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Hidden from sight in a stationary orbit on the dark side of the moon remains one of the most powerful warships of the Decepticon Empire. Thanatos, a mighty battlecruiser with a whole class of ships named after her, has served the Empire far longer than humankind has thrived on Earth. Blistering with weapons, powerful enough to burn whole worlds this over 2 miles long behemoth is the crown jewel of the Decepticon sect at work on Earth. Whoever of the many would be leaders of the Decepticons in the Sol system will ultimately emerge as victorious - has to undoubtly wrestle the control of the Thanatos first.

Stationary Orbit - Dark Side of the Moon

A large subspace tear opened from the blackness of the void, revealing the immense Decepticon battlecruiser known as the Thanatos. Once the vessel had completely exited hyperspace, it settled into a stationary orbit on the dark side of the Earth’s singular moon, the rip in subspace remaining open for the forthcoming arrival of the Obliteration behind it. Physically, it had been a long trip, spanning thousands of light years, but the time it had actually taken was rather short in comparison thanks to advanced wormhole technology.

Bridge

Razorclaw peered at the main view screen in front of him as the darkness of the lunar surface filled his forward field of vision. On the other side of this dead rock was the mudball of a world called Earth. It had been a while since he and the Predacons had been here, but it hadn’t been long enough for his liking as this planet was nothing in comparison to what Cybertron used to be. It was a filthy world crawling with disgusting flesh creatures he’d sooner crush underneath his foot then take a first glance at. But, here they were once again and for very different reasons than before. Now, it was to deal with the leadership conundrum and in the process hopefully avoid a full out Decepticon civil war, which would benefit no one but the Autobots, themselves.

“Divebomb, report our status,” Razorclaw’s voice boomed to his pilot and navigator. The aerial Predacon was a loner amongst the team ranks, but he had his usefulness even if he had his moments of failure. Thankfully, that did not happen often enough to become a grave concern to the Predacon Commander.

“Yes, sir,” Divebomb responded as he checked all systems. Several astroseconds later, he turned around in his chair to face Razorclaw. “All systems are operating at optimal standards, commander. However, energon levels are down more than thirty percent, but that’s to be expected after a warp jump of this length. We will need to refuel before making another jump, but we have adequate power to sustain our systems for the time being.”

“Excellent,” Razorclaw replied, interlacing his actuators in front of his faceplate as Divebomb nodded before returning his attention to his console. The Predacon leader then opened a comm line to the Military Operations Commander in order to inform him of their arrival:

>>”Lord Shockwave, this is Razorclaw. We have arrived in the Sol System and assumed a stationary orbit on the far side of Earth’s satellite body. Should I attempt to contact Soundwave, or would you like to do so yourself, sir?”<<

Blackwind’s Private Quarters

While Thunderwing addressed her, Blackwind continued to monitor the various video and audio feeds throughout the Thanatos. There no one screen that caught her interest enough to linger on its image. Understanding how the subordinates felt would be a key element in gaining their trust, and most importantly their support. Blackwind knew that when it came to Decepticons the easiest way to gain an understanding of how they feel was to simply not ask; instead spying on their every move would prove a more informative method.

Blackwind looked up at her guest when he made mention of the communication’s officer. She inclined her head as she relaxed more into her chair. The thought of Soundwave caused Blackwind to let out a sigh.

“Soundwave will be difficult to deal with. He may be cold and calculating, but you are correct in that he will consider himself vulnerable without Megatron, which may be the reason he contacted Shockwave to begin with.”

Blackwind thought a moment before looking back to her terminal. As she typed in the codes to access the feeds from the storage bay she continued her observation of Soundwave.

“If you can convince him that your superior strength and abilities, coupled with your vast intellect, would be enough to, not only, lead the Decepticons, but also provide him with the security to proceed just as he had with Lord Megatron, then perhaps he would consider pledging his allegiance us.”

She cast her gaze on the carapace encased scientist as she spoke. The femme seeker then returned her optics to the screen before her. The scene was an interesting one. Blackwind’s neutral features gave way to a deep frown as she focused in on Shockwave and Weirdwolf. The military strategist’s comment concerning the future without Megatron irked the aerial coordinator. Her grip on the desk increased until it warped under the pressure.

Blackwind eased her grip slightly only when she registered Weirdwolf’s body language. A small smile worked its way to her face as she watched the tracker leave the storage bay. Perhaps getting the tracker to accept Thunderwing as the next Decepticon leader would help solidify their proposal to the ranks. She would have to approach Weirdwolf on her own in the coming future.

