Ep - 'Cloak' - Closed

[Deleted]

The deep rumble of the Nemesis' engines reverberated throughout its structure - a steady background note of security and power. Most of the flagship's crew had become accustomed to the extent of no longer noticing it, unaware that it was the ship's purr that they relaxed into when returning from missions. The engineers obsessed over the pitch and pulse of the Decepticon's most valuable ship: constantly plugged into its readouts to make nanosecond-quick adjustments to fuel intake, pressure valves, coolant flow, and a myriad of other systems that made the Nemesis as complex a machine as themselves.

Megatron did not obsess over the status reports from the engineers, though he knew as soon as they did when a compressor had blown, or a turbine had failed to start. He listened - absorbing and analyzing the minute harmonic fluctuation with the ingrained and refined skill of someone whose day-to-day living once relied on it. Scanners didn't always extend far in the mines, and a mech had to rely on his audios and his intuition to be aware of a cave-in or a weapon discharging.

It was a formidable skill in combat, also, and one that Optimus had had to pick up quickly. The warlord could tell the difference between an engine strained to tipping point and one gone over; could detect the sharp whine before an abused hydraulic that wouldn't survive a direct blow was pushed upon; the distinction between boiling oil and boiling coolant.

The Nemesis was running smooth, tonight, clouds streaming through the sharp protrusions of its helm and curling away in its trail. They were cruising without urgency, just making themselves impossible for the Autobots to locate. There had been no MECH sightings in three days, no clashes with the Autobots in longer, and business on the ship ticked on peacefully.

Starscream was up to something.

The very fact that things were running so well across technical and personnel was a reliable indicator of his guilt. Megatron had found the just-off groundbridge logs before Soundwave highlighted them as altered. The discrepencies were marginal, which only made them more sinister. His second in command was being particularly intelligent.

Starscream was up to something big.

Entering the bridge just before shift-change, Megatron's lip curled to find the Eradicons in the recessed pit of the floor working quietly and smoothly. Not a hint of tension radiated from their simplistic systems: unusual for mechs having been in Starscream's presence for eight uninterrupted hours. His Second usually made a habit of overriding his orders when he believed he knew better (admittedly, sometimes his insight meant that he did) and put everyone's plates up in doing it.

Megatron did not have to come particularly close to Starscream to loom over him. Sometimes, he found, leaving the Seeker with the illusion of space to elude and escape him was the most effective means of getting answers.

"Starscream," he barked across the concourse. His voice softened to a dangerously conversational register. "You've been busy as of late. Pray tell: what duties of a second in command warrants clandestine meetings on the Nemesis flight deck?"

[Deleted]

Finally - finally - things were beginning to come together.

Starscream stood upon the bridge of the Nemesis and allowed himself a moment to silently gloat.

It was an agonizing process, frustrated by dead ends and fear, but piece by piece the future was taking form. It was crude, it was fragile, but it was there - a weave of unseen threads clutched in his shaky grasp.

The Nemesis seemed to reflect his satisfaction as it hummed beneath his feet. The engines were perfectly calibrated. The ship was fuelled, adequately supplied. It was, for the time being, flying far beyond the reach of her enemies, wreathed in cloud. The air of tension that had lingered in the corridors over the past few weeks had finally ebbed.

And now things were quiet.

He huffed. Did anyone appreciate the level of routine maintenance and supervision required to bring about this period of calm operations? Did they grasp the difficulties inherent in keeping a warship designed for space travel flying within the tempestuous atmosphere of an organic planet? Did they know that the only thing that kept the sky suspended around them was a small army of Vehicons and his day-to-day organizational skills?

And maybe Soundwave.

Hrmf. Probably not.

Hm.

Starscream narrowed one optic at the viewscreen.

Although...

Now that he thought about it, maybe he had done his job a little too well. A smooth-running warship was a dull warship. Bereft of some crisis or another to ratchet up tension, his fellow Decepticons might wander about in search of other diversions. And stumble across things. Hidden things.

Maybe he could just, oh... stroll down to engineering and take out a compressor or two. That would keep things lively for a while. Distracted.

Starscream stood above the Vehicons, his arms crossed. The bridge had powered down to its dimmest running lights, suffusing the chamber with shadows. The Vehicons worked at their stations in silence. He tapped his foot impatiently. This shift would end in less than ten minutes. The crew rotation would provide him with the opportunity to slip away and study the latest readouts in privacy. A data feed was beginning to trickle back to him now, in encrypted packets. If you could ignore the worst of the data corruption, it wasn't-

Megatron's voice rang out, and Starscream nearly leapt out of his plating.

