Status Quo

[Megatron]

Characters: Megatron, Open to All
Location: The Bridge of the Nemesis
Content Warnings: N/A
Plot Summary: A seemingly ordinary morning on the Nemesis takes a turn for the interesting as peculiar thoughts enter Megatron's processor after a night's recharge. Perhaps a routine check-in with his Decepticons will be enough to purge these invasive thoughts from his processor.

[Megatron]

"Someone your size needs all their Energon rations.  You can't keep topping me up...  If I slip away, so be it.  You'll manage without a proofreader."

"You sell yourself short.. as always."

"Very well.  Your proofreader and your distributor."

"Terminus, I.."

Terminus..

That had been a name Megatron had not heard in oh so long.  He'd been a mentor of sorts to the Decepticon leader back in the days of old.. before the war and what not.  An old miner who he had worked with and grew fond of.  He never knew what became of him, but it mattered not.  If Terminus had been around to see the tyrant now, certainly he would have been impressed by the feats he had accomplished.

The scene had replayed over and over in Megatron's processor as he walked down the halls of the Nemesis, heading towards the Bridge.  It had felt so very real, like a memory he'd not revisited in a long while.  However, something didn't seem right about the alleged memory that had invaded his dreams during the night.  A proofreader?  A distributor?  The Terminus he knew had been none of those things to him.

Besides, what need would Megatron have in writing?  He had no need for such a passtime, especially in the midst of war.

No matter how hard he tried, the simple thought would not leave his processor.  It agitated him nearly as much as the Autobots themselves did.  As he reached the Bridge, Megatron entered the room with hands held behind his back.  The tall mech made a quick glance around the room, taking note of everyone and everything in the area.

"Status report."

Perhaps something familiar would get this nonsense off of his mind.

[Deleted]

Knock Out could feel his tire-wings tense slightly. His optics widened and he turned his helm ever so slightly, his glance casting toward Megatron. He let his ventilations hitch and he swallowed thickly. Status report. Status report. Fun, that was the fun thought.

"Ah, Lord Megatron, s-sir!" He gave a quick salute and stood at attention, trying to thrust his chest-plating forward with a glimmer.

"Medically, the situation is all-normal. Vehicons have had their check-ups and immunizations to the latest biological agents employed. Higher command staff has been scheduled for the immunizations as well and they will be attended to in a timely manner according to schedule. You are scheduled first, of course, my lord. And then I'll need Breakdown to administer mine and I his. Leader and medical staff first and all..."

He then tried to hide what he had been abusing the network services of the Nemesis to admire. More appropriately, he was trying to hide his Webflick marathon of a hilarious musical adventure that seemed to parody Earth fairy tales.

"I was also investigating cultural amusements to use against the Autobots." He then shrugged. "It might be interesting to use the humans' musical entertainment against them, sir, if I say so myself."

[Megatron]

Megatron stared at Knock Out as he began to debrief him on the current status of his work.  For only having a couple of medics, Knock Out was rather capable of keeping the entire ship healthy and cared for.  Well.. to the degree that the warlord would allow, anyway.  Sometimes punishments needed to stay that, and having Knock Out tend to them took away from the impact.

"I would not have it any other way, Knock Out.  The highest chain of command needs to stay at their peak, otherwise the weaker links will begin to take advantage of the situation.  They need to be kept in line."

Just as quickly as he had given the medic his 'praise', he immediately wanted to take it back with Knock Out's suggestion in regards to human entertainment.  What purpose did they need something like that for?  The humans were simply insignificant insects to them and served no use to them aside from the possibility of keeping them as pets.  Why the Autobots kept them around was beyond him, but perhaps that was the reason itself.

"I hardly see a need for such meaningless drivel.  Tell me what benefit you see to using insignificant human things against them?"

[Deleted]

Knock Out himself wasn't ashamed of his hard work. He didn't tend to reverse punishments, but of course he had to make sure no one infected the ship, lest they end up with a hoard of shambling zombie-cons. And no one wanted zombie cons!

"Too true, my lord. Too true. Thus why you're the first of all." He then bowed to Megatron before standing.

