Transformers: Alone and Unafraid

[Armaina]

"Likewise, good to get to know the team-mates before we head out."

She smiled politely, moving to take a sip from her drink, only to freeze at the comment.

"Teleport?"

[LadyTevar]

"It seems he and Skywarp have similar tricks," Shimmer explained with a reassuring smile. "I think it's Energon intensive, however."

[SirNitram]

"Well, you get into the tech, I'm vastly improved.. Also, I'm not an ignorant, simple-minded bully." Shunt smiled simply. "Keep waiting for it to break, to be honest. I'm not a warform; I'm a /research platform/. Needs of war got me some nice guns and training flashed in, but that doesn't make me a dedicated fighter.. But that means I can think in ways the Seekers don't."

[Lys]

Blastcap impassively looked after Breakout as he left. He would return he said, presumably with word of Cavalier's opinion, or perhaps Cavalier himself. She glanced at Longshot, still looking shocked and uncomfortable, but still standing guard over her. A good soldier, no doubt. With a mental shrug her thoughts turned to Deathstrike. She could guess why he had been held back after the briefing earlier, and strongly suspected that it had played a part in his interruption of her talk with Cavalier. That meant Blastcap owed the old flyer something not quite gratitude, and not quite a favour. She busied herself composing a message.

>EXTERNAL SPEAKERS DEACTIVATED<
>INITIATING VOICE TRANSCRIPTION<
>FILE "DTHSTRKMSSG" CREATED<
>ENCRYPTION KEY ACTIVE<
>BEGIN RECORDING<

"Deathstrike, I regret that I am not discussing this personally, but under the current circumstances a courier is more discrete than finding a private room somewhere. I suspect a close eye is being kept on me until we are off planet, but perhaps not so close on my little minions. I will try to keep this brief.

I wish to thank you for your intervention in the matter between me and Cavalier. Do not get me wrong, I am not happy about it. You stuck your fusion cannon where it did not belong and caused me much unwarranted annoyance. Your intrusion wasn't wanted, it wasn't needed, and most certainly wasn't helpful. The matter would have stayed in that room if you had minded your own business instead of minding mine. Thanks to you thirty Primus dammed witnesses heard Cavalier's voice accuse me of murdering twelve million, and in addition I had to tell the whole story to three Autobots who really had no need to know the least thing of it. I am not happy, at all.

Nevertheless, I thank you, sincerely and honestly. Because, regardless of my other opinions, what you did back there is something I can appreciate and respect. You are my commanding officer Deathstrike, and you stuck your neck out for me. You care, on some level, about the responsibility you assumed and the role that I play in it. It doesn't matter to me whether you see me as a comrade, a subordinate, or a mission asset, what matters is that you can see beyond your own back plate. It, in fact, matters a lot.

Over the ages I have learned to value good officers, whether commanding me or under my command. They have a certain quality that escapes all measure, and yet can be recognize by those who know how to look for it. Something that only truly shines through when a judgement call is made under pressure. It doesn't even matter whether the call was good or not, it's there. And as annoyed as I am, and as unnecessary as what you did was, I saw it. You can count on me for anything, Sir, to the best of my abilities.

Side note: The data cube my robot is handing to you contains all my files regarding the incident that sparked this whole affair. I want you to atomize it. Whether before or after you copy its contents to your memory banks is your call."

>RECORDING END<
>"DTHSTRKMSSG" SAVED AND ENCRYPTED<
>VOICE TRANSCRIPTION DEACTIVATED<
>FILE UPLOAD TO HVR02<
>BEGIN DATA DUMP TO EXTERNAL MEMORY DEVICE<
>INDEXING FILES<
>ENCRYPTING<
>DONE<
>UPLOAD DECRYPTION KEYS TO HVR02<
>MEMORY SYSTEMS NORMAL<
>ACTIVATE EXTERNAL SPEAKERS<


That would have to do. Once Blastcap confirmed Deathstrike to be the mission CO, the message and data cube would be couriered to him. For now, she would wait.