He whirled around, his arm raised in a warding gesture. The warlord stood right behind him!

"L- Lord Megatron!" he stammered. His optics were wide as he groped for a reply. "I- er- clandestine meetings? The flight desk? Whatever do you mean, Master?"

[Deleted]

Megatron flexed the long talons of one hand and took quiet note (and some satisfaction) in Starscream's flinch, projecting a threat that was not there. The Seeker habitually anticipated violence from his commander following that tone of voice, but he was not usually so obviously skittish.

So he had been up to something.

Unfortunately Soundwave had not been able to shed light on any specifics, which Megatron suspected frustrated the spybot as much as he himself. Starscream had become quite skilled in obfuscating his activities when he wished it, though still advertised his intentions with painful obviousness.

The flexed hand tucked behind the towering mech's back, and Megatron stepped alongside Starscream with a fluidity that was definitely a prowl. He did not break his stare, holding the smaller mech's rapt attention as he came in close and field-hot, searching for any betraying tell.

Finding none, Megatron tilted his helm with a cool expression. "We agreed in Vos that the Seekers of the Decepticon army would be yours to command." He leaned in fractionally, which translated to about a foot less space between their faces. "However, dear Starscream, you remain under my command, and the Seekers thus. So what are you doing?"

[Deleted]

Starscream shrank back as the warlord closed in. Those red optics seemed to bore into his.

The threat was unspoken, but there. Anything given could be taken away. Including his authority. Including his life. As vital to the war as he endeavoured to make himself, Starscream knew that Megatron would not hesitate to administer a harsher punishment upon his second in command if he were to discover another treacherous plot.

And Starscream had done a lot of plotting lately.

Last time it happened, he had woken up on Knock Out's operating table. Next time he suspected he would not wake up at all.

His optics darted. He rubbed his thin hands together as he groped for an excuse. His mind raced. Megatron knew he had been on the flight deck. He knew that he had met someone there. In secret. That damned Soundwave! He thought he had taken the appropriate precautions to avoid being captured on surveillance by the spymaster. He thought he had been careful.

Not careful enough, apparently.

"Aha, yes," he said lamely. He rattled the tips of his claws together. "The- flight deck. Yes! Of course. My apologies, Master. I did not, er- grasp the meaning of your question quickly enough. The flight deck. Nothing surreptitious, my Lord, I assure you."

Starscream waved a hand. "Merely, er... ascertaining the status of one of your Seekers. Jetfire, to be specific. I recently gave permission for him to be sent to the head of the list of ongoing repairs. He was restored to full functionality. I wished to test his flight capabilities after his ordeal in the glacier, and met him upon the flight deck to do so. He appears to be operating within satisfactory parameters. I am confident that you would agree that he is a valuable scientific resource, my Lord, and worth the additional scrutiny...!"

[Deleted]

Given Jetfire's cantankerous nature (and Fairwinds had been remarking on that as if the Seeker's mood was an entity unto its miserable self), that was plausible.

Megatron was aware of the delay in Jetfire's repairs, and suspected that it was down to his attitude not fitting in the same room as Knock Out's ego. Their Chief Medic did his job, but when it came to fairness, he was hardly a professional. If Jetfire had torqued him off, then he would languish on the waiting list for cycles.

Every mech came to learn their place on the Nemesis. This had apparently been Jetfire's path towards humility and obedience.

Of course Starscream would pull strings and have his fellow Seeker tended to. Of course he would consort with the flier to seek his personal loyalty. And of course Starscream would dance like a turbocat on hot steel when confronted by the ineptitude and stupidity of trying to do it without his notice.

Truly, one would think that after millennia dancing the same steps, Starscream would learn his place.

One angular brow rose significantly, then Megatron's serrated teeth were bared between curled lips. "You presume to tell me what I will find valuable, Starscream?"

He let the smaller mech squirm on that for a moment.

Before Starscream could begin to weedle again, Megatron straightened and crossed his hands behind his back, regarding his Second as Commander. It was all about angles with Starscream. His processor worked across vectors that swung between lunacy and genius, all of it dark and devious. Insight could usually be gained by tripping him.

"What orders have you given him?" Megatron asked, crisp and cool. His field still rolled hot, but it was no longer actively lashing out.