"Hear me out my lord. Sensitive internal components are disrupted at the right frequencies. You forget, I'm a medic. I catch onto these things." He tapped at his helm with his claw proudly. "It's not the content. It's...warping the frequencies to mess with them. That would be useful, wouldn't it?" He then grinned. "Oh, but if I were to use the content as well...mislead them. Make them think they're being treated...and then nail them."

[Deleted]

In a vast field of blue flowers, Tarn stood beside a statue of Megatron as the real one stood across from him. His optics fixated upon a red mark on his chest. An Autobrand.

“You surrender? Of course you do. That’s all you do these days,” Tarn said.

Megatron spoke, but the words slipped past Tarn’s audio receptors. He argued with Megatron. Something he had never done. Never thought he would do. Just like he had never thought Megatron would wear that color.

“I corrupted you,” he said.

Energon and betrayal rose bitterly in Tarn’s fuel pump. “You liberated me. You helped me realize my potential. You saw greatness in me. You saw yourself!”

Negotiations broke down shortly after that. Betrayed utterly, yet bound by the admiration he’d had for the mech Megatron had been and the hatred of the mech who he’d become, Tarn fought. Desperate. But Megatron did not fight back no matter what he did. Powerless, helpless, Tarn begged him.

“If you fight back, I’ll stop,” he offered, “I won’t have a choice. Even after all my upgrades – even after all the nuke – I know you can beat me. Megatron unchecked can beat anyone."

But Megatron refused. No, he did worse than that. He gave Tarn false hope.

“I’m better like this,” Megatron said as he lay there beaten and smiling, a hole where that accursed Autobrand once was.

“No,” Tarn snapped, “You’re better dead.”

CHOOM-CHOOM!

Images rushed by in a rapid stream. Overlord. Alive somehow. He shouldn’t have been surprised. Tarn’s insides twisted and knotted more and more tightly as this charade when on. The longer Megatron eluded him. The longer he disgraced his legacy, the mech he used to be. He embraced Kaon only to thrust his head against Overlord’s jeering chest. Megatron fighting. Too little, too late. A black substance pouring out from Megatron’s very being and then-

Tarn jolted awake from his recharge slab, clutching his chest, optics wide. For a moment, he was confused as to his surroundings. Then, he remembered. He was aboard the Nemesis in his suite that...Tarn looked down at his hand, lifting it slightly off his chest. The distinctive purple gleam of the Decepticon insignia greeted his optics.

…Megatron had provided him.

His fist clenched slowly. That had been…a little too real for his liking. Even now, his internals still felt twisted into a ball of anguish, betrayal, and fury. Megatron. No, he would never. Could never. But Tarn could not push his words from his mind. Each one cutting through to his very spark.

Pushing off of his recharge slab, Tarn shuffled toward the door to his habitation suite, lacking his usual poise for good reason. He could not shake it.

“Megatron.”

He said the name to give it substance. It called to mind the philosopher. The hero. The one who was a revolutionary who knew when to fight back. But then. The beaten, smiling Megatron flashed through his mind like poison his pleasant recollections.

“RRRHHHHRRR!”

Slamming his fist into the wall and tearing the door open with one hand, Tarn stormed out of his suite. It was nonsense. Just a dream. Nothing to get worked up over. He knew that and yet. Tarn emanated hostility. He knew how to be rid of these toxic thoughts that plagued him. A dream that felt so much like a memory, it burned him. The only way to be rid of it.

The door to the bridge hissed as it began to open, but the abrupt screeching of metal protested as Tarn clawed it open faster than it wished. And there he was.

Megatron.

Tarn suddenly found himself glued to the floor where he was, only able to stare. If he turned around, what would Tarn see? The comforting, inspiring, familiar hue of purple? Or the red that would twist and grind at Tarn’s internals, driving him insane with sheer indignation?

Whrrr… His dual-fusion cannon whirred, powering up without Tarn expressly willing it.

[Deleted]

A tension hung in the air and Kaon wasn't sure exactly what it was. He hadn't recharged all night; recharging on the journey had left him unable to recharge for the next few days. Instead, he fueled. Nucleon sticks, rust sticks, energon, nucleon. The Pet rest its head in his lap, as though knowing that Kaon's frame had stayed tense after all that he'd taken in.

