Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

Outside the Science Labs

The sheer volume of mechs that were now loitering outside of the labs had Nightraven wishing that she could, not only melt into the background, but also vanish from the immediate location. She was surrounded by warriors, former gladiators and killers…all of which she had no cause to be around.

The Seeker took a few steps back and away but she refused to be out of Skywarp’s sight. If something was to happen with a Predacon, or someone else, well, she was sure to have the telepoter close by.

And while Skywarp moved toward Tantrum in order to fuel up on the ultra energon, Nightraven remained. She watched and waited, and when the all clear was give Nightraven approached the Predacon fueler. She quickly opened her fuel port and connected to one of the two external fuel tanks on Tantrum’s frame.

At first there was nothing. Well, that wasn’t entirely accurate. There was a slight tingling that started at the fuel connection port and then slowly spread to her extremities. And, by Primus, did it feel good. Completely filled up, Nightraven disconnected from the fueler and cast Skywarp a surprised expression, but it was soon replaced by a wicked smirk.

With this new energy source there was little chance that they would be taken down so easily. However, she had to remember that Shockwave and his little band of merry followers had also filled up not long before.

Things were going to get very interesting very quickly.
____

The rush of energy that started to run through Breakdown’s systems was absolutely exhilarating. Not only were his tanks reading at near full capacity, but his weapons systems’ confirmed that, they too, were near capacity. What a rush. “Great? Primus, this stuff isn’t just great…this stuff is…this stuff is really great!” He said to Dead End.

Breakdown supposed that with the intense charge he was experiencing now, well, all the other ‘Cons had to be feeling the same way; like they could take on anyone, and win. What a glorious feeling, and what a tempting thought. “I’m so ready to kick some tailpipe!”

Hanger

If was to be betrayed by, not only Razorclaw but his own kin, than Starscream would see to it he’d go down fighting. Of course there was still a slim chance that the Predacon still had everything under control. Playing it cool seemed to be his only current option; until, of course, things took a turn for the worse.

And so Starscream stood, ramrod straight, head held high like any good Decepticon would do. He had his dignity and he was damn sure going to retain it to the bitter end, should it come.

In short order a holographic projection of each of the members of the Decepticon Justice Division appeared to which the Air Commander had no reaction. To show any sign of outward weakness, be it fear or cowardice, would be the deciding judgment, and without even a full trial. Instead Starscream simply waited.

Of course the prosecution was given the privilege of an opening statement, which Shockwave took to readily. And still Starscream waited.

As soon as the Military Operations Commander had completed his opening Tesarus turned the floor over to Starscream, who, obviously, would represent himself.

The Seeker remained motionless as he watched the projected members of the DJD. Starscream then turned his heated glare on the tall purple one-eyed Decepticon perched on his high platform. Optics boring into Shockwave, Starscream sneered and finally spoke. “Shockwave is a fool.” He paused for a moment before breaking off his gaze and settling on the “judges and jury”.

“Treason has not been committed here. The will of our Mighty Leader had always taken priority, and still does.” His head rose even higher. “I am a stout follower of our Great Leader’s objectives.” Again, he turned his attention to Shockwave. “I may not have agreed with the way those objectives were to be performed, but I was sure to follow them through in the end.”

Starscream sent a scathing sneer in the cycloptic mech’s direction as he continued with his defense. “My procurement of the alleged Ore-13 was accurate; however, I did not conceal its acquisition.” A crooked smile slowly replaced the leer. “Shockwave could not accept that Lord Megatron ordered both of us to study the ore…separately. An arrangement that Shockwave’s ego would define as “illogical”.”

“The Ultrax…certain steps needed to be taken in order to preserve our hold on this planet and its resources, and if that meant sacrificing a small amount of what we had…then it was a necessary act.”

Starscream paused for a moment, his bright optics glued to Shockwave’s form. “Lord Megatron has had many opportunities to eliminate me, not only by his own hand, but by the same means you are seeking now, and yet here I stand before you. I have remained steadfast beside Megatron even after accusations of treason and mutiny and still I function. I am an asset to the Decepticon cause, and I shall remain as such.”

