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The Ultrax is the frigate used by the Stunticons and it reflects their personality. It is beat up, dirty and fairly ugly, but fully armed and operational.

Bounce Chamber

Soundwave materialized on board the Ultrax with only a hint of disorientation. He quickly pushed through it to make his way to the control board. A quick check of it indicated that all Decepticons were on board or accounted for save one. Megatron was not on board, and scans did not show any sign of him on the planet below, only a rather massive explosion where the base used to be. There was only one conclusion to be drawn.

“Megatron is no more.”

OOC: All Decepticons on Earth are now on board the Ultrax, having been just bounced up from the surface.

Bounce Chamber

The last thing Nightraven remembered before she was bounced out was following Skywarp down the mountainside and slipping on a loose rock. She started to fall but now she was on a bounce pad on board the Ultrax. After a moment her vision cleared and fogginess began to lift from her mind as the disorientation subsided.

The Seeker femme quickly turned around to find Hellion lying on the floor next to Ramplate, along with the other mechs. She then looked for Thundercracker and Skywarp, who were both safe. Nightraven moved to her sister and squeezed her hand before she stepped over to Skywarp. She wasn’t able to thank him for saving Hellion, and now was as good a time as any. Nightraven gently tapped the back of Skywarp’s right wing to get the teleporter’s attention.

“Um, Skywarp? I….uh…I just wanted to thank you….for getting Helly to safety.”

****

Darkride appeared, just as all the remaining Cons did, on the Ultrax’s bounce pad. He was not surprised, but he was slightly ticked that he wasn’t able to remove all of his little toys from his chamber before he was bounced out. At least he was able to get two of his favorites out. The corners of his mouth curled into a wicked grin as he turned his head to look at the endoscopic claw in his hand. His gaze turned nostalgic as he gently kissed the device’s handle.

In his other hand he clutched an energo cat o’ nine tails, another of his favorite toys, but to use on his guests. This toy was strictly one of personal use.

Without acknowledging anyone in the room, the interrogator silently made his way to the exit of the chamber in order to begin his trek to stake his claim on living quarters within the vessel.

Bounce Chamber

"It can't be."

Having checked that his team of Constructicons were intact, including the stasis-locked form of Long Haul that he passed to Hook for maintenance, Scrapper turned to Soundwave angrily. "How could Megatron be deactivated? Don't be ridiculous!!"

Scrapper heads up to the control board beside the communications officer and checks over the data himself. It takes him a few moments, and he begins to shake his head. "No. We're missing something, we must be. He was in control of things, the only one who knew what to do down in that melee. He had a plan!! He must have had some way out of it! He MUST!!"

Scrapper because to feel an odd sensation in his head. He told himself it was just battle fatigue, or feedback from his injuries. It...had to be...

Bounce Chamber

Mixmaster had been caught almost in mid-transformation when all of the sudden he found himself somewhere else entirely. Finishing his transformation, Mixmaster pushed himself back a little further until he could lean against a wall and looked around. There were a lot of Decepticons around, and it didn't look like any kind of Autobot prison he'd ever seen, so that meant they must've made it out before those tremors he'd felt earlier had turned in to something far worse.

"Blegh," Mixmaster groaned, still feeling a little disoriented after the ice patch that he and the other Constructicons had driven in to had sent his scanners reeling.

From the looks of it, Soundwave had said something that had thrown Scrapper for a loop, as he was now directly confronting the Communications Officer. Wait...what?

Megatron......deactivated?

Mixmaster pushed himself to his feet and headed over to where Scrapper was standing. He had expected to be hit with some sort of weird news in the aftermath of the battle, but not this.

Bounce Chamber

Pushing past other Decepticons in the bounce chamber, the pure brawl of the Constructicons, Bonecrusher - made his way to Soundwave, bringing his face only inches away from communication officer's before he began raging partly in support to Scrapper, partly to just let out some fumes.

"A slagging volcano won't stop Megatron! He is practically invincible! Are you high on energon?! Or was this your plan all along?! Yeah! You're trying to take over aren't you?!" Bonecrasher boomed, his body demeanor clearly showing that he wasn't far away from attacking Soundwave.
_________________________________________________

Ramjet on the other hand could see his chances to take over becoming better than ever. With Megatron out of the way, the play field had suddenly become even. Starscream, Soundwave or pretty much anyone else out the Earth based Decepticons around were in his league unlike Megatron. Oh, this was certainly getting interesting.

The question was whether to wait for Starscream to make his move or act now, taking the initiative himself. The problem was that he was nowhere near optimum performance levels and as far as he could determine, Starscream had taken little or no damage during the battle against the Autobots. Perhaps... waiting was the best option now, waiting and taking repairs.

And when he was ready, he would pummel that arrogant slagger into submission and no one was going to stop him from becoming leader of the Decepticons.
_________________________________________________

Like so many others, Astrotrain had been forced to transform into robot mode before being bounced onboard the Ultrax. Which of course was pretty convenient given how he wouldn't have even fit the bounce chamber in his massive spaceship form that had been engineered to transport several full size Cybertronians.

Megatron gone? No, he was not going to buy it just because the Decepticon leader had not materialized onboard Ultrax. Given how loyal Soundwave had always been to Megatron, Soundwave declaring that Megatron was no more just because he had not appeared with others in the bounce chamber was rather suspicious. It just didn't add up.

