Starscream’s laboratory in Vos was nothing like the Senate chamber. There were no elevated platforms, no endless debate, no ritualized maneuvering dressed in procedure. There was only data.
Projection screens filled the room, casting pale light over half-assembled models of Vos’s stabilizer systems and energy regulators. Streams of energon distribution numbers scrolled in tall columns, each one pulled from Cybertron’s resource network and cross-referenced against allocation ledgers Starscream had spent days dragging out of every archive his Senate credentials could reach.
Thundercracker leaned against the wall near the entrance, arms folded, watching Starscream move between projections with the hard focus of a mech who had forgotten there was a world outside the problem in front of him.
“You’ve been at this for hours,” Thundercracker said.
Starscream did not look up. “Days.”
Thundercracker blinked, then glanced around the laboratory again. “That explains the mess.”
The room was indeed a mess, though Starscream would not have called it that. Models of power regulators rested across one table. A partial stabilizer schematic hovered over another, its lower half still fragmented where he had not yet finished testing the revised routing. Datapads lay stacked in groups that would have looked random to anyone else, but each pile represented a separate chain of inquiry: Senate projections, Vos maintenance reports, Kaon industrial allocation, historical stabilizer consumption, and energy-loss modeling.
At the center of the room floated a rotating model of Vos itself, its massive torus structure turning slowly in the air. Thin bands of light traced the stabilizer rings and anti-gravitic engines that held the city aloft. Beside it, a column of numbers scrolled beneath a clean heading.
ENERGON CONSUMPTION: VOS
Starscream adjusted the projection with two fingers, and another column appeared beside it.
ENERGON ALLOCATION: KAON INDUSTRIAL ZONES
Thundercracker studied the comparison. “Well?”
“The Senate’s argument is incorrect,” Starscream said.
Thundercracker smirked faintly. “That’s not shocking.”
Starscream pointed toward the numbers. “The energy required to keep Vos aloft is significant.”
“Ratbat’s favorite talking point.”
“Yes.” Starscream shifted the display, isolating the stabilizer demand from the rest of the city’s operating requirements. “But it is not excessive.”
He expanded the Kaon column. Industrial output. Transport networks. Mining operations. Fabrication yards. Smelters. Administrative reserves. Secondary allocations routed through subsidiaries and municipal contracts. The numbers climbed rapidly.
Thundercracker’s smirk faded. “That’s… a lot.”
“Kaon receives nearly four times the energon allocation of Vos.”
Thundercracker let out a quiet whistle. “And Ratbat is still claiming Vos is the problem.”
Starscream’s optics narrowed. “Yes.”
He adjusted another projection. A technical overlay snapped into place over the rotating model of Vos, marking its stabilizer network in layers: primary lift engines, load-balancing rings, directional correctors, atmospheric regulators, and emergency redundancy systems.
“The stabilizer systems used by Vos are outdated,” Starscream said.
Thundercracker raised an optic. “Outdated?”
“They were designed before the current generation of energon regulators.” Starscream activated another simulation, and the model of Vos shifted as new energy pathways formed through the structure. Bright threads rerouted themselves around older load channels, bypassing inefficient junctions and feeding power through revised regulator banks. “The Senate’s projections assume continued use of the old routing architecture.”
Thundercracker pushed away from the wall and stepped closer as the numbers recalculated. “What did you just do?”
“I redesigned the power routing architecture.”
The simulation ran in silence. Vos rotated once, then again, as load distribution stabilized across the torus. The projected demand dropped sharply, recalculated, fluctuated, and then settled.
ENERGON REQUIREMENT REDUCTION: 65%
Thundercracker stared at the display. “You’re joking.”
dishonesty. “No.”
“You just cut Vos’s energy demand by more than half.”
“Nearly two-thirds.”
Thundercracker looked at him, then back to the projection. “You just killed Ratbat’s entire argument.”
“There was never a legitimate argument.”
