Continuity: Decepticon Intelligence
The first siren did not trigger panic.
Not yet.
Across Vos—the great aerial city that never touched the ground—it registered as a localized alert. Engine Three reporting instability. A fluctuation. Routine, on the surface. Vos was old, and old cities carried old systems. Even one built to live above the world needed constant adjustment to remain there.
From a distance, Vos stretched like a forged horizon suspended in the sky: vast platforms, engine spires, and layered districts held aloft by eight massive propulsion cores spaced along its structure. Light traced along its underside in steady lines, a constant reminder that everything beneath it was distance.
And everything beneath it was war.
Vos remained above that war.
For now.
Within the Decepticon command network, Soundwave received the alert the moment it was issued.
He stood motionless within a dim command space, his frame composed of clean, angular plating in midnight blue and silver, every edge precise, every line controlled. His red visor glowed steadily above the smooth set of his faceplate. The squared cassette compartment in his chest housed the systems that made him more than a soldier, but Soundwave did not need to deploy them to act.
He did not need to move at all.
The alert unfolded across his internal systems as data, signal, and structure, clearer to him than physical sight.
Engine Three.
Power variance: irregular.
Feedback loop: unstable.
Cause: undetermined.
Soundwave replayed the diagnostic stream once. Twice. A third time, filtered.
No visible anomaly.
No flagged intrusion.
No breach identified by Vos’s local systems.
To Vos, the issue was internal.
Soundwave did not accept that conclusion.
He opened a channel. “Vos Command. Report.”
Static flickered across the connection, brief and subtle, before stabilizing.
“Engine Three is experiencing instability,” came the reply. “Compensation is underway. No threat to structural integrity.”
Soundwave processed the transmission without response. He expanded his reach through the systems available to him: maintenance crews, energy-routing networks, auxiliary control nodes, structural monitoring. Each confirmed the same conclusion.
Contained.
Managed.
Stable.
Individually, the data aligned.
Soundwave layered them together.
He did not look for failure.
He looked for misalignment.
There.
A delay.
So small it would be ignored by anyone searching for damage. Soundwave isolated it, then found another. Not identical. Not mirrored. But present.
He recalculated.
A failing system would cascade. This did not. It corrected, then slipped again. Corrected, then lagged. Controlled interference was possible.
Unconfirmed.
“Vos Command,” Soundwave transmitted, voice level and precise, “initiate full systems diagnostic. Verify signal consistency across engine control pathways.”
A pause answered him first. Then, “…Acknowledged.”
They still believed this was mechanical.
Soundwave did not correct them.
Not yet.
His attention shifted outward, not to a location, but to the edges of the network around Vos. Civilian frequencies. Long-range relays. Peripheral bands beyond direct Decepticon control. He moved through them with exacting care, filtering noise, comparing packet timing, searching for the shape of something that should not be there.
Nothing.
No intrusion spike.
No foreign signal.
No identifiable breach.
If something was acting, it was doing so within expected parameters.
Or between them.
“Soundwave.”
The channel opened with authority.
Megatron.
“Status.”
“Engine Three instability detected,” Soundwave replied. “Cause: undetermined. Pattern irregular. Investigation in progress.”
A moment of silence followed.
“Risk level.”
“Escalation possible.”
“Then monitor. Inform me when that changes.”
“Affirmative.”
The connection closed.
Soundwave returned his full attention to Vos.
Engine Three fluctuated again.
Higher.
Compensation systems responded.
Delayed.
There.
Again.
Consistent in its inconsistency.
Soundwave marked the sequence. Not failure. Not yet. But not stable. That was sufficient.
He did not escalate command without confirmation.
He deployed observation.
“Laserbeak. Buzzsaw.”
His chest compartment opened, and two compact forms shifted free from within him. Sleek, angular avian constructs unfolded with mechanical precision, wings forming from segmented panels, systems coming alive as their red optics ignited. Their frames were sharp and exact, built for speed, surveillance, and retrieval, with hooked mechanical claws capable of gripping metal, cable, or armor when necessary.
Extensions of his reach.
Not constantly connected.
Now, by intention, they were.
Soundwave opened the operational link, and their telemetry settled into his awareness: altitude calculations, wing alignment, sensor readiness, engine response. Not emotion. Not instinct. Data, signal, and sensory return, disciplined through the bond between commander and cassette.
“Deploy to Vos,” Soundwave ordered. “Reconnaissance priority. Focus: Engine Three. Identify cause of instability.”
Laserbeak and Buzzsaw launched without hesitation, two sharp silhouettes accelerating into open air and vanishing toward the distant suspended city.
Soundwave remained where he was.
Watching.
Listening.
Collecting.
He did not assume sabotage. He did not assume attack. He did not assume anything.
But the probabilities were shifting.
Mechanical failure: decreasing.
External influence: rising.
