Ep.1.5 - 'Return to Order' - Closed

[Deleted]

<<OOC: Megatron resuming command scene for Starscream and Soundwave, and Barricade if he wants to saunter in at any point.>>

Megatron had comm.ed Soundwave as soon as he'd set pedes on the scuffed deckplates of the Nemesis, and begun scrolling through the status reports as the groundbridge collapsed behind them. Barricade fell into stride, keeping close enough to mingle fields but otherwise following the larger mech as they made their way up to the command deck.

Knock Out's memory backup, and thus Megatron's most recent recollection, was four days before the Autobot raid on the flagship. The glitch in his memory core necessitating that backup had occured during the raid, presumably from a shot from an Autobot. Barricade had filled him in on what he knew of the Nemesis's state, but there were holes from where he himself had been absent.

Repairs were at a point where the ship wasn't going to need to land, and though the energon store was low it was not yet critical. Morale was in the smelter, and the warlord suspected that that was in part due to the ship's acting commander...

Stepping onto the command bridge, Megatron noted the helms of the Eradicons in the well and Soundwave's inscrutable faceplate turning to him. He approached the lithe Seeker with thunderous steps, watching his wings sink in gradual twitches.

"Starscream." A smile, expectant and thin. One of those angular knees had best be getting acquainted with the deck within the next klik... "You are hereby relieved of command, and reinstated as my Second."

[starscream]

Hearing the heavy steps Starscream knew who was there. It was clear even before…like he could miss the chatter of Megatron being back. Well at least the Eradicons were doing well, the others….some not so much. But they never even gave him a chance. Not that he cared. Still Megaton would hear them and he would have to deal with the trouble from that for a while. The Nemesis was not fully repaired but it was going and would be done soon. That at least that was another point that could be a mark against him. The worst point however seemed to not be known. A fact Starscream found welcome. He would be sure it never was.

As Megatron came into the room Starscream’s wings jerked up and he turned to Megatron. “Lord Megatron! You are ok?! Thank the All Spark!” Turning fully Starscream went over to stand with in easy talking distance but not so close to let Megatron hit him. Starscream’s optics were bright and his wings jerked with the want to dance. “Of course Lord Megatron, I am pleased to know you are back,” Starscream gave a half nod but the pleased was off and partly clear the Seeker would miss the top position.

[Deleted]

Soundwave, who'd stilled at his console the moment his Master entered the bridge, hadn't stopped tracking Megatron's movements from the moment the warlord stepped onto the ship.

At his Master's comm, he'd set to pulling onto a single data pad all the reports he'd been meticulously up keeping in anticipation of the mech's return.. He'd already transmitted the essential information to his Master but on the pad Soundwave included ~all~ ship-wide data from the smallest of out\ter hull damages and estimated repair times and energon costs, complete stores inventory, to minor updates on crew and personal profiles, on top of more far reaching information concerning the war at large. The specialist's logs were meticulously kept and complied, even for him, a testament to his dedicated loyalty and eagerness for his Master's return.

It'd never be said or expressed in any other way, but Megatron's presence had been greatly missed.

And so Soundwave watched the inevitable confrontation and command shift from his position at the end of the bridge's walk way, all sensors and scanners, even his EMF, peaking in the direction of the great silver mech's presence, eagerly attentive.

[Deleted]

Obsequious, insincere but ultimately fearful: precisely what Megatron had been expecting. Soundwave's gaze from the central console was so intense it bore weight, never requiring the validation of attention in the same way that Starscream did. Always had, and always would - up until the moment when his treachery outbalanced his aeriel mastery, cunning intelligence and usefulness with the Eradicon fliers.

A significant part of the command relationship at the helm of the Nemesis was Starscream knowing his place.

Megatron angled his helm back, optics narrowing and field crushing outwards in malevolent warning.

"Kneel before your Master, Starscream," he barked, motionless as the Seeker flinched with a wing-jerk. "And tell me why Barricade had to mount an escape from the brig."

[starscream]

The wings twitched down with kneeling and slowly coming back up as Starscream stood. "Lord Megatron the Nemesis was in confusion from the attack by the Autobots. Barricade was causing more confusion.”

The confidence stayed but the vocalizer lowered. “The brig was the only place I could leave him to reestablish order.”

There was half bow and when Starscream spoke again his vocalizer was back to normal. “I am sure you will be pleased to know, more of your loyal followers have come to join our cause on Earth. I believe one of them may even have locations of Energon. The Autobots will soon fall to your …claws, Lord Megaton.”