When Starscream did not answer immediately, he made a vague gesture with one lethal hand. His expression softened, which in itself was a deadly sign. "If Jetfire is as valuable a resource as you insist, worthy enough to have jumped ahead of dozens of Decepticons injured in the line of duty, then I am confident that you must have put him to work already."

[Deleted]

Starscream cringed back. Inwardly, his mind raced.

In fact, he had sought out Jetfire in order to put him to work on a very specific task. He could never confess what it was to Megatron, however. That was a dangerous secret that was much too valuable to be spoken of. It needed to stay hidden. It hinged upon many other things that needed to stay hidden, for that matter - secret things known to Starscream alone.

For now.

Megatron's question was laden with menace. Starscream rubbed his claws as he considered his answer.

"Yes, of course," he said. His gaze cut to the side and landed upon the terminal behind him. An idea dawned. "Ah! Yes, Lord Megatron, I have given him a task of moderate importance to complete, one related to our current trouble with the humans of MECH. This task required the attention of an individual known to take an explicit diligence in his work, which is why I assigned it to Jetfire rather than one of your Vehicon troops. Allow me to elaborate."

Without turning around he reached behind himself and fumbled at the terminal. Only when a monitor blinked up did Starscream risk turning his back on the warlord. His claws flew over the touch screen, calling up windows of data.

"As you are aware, MECH scientists were last encountered in the Kamchatka Peninsula," he said. A map popped up, automatically zooming to the selected region. "Yes, here. Vehicon ground forces were unable to determine where the rats fled after Breakdown's escape. However, using the courier Dart's ability to track by scent rather than through more conventional means, I was able to trace their path of retreat from Kamchatka to the Russian Far East all the way north to the port of Anadyr, where I regret to say it unfortunately disappeared."

Another click. Scrolling lines of illuminated text reflected against Starscream's optics. "Undeterred, I have since assigned Jetfire to the task of scanning the shipping lanes from Anadyr for any sign of suspicious activity, with instructions to monitor their lines of communication. Given his scientific background as an observer of natural ecosystems and his, ugh... persistent reluctance to harm the native life of this planet, I thought him best suited of all our- your followers to commit to this. Surely this was a reasonable course of action and I have not overstepped my bounds, Master?"

Starscream turned back to the warlord, his fingers steepled together and his optics wide.

[Deleted]

Starscream's briefing was sound, his use of Jetfire's skillset demonstrating both intelligence and ruthless efficiency. MECH had become more than an irritating harassment, and this single-mech pursuit was prudent. Megatron would have agreed to it without hesitation if his Second had raised it.

The warlord did not need to know if the repair crews were running out of fast-sealing gel; that there was loose decking in the mess that was becoming a trip hazard; or that Eddie and Shiftlock had been reprimanded for going to McDonald's Drive-Through in the middle of their last three patrols. There were other officers in the chain of command who dealt that trivial details of day-to-day running on the Nemesis.

What Megatron did need to know was when powerful, trained assets like Jetfire were being given orders that took them off-ship. Starscream held rank and authority subordinate only to him, but assumptions of what constituted a 'reasonable course of action' without need to confer was the start of a very slippery slope.

Megatron had studied the screens over Starscream's head. Honestly there was little to reprimand him for if this was truly what he'd been up to. He could not yet guess as to why the commander had been trying to hide this. That, doubtless, would come out later...

"Only in your ongoing efforts to debar my knowledge of how my forces are being used," he uttered, finally breaking the silence.

His optics slid to regard the Seeker. Where Starscream's face was an exaggerated display of emotion, Megatron's features remained closed and steely.

"In future, I recommend that you keep me apprised of such pursuits. Given our history, I should hope that you would not give me any additional cause to suspect you of treachery."

[Deleted]

Starscream sagged in relief.

His wings slumped. He knew that once again he had grown bold and stuck a toe over the line that delineated his authority as second in command, though at least under the guise of a good cause. MECH was a versatile and swift-moving foe, and he knew that it could be argued that the Decepticons needed to act with equal alacrity to keep up with them. But it appeared that would not be necessary this time. Nor would he be waking up a second time on Knock Out's medical berth.

"No, of course not, Master," he said hastily. "I wish only to serve, and have little desire to be, er... emphatically reminded once again of my place aboard your ship. I shall see to it that any further orders in regards to our pursuit of MECH are cleared appropriately with you first, particularly those that require swift and decisive action. And that you are kept appraised of future developments in this investigation."