[frigidmagi]

-- 3 Rotations Later---

The Bots were gathered again in the briefing room. Breakout stood in front of them.

"All of you have your strengths, some of you are skilled front line fighters. Others capable intelligence officers or engineers. The CO of this mission needs to have a proven record of not just front line combat but of tactical and strategic leadership. Additionally, an understanding of industrial operations is required. As it stands, Deathstrike is the only one among you who has all these requirements. Which is why he'll be in command. Deathstrike, the floor is yours." Breakout said.

[General Havoc]

Cavalier had not spent the intervening cycles composing letters. It was not his style to do so. He had instead spent them doing maintenance, re-calibrating his targeting sensors, and doing all of the mindless, repetitive tasks that needed doing when one was about to embark on a mission, particularly a major one. He did these things mindlessly, like an automaton, his higher functions intervening only enough to keep him doing what he had to do. The rest of the time, he was thinking about Axis.

And when the cycles were complete, he was no closer to a solution than he had been.

He entered the briefing room along with everyone else, and he said not a word, studiously avoiding saying a word to Blastcap, or for that matter to anyone else. If the others wanted to think him a lunatic who flew off the handle at the slightest provocation, that concerned him not a whit, at least not now. His reputation would tend to itself given time and a field of 'cons to kill, if not with this bunch then with whoever was on the other end of the spacebridge. He stood at the edge of the room, listening quietly as Breakout gave the usual speech about all that they would have to do over there. Nothing really caused him to pay much attention, until, of course, something did.

"As it stands, Deathstrike is the only one among you who has all these requirements."

And just like that, for the first time since Blastcap had called him aside, as though a magic wand had been passed over his head, Cavalier forgot all about Axis station.

He froze solid, froze like a solid steel statue, froze like his actuators had just failed and could not be re-started. His fingers, drumming absent-mindedly on the hilt of his sword, locked up in mid-drum, his optics turning as constant as a pair of spotlights. All physical activity in abeyance, Cavalier accessed his own audio transceivers and replayed the last ten seconds of speech to himself, unsure if there had been an error in transcription.

"Deathstrike, the floor is yours."

He woke back up to reality to see Breakout turning the floor over to Deathstrike, and for the first few seconds, he literally could not believe what he was seeing. Unlike Blastcap, unlike all the others perhaps, he had not taken the time to consider who Breakout might place in command. He knew that it would not be him, command material he was not, but he assumed it would be some other Autobot of veterancy and trusted service. Merka perhaps, Shimmer, or more likely some roving commander hand-selected to command an operation of this complexity. Who it was, ultimately, was not up to him, and therefore did not matter. He had not thought it useful, particularly given everything else, to devote much time to the thought.

That Breakout would choose Deathstrike, the Decepticon killer, the right hand of Starscream himself, to command this operation, had not entered into Cavalier's processor for an instant.

It took a long, long time, as Cybertronians measured things, for Cavalier to convince himself that this was not some sick joke, some bad-taste icebreaker that Breakout was using to get everyone to relax, that this was actually happening, and that he was being placed under the command of a Decepticon in an operation designed to wage war against a Decepticon empire. It took trillions of processor cycles, entire seconds in real time, for him to convince himself that Breakout was serious, that a war machine the likes of which nobody had seen since the fall of Cybertron was actually being placed in the hands of one Decepticon to be used against another. And when that realization came over him, when he finally realized that the nightmare he had never even imagined seeing happen was actually happening, right at that second, a war broke out inside Cavalier.