Storage Bays

It was apparent that Weirdwolf was not satisfied with Shockwave's responses, for whatever little that mattered to the strategist. Shockwave's massive multiprocessors took a brief moment to calculate the advantages and disadvantages of simply ending the Decepticon's existence here and now, rather than to allow him to potentially become a problem for him in the future. The calculation came back in Weirdwolf's favor on this occasion, and Shockwave allowed his original imperative to stand. Simply eliminating potential political enemies could not be reconciled with his current strategy. There was too much at stake to blindly waste any resource that the Decepticon war machine had available to them.

>>"Transmission acknowledged. I will be en route. Imperative: initiate communications with Soundwave. Provide our status and acquire theirs. I will join your unit on the bridge in 1.864 breems,"<< Shockwave responded to Razorclaw's message as he rose and stepped away from the mechaforming technology and re-engaged the Thanatos' locking mechanisms.

Exiting the storage area, he intended to proceed to the bridge, but he had one detour to make before he did so.
___

Bridge

Rampage shut off the holovid that had been absorbing much of his attention during the trek between Cybertron and the Sol system. They were here now, and things, just like they had on Cybertron prior to their departure, could change quickly. The smell of the hunt, whatever form it may take, was on the tip of the Predacon's sensors now. He knew it wouldn't be long before he was allowed to unleash those more instinctive urges.

"So who do we kill first?" Rampage said, his expression twisted in to a little sneer behind his faceplate.

Bridge

>>”Understood, Lord Shockwave.”<<

Razorclaw shut off his comm link in order to address his pilot once more. “Divebomb, launch a communications satellite so that we can send a clear signal around this dead planetoid. Once that is completed, open a secure channel to Soundwave.”

“Yes, commander,” the aerial Predacon replied without turning around to look at his superior officer. Instead, he remained focused on his console where his actuators danced across the keys and made Razorclaw’s orders a reality. A panel slid open on the hull of the Thanatos, allowing a small satellite to be released into the void. The communications capsule made its way towards the distant horizon of the moon where it then assumed a stationary orbit of its own. Once it was in position and fully activated, Divebomb was able to open a secure channel by bouncing a signal off of the satellite, thus redirecting it towards Earth. The transmission was encrypted so that only Soundwave, himself, would be able to break it. Divebomb then turned to face his commander. “Sir, it is done as ordered.”

Razorclaw nodded as he tapped a few keys on his chair’s control console, giving him access to the signal. The Predacon Commander spoke to the communications specialist clearly and without emotion. “Soundwave, this is Razorclaw. Lord Shockwave has authorized me to make contact with you and to relay our present status. The Thanatos has returned from Cybertron and is currently is a stationary orbit on the dark side of Earth’s moon. The Combaticon warship, the Obliteration, will arrive from hyperspace shortly. Some progress was made during our mission to Cybertron, and we were able to retrieve an important piece of cyberforming equipment that may prove useful in the coming orns. Shockwave, himself, will be able to fill you in on the more intricate details of his scientific analysis once he joins me here on the bridge. Furthermore, I request a status update from your end, as well, and await your reply.”

Razorclaw then switched off his comm link and turned to address Rampage's question whether it had been a rhetorical one or not. "Patience, my overly aggressive underling. First there is the issue of leadership to address. Then, hopefully, we'll get to rip some Autobots to shreds."

Transmission from Space to Shockwave

"Order acknowledged. I will begin moving towards the rendezvous point immediately. Shadowing out."

Bridge

Rampage couldn't help but let out a low, muffled snarl. Not at Razorclaw, but at the circumstances that were currently surrounding them.

"What situation?" Rampage said, not even turning to look at his unit commander. Just staring ahead at nothing in particular. "We lost a warrior. A warrior with the ability to unite unruly warlords under his banner."

Rampage paused for a moment, as if the thoughts were in his mind but he was having difficulty forming them exactly the way he wanted.

"You did the same thing--with us, a long time ago," he added, looking briefly at the other Predacons. "Do it again."
___

Medical Bay

Receiving the satisfactory transmission, Shockwave proceeded to enter the medical bay, returning to the workstation where Dreadwind and Darkwing had been earlier for their condition evaluation. Having found it satisfactory, Shockwave felt confidant in proceeding to the next phase. Unlocking and retrieving the spare few, small cylinders of energon that had thus far been derived from the Ore-13 compound, he placed them in a small storage compartment within his person where they could be directly accessed by his systems if needed.