The Seeker Commander’s attention moved from his accuser toward the projection of the members of the DJD. “In all reality, this trial is but a means to remove me from Megatron’s grand scheme.” There was a slight pause before Starscream looked back to his prosecutor and screamed, “This trial was called without Megatron’s consent! I move to have the charges dropped on the grounds that Shockwave wishes to eliminate me because of the threat I pose to his ultimate goal!”

Hangar

Shockwave absorbed the Seeker Commander's retorts with his typical external stoicism, even though internally, the strategist was engaged in computing a number of alternative algorithms based upon possible scenarios that would allow him to take action here and now. The percentages that were coming back were not enough to prompt Shockwave to act upon those desires, however, and thus his disappointment continued.

"Declarative: it--"

"Ah ah ah," Tarn interrupted. " Formalities, Shockwave. You know these well, thus our being here. The accuser has made his case. The accused has rebutted. And yet...."

"The accused requests a dismissal," Kaon added.

"Oh yes. Yes. That raises a valid concern. This request did not come from Megatron himself. Surely if the Seeker is such a treacherous operative within this sector, Megatron would deal with the matter himself, wouldn't he, Shockwave? Why, then, has he not?"

Shockwave's optic flickered. This conversation was approaching complicated territory now. The strategy best to be employed was to overlook Megatron's absence without drawing any significant amount of attention as to why. It had not escaped Shockwave's notice that Starscream, too had avoided simply screaming to all the members of the Decepticon Justice Division that Megatron was gone. Even now, the Seeker was playing out a strategy of his own. One that he knew would not be best served if the Division were to refocus their efforts here any time soon. There would be no way to prepare for what they might bring with them.

"Declarative: Megatron has left Starscream's actions for me to deal with. I deemed it wise, if not expedient, to solicit the formal judgement of the Division," Shockwave said, making sure that he kept his answers truthful, while avoiding unnecessary discussions of Megatron's fate. Megatron would have done the empire a favor if he had simply executed Starscream ages ago. Since he had not, it was now Shockwave's problem.

The members of the Division seemed to look to one another, with Helex's holograph in particular going slightly out of frame as he appeared to mention something inaudibly to Vos.

"The motion to dismiss...?" Tarn began, before looking specifically at each of the other members of the Division in order to see where the majority lay. Once he had silently gathered the information he needed, he continued. "...is denied. However, I will say that I have not heard anything that would sway me to authorize execution. And this is certainly not a case that I would qualify as being 'list-worthy'. I'm confidant I'm not alone in that assessment either. Therefore, we continue. The Division will now solicit testimonials from the gallery."

"Any who wear the badge may speak in defense of or against the accused," Kaon added.

Silently, Shockwave's frustrations grew. He had hoped they would bypass the testimonial phase altogether and simply render a judgement. Now, Starscream's opportunities to manipulate this proceeding grew wider--if only marginally. The question remained--would anyone here speak in his defense? Or would they affirm everything that Shockwave had laid out? The imperator's sole optic settled on Soundwave. He, above anyone, knew of Starscream's nature. He had been a rival of Starscream's since the earliest days of the war. A rival for Megatron's praise and the power that came with it. This was his opportunity--their collective opportunity--to seal Starscream's fate and end this civil war.

"Well?" Tarn said, his holographic representation surveying the room.

As Rampage continued on his way, Thundercracker found he had to keep running up the corridor, just so he could catch up to the Predacon who seemed to have no intention of stopping so they could converse. After a few seconds of running, Thundercracker had caught up to Rampage, but the Predacon's walk was so swift that Thundercracker found he had to power walk alongside Rampage just to keep up.

"You off to the trial?" Thundercracker asked as he craned his neck so that he could try and see Rampage's face from over Rampage's large shoulder plate. "I'm also looking for Skywarp. Have you seen him?"

Laboratory Exterior

"So great. So, so great," Dead End said, concurring with his fellow Stunticon's previous concurring of his original statement. That's how good this stuff was.

