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[Security Center - Quarantine]

Doublecross’s heads shrieked in a terrifying screech that, although not as directly painful as Apeface’s blaster, was still loud and harsh on the audio receptors. Grotusque and Repugnus had their attention, he wasn’t going to wait for them. They knew how to survive. They’d done it a million times before. He was too disoriented after Apeface’s shot to focus on them anyway.

The left head threw a quick glance at the right, before they both noticed the exploding containers in the corner of the room, and how other similar containers were placed along the walls. The left head immediately thought, PERFECT, you fraggin’ see that?!, and spat a fiery bullet out of the maw. The right head, still a bit sensible enough after the flash to notice how the entire chamber had gone up in flames, spread his wings and leapt off light-headed towards what appeared to be the doorway. He needed to get away from the stupid situation. And that had to happen right now.

Except, it wouldn’t. The dragon was slapped against the air and dropped to the ground. The room had a tough forcefield around the edges. Doublecross looked both ways at the same time, realising that he couldn’t even see the field properly after the audio concussion, and suddenly something felt off inside his spark. There was no way out. Frag-

Grotusque laughed weakly as Snapdragon started to feast on his chest, not realising the fact that Grotusque, too, had a mouth of his own. With what energy he had left in him, he bent his neck down and bit towards Snapdragon’s face, with the full intention of sinking his teeth in as far as they would go. He pointed his vaporator at the deranged dinosaur’s torso, ready to pull the trigger as soon as he’d catch the fragger in his, hah!, lizard face.

Repugnus was down a fair amount, and he wasn’t sure if he had the energy to stand up, but by Primus he would stand up because there was absolutely no way he was going down without a fight. He’d been in worse and had his aft beaten to a pulp. He could do one more hit before he was out. One more. Sinking his claws into the ground to give himself some leverage, Repug raised himself just enough to get a good look at the big monkey, and belted out one last fireball as hard as he could.

[Hallways → Repair Bay]

And so Megatron had arrived. Perfect timing, sarcastically speaking. Counterpunch had found himself quickly amongst the rest of the crowd following his visit to the brig, and he, too, had chanted All Hail Megatron among the rest. He, too, had kneeled down in front of him. He, too, knew that there were other DSS operatives doing the same. But time was short, and right now, there was not much he could possibly do other than tend to his duties on this side of the battlefield. He was sure there was at least one pair of optics on him during the welcoming party, and be it some grunt’s or Megatron’s, he was being watched.

Once people had started dispersing, Counterpunch decided to pay one more visit to the medical bay, to ensure he hadn’t left anything behind on his previous journey there. His paranoia had made sure that he hadn’t… but it never hurt to check a fifth time. The medbay was still holding the lower-ranking mechs who had been undergoing repairs from the operation at LV-117, the ones who hadn’t attended the grand welcoming. Sleeping in the many CR pods, waiting for their turn in the Decepticon lines.

Counterpunch waved off the medic who noticed him entering, and he inspected the station he was at previously. Nothing to be found. Good. He should probably report to Banzaitron soon, before any suspicions are raised of his whereabouts. The access the DSS had to the security logs and audio-video feeds was a powerful enough tool, but he had to make sure that nothing was tampered with. He’d done his fair share of patching over everything to make it seem natural that he had entered the brig. There should be nothing tha-

*hissssss*

His red optics shot up immediately to the CR pod that had just opened up, revealing a seeker inside. The screen was not too far for Counterpunch’s optics - a mech by the name Venomcoil. He looks different, doesn’t he? A different voice in the cerebral processor asked. YeAh, dOn’T gEt AnY iDeAs JuSt YeT.

Blood-red optics were focused on the black and grey seeker. Well, it’s a little too late for that.

Repair Bay

Several additional pods hissed open. A few astroseconds later, so too did the doors to the repair bay and in walked Reflector. One of the three, anyway. He was also arranging the war room for the Conclave and following Scorponok and Megatron.

With the Decepticon Supreme Leader on board, it had become necessary to online some additional units, both for security as well as general maintenance. When in doubt, Seekers were about as multi-functional as any unit within the empire.