The war was one of competing priorities, of two different sides of his spark trying to outdo one another and seize control. One side wanted to explode, to jump from the wall, elbow his way to the front of the room, and hit Breakout in the face hard enough to shatter ferrocrete. It wanted to shout and yell and scream and fire cannons at Decepticons, to kick the door down and storm out of the room, to give impassioned speeches about what it was to be an Autobot, and declare himself the only Autobot left in the room. It wanted to tear the Autobot symbol off of his shield and throw it in Deathstrike and Breakout's faces, to curse them in the name of Primus and the Pits, and tell them that he would be dead before he let a Decepticon lead him into a war of competing mass murders, to resign post-haste from this horrid mockery of Optimus' organization and to leave by himself to bring down all Decepticons by his own hand, and be damned to those who would serve beneath murderers out of expediency. To go out and do what Optimus had built him to do, and let those without the fortitude to do the same rot.

These were the things that one side of Cavalier wanted to do. But the side that wished to do these things was not victorious in the war that raged inside his olive-drab frame, and so rather than do the things it wanted to do, Cavalier stood up from the wall, his every motion precise and rigidly controlled, clasped his balled hands behind his back, and stared down at Breakout and Deathstrike with an expression that could have melted the paint off of a battlecruiser.

He said nothing, he did nothing, he neither vocalized a word nor performed a single gesture, and the changes to his optics and faceplate were minute, relatively speaking. And yet without changing a thing, Cavalier's entire frame had changed as though he had transformed. The very temperature of the air around him seemed chilled, his paint reflecting less light than it had been, and instead of an old warhound, lounging against the wall and listening to a briefing, there now stood a looming, dark monolith of iron and thunder. And so he stood, looming at the back of the room like some infernal machine brought to life by dark magic, and he stared down at those in the center of the briefing room, and he watched, not venturing to move even by a thousandth of a millimeter, lest he lose control entirely and do something that was, even by Cavalier's standards, singularly unwise.

[Cynical Cat]

Deathstrike strode to the front of the room, free of the limp inflicted upon him by the malfunctioning actuator. He turned sharply to address his command.

"Some of you know me personally. Some of you only by reputation or by data analysis. Some of you know me not at all. I may have your respect, your hatred, your contempt, some other emotion or combination of emotions."

"That is irrelevant."

"The mission is what is relevant. The Free Worlds Alliance is relevant. The future of the war is relevant. The lives of billions are relevant."

"If my leadership is too unpleasant a prospect to bear, leave now. I have no use for 'bots of weak resolve. I intend to defend the Free Worlds Alliance and break the teeth of the so-called Greater Decepticon Empire on its defenses. I intend to start the beginning of the Empire's death spiral and I intend to end it by ripping out Starvous's malware laced cerebral circuitry in whatever pit he is cowering in as his empire burns around him."

"If you have any questions or objections, now is the time to voice them."

[General Havoc]

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. No Autobot commander, no matter how many concessions to pragmatism he had to make, could possibly seriously consider doing something like this. For a brief, horrible second, Cavalier actually considered the notion that this was some kind of punishment, that Breakout had done this to get back at him for Division or for Blastcap or some other damned stupid thing he'd done at some point. It was a ludicrous notion, neither Breakout nor anyone else would have assigned a commander to a mission this important as a matter of pique, but the fact that Cavalier considered it for even a moment indicated just what he thought of this situation. He felt like he was going to fall over. He felt like he was going to knock the entire building down. He felt -

"I intend to start the beginning of the Empire's death spiral and I intend to end it by ripping out Starvous's malware laced cerebral circuitry in whatever pit he is cowering in as his empire burns around him."

...

... okay, admittedly, not the worst sentiment he'd ever heard.

When Deathstrike asked for questions or objections (Primus almighty, where to start?), Cavalier knew he had to say something. He also knew that this was going to take an extreme amount of tact to do right, not something he was known for possessing in quantity.

"You're right," said Cavalier, controlling his voice so tightly that it sounded like his speaker was glitching. It was that or risk losing it altogether. "What we think of you isn't relevant. So let's talk about something that is relevant. How exactly do you intend to run this little operation?"

He did not explain what he meant by that. Half of the point of asking was to see how Deathstrike would interpret it.