Thundercracker studied the projections again, his expression shifting from amusement into something more sober. “So the Senate wants to ground an entire city…” He gestured toward the new number. “…for no reason.”
Starscream’s optics hardened slightly. “No.”
Thundercracker frowned. “What reason, then?”
Starscream looked past the projections, toward the laboratory windows and the distant shape of Vos beyond them. The city’s towers gleamed in the light, aerial traffic moving through disciplined lanes between them. Even from here, he could feel the city’s rhythm—engines, stabilizers, flight corridors, the entire civilization suspended above the surface because it had been built to live there.
“Control,” he said quietly.
Thundercracker did not answer.
The Senate complex was already beginning to brighten when Starscream and Thundercracker arrived. The chamber lights rose in gradual bands, illuminating platforms and columns as attendants moved between consoles. Skywarp was already there. Of course he was. He lounged across the visitors’ railing with his legs dangling over the edge, as if the Senate chamber were an entertainment hall rather than the center of Cybertronian government.
He grinned when he saw them. “Good news.”
Thundercracker groaned. “That never means good news.”
“I didn’t get arrested today.”
Thundercracker rubbed his forehead. “That’s not the standard we’re aiming for.”
Starscream ignored them both and stepped onto his Senate platform as the console activated beneath his feet. Sentinel Prime was already standing at the central dais, armor catching the chamber light as the final senators took their platforms.
“The Senate of Cybertron is now in session,” Sentinel said.
The chamber quieted.
Sentinel did not waste time. “Following our previous deliberations, I have reviewed Senator Ratbat’s proposal regarding the grounding of Vos.”
Starscream’s optics narrowed.
“The energy strain placed upon Cybertron’s infrastructure by maintaining an aerial city-state remains a matter of concern,” Sentinel continued.
Across the chamber, Ratbat inclined his head slightly, clearly pleased.
Sentinel gestured toward the projection systems. “The evidence suggests that Senator Ratbat’s concerns are justified.”
Thundercracker muttered from above, “He didn’t even wait for debate.”
Starscream rose immediately. “Speaker.”
Sentinel paused and looked toward him.
Starscream stepped forward to the edge of his platform. “You have reviewed incomplete data.”
A ripple moved through the chamber. Ratbat’s optics narrowed slightly.
Sentinel regarded him calmly. “Explain.”
Starscream activated the projection systems connected to his platform. A rotating model of Vos appeared above the Senate floor, larger and cleaner than the one in his laboratory. Columns of energy consumption numbers scrolled beside it.
“This is the previous energon consumption model used by the Senate,” Starscream said.
Several senators nodded.
“However.” He replaced the numbers with a new projection. “These calculations assume the continued use of outdated stabilizer routing systems.”
Thundercracker leaned over the railing. “Oh, here it comes shreds.”
Starscream adjusted the model. Energy pathways shifted across the structure of the floating city, old routes dimming as revised regulator channels lit across the torus. The numbers recalculated in full view of the chamber.
A new figure appeared in bold.
ENERGON REDUCTION: 65%
The chamber went quiet.
Ratbat stared at the projection.
Starscream spoke clearly. “Vos’s current power grid has been redesigned. Stabilizer demand has been reduced by sixty-five percent.”
Several senators leaned forward, their consoles flickering as they pulled the data into their own systems.
“At this efficiency level,” Starscream continued, “Vos no longer represents a significant strain on Cybertron’s energy infrastructure.”
Ratbat recovered quickly. “These figures have not been verified.”
Starscream turned toward him. “Then verify them.”
The chamber stirred.
He gestured toward the projections. “The calculations are available to every senator present. The routing models include primary stabilizer draw, anti-gravitic lift compensation, atmospheric correction load, and emergency redundancy margins. I have also included implementation sequencing from Vos’s engineering towers.”
Sentinel studied the data carefully.
The chamber remained silent as the verification systems began running. Platform lights dimmed to a lower tone as the Senate’s internal processors checked the equations, compared them against known stabilizer technology, then cross-referenced the energy regulator data. Starscream stood still through it all. He knew the numbers. He knew the model. He had tested the simulation until any error would have become insulting.