"Ahhh, good. You all appear in top condition," Reflector said, looking over the awakening warriors.
___

Alpha Hangar

"Well, that's our work done for the time being," Astrotrain said as he approached Octane and Blitzwing.

With Megatron and the command crew departing, the remaining Decepticons were either dispersing to their own duty areas or standing around discussing what they had just seen and heard.

"What'd you make of it?"

Sonic boom after sonic boom kept Doublecross disoriented and Apeface endlessly amused by the Monsterbot’s wild antics. Sure, it didn’t appear to be the most directly lethal weapon. And while that was a hopeful illusion for the weapon could easily be used to kill – Apeface usually chose a more brutal, more hands on approach. Stagger and disorient your adversary and then beat ’em into a pulp.

Then Doublecross hit the forcefield. Hah, finally! The Autobot had to know now. There was no way out. Dread had to be shifting in despite of their wild act of courage. So fulfilling.

A transformation in a split of the moment it normally took for a cybertronian to shift modes. There was no competing with a triplechanger, even less with one of the most naturally agile cybertronians alive.

A bounce. Too fast for any of the Monsterbots to properly deal with had they been fully energized. And now? They couldn’t even react in time.

”Hey dragon breath!”

**SMASH**

Doublecross’ heads were smashed into each other violently by the simian Horrorcon who was making a mockery of the whole fight, ”Ring a bell?!”

The consumate professional in Apeface never left his guard down though. Why was Repugnus still moving? His optics had never left the most dangerous Monsterbot out of his sight. The EMP detonator should have dropped even a Dinobot. Tough son of a gun. Still, it was useless. It was so slow. So laughable slow. That final moment of defiance. He had seen it coming and what better way to deal with it than…

Well...

Tossing a wobbly Doublecross into the fireball aimed at Apeface himself.

Blitzwing had joined the chanting himself without really even realizing it. All hail Megatron. Yeah. That audio receptor rattling roar echoing in the vast hangar of the might space dreadnought had been difficult to ignore. And well, he was pretty sure Megatron had expected a show of respect even from the Triorian guard and Sixshot.

As the chants died down and Scorponok’s gesture opened the command types a way through the gathered masses, Blitzwing took a step to follow Megatron. He was still on a guard duty right? Only Astrotrain’s question made him hesitate momentarily.

”What’d you make of it?”

”That we’re not off duty yet.”

"Oh, don't be daft Blitzwing." Octane quipped, "This is big. Bigger than anything I can recall for thousands of vorns! That's Fortress Maximus in shackles!"

"Well yeah but it ain't like I am to judge this, eh?" Blitzwing replied back, turning towards Astrotrain, "What about you A'train?"

[Security Center - Quarantine]

The beatings that Doublecross had just received… they weren’t going to keep him going for much longer. He clawed and clawed at the force field in panic, just before Apeface crashed both his heads together forcefully jamming a plug into a socket.

Frag-

-git!

He hadn’t even realised when Apeface had moved so suddenly from one point to another. Doublecross’s head was spinning… both of them were. The left was completely out cold, right was barely conscious. The sheer vertigo of being mauled by the Horrorcon was just… too much. This was a stupid idea. But nothing that they could do now.

The right head’s red optics faintly glimmered as he tried to screech weakly, knowing his fate, seeing his own fellow Monsterbot spit out a blazing bolt of fire.

The dragon’s body was encapsulated in fire, smoldering as he skidded and slided roughly across the ground. Defeated.

Brig

The conditions were squalid at best, to be certain. And it was boring. Boring, boring, boring, boring, BORING!

Nightbeat spent most of his active time in what he referred to as his “memory palace”. It was the only way to relieve the mind-numbing tedium of what would otherwise be neverending boredom. He needed something to keep his mind working and active. Hence, his memory palace – a mental construct that served as a library of sorts, a repository of all the information he’d ever learned, all his experiences, all his cases--

He looked up wearily at the sound of the opening cell door, long enough for a blurred image of red optics and blue chassis to toss something in towards Scattershot before the door slid shut once again. Optics flickered, focusing more on what the Technobot leader had been given. An arm – a Seeker arm, to be precise. A replacement for the arm Scattershot had lost.