[Cynical Cat]

That Cavalier was asking a question instead of threatening him was a promising sign. He revised his opinion of the Autobot warrior slightly upward.

"Overall command of the operation and combat leadership will rest with me. The capacities of the Free Worlds will be divide by team specialty and given to individual team members. Results will be coordinated and discussed in order to arrive at the solution that maximizes increases in effectiveness and minimizes disruption. This will be subject to change as necessity requires."

[SirNitram]

Shunt waited to be recignized, and nodded. "What sort of loadout should we be going for? Anti-cybertronian, anti-mechaform, general purpose?" All business now. Shunt might still get teased for his lack of paint, but he clicked into the position of dutiful soldier immediately.

[Cynical Cat]

"The team is not exclusively Cybertronian and the ship will be carrying supplies for long term operations," replied Deathstrike. "Enemy forces composition is unknown at this time but is likely to be the Greater Decepticon Empire standard of large numbers of mechaforms, cyborgs, and organics commanded by a small number of Cybertronians. Weapon payloads should be adjusted to deal with expected opposition in primary and secondary battlefield roles."

[General Havoc]

That wasn't exactly what Cavalier was going for when he asked how Deathstrike intended to run the show, but it was worth knowing anyway. Deathstrike was going to hand over command of various FWA forces to individual Autobots. It was a risk, no doubt, but one that Cavalier supposed that Deathstrike had to take. Nevertheless, it meant that, assuming Deathstrike did what he said he was going to, that Cavalier would have a reserve of force on hand under his direct control should things take the turn he believed they stood a good chance of taking.

Thinking like this made him wish he could vomit.

"So we each get our little fiefdom?" asked Cavalier, giving no sign as to whether he thought the idea inspired or lunacy. He let the question sit for a second before asking something else.

"I'd like to know what you have in mind for our allies though," he said at last. "I'm not entirely sure what they think of this little arrangement we put together to help them, and I doubt anyone else in this room really does. We won't know what they think till we walk over and ask them. So what I'd like to know is what your plan is, case they have an objection or two? You said you have no use for bots of 'weak resolve'. Well that's fair enough. But I will bet all the energon in your tank against all the energon in mine, that when we get over to FWA territory, we're gonna have a whole heap of organics, mechanicals, and every other thing, who all have what you'd call weak resolve. You won't tolerate that in us, that's fine. We're Cybertronians. But I want to know what your plan is if it turns out our allies don't have the stomach for the type of war you plan to use them to fight."

[Cynical Cat]

It was disappointing, but not unexpected, that Cavalier's display of favorably behavior would come to a quick end.

"You misunderstand," said Deathstrike. "Their will be no fiefdoms. Collecting data and then evaluating an entire multispecies alliance stretching over multiple worlds on short notice and then prioritizing upgrades is too large a task to be accomplished in an acceptable time frame by a single 'bot. The task will be divided among us based on areas of competency. Airpower experts will evaluate airpower, espionage models will evaluate intelligence and counter intelligence and so forth.

"At the moment we have no command and control authority over Free Worlds troops. That authority rests with the Free Worlds Alliance and will only be given to us if we persuade them to do so and under whatever terms they deem acceptable.

"As for morale, this an all volunteer unit who is to be expected to operate in the far reaches of space, away from any support except that of the Free Worlds Alliance. I would hold Free Worlds soldiers to the standards appropriate to their training and mission status. Volunteers for prolonged operations behind enemy lines with minimal support require a higher standard of commitment than that of line soldiers."

[General Havoc]

Deathstrike could talk the talk, at the least. He supposed Breakout wouldn't have let him do this if he hadn't been able to. But saying things that sounded good and putting them into practice were two completely separate matters. Cavalier was not about to take on faith the notion that Deathstrike was going to respectfully permit the FWA to fight on whatever terms they chose to fight on. No Decepticon alive would do that. Precious few Autobots would.

