Chapter Text
Starscream seethes as Shockwave boards the Nemesis. Sure it was part of the evacuation of the last of the Decepticon troops from their dying world, but still, Starscream knew that this was the beginning of the end. It was only a matter of time before Megatron assigns Shockwave to work in the lab that Starscream had painstakingly built up through clever funding reassignments. The last place that he truly thought of as his and it too would be taken from him by Megatron.
He forces his ruffled plating smooth. This was only a temporary setback. Once he takes control of the Decepticons, he'll be free to kick Shockwave out of his lab and end this war once and for all. Placated by his own thoughts of his future success, Starscream answers Megatron's summons calmly and maintains his composure even when he sees that not only was the rest of High Command already present in the throne room but Megatron's most fanatical recruit, Tarn. Soundwave and Shockwave were tolerable on good days and Megatron was a necessary evil, but Tarn was unbearable in every way; the slagger shouldn't even have access to these meetings.
Megatron begins addressing the mechs in the room with his usual directness, "Shockwave, your task is to begin working on a solution to the energon shortage. You'll have exclusive use of the lab on board."
"Lord Megatron -" Starscream begins to protest, he has to try to keep his lab, although he's under no illusion that this is a fight he'll win.
Megatron raises a servo to halt him, "The Decepticon Cause requires energon more than whatever frivolous idea catches your interest, Starscream." His tone is scathing and brooks no argument.
Starscream argues, "As I recall," distantly, he hears Soundwave sigh from where he stands beside him, "the fusion cannon I created for you wasn't considered frivolous. Nor were the null-rays that I created in the lab that I built." He jabs an accusatory finger at the warlord, "So I fail to see why I should be removed so unceremoniously from my lab."
The sound of metal straining echoes through the vast throne room as Megatron digs his fingers into the arms of his throne. Tarn starts to advance towards Starscream from where he stands at Megatron's side. "Insubordination and noncompliance of a direct order from Lord Megatron is punishable by death."
Starscream abruptly realizes that he had pushed harder than he had intended to. He bares his fangs at Tarn anyways, "It isn't insubordination to point out flaws in Lord Megatron's supposed logic."
Tarn's engine snarls at his sarcastic use of the title, "You uppity little-"
Megatron cuts him off. "Enough, no need to escalate this Tarn." Starscream smugly pictures the idiotic, kicked turbopuppy look Tarn must be sporting under his mask at being hauled in by the leash, as Tarn returns to the side of the throne without argument.
"I suppose you are not entirely incorrect, irritating as always, but not incorrect. I assume that even if I were to ban you from the lab you would find your way in regardless." Megatron leans back into his seat and rolls his optics, "Fine, you will assist Shockwave with this as I suspect we are about to enter a lull that would otherwise leave you useless to me." A thinly veiled threat but otherwise an unexpected win.
Starscream's first instinct is to protest being relegated to the role of a mere lab assistant, but a glance back at the grooves embedded in the throne's armrests reminds him that he has likely pushed his luck as far as possible for the day.
So, he inclines his head deferentially towards Megatron, "Thank you, Lord Megatron." The old bastard rarely saw reason these days and any signs that his processor still functioned should be rewarded. Never let it be said that Starscream was never considerate of others.
Megatron rolls his optics, already bored of the conversation and turns to address Soundwave. "Your main priority remains locating a planet suitable for becoming our next base of operations, Soundwave."
Soundwave bows slightly, "As you wish my lord." He returns to parade rest. Starscream sneers silently at him for being such a kiss ass.
"You all have your orders. You're dismissed." Megatron looks bored the moment he sends them all away and the temptation to hassle him over what exactly their leader would be doing while they worked to recover from the loss of Cybertron gnaws at Starscream but the ache from his last beating had him holding his glossa.
When he turns to leave the throne room, he sees Shockwave staring at him and Starscream gets the feeling that energon alternatives weren't the only thing the hulking mech wanted to study. He represses a shudder and instead straightens his posture, flares his wings, and looks imperiously down his enstril at him. Shockwave only tilts his helm to the side like some sad excuse for a cyberhound and keeps staring.
"Did manners cease to exist since I was last on Cybertron?" Starscream snips at him as they both enter the main hall. The heavy doors of the throne room shut silently behind them.
"I am intrigued by the lack of logic with which you conduct yourself," Shockwave intones looking down at him.
Starscream stops in his tracks and gapes at him. "Lack of- How dare you!" He screeches. "I will have you know that I earned top marks at the Academy of Science and Technology! My command of the Decepticon Air Force has success rates that rival the Vosnian military!" His wings flare as he rants.
As usual, Shockwave seems unbothered and continues observing Starscream, "I did not say you were ineffective. In fact, it is your continued effectivity in the face of such illogical behavior that continues to draw my interest."
Starscream stutters, so furious that he was at a loss for words. "I- You- I can't- What-" He jabs his finger at Shockwave's optic, "Fuck off!" Then he turns, almost smacking Shockwave with a wing, and stomps towards his personal quarters.
