A/N: This is a slow-moving chapter and frankly more an interlude than anything else. This is because the author is leaving on vacation and the next chapter won't be up until sometime around the 22nd of July. With the plot conclusion coming up, I could either head right on into the fun of writing said battle and leave with a cliffhanger, or I could do an interlude and wait with the cliffhangers and all until after I'm back home and able to update weekly again. *cough* I decided on the interlude and hope it won't be too boring.
Have a great early summer and we'll return to your regularly scheduled updates in four weeks!
Unlike quite a few of his soldiers and against every bit of common belief, Megatron held no particular dislike for the insignificant third planet that orbited an equally insignificant star in the outer ranges of an utterly average galaxy.
He was disgusted by the organic life-forms on said planet in general and absolutely despised the so-called dominant species that the Autobots, pathetic as always, had chosen to... ally themselves with, but the planet itself was not something he held any particular dislike for.
On his better days, Megatron actually appreciated it, even if he would never admit that particular confession out loud. It was small and utterly infested with organic matter, covered in mostly water and had polar regions that still made Megatron snarl at the memory, but when it all came down to it, there was a small part of Megatron's processors that nonetheless couldn't help but admire the planet for it. For all of its... unfortunate characteristics it also held a ruthlessness that Cybertron, even at its most untamed, had never managed. Cybertron had been controlled and leashed by its dominant species – if it had ever had weather, it had been long before Megatron's time, and the planet itself was as solid and predictable as legends said its creator had deemed appropriate for the species that had been brought into being to populate it.
The organic homeworld was...different. The ice had been Megatron's first lesson: what looked solid could be anything but and what would have been harmless if he had been given but moments to prepare could still bring him unnervingly close to being offlined because he had been too arrogant to see the deceptive innocence of the surface for what it was, too preoccupied with his hunt to pay any real sort of attention to the matter.
Weather had been a second lesson. It didn't matter as much to Megatron as it did to his Seekers, and even then it was a matter of vanity and complaints about discomfort more than anything – their first encounter with hurricane-strength winds had been interesting, certainly, but hardly dangerous – but it was still something alien to a species that had been used to the ordered world of Cybertron.
The tectonic plates, though, were perhaps Megatron's personal favourite. That sort of potential for widescale destruction with no means of defence for the organic pests that inhabited the planet was nothing short of art, and he couldn't help but admire the beauty of it all, the cycle of violence followed by long periods of peace to lure the organics close again before the planet would strike once more. It was the sort of destruction that Megatron could appreciate. While true that it held no value from a military point of view, it was still art in its own way and certainly something to be appreciated for its destructive power in itself.
Perhaps Cybertron had been like that once, when it had been young and its Cybertronian inhabitants still had to prove their resilience and worth of life in their taming of the planet they had been granted by Primus. The organics, however, had no such skill and so Megatron was free to admire the ferocity of the third planet of Sol for however long that star would last before it burned out... which, in their war, was never guaranteed to be a natural death. With the destruction of the Harvester, the life-expectancy of the star had certainly increased and for now, the planet was... acceptable to Megatron. Better than the burned-out, destroyed shell of their former home, at least. One day they might have the hope of rebuilding Cybertron from the cold ashes and recreate their world as it was before the suffocating rule of bureaucrats and worthless politicians but for now, this temperamental chunk of rock would have to do.
Megatron had spent far more time musing on said chunk of rock than anyone would have suspected him of and that gave him an advantage that his soldiers - Starscream included - did not have. While they had claimed vengeance on behalf of their Lord though the lives of the worthless organics, Megatron had never allowed himself to let his anger and disgust overshadow everything. Retribution was still demanded but that didn't mean he should leave aside all semblance of common sense and responsibility. The worse parts of Megatron's imprisonment had been in fleshling hands but he never forgot that it was the planet itself that had brought him down in the first place, and if it could take him down... there was always the risk, however small, that others had fallen victim to the same.
Normally, he would not have cared – strength and independence were Decepticon virtues and ones they had always lorded over the infinitely weaker Autobots – but this case was different. If Megatron could fall prey to it, so could others, and despite everything that had happened, he was still the Lord High Protector of Cybertron and as so would not leave a fellow Cybertronian at the mercies of pathetic organics like that.
And so, when he had finally been returned online through no help from his treacherous Second, Megatron had asked his Communications Officer to search the planet as time and opportunity permitted and ensure that no one else was left a prisoner as he had been. He doubted it would be the case but the thought had still refused to leave him to his devices and served to be a distraction he could not afford. A last nod to his duties to their kind that he mentioned to no one else because above all, Decepticon valued strength and Starscream would respond to any sign of weakness, imagined or otherwise.