Still, this was Deathstrike's story and he would no doubt stick to it. Perhaps he even meant it, insofar as he understood the definitions for things like 'standards of commitment'. Decepticons tended to define anything besides slavish obedience as capital crimes. This to say nothing of what Deathstrike's notion of "persuading" the relevant authorities to cooperate with them might be. All he had to go on was what most 'cons employed as that notion, which was hardly encouraging.

He forced that thought to the back of his processor. There was no use in pitching a fit here and now. Forcing down the energon that threatened to explode out of his intake ports, he simply nodded and folded his arms, staring down at Deathstrike and Breakout like a statue.

[rhoenix]

Watching the reactions to the mission briefing amongst those gathered in this room was almost as informative to Farshot as the mission briefing itself.

Cavalier's visible restraint in his responses, the cool determination of Deathstrike's responses, and the various small reactions of the others gathered were both noted and cataloged, even as Farshot devoted the majority of his processing power toward listening to and understanding the mission.

However, Deathstrike's mention of "airpower experts will evaluate airpower" during the mission brief prompted a question of his own.

Speaking in his usual low and unhurried voice, Farshot's golden optics flickered slightly as he asked his question. He almost wished he had a sensor swarm active to better evaluate this group's responses, but he also understood that such a thing could very easily be considered rude and invasive in company such as this. Nonetheless, the question had to be asked.

"Deathstrike, you mentioned that airpower experts will evaluate airpower. My function is different than normal for an airframe; what can I expect my typical mission profiles to be?"

[Cynical Cat]

"Aside from combat," Deathstrike answered, "your sensor drones will be a valuable intelligence resource. There will be no shortage of work and I will give you as much as you can competently handle."

[rhoenix]

A direct and efficient response, thought Farshot as he listened to Deathstrike. "That's fair," he said, nodding once.

[LadyTevar]

Ever the Intel-bot, Shimmer was also judging reactions amongst the team, processing and filing them away for future reference. She remained silent, allowing the others to ask their questions so she could learn from both their questions and Deathstrike's answers.

She wasn't surprised by Breakout's choice, in fact she herself had suggested it when they first met. Cavalier's reaction was ... promising ... as he'd not gone in to a frenzy of accusations and destruction. Shimmer really would have hated seeing Cavalier put down and jarred.

She still thought Cavalier needed to be smacked upside the head like Ironhide used to do to 'reset yer processor' as he put it. One species she had run into had a similar tradition they called "Gibb-slap", or so it translated.

If Deathstrike looked her way, her response was a simple nod acknowledging him as In Charge. There would be time for any questions that came up later in the meeting, she was sure.

[Dark Silver]

Grindstone was pleased with the announcement of team leader, and Deathstrike's quick pronouncements.

It suited well, and the sooner things were sorted, the quicker the team could begin work together.

"By your command, Deathstrike" was all Grindstone spoke in reply, while others prattled on.

[Cynical Cat]

Deathstrike inclined his head toward Grindstone. There was nothing to say. The Decepticons were a warrior brotherhood. Those who embraced the cause, those who were not mere opportunists and thugs but truly believed, shared a bond forged in battle. Grindstone's words were a reaffirmation of that bond.

As it was under Megatron it shall be again, Deathstrike thought silently. A leader did not prove his worth by possessing an exalted lineage or by appealing to the authority of mythical being. That was for Primes and the Senate and the Council of Ancients. Autobot garbage. A Decepticon claimed leadership based on his own greatness. Megatron. Shockwave. And Starscream's continuous failure to gather more than a small following despite his power, intelligence, and skill.

I will lead us to victory, my brothers he thought. I will share the risks and the rewards and all those who would harm you will have to come through me. I am Deathstrike, Decepticon warrior. Let all my enemies tremble at my approach.