His fingers fumbled for a grip of the chain leash and he stood. "Lead." His voice was quiet, but commanding.

The Tesla coils of his shoulders sparked ever so slightly while he tapped to open the door. He would then lumber out, The Pet leading the way, jerking sharply at the chain, trying to pull. But Kaon's grip was tight, strong, and ultimately firm. He wasn't going to be jerked around by the beast, but led.

The faint whir in the air sent a nervous flicker of electricity up his coils. He gave pause, listening silently, sharply jerking the chain leash to force the Pet to still itself, to quiet. Fists clamped themselves tightly. He knew better than to interrupt anything like this; it wasn't his place to call out Tarn in the first place, though he was essentially second-in-command of the Decepticon Justice Division. It was his place to maintain communications and The List.

That was all.

The Pet nudged itself against his legs more. Kaon tried to settle his frame, shuddering hard from the electricity that hung heavily on it. Fingertips occasionally jolted electricity through the chain leash.

Don't call. Do not engage. He knows what he's doing.

But why did it feel so wrong?

[Megatron]

Sure.  Knock Out's suggestion did have it's merit, but Megatron did not see the initial use of it all.  What point would there be in 'messing with the humans' when he could out right wipe them out?  However.. the Autobots did seem rather attached to the humans, keeping their own select group of them around.  It was a possibility to use the humans as hostages to get what they wanted, but would their own media really be a necessity.

"Some of us, doctor.. are better at holding their glossas than others.  I've no use for human technology."

Megatron huffed as Knock Out continued to insist that there was some need for this human media so that they could turn it against them.  As he did so, he didn't hear the footsteps of others come into the room.  It was only when he heard the familiar whirring sound that he finally turned around, looking only with his optics first.

Whipping around, the tyrant pointed his own fusion canon at Tarn.

"Explain.  NOW!"

[Deleted]

Knock Out couldn't help but sigh softly. Well, he'd tried. That was all he could do. It was an idea with its own merits and he really just wanted to be able to do something that was useful but now he was feeling more frustrated and USELESS.

"Duly noted..."

However, when he heard the whirring of cannons, he squawked and started to duck. He didn't want to be hit by stray shots here. Cowardly crimson optics stared toward Megatron and Tarn and he trembled. Wait. There was another.

Eugh, maybe he needed to give Kaon a PAIR of optic-patches. He'd have to confer with Tarn about that. And Kaon. But mostly Tarn. And he wasn't too eager to bring that up with whirring fusion cannons and electric-sparking tesla coils and a creature he was pretty sure was a spark eater that was eager to claw his paint job and rip out his spark.

[Deleted]

As Megatron’s head turned, Tarn lifted up his dual fusion cannons, somewhat in a haze. It was only when Megatron whipped around, pointing his own at Tarn, did Tarn see it. The purple insignia that he had devoted himself to. It was…right. It was alright. Megatron’s voice pierced the haze that had consumed Tarn.

The chief justice stepped back, lowering his weapon and powering it down almost immediately. Optics blinked offline and back on. What madness had possessed him to think that…Megatron could ever have…Just a dream. Dear Primus, he was so ashamed. He realized sense had flown from his head.

Dropping to one knee hastily in a fervent kneel, Tarn bowed his head low. “My apologies, Lord Megatron, I-“ He what? He had a bad dream? No, he couldn’t tell Lord Megatron that. He couldn’t stand the thought that his master might think less of him, and he would for something so appallingly foolish. But now was not the time to wallow in remorse. He had to think of something.

“-I merely wished to ensure that you were prepared at all times for possible treachery. Forgive my audacity.”

There it was again. That nagging, pestering image. Those words came to mind. Tarn’s optics offlined, trying to shut it out. But he could not.

“And, if it pleases you, my lord, I would like to request a sparring match with you.”

He went too far with that last. This much, Tarn knew for certain. He regretted the words as soon as they vocalized. Too late to pretend that they had never occurred. But, it would grant him some relief if Megatron would grant him clemency at least for his earlier indiscretion.