In the end, all scans had come up negative and so begged the question that Megatron found himself musing as battle drew closer and the small symbol that was an Autobot-allied Seeker claimed an increasing amount of attention from his Second in Command.
Where did you come from?
He knew the official explanation was that the creature had been trapped in ice like Megatron himself, found and brought to a fleshling lab for experiments... but given that Soundwave's scans of the planet had revealed nothing of the sort, it left only two explanations to consider: that Soundwave had somehow overlooked the creature or that the official explanation was... lacking in truth at best.
Knowing Soundwave as well as he did, Megatron strongly suspected the latter explanation was correct, which left him with the very same question again.
Where did you come from?
He had entertained some theories but they were unlikely at best.
A new arrival would have been spotted, not to mention that Starscream had kept a close eye on any Seekers turned Autobots and had taken great satisfaction in reporting every single one of the creatures destroyed not long before Megatron left Cybertron for the last time. Starscream was unreliable at best, granted, but in this case Megatron was willing to take his word for it. Starscream had taken the disloyalty of the Autobot Seekers as a personal insult, far more so than Megatron had, and had gone through great pains to remove the stain on his breed's reputation.
A sparkling kept in stasis and only recently brought out of it – because that was truthfully what it was; a youngling at best and in some cases still little more than a sparkling – was not a theory that made much sense, either. If it had arrived with the rest of the Autoscum, Megatron would have known, and that was not even taking into account that it was a Seeker sparkling and that Seekers had kept a close eye on all of their sparklings. Some had been stolen through aeons of war but all had been accounted for – that, too, Megatron was willing to take his Second's word for.
With no Allspark left, and no Autobot Seekers remaining, it could not have been a new spark brought into existence on this planet they now found themselves on, and if Megatron hadn't known the idea was absolutely preposterous, he would have said that Primus himself had brought that spark into being, because Megatron was long since out of any actual, credible theories.
Starscream, of course, had noticed nothing of that sort. Megatron respected his treacherous Second for his skills and his control of what Seekers remained but he wasn't blind to said Second's rather one-track mind, either. It was one of the main reasons why the Seeker would never reign, whatever else the Air Commander might think. No Seeker was programmed to lead anything but their own breed and Megatron knew that... and so, he suspected, did Starscream, however deep down that knowledge might be. It wouldn't stop the Seeker's incessant attempts to take over but it was one of the main reasons why he had never succeeded. If he had been more of a leader, more aware of his weaknesses and better able to control himself, there would have been the actual possibility that he could one day have bested Megatron. As it was now, however, there was no chance at all.
Megatron had focused on the why and how behind the appearance of their new Seeker. Starscream had focused solely on bringing it back under its rightful commander and to his credit, had succeeded to an admirable degree as well. While the creature hadn't abandoned the limitations of the Prime, it at least seemed willing to consider the possibility, which was far more than any proper Autobot Seeker had been willing to do in the past. Megatron strongly suspected that if given more opportunities, Starscream might even be able to lure the thing away completely but that would take more time and effort than Megatron was willing to exert and he knew quite well that patience was not the strong suit of any Seeker, much less the Air Commander.
It was not a trait Megatron shared, obviously, but he knew it lay dormant in his programming. There were other Cybertronians than just Seekers who had been able to fly but Seekers were the most competent of the breeds and when Megatron had gone through the process of a reformat, Seeker-programming had provided the foundation of his flight-abilities. He had not been sparked with wings – and truthfully, a reformat like his was difficult enough to remain out of reach for any ordinary mech – and with new wings, he had needed the ability to control them as well. His core programming remained the same but the wings... the wings and the ability to fly was all Seeker-based and gave him an understanding of the breed that Optimus Prime had never had.
It let him understand the creatures and it let him know now what would be needed to gain control of the wayward youngling that the Prime held. They could likely have lured it away with time and effort but a far more effective strategy would be a display of strength and the physical presence of the Air Commander. He didn't really believe that the Seeker's mates would follow it into Decepticon hands but then, stranger things had happened and Megatron would not refuse the chance to claim one of Prime's mechs if the opportunity arose.
Megatron understood Seekers and that was why he now listened and watched through Soundwave's optics and scanners as his Second in Command passed just out of range of the Autobot base to deliver a message to Prime and exert a last bit of influence on the Seeker before they met in combat. Optimus Prime would not be a willing combatant but Megatron did not particularly care. He had not left the Prime with any options unless he wanted to see some of his precious fleshlings slaughtered and if anyone, he knew his brother's weakness when it came to such things.
The Prime would be there and the Seeker would follow. No creature worthy of the name would refuse a battle, much less one that offered said creature the chance to see its Air Commander.