"Then go, runt. Before I test out my fill-up on you!" Tantrum barked, before finally shoving the Stunticons away from his tanks, though he had allowed the Seekers to finish getting their fill, unmolested. The Stunt nuts, though, they'd had enough as far as he was concerned. If they wanted more, they could very well try and fight him for it. He wished--he wished--they would.

"Store's closed. Anyone who missed out, tough slag."

Saying nothing else, Tantrum made sure no tethers were connecting his precious tanks to any other 'Cons before trudging off toward the hangar.
___

Corridors

Rampage was fully prepared to stalk his entire way to the hangar without interruption. Once there, all he needed was a hint, a glance, a nod...the slightest indication from Razorclaw that it was time to move and he would have his sword drawn and weapons blazing. Stupid, slaggin' Vehicon drones. He was ready to eviscerate a hundred of 'em and come back for more.

Thundercracker's question, though, gave him a little moment's pause. He stopped and looked the Seeker dead in the optics.

"Yeah. I am. Aren't you?"

Or does Starscream have some other plans for you...?

Not willing to let paranoia distract him from the extreme predatory satisfaction he was about to indulge in, Rampage continued walking forward, following his original path.

"Skywarp's back that way," Rampage said, half-handedly indicating the hallway he himself had just come from.

Bounce Chamber

It had occurred to Razorclaw on his way to Starscream’s hearing that the most logical way that the Combaticons would attempt to gain access to the Thanatos would be by bouncing over from the Obliteration. All that Onslaught needed to do was to sync up his own frigate's bounce pad with that of the Predacon warship and him and his unit would find themselves on board in no time, ready for battle. Of course, knowing just how calculating and cunning both Shockwave and Soundwave were, it was also logical to assume that the bounce chamber would be locked down to everyone except for certain mechs that were given clearance. Therefore, the lion-former needed to be certain that Onslaught and his team were on the approved bounce list. Otherwise, their little insurrection could possibly end faster than Blurr on a race track.

Approaching the controls, Razorclaw swiftly gained access to the bounce systems utilizing his own codes and found that his hunch was correct. The chamber was indeed under strict lock down. The list of Decepticons with proper clearance was a short one but it quickly grew by five as the names of all the Combaticons were entered onto the security log. Now, they would find a much easier time boarding the Thanatos, providing that Onslaught would at least consider this option. However, knowing him, the Combaticon Commander might just decide to blast his way into the hangar with a heavily armed shuttle. That might not be the most inconspicuous way to arrive, but it would be very entertaining to say the least.

With everything set and ready to go, the Predacon Commander wasted no further time and moved away from the control console before exiting the bounce chamber as quickly as he had entered. The others should almost be at the hearing by now, Razorclaw thought as he transformed into his lion alt mode and doubled timed it down to the hangar bay where Starscream’s trial awaited him.

Outside the Science Labs

Relishing in his new found power, Skywarp felt the ultra energon reinvigorate his circuits as Nightraven finally relented and joined him near Tantrum’s external fuel tanks. Her reaction was a bit more muted than some of the others, but then again she was not a violent warrior like them. However, that didn’t stop a wicked smirk from spreading across her faceplate like she was ready to take on Shockwave’s troops along with the rest of them.

“I told you! Good stuff, huh?” Skywarp said to Nightraven as he disconnected himself from the Predacon fueler once he had his fill. He was just in time as Tantrum abruptly closed up shop, so to speak, before taking off towards the hangar. The rest of the Preds quickly followed and were well on their way to meeting back up with their leader at the hearing. Thus, it was time for the rest of them to get a move on, as well.

Glancing back over at the seeker femme, the teleporter gave a slight shrug of the shoulder plates. “I guess we should get going, too. Screamer probably thinks we abandoned him. I’m sure we’ll get an audio full for not being at his hearing when it first started.” Skywarp then paused for a moment as his optics grew wide with fear. “Slaggit! I haven’t even reported in to him yet like he wanted. Oh, frag, I’m so dead!”