However, Astrotrain was not going to press the issue himself. He was pretty sure others would do that. Instead, he secured Blitzwing's limp body on his shoulder and then grouched to lift Hellion's prone form from the ground. "Hook! Plenty of badly wounded here! Can you lend a hand?"
_________________________________________________

Thundercracker was as shocked as anyone else by Soundwave's announcement. Megatron was virtually indestructible, how could he be gone? It made no sense. No, he wouldn't believe that until they had turned the remain of Mount St. Helens upside down in search of the Decepticon leader. But right now, Thundercracker could only share a look of disbelief with Skywarp before turning to look at Starscream in hopes for an answer.
_________________________________________________

Bridge

The news from the bounce chamber had not yet reached the audio sensors of Motormaster who had been busy fixing the damage in his knee caused by Hot Spot. The pain, the failure, the humiliation. It was infuriating. Looking at the reflection of his broken face did little to lift his spirits. To say he was seething was an understatement. Had anyone entered the bridge now, they would have not left it with their dignity intact.

The rest of the Stunticons were lucky being stuffed into the CR chambers of the med bay. Yet, it was inevitable that someone would make the mistake of entering the bridge sooner or later and if that someone wasn't Megatron, Motormaster was going ruin their day.

Bounce Chamber

Ramplate decided that he HATED being bounced. ESPECIALLY when he was transformed! Now back in his robot mode, the warrior felt like his fuel tank had just decided to reverse itself on him. Letting Long-Haul and Snowcap slide off of him, the tank-former stood up painfully to see what was going on. As Soundwave spoke though, Ramplate felt his spark go cold.

"That can't be..." he said, limping over to the others. Megatron dead? That wouldn't happen, couldn't happen! It....

Suddenly Ramplate's optics narrowed. 'Wait a breem...' he thought. It was a little known yet not-so-secret fact that Megatron channeled antimatter through his weapon for when he REALLY wanted something destroyed, and while Ramplate himself wasn't the brightest bot, he knew that that meant that if Megatron truly WERE dead, he'd have taken half the CONTINENT with him, not just one volcano...

Just as he was about to say something though, he clamped his mouth shut. Hadn't Megatron also gone off the grid before to pull off a plan? If so.. did he WANT them to think him dead? Or at least pretend? Gah... Too much thinking! All that mattered to him was that Megatron more than likely was still online. He'd have to have faith in that...

Of course, keeping his vocals off wouldn't protect his thoughts from Soundwave, who more than likely could pick them up easily....

Bounce Chamber

Skywarp appeared alongside the rest of his Decepticon comrades, having narrowly escaped the destruction of their Earth base. Unlike the others, however, ‘Warp did not suffer from any unpleasant side effects of the sudden bounce. He was a teleporter, after all, and since teleporting and bouncing were very similar experiences, he was used to the feeling of traveling in such an instantaneous manner. Most were disoriented from the trip while ‘Warp simply remained standing as though nothing had happened.

Skywarp peered around the room to see how many had made it back still functioning and how many ended up in stasis or worse. He was hoping Thundercracker had survived intact, but before he could spot his blue friend, ‘Warp felt a tap on the back of his right wing. Turning around, the prankster expected to see ‘Cracker but found Nightraven standing there instead. A suitable substitute to say the least.

“You’re quite welcome, Nighty,” Skywarp responded with a smile once the femme seeker had thanked him for saving her more violent sister. Perhaps now that ‘Warp had done this favor for her, Nightraven would show a bit more interest towards him instead of Thundercracker. Surely, he had proven to her that he was more than just an immature prankster. Of course, only time would tell if that would be the case or not. “If there’s anything else you need, just let me know.”

Skywarp’s attention was quickly drawn away from Nightraven once Soundwave uttered an unbelievable statement. “What the frag do you mean that Megatron is no more? How in the name of Primus is that even possible? After all this time and fighting, Megatron can’t die in a simple explosion! Your sensors must be faulty, Soundwave.”

The teleporter then found Thundercracker in the crowd of ‘Cons and made his way over to the blue seeker. The two friends locked optics, sharing a look of utter disbelief at what Soundwave had just declared in his usual monotone manner. “You’re not buying this are you ‘Cracker?” Skywarp asked as he stopped next to his friend. He didn’t know what to think. If it was true that Megatron was really gone, then who would lead them? Obviously, Starscream would make a play for control as his ambitions to become leader were well known throughout the empire. Not to mention that ‘Screamer was also the infiltration commander on Earth before Megatron had arrived and thus was the logical choice to assume control here. Of course, there were many other powerful Decepticons that would surely vie for leadership once it was learned that Megatron had fallen.

Regardless, Skywarp looked now to Starscream for a reaction as it was clear that the Seeker Commander would have something to say about this dramatic turn of events.