[Agent Fisher]

Cutter stayed quiet, optics narrowing a bit. While he wasn't thrilled to have a 'Con in command, but he would admit, Deathstrike was an accomplished warrior. He listened to his words, the sentiment evoking memory of battles long past. One stood out, a captain of a vessel, rallying any fast ship he could, to relieve a besieged world from a small band of Decepticon. 'I intend to fly into harm's way.' Cutter's squadron had picked up the message and joined the fight. A willingness to head into certain danger, to face the unknown, with little chance of rescue if things went wrong. That's what this mission evoked.

Cutter nodded to himself as Deathstrike continued. Made perfect sense, advise, assist and once they had gained enough trust, take command.

The flier looked over at the others on the team, seeing how they were taking the news, namely his fellow autobots.

[LadyTevar]

Shimmer finally spoke. "Deathstrike, I'm going to be bluntly honest, and maybe it will get Cavalier to loosen up a bit. You were, and probably still are, a death-dealing slagging Pit-dweller. You've scrapped many friends of mine, blown up a huge chunk of Autobot territory by yourself, and a lot of 'Bots hate you for it."

She paused, her optics never wavering. "BUT, you are damned good at what you do. You never let the 'Cons under your command down, you never gloated over your victory, you did your duty and returned home. As such, you're a good commander, and I'll trust you to treat me and any other Autobot as fairly as you treated any under your command."

Here, she grinned, still meeting Deathstrike's gaze. "Just give me the same respect, and I'll do my duty to the fullest."

[Cynical Cat]

"You are incorrect," said Deathstrike. "I have gloated over my victories. But all of my soldiers are my soldiers. Mechanical and organic they were my soldiers and granted the respect and protection they deserved."

[General Havoc]

Not even Cavalier, who also gloated over his own victories, could bring himself to condemn Deathstrike on that score. Cavalier had known warriors who didn't brag about their exploits, but it was not something he understood the inclination towards. Half the point of doing amazing things was the ability to spin a tale about them afterwards, at least to Cavalier's mind. And whatever else Deathstrike was, he was certainly a very competent killing machine.

That was sort of the issue right now.

His temper held in check, with difficulty, by sheer force of will, he thought about whether he should rise to Shimmer's jibe about loosening up. Obviously, his discomfort at this command decision was plainly visible. Still uncertain of whether it was best for him to speak or not to speak, he finally decided, as was probably inevitable, that it was best to clear the air.

"And what was that, exactly?"

His voice was calm, and he did a fair job of making it look effortless, when it actually took a monumental amount of effort to look relaxed right now. He stood where he was, his hands at his sides, facing Deathstrike, having physically dialed back the light in his optics so as to no longer appear to be some kind of conjured spirit of vengeance and rage, as he knew he was wont to occasionally appear as.

"See, here's the thing, Deathstrike," he said, conversationally. "I don't blame you for gloating. Anyone here'll tell you, I do the same damn thing, and more of it than I prob'ly should. And I don't doubt for one nano-cycle that you're as good as you claim to be. Megatron, wherever he is, probably wants you dead more than any other person in this room, and that's saying quite a bit. I don't know you any further than I can throw you, and probably a damn sight less, but I know that much ain't idle talk, and nobody earns Megatron's ire like that and lives to walk around without iron in their spark and hot plasma in their actuators. I don't know what your issue is with Starvous, but I'm not inclined to disbelieve any 'con when he says he wants to feed someone their own circuit boards. I don't have an objection to any of that."

Cavalier folded his arms, his voice held almost preternaturally calm. "But I'm no good at polite evasions so I'll just say what my issue is. It's an issue of trust. You are asking me, asking all of us, to trust you with a responsibility that is staggering in its scope. A responsibility for hundreds of billions of organics. One I wouldn't trust myself with. And I'm being asked to do this on... next to nothing."

Static crept into Cavalier's speaker, and he paused, banishing it before proceeding.