Not wanting to put off the inevitable any longer, Skywarp turned and started walking down the corridor after the rest of the group. His pace was deliberately slow as he was not looking forward to seeing Starscream put on trial nor did he want to feel the true Seeker Commander’s wrath for not following his orders to the letter. Of course, his sluggish speed was also meant to allow Nightraven to catch up and keep in step with him. If they were destined to die in the upcoming attempted coup, then they would at least die together.

Rampage's question caused Thundercracker to pause for a moment's thought. The trial that was going on at that very moment could mark an important turning point in Decepticon history; if Starscream was to be found guilty and received due punishment, the ramifications could set the Decepticons on a new path.

Besides which, did Thundercracker really want to miss out on seeing Starscream squirm? After all, while Thundercracker had been a Seeker under Starscream's command, Thundercracker had never actually cared for Starscream. In fact, he found him to be, as the Earthlings would say, geeky.

There was also another thing to consider... considering how important this trial seemed to be, despite Skywarp last being seen in the other direction, there was a high probability that the black Seeker would sooner or later be among those in the viewing gallery of the trial too. While he was eager to see Skywarp, all signs seemed to tell Thundercracker he should head for trial.

"You know what, Rampage? You're right. I'm heading there right now."

With that, Thundercracker walked, making all speed for the trial. If he bumped into Skywarp on the way, it would be a bonus. He kept pace with Rampage, walking almost in step so that their footsteps were in unison as they echoed through the corridor.

"So, Rampage," Thundercracker began. "What do you think Starscream's chances are of worming his way out of this one?"

Hangar

Soundwave had watched proceedings silently, his face forever locked into a neutral expression. It appeared that any hopes of a quick trial and execution were swiftly dashed, for either side. Now it appeared that it would settle in to a long, formal drawn out affair. That was unfortunate as it allowed time for any number of unexpected things to happen, the primary concern being the truth of Megatron’s absence becoming known to the DJD or other elements in the Decepticon ranks. The results of that were highly unpredicatable, but not favorable for him.

This delay in execution was a major opportunity for Starscream however. Soundwave had little but disdain for the seeker, but only a fool wouldn’t recognize his incredible skill at self preservation. Even with the odds stacked so heavily against him Soundwave could still envision him coming out of this trial relatively unscathed. He had a penchant for conniving and underhandedness that was surpassed by very few among the Decepticons, and each passing moment gave more opportunity for him to develop a scheme to escape. The fact that several others seekers who likely sympathized with their leader was a concern as well. If he had a way to contact them, unlikely as he was monitoring communications in the ship very closely, or they developed a plan on their own, things were liable to get difficult. It was best to end things quickly and efficiently.

The request for speakers finally echoed throughout the room. Soundwave could almost feel all optics turning towards him. He disliked being the center of attention. The very nature of his work and interests meant he preferred to listen and observe, preferably unnoticed. That didn’t mean he was afraid to speak, just that he was well aware of the risks it entailed. Fortunately he had become quite skilled at saying the minimum amount possible in a highly efficient manner. He would not give others an opportunity to use his words against him in the future. One who specialized in secrets and blackmail knew how to keep his words to himself as much as possible.

Soundwave stepped forward, putting himself directly in the line of sight of the various holograms of the DJD. “Name: Soundwave. Function: Chief Communications Officer, Decepticon Military. Serial Number: D-00000017. Request: Permission to speak on behalf of prosecution.”

Corridors

Rampage's gaze lingered on Thundercracker for a little longer as he decided whether he was going to stick with the plan as it stood or simply take this opportunity to remove the Seeker from the equation altogether and try out this ultra energon. For better or worse, Rampage decided now was not the time to stray from Razorclaw's plan. Lucky for Thundercracker. The Seekers may be elite in the Decepticon ranks, but Rampage was more than willing to test that idea--be it with Thundercracker or anyone else. Especially the Seeker's braggart leader.

First the cyclops. Then...anyone else who wants some.

Underneath his faceplate, Rampage couldn't help but smirk at Thundercracker's question.

"Heh, oh, I'd give him about fifty-fifty odds right now."