Megatron watched as the three glyphs that represented his Command Trine passed the Autobot base to head for the location Megatron had chosen for their battlefield, and he did not bother to wait for his Second in Command to deign to contact him with a progress report.
"Starscream."
It was not a question. Megatron knew Seekers and he knew that to control them, you had to control their Air Commander above all. It was a battle to keep Starscream leashed but worth the effort nonetheless, and while Megatron had considered once or twice the convenience in merely removing the pest, it would only result in a new Air Commander to control. A new, unfamiliar pest to replace a predictable one was not a desirable outcome.
"He will be ours, Lord Megatron," Starscream's voice greeted him in response, alluring more than unpleasant for once, and Megatron's optics shuttered partially in satisfaction. There was none of Starscream's normally snide behaviour at the moment and that alone would have been enough to make Megatron listen.
This would be good.
"He is a Seeker. His Autoscum loyalties are a matter of little more than convenience. He spark-merged with Ironhide and claimed the Hatchet for a mate," Starscream continued, still with that infectious allure and undisguised satisfaction in his voice – pleasure at having a lost Seeker returned to him, most likely. Whatever it was, Megatron was not about to complain. "Decepticons with Autoscum markings that only lack the courage to admit it. If they are true mates, they will follow or pay the price. The Prime's hold on the medic has already weakened. He is Seeker-kin. I will make him obey... with your permission, of course, glorious Megatron."
Good news – outstanding news, even, and enough that Megatron allowed Starscream's pathetic lip-service to loyalty to slide for the moment. For once even Megatron couldn't find flaw in his action and competence should be rewarded... even when there was little else but badly-disguised and always useless plans for treason behind it. Ambition was a Decepticon virtue but not in the hands of a Seeker of Starscream's vanity and ego.
The medic. Megatron remembered that one in glimpses of memories he had claimed from the Seekers that had fought for his attention and favour. He knew Ratchet and he knew the name the medic had been given by both sides of their war but it wasn't until Starscream had focused his attention on the new Seeker that Megatron's processors had recalled the memories from whatever deep, dark pit of a hole he kept unnecessary knowledge like that in. Those memories were very different from the weak – if admittedly skilled – Autobot medic he had become familiar with through the war and that one, unlike the worthless Autoscum one, would be worth the attention it would take to claim it for his cause.
"Of course," Megatron finally replied in a deceptively silky voice. "Do not fail me, Starscream. My patience is not infinite and I was under the impression that a worthy Air Commander had far more control over his kin than this."
Starscream wanted to respond, Megatron could feel it, but even Seekers could display some measure of common sense if they had to.
"Yes, Lord Megatron," Starscream responded after a moment too long, still with some of the allure in his voice but far more unpleasant and grating than before.
Megatron dismissed the connection with no further words, as much his right as their Lord as it was the proper way to handle a Seeker to make it respect a superior, and then he focused his attention on the Autobot base and what little information Soundwave could tear from the heavy scrambling fields that surrounded the island. He knew where his own people were, knew that even Starscream would obey without the need for force on this occasion, and so it allowed him to focus on... other things.
Location delivered, it would not take the Prime long to respond, the useless organics were too precious for him and the co-called allies he claimed amongst the worthless beings were too fickle to understand the realities of war and the necessity of sacrifices.
The Prime would respond, the Seeker would be at his side, and if there was any truth in Starscream's words, then perhaps Megatron might even be in a position to... correct the unfortunate decision the ancient glitch of a weapon's specialist had made in defecting so long ago. With some luck and some skills, one battle would rid them of three opponents, one way or another. To claim them for his own command would be preferable but if not, offlining was always a valid option as well. The Seeker was the weak spot. The medic and Ironhide would not yield easily but with their mate on Megatron's side, there would be little else they could do. Seekers, Megatron knew from experience, took a particularly dim view of the betrayal of a mate.
...Even, he supposed, a Seeker as young as Prime's.
Where did they find you?
If he didn't know better, he would halfway have suspected that they had somehow recovered enough of the Allspark to create sparks once more but the idea was preposterous at the very least. Megatron was the Lord High Protector and if the Allspark had still existed, he would have felt it, not to mention the fact that Seekers had always been sparked by Seekers and never through the Allspark.
Megatron knew the planet and he would stake his very spark if needed on that Seeker not having been there before. It had not been there before, it had not arrived with the rest of the Prime's worthless followers, and that left... precious few options to consider.
Where are you from, little creature?
The thought nagged him but in honesty, it was of no matter now. He would know soon enough, whatever the cause and reason behind the Seeker's appearance. There was little that could be denied the Lord High Protector and this would not be one such thing.
The creature was a mystery and Megatron intended to solve it, by whatever means necessary.