Ratbat did not speak.
That was more interesting than protest.
Finally, Sentinel looked up.
“The data appears valid,” he said.
Ratbat’s expression tightened.
Sentinel continued, “If Senator Starscream’s calculations are correct, the justification for grounding Vos no longer exists.”
The chamber murmured.
Sentinel turned slightly toward Ratbat. “In light of this verified information, the proposal to relocate Vos is hereby withdrawn from consideration.”
Thundercracker whispered from above, “Well done.”
Skywarp leaned over the railing. “That was fun.”
Starscream said nothing.
Across the chamber, Ratbat was watching him now. Carefully. Not with the irritation Starscream had expected from a defeated senator, but with a still, measuring look that did not fit defeat at all.
Starscream’s optics narrowed slightly.
Ratbat did not care that Vos had won the argument. Not the way Altivus would have cared. Not even the way Sentinel appeared to care, bound for the moment by verified numbers and procedure. Ratbat’s concern had shifted, not ended. If Vos now required sixty-five percent less energon, then something had been freed. A difference had opened in the allocation structure.
And Ratbat was the sort of mech who saw freed resources as an opportunity.
Starscream could not prove that yet.
But he saw the shape of it.
The Senate chamber slowly emptied after the session adjourned. Several senators approached Starscream briefly to review his calculations; some asked technical questions, some offered restrained congratulations, and some merely wanted to be seen near the solution after avoiding the problem for too long. Others avoided him entirely.
Ratbat did neither.
The Kaonian senator departed quickly, his aides following in careful formation. Starscream watched him leave from across the chamber until the corridor swallowed the last flicker of his wings.
Thundercracker dropped down from the gallery a few minutes later. “That was impressive.”
Starscream did not respond.
Thundercracker followed his gaze. “Oh.”
Ratbat was already gone.
Thundercracker folded his arms. “So what now?”
“What we did today solves only one problem.”
Thundercracker tilted his head. “Vos stays in the air.”
“Yes.” Starscream’s optics narrowed slightly. “But Ratbat’s interest in grounding it remains unexplained.”
Thundercracker nodded slowly. “You think he’ll try again.”
“Yes.”
“So what do you need?”
“Information.”
Thundercracker sighed quietly. “That’s usually the difficult part.”
“Specifically,” Starscream said, glancing toward the corridor where Ratbat had disappeared, “I need to understand Ratbat. His networks. How he moves energon. How he controls Kaon. Why Sentinel was willing to support his proposal until the numbers made it impossible.”
Thundercracker studied him. “That’s a lot.”
Starscream looked toward the far side of the chamber again. There was someone who would know. Someone who had already proven he could see inside Ratbat’s operation.
Thundercracker noticed the direction of his gaze. “Oh.”
Starscream said nothing.
“You’re thinking about Soundwave.”
“Yes.”
Thundercracker rubbed his chin. “That’s going to be difficult.”
“Soundwave does not advertise his location.”
“He barely advertises his existence.”
“That is precisely the problem.”
Thundercracker followed as Starscream began walking toward the Senate exit. “So how do you find someone who doesn’t want to be found?”
Starscream allowed the faintest hint of a smile. “You don’t.”
Thundercracker blinked. “What?”
“You wait until he finds you.”
Thundercracker stared at him for a moment, then looked upward toward the gallery. Skywarp was still lounging against the railing, clearly listening despite pretending otherwise.
Starscream did not raise his voice. “Skywarp.”
Skywarp leaned over the edge. “Yeah?”
“Find the next arena.”
Skywarp’s grin widened. “Oh.” He pushed himself off the railing. “Now we’re talking.”
Vos was alive with activity by the time Starscream returned. Maintenance teams moved along the outer stabilizer rings while engineering crews worked through the upgraded energon routing systems he had designed. Massive conduits glowed faintly as new regulators were installed, feeding power through revised pathways across the city’s structure. The work had already begun before the Senate session, but now that the data had been verified and the grounding proposal withdrawn, the effort had taken on a different tone.