For the first time in Primus only knew how long, Nightbeat spoke. “Now that... is interesting.”

[Brig]

Nightbeat wrote:“Now that... is interesting.”

It was Nightbeat who had given a response to the arm that Scattershot was holding. The Technobot commander turned his back to the guards outside, showing the arm more closely to Nightbeat, and the loosely open panel on its side. “It’s one hell of a thing, you got any ideas?” he said, moving his amputated stub of an arm about. He held the arm up to his shoulder, quietly chucking the small tool that came with the arm over to the detective. “This thing’s gonna require some assembly, that’s for sure.”

Scattershot sighed. They had to figure out something here. And just who was that mech who had tossed the arm into their cell anyway?

Brig

"All too true," Nightbeat replied quietly. He spared a glance towards the doorway, but he didn't hear anyone -- though that didn't mean they weren't still being listened to, or even potentially watched.

He caught the tool, examining it closely. "I'm no medic, but it can't hurt to try, I suppose. Personally, I think someone like Ratchet, Wheeljack or First Aid might be better suited to this sort of work." He pauses for a moment. "I confess, however, I'm far more intrigued by who that was who just gave us our special delivery, and why they would toss in a replacement arm and the primary tool required to attach it." A small, thin smile appeared, probably for the first time in quite a while, and Scattershot would be able to see the excitement growing on his face.

"Nothing like a new mystery to solve. The game, mentally at least, is afoot."

Alpha Hangar

”That we’re not off duty yet,” was Blitzwing's curt response. Astrotrain nodded. They might well not be.

"Oh, don't be daft Blitzwing. This is big. Bigger than anything I can recall for thousands of vorns! That's Fortress Maximus in shackles!" Octane continued.

That was true, too.

"Well yeah but it ain't like I am to judge this, eh? What about you A'train?" Blitzwing said.

"I think it's big. Like Octane said, Maximus in chains? That's big. Besides...what Megatron said....I don't think he'd say it if he didn't believe it. I think we might be finally on the edge of winning this thing."

Just then, internal orders flashed through Astrotrain's duty log. -Dismissed-

"And if you two just got the same orders I did, I think we've earned ourselves some down time."

Approaching the War Room

”We are ready,” Scorponok had confirmed and Megatron had expected no less.

The assembled Decepticons moved themselves out of their way with all necessary haste. Megatron's own gait was steady but unhurried. Seeing the resilient and problematic Autobot general in chains was like blood in the proverbial water: now they need only do the same to Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus and Prowl. Once that had happened, the resistance in the other regions would collapse.

"Welcome, mighty Megatron," the disembodied voice of Soundwave spoke through the Tyrannis' comm system--channeling his voice through the very corridors they walked through. Coming only a step closer, the doors to the massive war room slid open.

"All is prepared," Reflector reported.

”Eh. Sure looks like it.” Blitzwing agreed grudgingly, having gotten the same dismissal message as the two other triplechangers. ”I just don’t know. We have been close before. Only for everything to blow up on our face spectacularly.”

”Can’t really say there isn’t truth to that.” Octane shrugged, ”But Astrotrain is right. Big M seems to believe it. And if he does, I’d say – we should too.”

”Well, I guess Scorponok looked pretty smug about it too.” Blitzwing added, ”And he isn’t know to go all Starscream about his achievements.”

Flexing his hands behind his head, Blitzwing leaned backwards, his optics scanning the ceiling of the massive hangar. ”You know, I can’t even recall when I last stepped foot on this ship. Got any idea what to do with this sudden down time?”

Neither Scorponok or Megatron had had much to say during their walk from the hangar towards the War Room. Trying to recap everything that had happened would have been waste of time when they were going to do it again before the Conclave regardless. Not that it even took that long for them to reach their destination.

As the blast doors of the war room opened, a massive, hexagon shaped war room was revealed to the last arrivals into the meeting summoned up by Megatron himself. In the center of the room lied a large holomatter projector, surrounded by seven stations – all but two already manned by holographic projections of the members of the Conclave:

Deszaras – a legendary general in his own right even before the rise of the Decepticons and the commander of the 3rd expansion fleet.