Unverified.
Engine Three fluctuated again.
This time, the correction lagged longer.
Vos held.
For now.
High above the war.
Unaware it had already been touched.
Soundwave’s awareness extended through Laserbeak and Buzzsaw as they cut through the upper atmosphere in tight formation, sensor arrays active, emissions minimized. Their flight paths streamed back to him in layered feeds: altitude, velocity, thermal gradients, civilian traffic patterns drifting beneath them like slow-moving constellations.
He did not become them.
But he saw through them.
He heard through them.
He registered the subtle resistance of air across their wings, the minute adjustments in angle and thrust as they corrected course toward Vos’s expanding silhouette.
The city grew larger in their shared view. Engine spires rose like anchored pillars. Energy lines pulsed in steady rhythm beneath its surface. From a distance, Vos still looked stable.
Soundwave compared that image to the data still flowing from Engine Three.
The two did not align.
Elsewhere across Cybertron, transmissions moved under his direction: unit deployments, supply reallocations, battlefield updates. He routed them with the same precision as always, adjusting timing, filtering noise, maintaining clarity across a war that depended on it.
Nothing faltered.
Nothing slipped.
But a portion of his processing remained fixed on Vos.
Engine Three fluctuated again.
Correction lag increased.
Still within tolerance.
Still contained.
For now.
Laserbeak adjusted altitude, climbing slightly above standard traffic lanes. Buzzsaw mirrored the movement, offset to maintain coverage. Their red optics swept across the outer structure. No visible damage. No external breach points. No signs of structural compromise.
Routine.
On the surface.
Soundwave layered their visual feed against the internal diagnostics.
Mismatch.
Unresolved.
He shifted their approach. “Laserbeak: reduce profile. Prioritize passive scan.”
Acknowledgment returned through the link without words.
Laserbeak’s emissions dropped, sensors recalibrating to receive rather than broadcast. Buzzsaw widened his arc, extending coverage along the nearest engine column. Soundwave fed them a minor course correction, two degrees starboard, lowering their profile against the reflected light of Vos’s lower structures.
Still nothing.
No external interference.
No traceable signal.
If something was acting, it was doing so without announcing itself.
Soundwave did not increase speed.
He did not escalate yet.
He watched.
Listened.
Measured.
Engine Three stabilized briefly.
Then dipped again.
A pattern trying to hold.
Or being forced not to.
Laserbeak’s feed sharpened as he neared the outer ring. Traffic increased: Seekers moving in controlled lanes, maintenance craft cycling between access points, civilian routes still functioning normally. Nothing out of place.
Nothing that matched the disruption below.
Buzzsaw swept lower along the engine structure.
Energy output readings aligned with internal reports.
Except—
A variance.
Small.
Localized.
Gone before it could fully register.
Soundwave flagged it instantly. “Buzzsaw. Repeat pass.”
Buzzsaw banked, returning along the same vector. Sensors narrowed, focusing on the exact coordinates of the fluctuation.
No recurrence.
Clean.
Normal.
Soundwave stored the data.
Unconfirmed.
Not dismissed.
Behind it all, Engine Three continued its uneven rhythm.
Correction.
Delay.
Correction.
Delay.
Each cycle slightly longer than the last.
Laserbeak crossed into the outer perimeter of Vos. Authorization pings moved automatically: recognized, accepted, passed without resistance. Decepticon command codes held.
Inside, the city moved as it always had.
Order.
Structure.
Function.
Unaware.
Soundwave processed all incoming streams simultaneously. No alarms beyond Engine Three. No escalation orders. No indication that Vos Command saw anything beyond a stubborn mechanical issue.
Starscream would be there now.
On-site.
Directing.
Soundwave did not open a channel to him. Not yet. There was nothing confirmed enough to change action, and Starscream would already be responding to the visible problem. Soundwave’s task was not to repeat what Vos could see.
His task was to find what it could not.
Buzzsaw’s feed flickered.
Not interruption.
Not loss.
A brief distortion across one sensor band.
Then it cleared.
Soundwave isolated it instantly and reviewed the trace. No source. No repeat. He did not label it, but he did not ignore it.
Engine Three fluctuated again.
Correction lag increased.
Threshold approaching.
Laserbeak and Buzzsaw closed on Engine Three, slipping along the outer edge of Vos’s lower structure, their profiles minimal against the vastness of the city. Their optics adjusted automatically: zoom, focus, thermal overlay.
Engine Three filled their vision.
The damage was worse at proximity.
Heat distortion bled outward from the propulsion spire, visible even before they reached optimal visual range. Light stuttered along its outer plating, not steady illumination but irregular bursts as internal systems struggled to regulate output.
Then flame.
Not external ignition. Contained venting through stress points along the engine housing. Controlled systems trying to purge what they could not stabilize.
Damage.
Contained, but real.