"I don't know you, Deathstrike. I don't know you except that I know you're a Decepticon and that you're apparently very good at being one. And that's where I have trouble, because I need to trust that when you say something like 'the respect and protection that your soldiers deserve', that what you mean by that is closer to my definition than to Megatron's. I need to trust that... when the stupid, infuriating things happen that are going to happen, when a planet refuses to help its neighbor because of internal political junk, when volunteer soldiers desert and run at the first sign of enemy fire, when the high council of some front-line world wants to debate whether or not to join the fight for three and a half vreems in their council chambers, I need to know that these situations will be handled... some other way than how all the other Decepticons I know handle them. I need to know... to trust... that this thing is gonna be run like an Autobot operation, however the Pits we want to define that."

He trailed off once again, taking a second to re-focus his words, his hands opening and closing almost nervously as he tried to force himself to behave in a manner completely alien to his normal nature.

"I generally deal with cons via this," he gestured to his sword, "or these," and to the cannons on his back. "This... is new to me. And you know what? Maybe this is my problem and not yours. Maybe you're... a different sort of 'con, I don't know. And like I said, I got no question you're good at what you do." He steeled himself once more, this time with visible difficulty, clasping his hands together tightly as though to prevent them from grabbing at his sword. "So I'll... take your orders." The sentence sounded like he'd dragged it physically out of his speaker, but he forced himself to continue. "And I will try very, very hard, to trust that you mean to run this show the way you say, the way we understand these things should be run. And maybe, as time goes on, it will be easier. Maybe you'll make it easier, or maybe I'll just learn."

One last pause, fortifying himself once more. "But this is gonna be a tough op. Tough, and bloody. And if we're at all going to pull it off, then you need to know that... commander or not, there are some things I will not do for you. Some things I will not let others do for you. Some things I will not let you do. And maybe... you have no intention of doing those things anyway, in which case there's no problem. But if you're in charge, then it's only fair for me to tell you this much."

Slowly, like a melting ice sculpture, Cavalier's rigid form seemed to slump somewhat, as though the effort of even saying this much was exhausting. He did however look back up at Deathstrike and the others to sum up.

"You said before that it doesn't matter what we think of you, and I agreed. What matters isn't what I think, what matters is what you do. I don't know you, so I have to take it on faith that you're going to do... within reason... what I would hope the commander of this operation ought to do. And I'm a soldier, so I will take you on faith. I will learn to take you on faith."

He folded his arms once more. "But I would appreciate it if you'd make it as easy as you can for me to take you on faith."

[Cynical Cat]

"I hate Starvous and his regime because he betrays everything that I fought for. He cloaks himself in Megatron's name while demonstrating none of Megatron's greatness. He sits safe on the wealth of an empire like an Ancient Regime cartel magnate while his soldiers suffer and die on the front lines. We rose up against those who had kept us as a disenfranchised underclass and he builds an empire on slavery. I was activated on Kaon, after the first victories of the war and while the old ruling class of politicians, priests and plutocrats still thought our revolution was something that could be easily crushed and victory used to bring even more wealth and power under their control while they mouthed empty platitudes about safety and stability and the Will of Primus. They remained safe in the fortified towers and security zones and sent Guardian Robots and the Autobot Elite Guard and the lines of Magnuses and Primes to fight and die for them and for their ambitions.

"I saw the end of those days, the fall of the Ancient Regime and the death of the Primes and the rise of Optimus. I remember those days and have accessed many memory banks about those days and the ones that came before them. I hate Starvous because I have seen his kind before and they have always been my enemy. I hate him because he has betrayed everything that was right and just about the Decepticon cause while hiding behind Megatron's name just as the Ancient Regime hid behind the Will of Primus and line of the Primes."

He paused for a moment. "You ask for a reason to trust me? Nothing I say will convince you. No matter how persuasive I am you will question whether or not I have deceived you. The only real trust to be had is that I earn by honourable and successful actions.

"You are an Autobot warrior and you will not be alone. In the Decepticon ranks their is one ultimate sanction for a leader who betrays his brothers and his cause. I intend to do it to Starvous. I expect you will do the same to me if you find my behavior unacceptable."