Bounce Chamber

He had been one of the few Decepticons still outside of the base when the volcano had erupted suddenly, meaning he had been one of the last to be bounced up to the Stunticons waiting warship. Now Starscream stood in the bounce chamber of the poorly maintained frigate, and he was surrounded by the entirety of the Decepticon contingent that was stationed on Earth. His senses came back to him somewhat quickly after he materialized in place, and just in time to as he heard Soundwave's surprising proclamation. Could it be true? Megatron was dead? Somehow Starscream felt that was unlikely and in the deepest reaches of his Spark he felt that the great tyrant would one day walk amongst his followers. However, that could be vorns away and the reality was Megatron was not here now, and already Starscream could see the confusion and the onset of panic that the loss of a strong leader can bring. In away the Seeker Commander felt a surge of enthusiasm as his mind ticked with all of the opportunities laid before him, it was as if Primus himself had delivered to him the greatest gift he could have ever wanted.

However, Strascream restrained himself and brought his thoughts back into check, and stuffed his ambition away. Although part of him screamed for him to immediately capitalize upon the power vacuum and to take command of the Decepticons, he knew most everyone here would likely expect him to make such a power play to have himself crowned as the new lord and master of the Empire. To simply let his ambition guide his actions was not the proper course of action, there were far to many other Decepticons out there who would challenge him and if he did not have a proper base they would cast him aside regardless of his station. No, he need to be careful. He also had to think bigger, Megatron was an absolute ruler, he had generals, and commander of course, he could not micromanage a galaxy spanning war all by himself. But he did have absolute control and authority, every Decepticon leader respected him in one way or another. His loss would make them feel entitled to take his place, the folly of not having a clear line of succession, of course Starscream figured Megatron never processed the idea that he could go off line permanently one day. No, this situation was far more dangerous and volatile and could spiral out of control and plunge the Decepticons into a civil war that would allow the Autobots to gain the upper hand.

The greater needs of the Empire had to be taken into consideration, and all be it Starscream did desire ruler ship of that Empire he would never achieve it if he let his own agenda reign unchecked. He had to careful, calm and collected, he had to take the right course of action. But first he had to reestablish order amongst the troops, and he slowly began to inch his way through the crowd as the various Decpticons began to argue and talk amongst themselves. Low murmurs of conversation and the bellows of fear tinged anger swept through the tightly packed chamber as the Seeker Commander carefully moved past them. He found a large supply crate and he pulled it out into one of the few open areas of the chamber and swept on top of it so all could see him.

"My fellow Decepticons! Let there be order!" He banged his fist on a near by metal plate, one of many just scattered around the ship, to try and draw the rooms attention. "Order my comrades!"

The din of conversation slowly died away as all optics within the chamber slowly turned to look up at Starscream. He slowly surveyed the assembled Decepticons, a few were in stasis lock, many were injured and in need of repair, a few of them leaning on a near by friend. His mind raced for a second as he maintained a confident look as he met as many optics directly as he could.

"My fellow Decepticons! I know all of you are reeling from the news that Soundwave has delivered to us that our Great Leader, Megatrong, has fallen in the catastrophe that has befallen our form base on the planet below. Though indeed such a loss weighs heavily upon us all, and I am sure many of you refuse to accept that possibility that Lord Megatron has been taken from the universe forever, but we must not loose heart! Whether Megatron will return to us in the near future or not at all we must not subcome to the fear and uncertainty that his absence brings! To do so will only weaken us in the face of Autobots who will most certainly seek to capitalize on any perceived disorientation they think we have suffered from. We must remain resolute, stoic in the face of this new challenge that we are presented with so as not to give in to confusion so our ranks will be divided. We have enemies that seek to exploit any weakness they think we may have. But we are Decepticons! Weakness is not in our programming and I will be damned to the pit if I were to allow it to creep into us now!"

He took a few astro seconds to allow his words to sink in, hopefully many wouldn't be rolling their optics at him and just concluding that he was making the mandatory power grab.

"To that end we cannot allow our own agendas to rule us, we cannot allow pettiness to guide our actions! We need swift, confident action to ensure that we Decepticons remain strong and feared as it should be! I am sure many of you right now are expecting me to declare myself leader in the wake of Megatron's disappearance, and perhaps you would be right if this had happen a century or more ago. But now? Now I understand there are greater demands then my own ambition! Many Decepticons would see this as an opportunity to make their own bid for power, and if they were alone then their rise would be swift and hardly noticed. But sadly this is not the case. I am sure many of you are wondering what will happen once Scorponok, Shockwave, Razorclaw, Deathsaurus and others learn of what has transpired here. And I say we cannot afford to let the ambitions of the various leaders and generals of our Empire to play out. We would be weakened, our Empire will crumble and our cause will die. Already the Autobots expect us to begin fighting each other who will take Megatron's place! I say we show them they are wrong about us! We are Decepticons! We are the strongest army this galaxy has ever seen! And we will unite it under our banner and bring order! But to ensure that we can spread the might of the Decepticons to ever dark corner of this galaxy we must be united! We must set aside our personal agendas to ensure that our future is secure in the hands of the strong and competent."

Once more he looked around the assembled crowd and nodded.

"I will now call upon the officers amongst you to join me in discussing the path that we must take. We must decide how we shall lead and how we shall handle the various contenders for power that will arise once word of what has happened spreads. Scrapper, Soundwave, Motormaster join me on the bridge we have much to discuss. The rest of you, see to your injuries and the wounded. We must be prepared to meet the Autobots once they come to challenge us, and we must be prepared to show them that we Decepticons are still a force to be reckoned with and to be feared."

