you act on your plans of across-the-board revenge, one of which innocents would suffer."
Megatron: "How much time?"
"Well…" Prime really didn't know how long an investigation would take, especially since Bishop Dimitrios had already proven to be a stonewaller, "About a year?"
Megatron considered the offer for a long time, "I'll give you six months."
"Six months," Optimus Prime nodded, accepting the compromise, "we have a deal." It occurred to the Truck that Megatron usually asked for a sidebar conversation with his Decepticon Officers whenever the two factions had negotiations of any sort, but he brushed the thought off. Perhaps there were upheavals in the other's ranks with the death of their Air Commander.
The Autobot Leader shook hands, using both his own, with the Decepticon Leader's limp hand in return, as the two stood, "Thank you for this, Megatron," Optimus gushed, "I promise you, you will not regret our alliance."
"It's only a temporary alliance," the former Gladiator seethed, "and we'll be conducting our, as you say, our OWN investigation in the meantime. After which, we intend to destroy the countries involved in his slaughter!"
Optimus shuttered a bit but quit while he was ahead, "Very well, Megatron."
The Decepticon Leader left the room with a huff of his vents.