It was no longer only a technical upgrade.
It was a refusal.
Starscream stood on one of the exterior platforms overlooking the city’s inner ring. A rotating projection of Vos hovered beside him, streams of data updating as each system came online. Thundercracker glanced between the projection and the city below.
“You’ve got half the engineering crews in Vos working overtime.”
“Efficiency improvements require implementation温,” Starscream said.
Thundercracker smirked slightly. “You mean you’re making sure Ratbat can’t bring this up again.”
“Correct.”
Several numbers on the projection recalculated.
ENERGY DEMAND REDUCTION: 65%
Thundercracker whistled softly. “Still impressive.”
“If Vos operates at this efficiency, there is no rational justification for grounding it.”
A flash of violet light snapped into existence behind them. Skywarp appeared on the platform, landing casually beside the console.
Thundercracker sighed. “Please tell me you didn’t get arrested again.”
“Not this time.”
Starscream did not turn around. “Report.”
Skywarp leaned against the railing. “South Kaon.”
Starscream paused the projection. “Specify.”
“Under the slums district.”
Thundercracker frowned. “That’s not exactly subtle.”
Skywarp grinned. “It’s Kaon. Subtle is relative.”
“When?” Starscream asked.
“Two nights from now.”
Starscream finally turned. “You’re certain.”
“Pretty sure.”
Starscream narrowed his optics slightly. “And the source of this information?”
Skywarp shrugged. “Frenzy.”
Starscream held still.
Thundercracker blinked. “That’s a name, not an explanation.”
Skywarp waved a hand vaguely. “Little red and black guy. Small. Cassette-shaped frame. Talks fast. Little intense. He always seems to know what’s going on.”
Starscream’s expression sharpened. He had seen a small red-and-black mech once before in Kaon’s lower sectors, standing quietly near the edges of a crowd.
Listening.
“You trust this information诸,” Starscream said.
Skywarp shrugged again. “He was right about the last arena.”
Thundercracker looked toward Starscream. “That sounds familiar.”
“Yes.” Starscream folded his arms. “Describe him again.”
Skywarp tilted his head slightly. “I just did.”
“Again.”
“Small. Red and black paint. Cassette-shaped frame. Fast mouth, faster feet. Acts like he knows something you don’t and wants you to ask so he can be annoying about it.”
Thundercracker gave Skywarp a dry look. “You liked him.”
Skywarp grinned. “He’s funny.”
Starscream said nothing for several seconds. Then he nodded slowly.
Thundercracker noticed immediately. “You figured something out.”
“Yes.”
Skywarp tilted his head. “What?”
“If the mech is cassette-sized,” Starscream said, “then he is almost certainly part of Soundwave’s network.”
Thundercracker frowned. “You mean like a scout?”
“Yes.”
Skywarp scratched the back of his head. “So Frenzy works for Soundwave?”
“More accurately,” Starscream said, looking toward Kaon’s distant industrial haze beyond Vos’s shining structures, “Soundwave deploys him.”
Thundercracker folded his arms. “That’s a pretty efficient intelligence system.”
Starscream nodded once. “Yes.”
Skywarp grinned. “Good.”
Thundercracker sighed. “That usually means trouble.”
“Only for the other guy,” Skywarp said.
Starscream looked back toward the projection of Vos. The city’s upgrades were nearly complete. Energy flowed through the new regulator paths in clean, efficient lines, each one reducing Ratbat’s argument to ash. Then he looked toward the distant industrial horizon, toward Kaon, the arenas, Megatron, and the invisible network that seemed to know exactly where everything important would be before anyone else did.
Soundwave was watching Kaon.
Shockwave was analyzing it.
Megatron was organizing it.
Starscream allowed the faintest hint of a smile.
Yes.
The system was becoming clearer now.