Approaching the hangar entry, the trio of Vehicon sentries standing outside scanned Rampage and Thundercracker both.

"Decepticon Rampage: gunner. Decepticon Thundercracker: warrior. Permission to enter: granted," the lead Vehicon stated, before the other entered a clearance code that allowed the doors to slide open and allow the pair of Decepticons entry to the trial taking place within.

Inside, the image that greeted Rampage was unlike anything he'd seen. "Trials" in the Decepticon ranks usually consisted of the guilty party being thrown in midst of a bunch of fuelthirsty Decepticons eager to show Megatron that they were the best ones to carry out his demands. And then, well, the rest was logical, as the walking computer would have said. But this? This little petrorabbit march was everything Rampage should have expected from a mech like Shockwave.

Rampage moved toward the gallery where most of the other Decepticons were standing as Soundwave began to address the Division itself.

"I haven't seen too many guys 'worm' their way around Soundwave...but...well, we all have tricks up our sleeves. Heh," Rampage said to the Seeker, lowering his voice so as not to disrupt the proceedings. The last thing he wanted was to suddenly be called out for contempt or some slag like that.

Hangar

Weirdwolf watched as the preceedings began with the arrival of the Decepticon Justice Division. Shockwave moved for an immediate execution order of the Seeker Commander, but to his misfortune, the Division wished to have further evidence. The longer that this hearing went on, the more likely it became that Starscream would find a way to evade punishment. The Seeker Commander had a rather spectacular gift for doing just that.

Tarn, the leader of the Division, soon called for witnesses. Weirdwolf considered stepping to give his account on matters, but he ultimately decided against it, preferring to observe events as they unfolded. The tracker was not sure who would win this power struggle, but the time would come to choose sides. Soon.

"Bodes ill for Shockwave this hearing does. Left alive the longer Starscream is, Less likely the termination of him is."

Weirdwolf kept his voice low as to only let Skullcruncher hear. Soundwave stepped forward as he must. If ever there were anyone who could give the fullest account of Starscream's failings, it would be the Decepticon's Chief Communications Officer. As Soundwave requested permission to speak, Weirdwolf noted with some apprehension, the arrival of Rampage and Thundercracker. Things would be moving soon. Weirdwolf nudged Skullcruncher to attain his attention.

"Arrived have one of the skies and one of the jungle. Likely follow the rest will. What meaning this will have? For anything prepared we must be."

Heading to the Hanger

Nightraven nodded in response to Skywarp’s question of whether she approved of the new energon that the group had ingested. It was amazing just how much stronger she felt. She wouldn’t go as far as engaging any of the Predacons, of course, but the energon still made her feel as though she could.

She watched as the remainder of the gathering greedily took their share of the fuel. Nightraven followed the teleporter’s lead and stepped aside giving anyone left a wide breath. “Yeah. I’m sure Starscream is not going to be happy if we show up after the trial is over.”

The femme was just about to press forward when Skywarp’s outburst caused her to pause and look over to him. Concerned she laid has hand gently on his shoulder. “Skywarp, somehow I don’t think he’s too concerned with you reporting in.” She followed up her reassuring tone with a small smile. She removed her hand when the worried Seeker turned and began making his way down the corridor behind the others.

Nightraven took a moment to watch the distraught Seeker before she let out a low sigh and set off after him. She was able to catch up rather swiftly as the black and purple flier had kept his pace slow.

She was only a few paces behind him when she closed the remainder of distance with a quick jog. Her gate easily falling into step with his, but she remained quiet. Finally, after she thought she could no longer take it, she took a fleeting glance in his direction and then quickly turned her attention back ahead of them. “He’ll be okay. He’s been through worse; you know that better than anyone…well, besides Thundercracker.” She let what she had said stew for a moment before continuing. “Hold your head up high. We’re Seekers…Megatron’s Seekers under Starscream’s charge. We make Starscream look good, we make the Decepticon Empire look good.” With her optics glued to the backs of the other members of their group in front of them Nightraven carefully reached her hand toward Skywarp’s and wrapped her digits around his pinky giving it a light squeeze.