Gigatron – another of Megatron’s most dangerous generals, a member of the Warriors Elite and the monstrous sixchanging leader of the 4th expansion fleet.

Ruckus – a small and feisty but most importantly an unyieldingly loyal front line warrior chosen by Megatron to represent the rank and file and remind the others of their roots.

Soundwave, quite naturally – the leader of the Decepticon Secret Service, one of Megatron’s oldest and most stalwart supporters.

And finally, Tarn – the notorious Decepticon symbol mask wearing zealot in charge of the Decepticon Justice Division.

And once again, as Megatron stepped into the war room, its walls echoed with a roar, ”ALL HAIL MEGATRON!” Followed by all five holographic projections of the members of the Conclave kneeling before their master.

[Brig]

Nightbeat wrote:"I'm no medic, but it can't hurt to try, I suppose. Personally, I think someone like Ratchet, Wheeljack or First Aid might be better suited to this sort of work."

”Neither of those three are here, heh. We’ll just have to make do for the moment. Anything is better than nothing, though, that’s for sure.” Scattershot attempted to humour himself and the rest with his dryness, but it wasn’t really the moment for that. Just like Nightbeat, he too wondered about the mysterious mech who had dropped the arm in, but he wasn’t one for solving mysteries.

“I wouldn’t bet on that guy too much. Not yet, anyway.”

War Room

Megatron's gaze settled on Reflector for only a moment and that was all that was needed. The Surveillance Specialist bowed and took the passing glance for the dismissal that it was. The reinforced blast doors sealed behind him as Megatron and Scorponok took their places amongst Megatron's handpicked council of advisors.

"I trust rumor has reached your receptors, if not official word, the second theater of our great war has fallen and Commander Scorponok has emerged victorious over Fortress Maximus and the Autobot forces in that region that have long mounted a considerable resistance."

Megatron paused, leaning back in his seat as he steepled his black fingers underneath his chin. The room was silent until he spoke again.

"I have been waiting for one such region to fall definitively before calling another assembly of this body. The war has stretched our resources--not critically thin, but moreso than I would prefer. As such, I knew that the first region to collapse to our rule would--if utilized correctly--set off a chain reaction that would collapse the Autobot resistance in the remaining arenas. It mattered not to me which general brought me this victory, as you all are to be commended for the work you do in your specific areas of responsibility and command, but the fact that it has now occurred warrants a full refocusing of our efforts.

"Before I proceed further, I would hear details of how the war progresses within each of your domains."

War Room

Deszaras had called to mind a small list of reasons for receiving the call to assemble the Conclave, a call one did not dismiss--ever. From what Megatron had mentioned thus far, he had been correct on one of his guesses.

The fact that he was still a part of this meeting was a solid indication that no one was the wiser about what was happening in his region of the universe. He intended to keep it that way. At the same time, he could not arouse any undue suspicions.

>>"Mighty Megatron, assembled councillors, let me begin by congratulating our fellow general, Scorponok, on what was surely a hard fought victory against Fortress Maximus and his Autobot forces. As to how the war proceeds on my front, Star Saber has proven to be a capable opponent. For many a vorn, we have seemed to be stalemated against one another, but my sub-commanders have made due with the resources that I have provided them--resources owed to the might of the Decepticon Empire and its emperor of Destruction, of course. Our last battle, however, has quieted the Autobot resistance to an acceptable degree and we work now to deliver Star Saber in chains just as Fortress Maximus has done. Additional time is all I require."<<

Gigatron listened silently as Megatron laid down the groundworks of their meeting. Unlike some of the others, he was very well aware of Scorponok’s victory over Fortress Maximus. Had it not been for his cooperation the Second Expansion fleet likely would not have managed to achieve this victory. Deszaras though, he had been far less cooperative. A fact that bothered Gigatron greatly. His own troops were stressed thin, struggling to keep one step a head of the Autobots he had been baiting out of Scorponok’s way while neither him or Scorponok had barely heard anything from Deszaras for quite a while. Yet, he was not going to accuse Deszaras of anything in front of the Conclave. Not without any proof of the 3rd Fleet commander’s sneakiness anyway.