Once he was done speaking Starscream jumped down from the crate he had been standing on and looked to the Decepticons he had called out. He made a gesture for them to follow him and he made his way towards the bridge of the ship.

Bounce Chamber

Nightraven cringed slightly hoping not have caught the ire of the black and purple Seeker, but to her surprise Skywarp gratefully accepted her thanks and smiled. She flashed him a slight smile but it faded slowly at his last remark. She had never known Skywarp to offer any more help than that was absolutely necessary; yet here he was gladly giving her the opportunity to ask for help in the future. Nightraven averted her optics and nodded in response to his offer.

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

At Skywarp’s exclamation Nightraven turned her head to gaze at the Seeker and then focused on Soundwave. Her optics widened in shock at what the Communications Officer had uttered. How could this be? Megatron, dead? Nightraven watched as Skywarp moved to stand near Thundercracker and to get closer to where Soundwave was seated.

The room began to fill with low murmurs and frightened conversations of what will be when the Seeker femme noticed Starscream moving through the crowd. She kept her optics glued on the silver Seeker as he pulled out a crate and then moved to stand on top of it. Nightraven slipped past a few other mechs and found a space next to Thundercracker and Skywarp. She waited to see what the Air Commander had to say.

Nightraven stood in awe as Starscream poured forth an impressive address to the masses present. She reluctantly broke off her optic contact to look over the gathered mechs in an attempt to gauge their reactions. After a few moments she looked back at the Air Commander.

After his speech, Starscream jumped off the crate made his way to the Bounce Chamber’s exit motioning for the other Commanders to follow suit. Looked back at Skywarp and Thundercraker, Nightraven simply placed her hand on the side of her head and then shook her head.

“I don’t believe this. Megatron’s gone and now Screamer’s making an upstanding move for the good of the Empire. My processor is killing me.”

Bounce Chamber

"Cool it, Bonecrusher!" Scrapper holds up a hand to keep the demolitions expert in line. "Just because Soundwave is talking out of his exhaust port doesn't mean we should toss him out the airlock. We're still in bad shape after that fight, and beating on our best personnel specialist, even if he is quick to declare Megatron gone, is premature."

Scrapper then turns back to Soundwave. "Our first priority is securing this ship and getting our people sorted out, then we organise a search party for Megatron. Thats the only 'logical' course of acti....What in the name of the Pit?"

Scrapper looks over at Starscream as the Seeker Commander launched straight into his grandiose speech. Its unfortunate that with the hole that Hardheads gun had left in his faceplate, Scrappers grimace could easily be seen. You can't just get the work done, can you Screamer? It has to be a big grand gesture, so you can take all the credit for saving the mission, doesn't it? Well fine, I'll play along with your little show, flyboy, and while you're showing off and plotting to be crowned emperor, my team and I will be fixing your mess and keeping this empire running, like we always do.

Once Starscream is done and requests his presence, Scrapper sighs and looks back at his team. "Hook, Mixmaster, do your best to get Long Haul back on his feet, then see to the others. I'll be back as soon as I can." I somehow doubt this will be a fast meeting. Unless someone gets cocky and tries some Gunplatform Diplomacy...

Bounce Chamber

Soundwave was quickly aware of the situation he was now thrust into. The various Decepticons around him were displaying a variety of emotional responses, from disbelief, anger, denial and despair. While he himself certainly had feelings on the current situation, highly unpleasant feelings, he was not the type to let them control him. While not as cold and calculating as Shockwave, he was a close second. He would not let his demeanor slip now, particularly when he was under siege.

The Decepticon was well aware of the crucial position he played in the Decepticon hierarchy under Megatron. His status existed in no small part to the relationship he had built with Megatron as one of the only Decepticons he could truly trust. Soundwave never had any particular designs on command and was quite content with the substantial personal power he had accumulated with his rank and abilities. Without Megatron around his position was now precarious. It was entirely possible that some other Decepticon would attempt to dispose of him completely in an effort to obtain more power for himself. He would have to be cautious.

“Explosion was not caused by volcanic eruption. Base self destruct was activated in attempt to eliminate Autobots remaining inside. Teleportation was unable to bring Megatron up due to interference. Ultra energon contained in the base magnified self destruct explosion beyond predicted scale. Combined with volcanic event led to mass destruction. Combination of these events has led to utter annihilation of Megatron. There are no electric signals emanating from the explosion site. I detect none of the unique materials that make up key components of Megatron’s design. I detect no Cybertronian power sources from the blast site. Megatron is no more.”

Hopefully that explanation would be enough to keep the other Decepticons from attacking him in some sort of misguided rage. His attention was then turned to Starscream who had predictably made his move. Soundwave listened to him silently, but he listened to more then just his words. He focused his scanners on the electrical impulses the seeker gave off from his cerebral circuitry. It wasn’t a perfect system, but it could give him some idea of what the Decepticon was thinking. Despite his words he did yearn for power, but he knew that it was a precarious situation. It was almost amusing that they both found themselves in the same position now.

Soundwave stood up and followed Starscream out as he beckoned him. He relayed his orders to Motormaster over the radio. He was interested to hear what the seeker would say behind closed doors.