[Deleted]

Lightspeed had been on her way to update her liege on her newest project, inquire what he needed done, but it seemed it would have to wait. She stood at the entrance to the brig, staring at the scene in front of her with wide optics and clutching her datapad in her arms protectively. What had just happened? Tarn had aimed his own cannon at Lord Megatron, and then Megatron engaged, and Tarn apologized. The upper ranking chain of command puzzled her to great extent, but out of all the disagreements she could possibly process, this was strange indeed.

The doors slid closed behind her, though she dared not interrupt, she didn't want to stare down the barrel of Megatron's fusion cannon. She felt pity for Tarn, he seemed.. out of sorts, but she wouldn't get in the way of their quarrel. The engineer leaned against the wall, trying to remain in the slight shadow as to not disturb the scene in front of her. She had never personally met Lord Megatron, but he indeed was an intimidating sight to say the least. So, the stories were true. 

He had looked so much smaller from the backs of the rallies he had held, which is where she used to stand. Not because she wasn't important, but because she despised crowds, and it was easy for a femme like her to get lost in one.  

[Deleted]

When the sound of the whirrs died away, he froze quietly. Something sounded off, sounded strange. It was something small and almost imperceptible to untrained audials--and insensitive audials that weren't finely honed from attuning to make up for the lack of another sense.

He clenched his fists tightly, one fist clenching tightly around the chain leash he held The Pet with. A stern expression crossed his face and he made mental note.

However, he could hear another nearby. An optic-less face turned its eerie "gaze" toward her as though to try to take in her presence in different ways. They were quiet, too quiet. He seemed to twitch a single digit along the length of the chain in his grasp.

The Pet would turn toward Lightspeed warily, as though reflecting its "master's" own state. Though it was not his state that it was reflecting, but the command to "watch", spelled out in taps along the chain.

[Megatron]

Megatron glared directly at Tarn, his optics narrowing as his fusion cannon charged, sharp teeth bared.  He had been betrayed one too many times to take chances, and he would fire if the Decepticon Justice Division leader did not back down.

He was smart in his quick apology.

"As noble as your intentions may be, I will not take my chances.  If I see reason to eliminate you.."  Crimson optics looked past Tarn, taking note of the incoming entourage.  They were drawing an audience..  "You may not be as lucky next time."  Megatron lowered his arm, fusion cannon dimming until the energy it had built up vanquished.

Knock Out likely felt awkward about the whole situation, but Megatron didn't care.  He'd seen worse.  Megatron folded his arms behind his back, stepping to the side before glancing towards Tarn once again.

"Surely you have more reason to be here than to request a spar with me."

[Deleted]

Awkward was an understatement. Knock Out was scared enough to draw himself back against a wall at this point. Tarn and Megatron, fusion cannons glowing with energy, were the most imposing figures. Kaon was terrifying in his own right. And that engineer? Well, he didn't know her, and therefore didn't trust her.

His claws flexed faintly. He almost wanted to bring out a medical tool, but that would be suicide right about now. As would speaking, he figured. But he couldn't just stay silent at the same time.

"And surely there's more to it than testing if he's ready for a more 'disloyal' member of command to raise an attack, yes?" He knitted his claws together nervously. "I mean no disrespect but you tend to only come forward for more important reasons, Tarn."

[Deleted]

Stunned by what she'd just been witness to before her, she was almost shocked into place if you will, frozen in time as she broke her stare unwillingly. She didn't want to get hit by crossfire, but luckily it seemed that Lord Megatron had relaxed, as much as possible that is, and accepted Tarn's apology. She sighed softly, her shoulders slumping as the tension rolled from them, though still.. something felt odd. What was it? She glanced around before finding the source of her uneasiness.

Kaon. She'd heard about him, only in stories though, she'd never seen him in person. His opticless sockets seemed to glare off in a different direction, but it was all too clear that his Pet was watching her. She shuddered, moving out of the shadows finally and slightly closer, wanting to hear the conversation but still remaining at a respectful distance.

Lightspeed clutched her data pad tighter in her arms, trying to ignore all the different things going on around her. Wait your turn, she thought.