>>”Lord Megatron.”<< The second largest Decepticon in the meeting began, merely acknowledging the other members of the Conclave with a gruff nod, >>”As you know, the 4th Expansion Fleet has been busy coordinating feint strikes and military operations against the Autobots with High Commander Scorponok. This has stressed my resources thin but I have no doubt that the outcome of our strategy much outweights my current woes.”<<

The fanged warlord’s fiery gaze observed the reactions of the other members of the Conclave subtly as he continued, >>”With the fall of Garrus-9, my forces have already began to turn the tide against the enemy with the support of the 2nd Expansion Fleet. The Autobots are disorganized and confused with the loss of a major strategic command hub that Fortress Maximus was running. That being said, I freely admit that we still have a lot of work a head of us. Nevertheless, it is only matter of time now until we bring rest of the Autobot High Command down of their knees.”<<

Alpha Hangar

”Much,” Flamewar responded to Sixshot’s comment. The STAG glanced over to her and smiled under his faceshield before Megatron exited Octane to the cheers and roars of the Decepticons that had assembled in the hangar.

“ALL HAIL MEGATRON!”

The chants were deafening as each ‘Con knelt down before their supreme commander. Sixshot followed, as well, taking a knee. The sixchanger rarely knelt to anyone, but Megatron was one notable exception. The slagmaker then motioned for everyone to rise and the phase sixer did so. Then came the real shock.

The massive form of none other than Fortress Maximus was led out in chains for everyone to bare witness to. Maximus was one of the very few mechs that Sixshot actually respected as the Autobot Commander’s immense power would certainly give the STAG a worthy opponent. Unfortunately, Sixshot had never fought Maximus in battle and therefore the outcome had never been determined. Apparently, it never would be now considering the current state of the huge Autobot.

“With this victory...we are now within arm's reach of putting this endless war forever in our past. With this victory, I am now within arm's reach of giving to all of you the peace I promised you on Cybertron so long ago. We have fought long and we have fought hard. The final spoils of that fight will soon...very soon...be ours. I come here, on this orn, to set into motion the final strategy that will secure our ultimate victory over the Autobots. As you have seen, all will kneel to me,” Lord Megatron spoke aloud, glancing over at Maximus at the end of his speech.

Sixshot chuckled under his breath at Fortress Maximus’ retort. The slagmaker smirked before turning his attention to Lord Scorponok. Soon, the two Decepticon leaders left the hangar. After a few moments, the STAG looked back over at Flamewar. “Looks like they’re heading to a top secret meeting we're not invited to. Guess that leaves us with some downtime. Care for a drink of high grade, my dear?"

Highly Encrypted Message from Razorclaw to Megatron:

>>”Lord Megatron, this is Razorclaw. The Constructicons have successfully uncovered a substantial deposit of Ore-13 here in the Congo. With your approval we will begin to expand our operation into a fully functional mine. Further extraction of the ore will commence shortly. I will keep you appraised of our progress, my lord.”<<

War Room

>>"The news from the frontlines is highly encouraging. It gives me tingles,"<< Tarn said as he nonchalantly rubbed one hand against the other in contemplation. >>"I salute the efforts of all who push the vanguard of the Decepticon Empire further.

>>"As to the work of the Justice Division itself, I can only say that our workload has remained steady. I suppose it should come as no surprise that in an empire as vast as ours and in the middle of a war that represents a fundamental clash of ideals that there should be dissenters within our ranks.

>>"That being accepted as truth, I submit to the Conclave the Division's most up-to-date list of our purgings. Even now, we are en route to investigate the most recent report of...treason. To be fair, the numbers have dwindled. I believe the task to which you have assigned us, my lord, has provided sufficient cause for many potential spies to think twice about defection of any kind."

Megatron looked from Tarn to Soundwave.

"Does your intelligence support Tarn's conclusions?"

Even as he awaited the answer, a transmission came through from Razorclaw that put a small grin on the Slagmaker's face.