[Deleted]

Sensing that there was far more to Barricade's incarceration than was being disclosed here, but trusting the infiltrator to take it up with Starscream himself if he wished the matter pursued (likely for his own amusement), Megatron allowed the matter to slide.

It could always be revisited, like a weakened point from early in a fight could become the killing blow at its conclusion.

Stepping past Starscream, the warlord approached the central console. Soundwave retreated to his customary, dilligent proximity before Megatron reached the screen, EMF dark and close.

"Tell me of our new arrivals," Megatron intoned, optics narrowed as he keyed up the latest officer reports. He left Starscream with his backplates.

[Deleted]

Soundwave watched the exchange impassively, body stock still as Meagtron growled and postured, reasserting the dominance the specialist had so thoroughly missed. Inwardly, the thin threads of his personality hummed at the thought of the Air Commander FINALLY being put in his place. THIS was how it was supposed to be!

Standing as close to Megatron as respect and honor allowed, Soundwave responded immediately, needing no confirmation that he was the one being addressed. A quick data burst to the console had a series of profiles pipping onto the screen--several Cons and a few short Autobot entries.

He wasn't sure what exactly his master was looking for, but it also wasn't his place to ask. It never hurt to be thorough, at least when it suited him.

He waited, basking in the pleasure caused by the passivity, for his Master to issue him another command.

[starscream]

Starscream almost cycled his vents with relief when Megatron let the matter of Barricade’s brig stay go. Starscream was sure to keep his stance even and relax as he ever was when talking to Megatron, the wings at the normal arrogant position. It seemed luck was with Starscream this cycle. He was still working on his process lock from the fact Megatron did not kill Starscream on sight because of his attempting to assassinate Megatron during the Autobot attack. The wings almost shifted down and in when Megatron moved to the see the screen, for a moment Starscream was sure Megatron had remembered, but no, it seemed he did not. The new arrivals….

With a nod to acknowledge Starscream started, the wings flicked. “There are three. Backdraft was the last to come and I am saddened to say I have yet to meet the mech. I have been so busy keeping the Nemesis running. There is another Seeker, Slipstream. She is ready for any word from you. There was also Dreadheart but he left to find Energon deposits on worlds that are near to us.”

[Deleted]

"Following Prime's raid on our energon store, scouting new deposits has become a priority. Dreadheart will perform such a function well." Megatron called up and reviewed Dreadwing's disembarkation file - meticulously completed by Ratbat, of course.

He turned his attention to Backdraft next. The demolitions specialist was not new, as Starscream had thought, but the mistake was understandable. Backdraft had been planetside exclusively since the Nemesis had settled in orbit, moving from one mining operation to another as and when his expertise was required. Megatron sent a brief comm. message to the mech, summoning him to the warship in the next cycle.

Then Megatron turned from the console and looked between his Second and Third in command, hands curling into loose fists at his sides. "I want the Autobot base found. Their numbers planetside have swelled, the exact size of Optimus's team unknown to us, let alone who it comprises of. We redouble our efforts - increase the frequency and duration of patrols around known Autobot areas. Soundwave, what has been your progress in locating the base via satellite?"

[Deleted]

Acknowledging his masters order with a slight incline of his head, Soundwave instantly called the maps he'd been studying to the bridge's screens. He'd been anticipating this moment since he'd located his master, pouring over statics and raw data, knowing his master would desire to strike back at his enemies as soon as possible. What little he'd been able to uncover shamed Soundwave.

He'd narrowed the location to the North American continent and the maps reflected as such, the southern portion of the landmass highlighted in a translucent red. However a swarm of yellow dots pock-marked the whole area, all of them reasonable locations for an Autobot base. There were entirely too many of them for Soundwave's liking and he knew his master would not be pleased with the shallow progress. There just simply hadn't been enough time to sort though all the information he had or follow every lead he'd found.

He simply did not have enough information for anything more certain, but he did not voice this to Megatron. He would accept responsibility for his failure, even if it was not entirely his fault. He was, after all, the supposed Eyes and Ears of the Decepticons. The task should not have been difficult for him.

((OOC: blech. Lemme know if I should change anything. XD I wrote this while VERY tired.

Just an idea, but this failure could somehow be what leads Soundwave to eventually look to the humans for leads on the 'Bot's location. ^^))

[Deleted]

<<OOC: NPCing Starscream until new mun is found>>

Starscream looked between his Master and his immediate subordinate (though Soundwave barely behaved that way...), talon-tips playing against each other. He sensed that he was off the hook, and that the spybot was on the verge of being at the receiving end of Megatron's hair-trigger wrath. Good.

