Title: Sidus Ad Quirito Diabolo

By: Ceris Malfoy

Drabble #3a: Perfection, Part 1

Summary: Optronix can easily picture this seeker as what he should be: Death and War and Insanity made whole and perfect.

Characters: Optronix a.k.a. Optimus Prime, Starscream, Starsinger (OC), Autobots, Unicron

Pairings: Optronix (OP)/Starscream, Autobots/Starscream, Optronix (OP)/Starsinger (OC), (very slight) Unicron/Starscream

Warnings: bad mojo, character death

Continuity: Shattered Glass, major AU

A/N:For 14FlashSteps, who gave me this prompt:

"He had, Optimus realized in dark humor as his ember fell into darkness, unintentionally created the perfect weapon."

It deviates a little from what was asked for, but not by much, so I hope it pleases. ^^ Incidentally enough, because of her prompt, I actually got around to writing the back-story for this. And here it is. XD

This will have 4-5 parts, and technically should be it's own story, but I thought I'd be neat about this 'verse for once, unlike my Beginning's 'verse, which takes up a lot of my profile page…. Lol.


"A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."

- Antoine de Saint-exupery

Beautiful, Optronix thinks silently to himself. Starscream is so achingly beautiful that it is almost pain to see the seeker.

He watches, attention caught and held by the seeker moving so assuredly through the lab, conducting only Primus-knows-what experiment. Nothing that he would be interested in, he knows. Starscream is a Crystal City seeker, and unlike their Vosnian cousins, they resented war and everything to do with it. Starscream is the heir to Starsinger, and will one day rule over Crystal City; he is unlikely to be any different than his sire in his dedication to peace.

It is such a waste, Optronix knows. He can easily see this beauty bathed in the rich energon of his enemies, the war-mad optics so distinctive to the Vosnian seekers glowing bright on facial painting that would be black instead of white. He can so easily picture that beyond-genius processor turning its attentions towards weapons designs and chemical warfare. He can picture this seeker as what he should be: Death and War and Insanity made whole and perfect.

Unbidden, Optronix places his hand on the glass separating him from Starscream, the black armor of the digits startling when compared against the almost-blinding white of Starscream's plating. When Starscream looks up at him with a questioning smile on his lips, curiosity in those sickeningly-blue optics, he can't help but smile. Soon, he thinks. Soon I'll have you, little seeker.

Until then, there are plans to complete, fellows to recruit, and a seeker to seduce.


He takes his time, courting the leader of Crystal City with patient words and delicate touches. Starsinger is in mourning, has been in mourning for most of Starscream's life, Optronix knows. The loss of his mate has all but crippled the seeker lord, but that is more than alright. Optronix doubts a fully-aware mech of any build would have been so blind to the chaos that laid in wait within his ember, which is one of the main reasons he does not attempt to seduce Starscream directly.

It would do no good, not with that one. There is something different about Starscream, something that leaves Optronix both wanting and wary. It is a faint whisper, an intangible plea at the corner of his awareness, an inherent defect or mutation never noticed. Optronix wonders about it, but does not tempt fate. He would have the seeker soon enough, and until then, he will play matters safe and will go for the sire instead.

For although Starsinger is barely clinging to sanity, he is still somewhat pleasing to the optic, and exceptionally intelligent. It is such a pity he will have to die.


He meets in secret, coaxing his fellow mechs into seeing his dream, twisting their hurts and grievances into something dark and twisted, gloating when they turn around and simply add to his vision. Eventually he will not need to meet in secret to feel out potentials; they will come to him, they will seek him out, and they will – of their own volition – raise him up as their leader and the standard to which they should all be held.

There are days where he is both sickened by their useless predictability, and bemused by how simple it all is. Nearly twelve million vorns of peace, and it will only take half of a single vorn to convince most of the populace that what they really needed was war. He knows that from there it will not be hard to convince them to take his war to the stars.

For now though, he enjoys the luxuries his 'intended' showers him with, so pathetically grateful for the attention Optronix has shown him that the aging seeker will do practically anything for Optronix. He has already used this to great effect – through Starsinger, he is able to weasel his way into the Forbidden Archives. He does not know what, exactly, he is searching for, but he knows he will find it there.


He meets his soon-to-be step-creation officially two cycles after the official engagement. Starscream is …well. Suspicious comes to mind, as does discreetly hostile. Starsinger is blind, but not stupid, and notices his only living creation's disdain for the match as surely as he does not notice that he is being played. Optronix can see the older seeker's hurt in his dropping wings and soft, wheedling voice asking piteously "Why can't you be happy for me? Am I meant to grieve for the rest of my life?" To which the younger seeker replies with nothing but contemptuous silence.

Optronix is unsure about how to deal with this. He had assumed that the pacifistic tendencies of the sire had been passed down to the creation, and while to some extent that is true, there is some degree of cruelty in Starscream that Starsinger does not possess. He wonders at it, just as he wonders as to how he should respond. As the potential bond-mate of Starsinger, and soon-to-be adoptive-creator of Starscream, he should put his pede down and enforce respect – if not towards Starsinger, then at least towards himself – but on the other hand…

….On the other hand, while there is nothing but disdain and contempt in Starscream's optics when he gazes at his sire, there is nothing of the sort in his optics when he gazes at Optronix. There is curiosity and fascination and sheer possessive anger that is as intriguing as it is disturbing. He has never officially met the seeker, and though he has been watching Starscream for many cycles, Starscream himself has only caught him at it once.

But then, that one has always been special, hasn't he?

And really, why should he protest this sudden change in events? So what if Starscream considered Starsinger beneath his notice? Optronix wasn't really intending on bonding the feeble seeker anyway. And so what if Starscream made readily apparent that he would allow no other to touch Optronix's ember but himself? Sure, it disrupted some of his plans, but it also sped up the grand majority of them, and really, why should he wait? Starscream wanted him and he wanted Starscream.

It was such a pity that he forgot one key point. After all, a moment of cruelty over the potential loss of a desired mate was to be expected from any flight-build, regardless of their otherwise natural, typical inclinations. That Starsinger did not respond in the defensive towards Starscream's aggressions was the main reason why he lost, and why no other seeker said a word in denial.

But momentary aggression and cruelty did not mean that Starscream was any less a pacifist.


So, yes, I have been writing. Most of it I'm ashamed to even admit came from my head, and will consequently not be posted, but some of it I'm working on polishing up to post. I've pretty much decided to screw setting deadlines for myself, as I never keep them, and I'm tired of disappointing you guys when I promise a chapter of something and don't deliver.

As for this particular installment, I hope it doesn't disappoint. I've planned another three side-stories to Diabolicae Foedus, one of which will "officially" end the series - although I will continue to update this as I get prompts and ideas (*hint*).Review?