Alpha Hangar

Hearing the words of Megatron and the reaction they had on the assembled soldiers, herself included, reinforced her spark. She was not the type to harbor doubts about the cause: she was in for the long haul. Even so...even if she had harbored any doubts, Megatron's latest words of encouragement would have erased them, at least for as long as it took this new strategy to take shape.

“Looks like they’re heading to a top secret meeting we're not invited to. Guess that leaves us with some downtime. Care for a drink of high grade, my dear?"

She grinned and nodded, following Sixshot out of the hangar and off to the Tyrannis' observation deck.

"The Conclave," she said softly, affirming Sixshot's suspicions. She then held up her hands to indicate that was as much as she knew. "I only ever hear whispers of what they do. Megatron had never discussed it with me. Not that I mind. He inevitably tells us all whatever we need to know to get the job done. It sounds like....it sounds like now we might actually be close to winning. Lord Megatron seems to think as much, at least. We've been at war for so long....I almost worry it's too good to be true."

She then threw her head back and laughed.

"I'm rambling like a sparkshocked grunt. A liter or two of high grade will probably do me good."

War Room

The presence of the many other commanders within the room and their status reports on each of their warfronts was a fine addition to Soundwave’s databanks. Perfect for further additional strategic planning. Gigatron’s intel was in line with what Scorponok’s fleet had accomplished, though Deszaras’s information seemed to be news to some audio receptors. It was then Tarn’s turn, and the head of the justice division proffered his list of recent terminations. More recently, one at Nebulos. Excellent.

Megatron wrote:"Does your intelligence support Tarn's conclusions?"

”These appear to be appropriately accurate, lord Megatron.” There were some that he wanted to further confer for, but at first glance, they seemed to match up with the intelligence that he had gathered. Soundwave patiently waited for the Conclave to proceed with the remainder of the discussion, tying strings together as each member spoke.

War Room

”These appear to be appropriately accurate, lord Megatron,” Soundwave answered. Megatron nodded at his most trusted advisor's answer. As a general rule, the Emperor of Destruction did not question Soundwave's analysis of raw data.

"Good. Then the intent of the division is serving its purpose. I will allow it to continue to do so until we have definitively purged all traitors from the Decepticon ranks. As with other aspects, the primary function of the justice division was never intended to be a permanent one."

Megatron then steepled his fingers underneath his chin structure in thought for a few moments, strategy upon strategy running through his mind. The room remained silent as he did so until his gaze settled upon Ruckus. Outwardly, the mech was the most unlikely member of this body, at least according to traditional Decepticon notions of power and influence. Nothing more than a front line grunt. Battle fodder to be sacrificed at the whim of any other number of more ambitious commanders. Even so, Megatron knew that his loyalty was as unquestionable as any of the others here--perhaps even moreso in some respects. Moreover, as a frontline soldier, he saw the war--daily--from an angle long since removed from everyone else in this room.

"What of the Decepticon soldiers, Ruckus? Your comrades in arms? My generals here would undoubtedly tell me stories of their willingness to fight to the end for our cause...and I have no particular reason to doubt them. Even so, my thirst for victory is not shared by all. I am not naive. What do you hear from the trenches of the front lines?"

"Erm-um, well....*ahem*....pardon me, milords. I'm not used t'speakin' in front of such esteemed warriors n' such," Ruckus said, stumbling over his opening remarks and recovering himself as best he could. "As you say, m'lord, the 'Cons'll fight for you 'til the end. Whatever end that may be, y'know? Maybe I hear a pocket or two squawkin' to'emselves about 'oh, wish this fraggin' war'd end' and slag like that, but that's just talk. Nuffin' that'd make me think 'em deserters or turncoats y'know?"

Megatron nodded once more.

"Your field reports are satisfactory, if not exemplary. It's only fitting, then, that I share news from the 1st Fleet. We have discovered an inhabited world that possesses naturally occurring mineral stores that we have refined into a type of energon more potent than anything we have ever come across in our long and storied existence. We have engaged the infiltration protocols on this world just as we have on countless worlds before it, gradually escalating our presence and ability to capitalize on these resources. Our presence, however, has not gone unnoticed. Optimus Prime and a contingent of his Autobots have worked to thwart my intentions for this planet. I believe that time, however, may well have come to an end."