*

Hook found himself bombarded by several things when he bounced up to the Ultrax. First there was the always annoying disorientation that came with teleportation. Perhaps in the future he would investigate some way to combat it. Perhaps some sort of scan or dissection of Skywarp would find something interesting as the seeker seemed to teleport and shake off the effects with ease.

Then he was hit by the shock of Megatron’s demise. He had no reason to doubt Soundwave’s word, as it wasn’t really in his interest to lie about such a thing. The fact that he was also one of the most accurate and analytical minds among the Decepticons, almost on par with Hook himself, also gave weight to his words.

Then there was the almost predictable request for repairs from other Decepticons. They always seemed to think he was nothing more then a walking CR chamber they way they treated him.

Before he could say anything though, Starscream jumped up and gave a rousing speech. Hook was surprised at what he said, although he would have been more impressed if he had been included among the officers he wished to talk with. He had certainly done more for the cause then the likes of Motormaster had, not to mention being light years more intelligent then the overgrown thug. It seemed he was doomed to be under appreciated.

Hook turned back to Astrotrain. “Yes, take them to the repair bay and I will get to work on them in short order.” Not waiting for a reply the surgical engineer left the Bounce Chamber to locate the repair bay, which would likely require substantial cleaning if the rest of the ship was any indication.

Bounce Chamber

Thundercracker could only share a look of disbelief with Skywarp before shaking his head and answering the question his friend had presented. "No. I am not buying it 'Warp. I can't. I mean... how could I? It's Megatron."

Their moment of disbelief came to a quick end as a very familiar voice rose above the other voices present, accompanied by loud banging noise.

"My fellow Decepticons! Let there be order! Order my comrades!"

Thundercracker had expected Starscream to make his move, however despite noticing changes in Starscream's behavior for a while now, the speech that followed took the veteran seeker by surprise. One could even say it blew his mind. Thundercracker had no doubts about Starscream's ulterior motives. When one had as much ambition as Starscream had, they didn't just go away. But the way Starscream had set to pursue what he wanted... Thundercracker could not more impressed by his long time commander. Everything Starscream had said just made sense to him. Starscream... was right.

His thoughts were finally interrupted by Nightraven commenting on what Starscream had just said.

“I don’t believe this. Megatron’s gone and now Screamer’s making an upstanding move for the good of the Empire. My processor is killing me.”

"Neither can I 'Raven and I knew him long before the war began. He has changed. Evolved. And so far, I like what I am witnessing."
____________________________________________

Astrotrain was as impressed as Thundercracker by Starscream's speech but unlike the seekers, he did not have any kind of delusions for grandeur. Megatron was gone. And as far as Astrotrain was concerned, he couldn't think of anyone being able to replace the mastermind behind the Decepticon empire. Yet, even without Megatron, his goal lived on. Someone would step up to lead them and Astrotrain knew it was never going to be him. For now, helping the Constructicons to get everything running again felt more pressing to him than giving anything more than a passing thought about anything else.

And thus, Astrotrain complied with Hook's order and began carrying the various badly wounded Decepticons into the med bay of the Ultrax.

Bounce Chamber

What had presented itself as the opportunity of lifetime for Ramjet - had died out only moments later after Starscream had opened his big mouth. In less than a breem the Commander of the Seeker corps had very likely prevented the situation from engulfing into a chaotic brawl that would have led all the participants weakened. Worst of all, Starscream in his obvious loathing and jealousy towards clearly superior Ramjet - hadn't even named Ramjet among the Decepticons whom he had asked to join a meeting with him. The nerve! Ramjet deserved to be there far more than a blackmailing boombox or an engineer. Let alone that annoying diva of a seeker himself. Motormaster was the only one Ramjet respected given his legendary toughness and even the big Stunticon was far beneath him, bound to the ground like an Autobot.

No. He couldn't let this happen. This was his opportunity! Not Starscream's! He would have his revenge he had been waiting for ever since Starscream had humiliated him in front of other seekers. In addition he was going to impress the other Decepticons with his power and ambition while getting rid of his worst rival with the same strike.

As Starscream jumped down from the crate and headed out of the bounce chamber towards the corridor leading to the bridge, Ramjet set after him. Brushing past Bonecrusher whom Scrapper had managed to convince to let Soundwave be - and several other Decepticons between him and his target.

An ecstatic grin on his face and optics gleaming, Ramjet aimed both of his laser cannons towards Starscream's exposed back. Only getting his target's attention remained, after all - he couldn't just blast a hole through Starscream without telling him who would take his life. Never noticing a door opening just few steps behind him.

"STARSCREAM! You will never lead the Decepticons! I will!"

With his statement given, Ramjet opened fire. However, he never saw whether or not he hit his target as someone whose strength far overpassed his own, grabbed his head from behind and rammed him face first against the heavily armored walls of the Ultrax. The staggering strength of the blow against the already wounded conehead left Ramjet's vision blurred and his audio receptors ringing. Then came another blow against the wall... and another... and another... until he lost count and was forced into stasis. Unlike when Megatron had used Ramjet as a hammer, the mechanoid who had attacked him hadn't been careful to not inflict any serious damage.

