Chương 20: LOG-019.

It would be an understatement to say that the Decepticon ranks were somewhat... tense, at the moment. Especially considering that I had practically dived past the interception force and transformed into my root mode, landing in the 'no man's land' between them and the Autobot ships while rerouting my initial broadcast through the Nemesis' systems. Dreadwing certainly wasn't pleased, judging by his scathing tone of voice as he activated his commlink.

"Shockwave! What are you doing!? You-!" I interrupted the fake jet before he could really get going, even as I kept an optic on the still hovering pair of spacecraft.

"We will not be engaging the enemy here, Dreadwing."

"But-" There was a certain way of emphasizing words, in order to avoid waffling pointlessly. As a senator, one had to know how to project such words for maximum impact. So that's what I did, even as I connected to every Decepticon comm signal my systems could reach. Which was all of them, by the way. Everyone was pretty much clustered together.

"We stand upon the precipice of restoring Cybertron. Not only that, but we must also work to dispose of what was once thought to be a monster of legend. In order to ensure the survival of our very species." I noted the larger vessel slowly maneuvering to land. Good. One could always trust Optimus to attempt the diplomatic solution before resorting to violence, at least.

"The Decepticons are weakened due to Megatron's compromised nature. Additionally, we are currently protecting the only method of breathing life back into our homeworld." I looked up towards cybertron's barren sky for a moment, staring at what could only be Wheejack's vessel, the Jackhammer, before focusing on the actually landing ship.

"We. Are. Not. Fighting today. Diplomacy is the most logical solution. Do I make myself clear?" A moment of silence, then finally Dreadwing responded.

"... Very well. But this is not over." I sighed.

"No, merely suspended. I expect you to join me down here, by the way. His unamused snort was his last reaction before he cut the comm. The rumble of several engines sounded behind me, and I idly noticed all four of my Zakus roll forward on their treads, transforming and taking protective positions around me. In the distance, I could make out several figures exiting Ultra Magnus' ship.

The dull thump of a giant robotic dragon landing behind my guards reminded me that no matter what happened in the next few moments, it would certainly prove... interesting. Now, to see if I could pull off my biggest gamble since awakening in the ruins of the spacebridge platform.

A few minutes had passed while our little group waited for the Autobots to get their collective scrap together. Dreadwing had eventually landed next to us, followed by a few braver Vehicons. But that wasn't important. What was important was the tall mech striding towards us, followed by several other Cybertronians. Stolen story; please report.

While the rest of his team glanced around warily, several of them notably keeping an optic on the giant predacon crouched next to me, Optimus decided that I was the most important thing to stare at. After they'd eaten up the last few dozen meters between us, Indomina had presumably decided that she'd had enough of waiting. The Autobots collectively tensed as the reptilian monster clawed it's way forward, shrieking at them.

I made sure to take a brief recording of the Prime's face when my creation transformed, the femme pointing a clawed digit at the group.

"You will advance no further! Keep your distance!" Optimus'... protege? No. Optimus' second in command, frowned, one arm left in a blaster configuration.

"We do not take orders from... whatever you are." At that, the draconic femme held her helm up high, even as she stared the mech down.

"Indomina. First of the revived predacons, and my master's finest creation." Truly, I had created a humble being. And, it seemed that I wasn't the only one to notice her resemblance to my former self. Considering how quickly Prime was glancing between her faceplate and my own camera-like helm. Fucking Functionists. Mmph. Finally, the red and blue Autobot elected to break the somewhat awkward silence, looking at me.

"Shockwave... you spoke of an end to hostilities between us. Though I believe there is one that would be most against such a notion." The Prime's optics narrowed.

"Where is Megatron?" I looked to Dreadwing, who glared right back at me. Bastard was throwing me under the bus? Fine. I'd do it myself. I'd drag this entire damned race back into a proper golden age, kicking and screaming if I had to. Stepping past my Zakus and a now silent Indomina, I panned my vision across each of the Autobots. A confused Bumblebee and Bulkhead. A glaring Arcee and Ultra Magnus. A determined Smokescreen. A missing Ratchet and Wheeljack. Hm. And a curious and annoyingly hopeful Optimus Prime.

"Megatron is currently undergoing... a medical intervention. After the rest of Decepticon command decided to support my theory on the potential of his processor having been compromised by Unicron." Silence. Complete and utter silence. Broken by a stupefied Smokescreen.

"W-wait? I thought that was a joke-you guys actually pulled a coup!?" Dreadwing snarled from my left, pointing at the young elite guard.

"It was not a coup! It was for our Lord's own good!" I nodded along, crossing my arms.

"Indeed. Being possessed by Primus' evil twin is something I would consider... unhealthy. To say the very least." More stares. I could see Bulkhead silently mouthing the word 'unhealthy' to a helplessly confused Bumblebee. Optimus just continued trying to peer into my soul. Or something. I ignored the slightly lighter tone in the former archivist's voice.

"I... see. I would then presume that... you are in command?" I shook my helm before Dreadwing could speak.

"We are currently operating under a temporary council between the Nemesis remaining officers-but that is not important." I'd finally decided on just how I was going to pull this off.

"What is important is how we are going to work together to restore Cybertron to it's former glory... and prevent the Destroyer's awakening due to said restoration." I tilted my helm as several bots began to yell at once.

"Oh, I also want to revive the currently extinct predacon race while we're at it. And maybe finally reach some form of peace once we get Megatron back to his proper senses. Hopefully." Dreadwing stomped forward, poking a digit into my chest.

"Peace!? You don't hold the authority to-!" The angry Seeker paused as I handed him a datapad, pulled from my subspace. When in doubt, hand out jobs.

"Here are the initial projections for the actual amount of cybermatter required to reform cybertron. Ultra Magnus, please coordinate with Dreadwing in attempting to outline just how we're going to acquire enough energon to jump-start a planet." The Decepticon commander's mouth sputtered.

"You've... you've gone mad. Did that spacebridge explosion knock loose a processing node?" I shrugged.

"Possibly. Regardless, I believe that working together to prevent our extinction is only logical. I would reckon that even Ultra Magnus would agree to such a notion." The Autobot commander's optic twitched. Ever so slightly. Indomina promptly added fuel to the fire by walking up to Prime, staring down at him.

"I will not lie. From what my creator told me about you... I expected you to be somewhat... taller." The Prime chuckled, which drew a bit of silence from pretty much everyone present, before he turned to nod at Ultra Magnus.

"If the Decepticons will willingly cooperate in such an endeavor, it is only right that we Autobots should follow. At the very least, I agree that extinction is not in our best interests. Although I am curious as to how you know of all this, Shockwave?" At his curious glance, I tilted my helm side to side.

"I had plenty of time to devote myself to research and planning while I was isolated on cybertron. I have learned... many things." Really, it was quite simple. If I just kept everyone confused and busy for long enough, I would hopefully buy myself enough time to figure out an actual plan beyond having Indomina hit people until they stopped trying to kill each other.

Judging by Optimus very much bemused smile as he glanced around at the now (verbally) arguing Autobots and Decepticons, at least he was somewhat onboard. Even if Ultra Magnus and Dreadwing were now glaring daggers at each other as they debated who should take command of the current project. Ah, momentum-based diplomacy, my beloved. Now I just had to balance on this tight rope well enough to keep everything from exploding into energon fueled flames. Joy.