He hesitated, tapping his claws.

Actually...

"Upon consideration, Lord Megatron, this brings up another matter to be discussed," he said. "That is: what to do with MECH operatives once they have been ferreted out. So far I have given instructions for them to be merely observed and monitored, their movements otherwise left unimpeded. But should my search in the far East locate one of their bases of operation, what step do we take next? Capture and interrogation? Eradication? Negotiation?"

His mouth thinned in disdain and mingled irritation, Starscream said, "Obnoxious creatures they may be, they did succeed in subduing Breakdown for a period of time. Their infernal interest in our technology and their hostility to our kind may perhaps be directed against the Autobots, if they're not picky about what Cybertronian corpse they scavenge. I'm not suggesting we allow them to keep whatever they should find, of course - that is what Ravage was built for - but we might work a false alliance to our advantage."

[Deleted]

The plating of Megatron's forearms flared minutely when he clenched his fists, the single flex bulging thick cables and muscular lattices in a powerful wave.

Humans.

They were like Scraplets: merely irritating in small groups, but dangerous in large numbers, and humans had a habit of swarming into conflict. They had to all be destroyed in one fell swoop, else they would unleash their species' combined strength.

Aside from the more sophisticated energy weapons they had glimpsed from MECH, the nuclear missiles tucked in silos and submarines around the planet were the only armaments of real concern. The energy released could take the Nemesis out of the sky, and the radiation would contaminate entire veins of energon crystals.

Megatron was well aware that mutually assured destruction had been an acceptable outcome for the humans before. They would not hesitate so against an alien aggressor. So the patrols remained hidden, the Earth media studied and managed, and their existence overlooked within the scheme of the war.

Megatron's optics narrowed on the Seeker, and he turned the bulk of his body to face him directly once again. The pause whilst he considered Starscream's proposal seemed to have eased some of the tension from his frame.

"To our knowledge, MECH's attacks have only been directed towards the Decepticons," he began. "Whether or not they are in alignment with the military faction that Optimus has taken shelter with is irrelevant."

He folded his hands behind his back, grasping his wrist beneath the overhang of the fusion canon. It was a stance he'd picked up from Orion and occasionally still fell into when in thought. The two steps past Starscream gave the smaller mech his back and summoned Soundwave's attention. These orders would need to be disseminated.

"MECH are a hostile force, and one that is becoming increasingly dangerous and bold. They are the enemy, and I will not entertain negotiations even under pretense with organics." Megatron looked to Starscream over his shoulder, lip curled. "If they steal from us, attack us or get in our way, destroy them. Understood?"

[Deleted]

Starscream's claws fell still, hovering over the monitor as he paused in the act of swiping away data windows that were no longer necessary.

With his back to Megatron, he hesitated. His optics darted.

Two thoughts passed very quickly through his mind.

The first thought was fleeting, a bloodthirsty itch that Starscream knew only the swift and violent deaths of the human vermin that had dared strike against a Decepticon would satisfy. What pleasure he would take in snuffing them out one by one - no, en masse, a swath of death, an extermination of creatures that would scream in their filthy warren of bunkers as he hunted them down like rabbits under the teeth of a stoat. He saw their deaths in a flickering glimpse, there and then gone.

The second thought lingered.

'I will not entertain negotiations even under pretense with organics.'

Starscream resisted the urge to gnaw his lip.

"Yes, my Lord," he said. He steeled his face and turned back to the warlord, his hand lifted to his chest in a decorous gesture. "Rest assured, your orders in regards to those vile little rust mites shall be carried out to the letter. I shall instruct the Vehicon patrols accordingly. Have you any further need of me?"

[Deleted]

Megatron left the flier to stew for a moment. He watched as Soundwave inclined his impenetrable facial screen back towards the monitors, slim fingers flaring and twitching across the controls at a speed impressive by Cybertronian standards.

Brow furrowing, he turned back to Starscream, who stood with a significantly more noticeable air of calm and obedience. Something was going on, but there wasn't much more than a lingering sense that something was amiss. Their conversation had appeased his earlier temper, however, and he overlooked the stiff angles of the Seeker's wings. For now.

"Relay my orders, and see to it that they are understood," he intoned. His gaze slid away as if in dismissal, optics narrowing. "I have tolerated the... fascination that some of our number have had with the native cultures, but MECH is a different entity entirely."