As Ramjet's body fell limb on the floor, Motormaster kicked his victim once more before the hulking brute turned his baleful gaze towards Starscream's direction only to notice the seeker being hidden from his view by the forms of Soundwave and Scrapper. Instead, he turned his gaze towards the other Decepticons in the bounce chamber. After a moments silence, his doom-laden voice boomed across the chamber. "Anyone else care to challenge Starscream's brilliant plan?"

Bounce Chamber

Skywarp was taken a little by surprise at Starscream's speech to the Decepticon masses present. He didn't sound like his usual, conniving self. Of course, that could all be just a facade which hid his usual, true intentions. Surely, the Seeker Commander knew that there would be those who would challenge him if he made a direct bid for leadership, especially so soon after Megatron's apparent demise. Therefore, 'Screamer had to be careful at what he said aloud. Regardless of his true motives, Starscream was the Seeker Commander and that meant 'Warp would follow his lead, at least for now.

"Yes, he is different," Skywarp said, looking towards Thundercracker and Nightraven. "I just hope he knows what he's doing. One wrong move and it could mean the end for him."

Skywarp then overheard Soundwave speaking once again in an attempt to clarify what the monotone mech had said earlier. The combined events that lead to Megatron's supposed destruction seemed plausible enough, but it still didn't yet ring true to 'Warp that the slagmaker was really dead. "What I still can't believe is that Megatron is really gone, 'Cracker. Something doesn't seem right about it."

As Skywarp finished his remarks, Soundwave and Scrapper followed Starscream out of the chamber. Once they had exited into the hallway beyond, Ramjet made his move and attempted to assassinate the Seeker Commander by shooting him in the back. Before 'Warp or Thundercracker could do anything to stop him, Motormaster appeared suddenly and repeatedly slammed the conehead's face plate into a nearby wall until he crumbled to the floor and entered stasis lock. The Stunticon Commander then turned to the others and asked if there were any other challengers. The teleporter stood silently as he had no intention, nor was he in any condition, to challenge anyone.

As the situation calmed down, Skywarp shook his head and let out a low chuckle. "Ramjet will never learn, will he?" The prankster whispered to Thundercracker.

Bounce Chamber

Mixmaster was at a loss for words. It was not a common occurrence for the Constructicons’ chemical engineer, but when it happened it was significant. More and more the talk in the room turned from disbelief to grim acceptance. Now they were being asked by those such as Starscream to look past Megatron’s loss and look to the future. It was all so…weird…that Mixmaster didn’t know exactly what he should be looking at. Yet.

Not long after his grandiose speech, Starscream called several other significant Decepticons within their ranks to join him in plotting their way forward. Mixmaster was relieved to see that Scrapper was mentioned among their number. That offered some small assurances that the Constructicons would not be forgotten—or worse, somehow imprisoned or deactivated as the result of someone else’s political maneuvering—in the orns and vorns to come.

Then it happened.

The first challenge to Starscream's budding claim of Decepticon leadership. Mixmaster was surprised to see that the challenge had come from the Seeker's own ranks. He was even more surprised as he witnessed the challenge quelled just as quickly as it had ignited, and not by the Seeker Leader's own hand, by the very brutish grip of Motormaster. Starscream had clearly garnerned himself a very potent ally.

"I hope we don't get hosed hosed hosed in this whole deal," he said, looking at the other nearby Constructicons.

Bounce Chamber

Skyjack looks at the fallen Ramjet and laughs. "Good news Space Case, you're not the dumbest flier anymore." He wasn't actually speaking to his comrade, as he was still in stasis lock as was Snowcap.

Hooligan was also shaken by the news, so much that he didn't even bother to laugh at Ramjet's plight. "This is not funny. It's a sick joke...it HAS to be."

"For once I have to agree with you Hooligan. Even though such is the fate of all, not even I could foresee Megatron's end to be so...droll." A newly revived Dead End says, having followed Motormaster from the repair bay. "He didn't even leave us a corpse to memorialize." He then looks over at the fallen Ramjet. "Shall we lock up this renegade fool Motormaster or let his fuel stain a perfectly good floor for a while longer?"

Bounce Chamber

Starscream knew that challengers would arise to confront any who sought to claim the leadership of the Decepticons for themselves, however he had suspected that such challenges would only arise after a leader had stepped forward. He had not expected for someone to make a move before anything had been decided or announced, but the weapons fire that struck him in the back and sent him tumbling to the floor awakened him to just such a reality. The damage was superficial, merely armour damage, but given his unprepared state he was knocked off his feet, even caused his optical sensors to flicker. It took only a few, short astroseconds for Starscream to regain his compsure and rise once more to his feet, just in time to see Motormaster bash Ramjet into stasis lock. The Seeker Commander was not very surprised when he saw who had taken the shot and merely fixed the now locked Ramjet with an cold glare.

"Place him in CR chamber and assign guards to watch over him in case he wakes before we decide what to do with him." He looked at the officers he had singled out. "We cannot delay, follow me."

He turned once more and entered the bridge where he waited for the others to join him.

Bounce Chamber

Scrapper listened to Soundwaves explanation of what he claimed had happened to Megatron as the two joined Starscream. It might make logical sense...except that it assumed Megatron hadn't planned for this somehow. I refuse to believe our leader would have simply forgotten about all these factors, and let himself be destroyed in some freak accident!! Thats not the Megatron I followed!!