Megatron activated a holoscreen that displayed the area where the Constructicons were currently working.

"I've just received word from Razorclaw that the Constructicons have successfully discovered not only more of this ore at this site but also raw, naturally-occuring energon. I believe this to be one of many such sites that exist on this planet, simply waiting to be discovered and stripped of their resources. Shockwave has already gone to the effort of retrieving his mecha-forming technology from Cybertron. It would seem to me that all the pieces are in place to strike a final, decisive blow to the Autobots and turn this planet into a battery that reignites our home...Cybertron...and fuels the new age of peaceful tyranny."

Megatron's gaze shifted momentarily to the optics of everyone in the room, be they physically present or not.

"What say you?"

While Ruckus did not really have much to add to the conversation so far, Scorponok did appreciate Megatron’s willingness to still listen even a common frontline grunt. It was easy to forget one’s roots with the advancement of one’s rank and influence. It spoke volumes of Megatron’s character. While the war had made monsters of most of them, the Decepticon leader still chased his original goals which in turn strengthened Scorponok’s belief in their cause.

What Megatron had to say though, answered a lot of unvoiced questions. Shockwave lived. While Scorponok had not received an official confirmation of Shockwave’s return to the folds of the living, he had heard rumors through his own intelligence network. This though, was the final confirmation of it. Even moreso, this revelation confirmed why Megatron was so invested in this particular solar system. This was one of Shockwave’ seed worlds. And a successful one at that.

”I say we end it here now.” Scorponok was the first of Megatron’s generals to voice his opinion after sharing a quick look with Gigatron - followed by a nod marking an understanding between the two members of the Conclave. ”Our victory against Fortress Maximus enables an option we have not had a chance to utilize in a long time. Abandoning the Infiltration.”

Scorponok paused for a short moment to survey the reactions of the others before continuing. ”We are past of its usefulness here. Optimus Prime is here – trapped and chained by his need of protecting the indigenous lifeforms of Sol-3. With an access to this super energon you have discovered we can by joining our forces here and now - crush Prime and his resistance before the Autobots have a chance of recovering from the losses they suffered when I eradicated Garrus-9.”

”I have more ships mere hours away from here. We can swarm the Autobots and force cyberforming upon this planet.” Scorponok’s optical visor glowed of anticipation, ”Just say the word my lord.”

Security Center--Quarantine

Snapdragon was laughing and enjoying himself far too much as the flames danced around them and he tore away at the Monsterbot's innards. Lifting his head up to savor the moment and chomp down on a jawful of energon and oil-laced wiring and internal components, he gave the fierce Monsterbot the brief and only moment he needed to return at least a little bit of the favor.

Grotusque's own formidable jaws found purchase against the side of the Horrocon's face, neck and shoulder and Snapdragon roared in both pain and rage. He then smashed his dragonhead downward in blow that would have left most mechs shattered into irreparable pieces and then stomped one of his massive legs down two more times just to ensure the job was finished and that Grotusque would stay down.

In the midst of the fire-filled room, Snapdragon could see that Apeface had finished with the other two.

Snapdragon transformed and walked over to one of the scorched wall panels and removed it so that he could access the energy-suppression systems which would assess the types of free-roaming energy in the room and neutralize them accordingly.

"Little punk bit me," Snapdragon said, rubbing the abdominal area where the damage was now located in his robot mode. An alarm klaxon went off before energy-suppression liquids began to spray all over the containment area.

War Room

Deszaras had not been aware of Megatron's having made any such discoveries on the primitive world that had captured so much of his interest recently. His intelligence network was falling a little behind. He would have to confer with Leozack and the others about this later.

Scorponok gave voice to a very unorthodox strategy...abandoning the pretense of infiltration. The infiltration protocols had brought a great many worlds under the control of the Decepticon empire. And with a minimum expenditure of their already limited resources. But if Megatron's words were true...and how could he dare think them not? Then this primitive world and its energy stores could very well be the answer to the crisis that had forced them to abandon Cybertron.

"If our lord sees an opportunity to end the war....I of course support the measure. If you see the real possibility of being able to return to our home, I would see it done, whatever the costs."