The meeting had gone better than Soundwave thought it would, especially after Starscream decided to mouth off at Lord Megatron again. Getting to return to his secluded office without having to sit through another round of Starscream getting reprimanded for his latest act of insubordination was a treat that Soundwave found was getting rarer over time.
Now he got to return to the work he really loved, searching for signals and organizing data. The Nemesis has a sensor array that could search a huge radius without sacrificing detail, which in turn gave Soundwave countless data sets to sift through. He cues up his preferred music to work to and, before starting his search, he pulls up an inconspicuous window and enters an encryption key.
Hidden behind several layers of authorization was Soundwave's other reason for enjoying this work. A small dot signaled that he been messaged while he was away assisting the last few mechs and their meager supplies out of Shockwave's lab. Soundwave pulls up the camera feeds to double check that there was no one approaching his office and then opens the messages.
Spacedisk: It's a little sad knowing there's no one left on Cybertron. I know there was hardly anyone there by the end, but it feels more final this time, like we've really given up on it.
Spacedisk: Sorry, kind of a bummer. But not a lot else to think about when that's the only message I've gotten from my higher ups in months.
Soundwave drums his fingers against the desk for a moment, trying to think of a response. While he was glad to see Iacon go, there were plenty of places across Cybertron that he would've like to see in a peacetime. He starts typing.
Lambda: It is a shame. I've heard that many are holding out hope that the damage can be mended at some point.
It only takes a few moments before Soundwave sees an indication that Cosmos was typing back to him.
Spacedisk: What about you? Do you think Cybertron could come back?
Lambda: I think it is unlikely, but not impossible. There wasn't always acid rain, perhaps it will cease now that everyone has left.
Spacedisk: I didn't think you'd be such an optimist!
Spacedisk: Ah sorry, got to go, I guess final evacuations mean there are more messages to relay. Talk to you later!
Soundwave closes the chat and stares at the data waiting to be processed without really seeing it. He finds that part of him really does hope that one day he will be able to return to Cybertron. Maybe he could finally introduce Cosmos to his family.
He shakes his helm. There was no point in daydreaming about things like that. If Cybertron is ever habitable again it won't be for a very long time and he has a war to win before that ever happens. He sends a message to Laserbeak that he intends to work through the night shift and begins parsing data.
Shockwave enters the main lab on the Nemesis and looks around. It had been a long time since he was in an unfamiliar lab, let alone one someone else's personal lab. And this was clearly Starscream's personal lab with the number of items and notes left laying around. Curiosity piqued, Shockwave opts to investigate the lab before setting up.
He couldn't find any logic in the way that Starscream saw fit to organize things. Containers of chemicals were grouped in batches among various pieces of equipment, numerous notes were stuck to counters and cabinets, and Shockwave could count at least six scuffed datapads. When he turns one on, he finds that whatever Starscream wrote was coded in a way too complex for Shockwave to decipher without dedicating some time to it.
Shockwave pulls a note off of a counter only to find that the elegant script was similarly encoded. He puts it back on the counter where he had gotten it. Shockwave pushes back the urge to reorganize the room into something that made more sense.
This was a perfect time to indulge in one of his side projects: figuring out how Starscream could be highly effective while also letting himself be led by emotion and instinct. The data he's collected indicates that his successes can't be chalked up to luck alone, so there must be some underlying reason behind the cluttered lab. Gazing at the mix of items, Shockwave recalls that Starscream's performance has gone down in the last year, maybe there was no reason for any of this.
Another note catches his optic, this one was written in standard Vosnian, only difficult to read because of the messy scrawl of the writer. It read, 'Screamer remember to stop doing nerd shit long enough to refuel. Me and TC are tired of scraping you outta here'. Clearly, it was left around out of sentiment rather than any actual benefit to experimentation. Again he sets the note back down where it came from.
Shockwave steps back and reads all the labeled containers in one section, then he takes in the equipment it sat near. The set up was familiar to him and all at once he recalls why. These were the materials needed to create ammunition base for blasters. Next to it was a similar grouping but with the materials for null-ray ammunition.
Turning, Shockwave sees that the other row of counters holds supplies for creating compounds for repair. It wouldn't be illogical to assume that the chemicals not commonly associated with the production of the items were meant for experimentation. Ways to be more cost effective perhaps.
He chuckles, pleased with solving the puzzle and with his discovery that his lab partner was not entirely without sense. The puzzle's solution only leaves Shockwave more curious about what exactly the purpose of Starscream's experiments were. Mentally running through the procedures for creating null-ray ammo, Shockwave considers the potential effects of adding the extra chemicals at any given step instead of clearing space for his tasks. It was fine, Megatron had instructed him to put all but his latest assigned projects on hold until he was back in a private lab and the energon shortage could wait for a few minutes. It wasn't everyday he had the chance to look over someone's work.