Still, until he found some way to prove Soundwave wrong, Scrapper had no choice but to play along with this premise, and help to keep order among the troops until they could regroup. He still expected Megatron to reappear at any moment, and he would not let his leader see him powerless against the chaos.

Chaos that burst into clear focus when a laser beam shot back Scrapper and Soundwave and into Starscreams back. The Constructicon leader whirled, pistol drawn, only to find the culprit being demolished by the hulking form of Motormaster.

Scrapper nodded to the Stunticon leader, not even bothering to identify the fallen Seeker, and then turned to follow Starscream. Whatever became of this meeting, it wouldn't be boring, that was for sure.

Bounce Chamber

As Thundercracker responded to her statement Nightraven looked over to the blue Seeker and nodded. Starscream was not making a move for leadership outright which had caught everyone off guard including his own Seekers. With her attention focused back on the red and silver Seeker, Nightraven stiffened when she heard the baritone call of Ramjet. And before anyone could react the conehead fired on the Air Commander. Nightraven’s optics widened as she reflexively grabbed a hold of Thundercracker’s wrist and squeezed nervously.

When she saw Starscream fall her grip tightened in worry, however she let out a sigh of relief when she saw that the Air Commander got back on his feet without any major damage. At the same time Starscream was fired on Motormaster had taken it upon himself to impede Ramjet from any further attempts on the Seeker’s life.

Once the situation was under control Nightraven looked down and finally realized she had a tight hold of Thundercracker’s wrist. The slim Seeker femme quickly released her grip and rubber her hands together at the same time offering an awkward smile.

“I…uh…sorry about that.”

Nightraven nervously shifted in her stance before she looked away and over at various Decepticons still positioned on the floor of the Bounce Chamber.

“I suppose now is as good a time as any to get all of our wounded in the CR chambers.”

She turned her gaze back to her fellow Seekers and flashed them a slight smile before she walked past lightly brushing her wing against Skywarp’s and Thundercraker’s.

Bounce Chamber

Soundwave silently watched events unfold around him. Ramjet had made little secret of his intentions for leadership. He did not need telepathy to deduce that. The fact that he decided to strike now was only mildly surprising.

As he watched the flier take aim at Starscream he briefly considered his options. He could attempt to protect the seeker leader himself, possibly garnering some favor with him. Of course, there was no guarantee that Starscream would honor or even respect such a move. On the other hand allowing Ramjet to eliminate him did open up its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Soundwave had little doubt he could manipulate the moronic seeker easier then he could Starscream. It was possible that he could become the true power of the Empire while Ramjet took all of the criticism and assassination attempts. On the other hand Ramjet might not trust him at all, or be too stupid to listen to him. That would force him to be eliminated and bringing Soundwave himself too far into the spotlight.

In the end he decided to simply let events play out without interference. He had detected Motormaster’s approach prior to his brutal and extravagant arrival. It appeared that the Stunticon had taken the direct approach in currying favor with Starscream. That added a certain amount of brute strength and power in the seeker’s favor which he would have to account for in his own machinations now. Of course, it took more then strength to lead the Decepticons, something Megatron knew well. Whether Starscream knew that or not was yet to be seen. While some would respect Motormaster, others would disregard him completely, and yet others would rush to challenge him and his belligerent attitude. Starscream may have an ally, but he came with his own set of problems.

With the incident handled Soundwave followed Starscream on to the bridge, taking position at the main control console. He began analyzing the ship’s status and condition while awaiting the impromptu meeting to begin.

*

Repair Bay

Hook dragged/carried Long Haul into the room. He glanced around with disgust at the poor state the Stunticons kept the room in. It was obvious they knew only the most rudimentary of repair skills. If they were going to be on this ship for any significant amount of time he would have his job cut out for him organizing this room.

The Constructicon shoved Long Haul into a CR Chamber and activated it. That would hopefully prove adequate in repairing him. He would need a closer look at the other two to judge how much repairs they would need. He gestured for Astrotrain to put them on the repair tables.

Bounce Chamber

"Can...can someone help me with Snowcap and Space Case? I only got one working arm and Hooligan is in shock over Megatron." Skyjack asks as he grabs onto Space Case and tries to drag him. "Sweet mother of Primus what did they make you out of?"

"He can't be gone. This can't be, it makes no sense. This is Megatron here, nothing can kill him. He's taken down stronger armies than that alone and won. It simply cannot be real." Hooligan still says as he stares at the ground.

"Slagging useless." Skyjack cursed at him.

Bounce Chamber

The badly damaged Baneblade had been slumped against the back of the room as he had taken in the news that Megatron had potentially perished in the most recent battle with the Autobots. Although the news had taken him by surprise it had not really caused him much despair, rather he merely took it as an eventuality. Megatron was never one to shy away from the heart of a battle, and given how long he had been fighting and waging war it was perhaps more surprising that he had survived as long as he had. Regardless the others seemed to be consumed by the uncertainty and disbelief that the news had brought, and indeed he was perhaps more surprised by just how much loyalty the others were showing in this moment. Perhaps he had misjudged the motivations of the average Decepticon?