He would prefer to test the substance on a new subject--other than himself--to examine the results before utilizing individuals within the command hierarchy. But impending circumstances could dictate more extreme measures.

Satisfied for the time being, Shockwave exited the bay and now began heading directly for the bridge of the vessel.

Bridge

As Razorclaw awaited a response from Soundwave, he listened to what Rampage had to say. His outspoken subordinate had a point that he could not easily argue with. It was true that the Predacon Commander had united his team together and formed them into one of the most elite fighting forces the Decepticon Empire had ever seen. The Predacons were well respected and, above all, feared across both factions in this ageless war. That had not happened over a few cycles nor did it happen with a weak leader in control. Razorclaw had been responsible for their current status within the Empire and each Predacon under his command knew it, especially Rampage who liked to spend countless cycles reliving their greatest accomplishments on holovids. Therefore, it made perfect sense that it would be Rampage to not so subtly suggest that his commander also make a bid for leadership of the entirety of the Decepticons.

Unfortunately, Razorclaw had one glaring failure during his long tenure with his Predacons and that failure was Howlstrike. The traitor was the single mech that Razorclaw had been unable to control and assimilate into his unit completely. It was this turncoat that gave the Predacon Commander pause when considering whether or not to make a play for Megatron’s former role. It was a massive responsibility to undertake that required a warrior with the ability to unite all Decepticons together and not just the majority. If there was even a small amount of dissension within the ranks then the entire Empire could fall into civil war and ultimately collapse. No, Razorclaw had to be patient before making any bold moves. Otherwise, there could be other mechs that eventually turn on him the way Howlstrike had done.

“Perhaps I will, Rampage,” Razorclaw finally replied to his underling while also addressing the whole of his squad. “However, the Empire is a much different not to mention larger animal than just the five of us. There are politics at play here with many other high-level ‘Cons involved than just myself. One wrong move could throw all Decepticons into turmoil, and I will not allow that to happen. Trust in me as you have always done. I will ensure that the right leader is selected, whether that be myself or another mech of my choosing.”

Blackwind’s Private Quarters

Thunderwing slowly nodded at Blackwind’s words. “Perhaps, but it may take some time for him to be convinced that I am the one with the strength and intelligence to lead the Decepticons. He has cast his lot with Shockwave for now, but you maybe be right in that was a move more against Starscream then in favor of Shockwave. At the very least his distaste for the seeker could be used to our advantage. Any Decepticons with at least one clear intention we can decipher is a boon to us.”

The scientist looked at the viewscreen as Blackwind finally paused it on a scene between Weirdwolf and Shockwave. He did notice that the commander’s words had an effect on her as her hand clenched hard enough to warp the table. It was quite obvious where her allegiances lay now, not that they were in question before, but now he had quite plain evidence of her passion on the matter. It was a benefit to know where your allies stood along with your potential enemies.

He turned his attention back to the viewscreen as Weirdwolf left the room, clearly unsatisfied. “Perhaps a potential recruit? While his greater importance in the Decepticon order is not great one has to start somewhere. He is an excellent warrior and would be an asset to have securely with us early on. Of course, who knows how events will unfold once we have met up with Starscream’s group.”

*

Incoming transmission to Razorclaw from Soundwave

>>”Current status is nominal. Multiple teams are deployed to the Earth’s surface in a variety of missions. Starscream has just bounced down to help reinforce one of the teams in battle with the Autobots. A second team led by Motormaster should also be involved in battle shortly. The third team is a construction team designing and building a new base to be used on the surface. A skeleton crew remains on the Ultrax for now.”<<

Bridge

With the resources of the formidable Thanatos as well as the Obliteration at their disposable, to say nothing of the Ultrax, Shockwave had calculated that an orbital engagement with the Autobots would be decidedly in their favor if it should occur. Ideally, such an occurence would not take place any time soon.

The arrangement he had made with a certain select group of Autobots back on Cybertron was still a significant factor in his processors; however, he could not rely on the details of that arrangement having been communicated to any of the Autobot operatives present on this world. The war might well have to continue just as it had for countless millenia before until similar discussions took place--if such an opportunity were to even present itself. Nevertheless, unmitigated aggression was not the primary algorithm that Shockwave was currently processing at this point in time.

With the doors to the Thanatos' bridge area sliding out of Shockwave's path, the cycloptic mech proceeded to step on to the bridge, approaching Razorclaw.

"Interrogative: was the transmission from Soundwave received? What is the current operational status of Decepticon forces in this sector?"