His fingers stilled, optics narrowing. But Megatron shan't leave the issue of Barricade for long. Best to redirect and occupy his attention immediately and wholly. Snarling at Soundwave for not yet having located the Autobot base will not do for that.

A smirk. Oh yes. Like the Cybercat, Lord Megatron needssomething shiny to distract his ancient processor.

The Seeker approached a single, tentative step, cutting off any reply that the former gladiator may have been about to utter with the elegant click of his pede. "If I may, Master - perhaps using mere data to postulate upon the Autobot base is insufficient."

A sharp indication to Soundwave's displays, and his glyphs were entrenched in condescending mirth. "As... dilligent as Soundwave has been in collecting such data." Smiling at the Third, thanking him for his ultimately pointless efforts, Starscream moved to stand between both mechs: front and center of their attention.

He flicked a talon towards Megatron. "Perhaps a new approach is called for. Interrogation has yielded positive results in the past. Don't you agree, Soundwave?"


<<OOC: Tag to Soundwave from Snarky!Screamer, who might as well be openly scent marking at this point... XD>>

[Deleted]

Mild surprise tingled past Soundwave's emotional dampers at Starscream's swift interruption. He tipped his helm in the seeker's direction, passively observing the wide gesticulation that always seemed to accompany the mech when he spoke. With the viscosity of their Master's EMF still pressing heavily over them, Soundwave hadn't expected Starscream to move back into their Master's focus so soon, but then the seeker had always been a master when it came to posturing, always flirting in and out of Megatron's attention at precisely the right moment. It was a dangerous game he played but one that had lifted him through the ranks and placed him over Soundwave as second in command. It was also the only thing that kept the mech alive when Megatron's fury threatened to extinguish his treacherous spark.. Soundwave would have been much more threatened by the flirty seeker if the mech's ego and ambition didn't constantly keep toppling his little dance.

The communications specialist ignored the thinly veiled jab at his data gathering abilities and remained impassive. His screen lit up with a compilation of stats from mech's who usually preformed interrogations and their result rates (he threw in Starscream's miserably low percentage near the top, just out of spite) along with a graph of currently known Autobots and projected success rates of obtaining them and gleaning any viable information from them. Yes. Of course interrogation would work...if the right Autobot could be caught and drug back to the Nemesis....which would mean knowing where to locate them, which more or less brought them back to square one....Soundwave, however, kept that bit of sarcasm out of his data projections.

[Deleted]

The raid on the Nemesis had been beneficial in one respect: it had given clear, concrete data on Team Prime's forces, and solid indications as to how each one of them operated. There were several new faces, and limited data on most of them. Soundwave could only speculate on the statistical probability of their capture being beneficial, and through what means. One mech stood out from the crop.

Megatron hadn't known that Jazz had made landfall on Earth, doubtless fitting in seamlessly with Optimus's unit as their covert ops specialist and strategist. The former Decepticon had been one of their best interrogators, and would doubtless be one of the most difficult to break. However, if he had kept to his vocations, the investment of time and energy could be of great benefit in intelligence outside of a set of coordinates...

"Perhaps it is time to utilise a long-overlooked resource," Megatron announced, breaking the silence that had fallen as both mechs awaited his response. He summoned up a lone security feed from one of the storage bays of the Nemesis, dimly lit and with an angular orb at the center of the camera's focus. The pod was darker still, seeming to consume the little light in the room.

Starscream swayed on his heels, wings turning high and tight as he scowled incredulously at the image. "You can not be serious!" he barked, the respectful glyphs for speaking to senior rank hastily following a nanoklik after the exclamation had escaped his vocaliser. " We don't even know if that - that thing Shockwave brought on board with him can be controlled."

"I will control it, Starscream, make no mistake," Megatron replied, with no little air of threat or menace. "An Insecticon could more effectively pursue a targeted Autobot if so commanded."

Truthfully he had had very little experience with this particular species of Cybertron, his neglect in leaving the pod alone due entirely to his lack of knowledge. He was not daunted by a steep learning curve when circumstances called for it, however, and one was a good place to begin to learn the method of control.

"If the beast doesn't eat it before returning to the ship," Starscream muttered, arms folded tight and prudish as he watched the monitor. As if dreading the pod to split with a slit of red light, the Insecticon's optics onlining for the first time in eons.

Megatron ignored the Seeker, looking instead to his silent Third. He had no wish to go through Shockwave in activating this asset, the scientist as occupied already as he was. "Soundwave, can you bring our cargo out of stasis?"