Soundwave received the feed without reaction.
Engine Three was no longer theoretical.
It was burning.
Internal comms across Vos shifted tone. No longer routine. Now focused. Directed. Emergency protocols activated within acceptable thresholds.
Still controlled.
Still contained.
Soundwave tracked the flow of orders moving through Vos’s command structure. Aerial units being repositioned. Engineering crews rerouted. Command authority consolidating.
Starscream.
The shift was immediate once he entered the network traffic. Orders sharpened. Lost time vanished from response chains. Redundancies stripped out in favor of direct execution.
Soundwave did not follow him visually.
He did not need to.
The effect was sufficient.
Laserbeak angled for a clearer line into the exposed sections of the engine housing. Buzzsaw moved opposite, widening the observation field. Their feeds split across Soundwave’s perception: two perspectives, layered and synchronized.
No visible saboteur.
No external breach.
No obvious cause.
Only damage.
And systems responding to it.
“Maintain observation,” Soundwave transmitted. “Avoid detection.”
Acknowledgment returned through the link.
Within Vos, command traffic spiked briefly, then narrowed again. Starscream had reached Engine Three. Soundwave noted the change not by visual confirmation, but by structure. Orders no longer overlapped. There was no duplication. No hesitation.
Assessment.
Decision.
Execution.
The engine’s output dropped.
Not failure.
Shutdown.
Necessary.
Soundwave adjusted his internal models.
Engine Three: offline.
Load redistribution initiated across remaining systems.
Seven engines now carrying full city weight.
Within acceptable parameters.
For now.
Laserbeak dipped lower, skimming along the engine’s outer curvature, optics probing for inconsistencies beyond the obvious damage. Buzzsaw tracked the surrounding structure: support struts, auxiliary conduits, maintenance access points.
Nothing moved that should not.
Nothing appeared out of place.
If there had been interference, it had left no visible trace.
Soundwave processed that.
Possibility: internal failure.
Possibility: external action with no residual signature.
Probability shifting.
He did not finalize.
Engine load across Vos adjusted. Power redistributed. Stability maintained.
For a moment, everything aligned.
Soundwave continued to watch.
Then Engine Five spiked.
No warning.
No gradual deviation.
A surge: sharp, violent, immediate. Laserbeak’s feed snapped toward the source as light from Engine Five flared beyond standard output limits. Energy built faster than containment systems could respond.
Soundwave registered the sequence in less than a fraction of a second.
Power surge.
Containment failure.
Ignition.
The explosion tore outward from the engine column, a violent rupture that broke the controlled rhythm Vos had maintained. Fire and debris vented into open air. Structural plating sheared away as internal systems failed under the sudden overload.
Shock rippled across the city’s frame.
Not enough to break it.
Enough to destabilize.
Across Soundwave’s network, signals surged: overlapping, conflicting, immediate.
Alarms cascaded.
Not localized.
Not contained.
System-wide response engaged.
Laserbeak was forced upward by the expanding blast, wings adjusting instantly to compensate. Buzzsaw pulled back, widening distance to maintain visual while avoiding debris. Through both of them, Soundwave saw it clearly.
Engine Five was not fluctuating.
It was gone.
Destroyed.
No delay.
No pattern of instability leading into it.
Direct escalation.
Soundwave recalculated.
Two engines.
Separate locations.
Different failure profiles.
One degraded.
One annihilated.
Mechanical failure: dismissed.
Coincidence: dismissed.
Hostile action: confirmed.
Unknown origin.
Active.
Soundwave’s internal priorities shifted instantly. Vos moved from anomaly to active threat zone.
“Laserbeak. Buzzsaw. Expand search parameters,” Soundwave ordered, voice unchanged. “Identify source of disruption. Full scan. All spectrums.”
They moved without hesitation, splitting wider now, no longer confined to Engine Three.
Soundwave opened additional restricted channels, precise and narrow. He did not flood the network. He sharpened it.
“Megatron.”
The connection formed immediately.
“Report.”
“Engine Five destroyed,” Soundwave said. “Engine Three offline. Event classification: hostile action confirmed.”
A brief silence followed.
Then Megatron asked, “Can Vos hold?”
Soundwave processed the new data: one engine offline, one destroyed, load redistribution underway, structural integrity strained but not yet beyond recovery. Six engines remained functional.
Minimum threshold.
“For now.”
“Then we hold it.”
“Affirmative.”
The channel closed.
Soundwave returned fully to the feeds before him. Laserbeak swept across one sector. Buzzsaw crossed another. Data streamed. Signals layered. Nothing obvious. Nothing declared itself.
But the pattern was no longer in question.
Vos was under attack.
And the source was still hidden within it.
Soundwave did not rush.
He did not widen beyond control.
He focused.
Because whatever had just destroyed Engine Five was still there.
And now it had escalated.