No matter. There were far more important matters to attend to know, and that being the matter of leadership. Megatron had commanded loyalty through fear and respect, although a brutal tyrant he did have the charisma to motivate armies to incredible acts. However, with him no longer in the picture a monumental power vacuum was now in his place, and one that threatened to consume the whole of the Empire. If the Decepticons were to survive without tearing each other apart a new leader had to be choosen and fast. When Starscream had made his impassioned speech for the good of the Empire again Baneblade was both surprised and not at the same time. Of course Starscream would try to capitalize on these developments, but in the past he would have launched himself into a speech and declare himself a new leader in a smug manner. Now however, he seemed sincere in his plea, and rather then pronounce himself leader he summoned the senior officers present to meet with him. Baneblade was certain the reason was to either convince them to support him, or perhaps to have a more serious talk about what has to be done. Ever Decepticon with an inkling of ambition would now make his claim to the thrown, the fallout from such chaos could be the end of the war.

Regardless, the outcome would not be known for sometime and Baneblade was to badly injured to wait around, and he made his way to the repair bay to see to his damage.

Bounce Chamber

Motormaster. A mechanoid so vile that he was hated by his own team of misfits. A remorseless bully convinced of his own invulnerability and with the power to back up his claims. So, why he had not gone after the leadership of the Decepticons? Quite simply, he did not want to. If someone thought otherwise, they did not know him. Leading an empire spread across the stars was hardly something Motormaster could imagine giving him satisfaction. No, he liked his hands dirty, wading knee deep in the spilled energon of his victims. He was glad to leave bureaucracy and micromanaging an empire to those more willing. Nor was he as delusional as Ramjet who obviously believed being able to challenge Megatron's strongest generals for the throne of the Empire.

Yet, here - onboard the Ultrax, Motormaster was at the top of the food chain. And he was going to exploit the opportunity given to him to the fullest. As it seemed obvious enough that no one would dare to challenge him and his support towards Starscream directly, Motormaster decided that further posturing was unnecessary. Fear controlled even those with most ambition. Spitting a glob of lubricant on Ramjet's unconscious carcass, Motormaster straightened out and turned his gaze towards Dead End.

"Drag the slagger into the repair bay but make sure he is the last one to get any treatment." Motormaster boomed his response to the question presented by his morose minion before following the others addressed by Starscream into the bridge.
_______________________________________________

Repair Bay

Astrotrain did not like Hook. Hardly anyone did. The way the engineer carried himself, the smug arrogance and air of superiority. Still, aside the high command, all Decepticons rather endured Hook and his snobbishness than endangered their continued well being. For there was no better surgeon within the Decepticon ranks and no one escaped battle damage.

And thus, Astrotrain followed Hook's instructions, placing Hook's patients to the tables pointed out to the large triplechanger without a single argument. Having done what asked of him and noticing badly damaged Baneblade making his own way in, Astrotrain quickly left the repair bay to check if there were any other Decepticons left in the bounce chamber that needed to be carried in the repair bay.
________________________________________________

Bounce Chamber

Thundercracker had watched in horror when he had realized what Ramjet was after. The power hungry conehead's play for power could have crushed all the hopes for the Decepticons to recover from the devastating blow that losing Megatron had been. Starscream had fallen. However Ramjet's victory had been short lived for Motormaster had decimated the conehead in few astroseconds. To Thundercracker's relief, something had gone wrong in Ramjet's assassination attempt. From that distance, a dual blast from standard seeker laser cannons would have critically injured even Starscream. Given how quickly the seeker leader had risen up, Ramjet's aim must have been off or his energy levels down. And thus, an event that could have changed everything was turned into another humiliation of Ramjet.

"I doubt he will 'Warp." Thundercracker chuckled. "Too many blows to head. If anything, Motormaster made it even worse."

“I…uh…sorry about that.”

The sudden voice of Nightraven turned Thundercracker's attention away from the spectacle at hand and towards the femme next to him. He had barely registered Nightraven clinging on his arm due to what he had just witnessed.

"No harm done Raven." Thundercracker said, flashing an ankward smile of his own, while being bit confused by the femme brushing her wings against both him and Skywarp. "I am just relieved Ramjet didn't succeed. I just shudder to think the seekers being in debt of honor to Motormaster."

Bounce Chamber

Dead End nods and looks back down to Ramjet. "Alright, I'll also see if Long Haul can come help drag the rest of the wounded in." He says as he kneels down and grabs Ramjet by his leg. "You're not bleeding here." He remarks as he begins to walk off, not wanting to have Ramjet's blood all over his hands.

Bounce Chamber

Ramplate watched the attempted assassination with something akin to disbelief. They'd JUST lost their leader, and even Starscream, the most power hungry mech that the tankformer knew of, seemed hesitant to try and leap for the mantle that Megatron had... temporarily left. Then THIS slagger starts trying to strut himself around? Fool....!

Shaking his head, Ramplate then noticed the others still lying in stasis on the floor, some of them leaking energon all over. Kneeling down gingerly, given his own injuries, the warrior picked up Space Case, dragging the mech towards the airlock as Skyjack was left holding Snowcap by himself. 'At this rate I'd do better as a field medic instead of a bruiser,' he thought to himself, trying to balance his heavy cargo with the limp that the shot to the back of his knee had given him, diamonds tinkling out of his back armor on occasion as he made his way to the repair bay...