What would qualify as a location that could be kept secure from that particular eavesdropper? I've met three people using that designation since I joined the R-2, and they all have the same talents as the one I spent most of my life living with, but their areas of particular strength vary. I don't know if the one you're speaking of is primarily a telepath, primarily a hacker and datapath, or primarily a soundshaper.
I do not object if you wish to choose the location.
I have enjoyed our previous conversations and our dance at the Ball. I really hoped that further conversations between us would be more amusing and less strategic. But this situation is horrifying.
Soundwave's abilities lay in his enhanced hearing... I am as confident as can be reasonable that he is not telepathic.
[ Or if he is, he's kept that ability so deeply buried that Starscream's heard no wind of it. Certainly the rank and file liked to bandy about that the communications officer had had such a capability, but Starscream had never seen actual evidence of it. ]
Further, his manipulation of recorded data — coded or uncoded — is unparalleled. A suitable place would be somehow soundproofed or otherwise shielded, with no cameras or video feeds that can be accessed. Ideally with someone watching his location to make sure he hasn't detached Laserbeak as proxy.
For the situation... it is Megatron. On some level, this is expected.
In that case we'll need a trusted fourth party to do the observation, and also to expunge all these messages once we have read them. I am not sure he's *not* a telepath, but I only touched the edge of his field. To do more than that would have been to let him in, and as much as I am inclined to like him because of who he is, I know where his loyalty lies.
The people on this ship that *I* trust--aside from the two Megatrons that I trust, one of whom is in the medbay--are Drift, who's been my friend since I was literally twenty years old, his Ratchet, whom I've also known that long, small Ratchet, and Cayde-6, whom I've known a much shorter time, but he's got no stake in any of the politics and he will definitely care about the danger. Is there anyone that you would trust in regard to this matter?
Ratchet it is. If we can pry him out of the medbay. Because it sounds like the only way we can be sure that person isn't listening to us is to know exactly where the Pit he is.
Because the stupid aft got himself killed by the Autobot scout, and because he'd been marinating his spark in dark energon, the Unmaker decided to revive him as a pawn.
When the Prime destroyed Unicron and restored his senses, Megatron claimed he had lost his taste for conquest. He ordered the Decepticons to surrender, threatened any who tried to resist that command, and fled into deep space. It has been over three vorns since that happened, and no one has encountered him any sign of him yet.
Soundwave was trapped in an out-of-phase dimension during the last battle; we had no idea. When the Autobots finally deigned to reveal what they'd done to him and explain how to enter that space, Soundwave had very nearly expired. It took him quite some time to properly recover from it.
[ This time there is a long pause before Starscream's reply comes through. ]
I don't know... he could be. I'm not the person to ask about something like that.
They were the original architects of the Decepticon movement, even before Megatron's involvement with Orion Pax. I believe Soundwave's loyalty is rooted in Megatron as an individual, not as a leader.
I understand. In my world, Megatron and Soundwave were bound to one another and I was bound to them both, and it was also personal. I was also an architect of the movement.
There was a time in my life when I had every intention of having Optimus Prime's t-cog studded with rubies and set into a black trithyllium tiara.
I don't dislike your Optimus, though. That's probably in part because I hate your Megatron so much.
The Optimus Prime from my universe is more idiot than insidious, but I take your meaning.
For a very long time, I thought they were diametrically opposed. It was only once Megatron became obsessed with dark energon that I realized they were not.
Your Megatron is a brute. I do not deny that my dearest friend has done some truly horrible things, particularly to organics. But I've never seen him do anything akin to the way in which your Megatron killed that human girl. I am aware that killing one organic is in no way more of a crime than killing millions of them.
But the way he treated the matter was beyond anything my friend has ever been capable of.
I don't know if your Megatron was ever a good person, if he ever truly cared about the welfare of the people of Cybertron, or of the lower castes, or if he just used that as a line to get people to follow him, but he's horrifying now. And it disturbs me deeply that your S, and Dreadwing and Skyquake, still willingly serve him.
...also someone told me that Shockwave is here, is that true?
Megatron has always sought power. Whether he ever intended to do good with it, good for Cybertron, I am of mixed feelings.
I am aware my perspective is hardly objective. I will, generously, assume that he did at least have the motivation to do something positive with it — but make no mistake, he was never not after power.
[ And yes, he's aware of the hypocrisy in his statement; Starscream himself has always desired power as well. ]
Shockwave? I have not seen any indication that he is here, whether the one from my universe or another.
The desire for power is in itself morally neutral. Certainly those who desire power are more prone to misuse it, because they are more prone to get it. Power usually is not thrust upon those who are uniquely qualified to handle it properly, no matter what ridiculous lies they tell about the Matrix.
I'm not concerned about (your) Megatron's desire for power. I also want power, as do you, Starscream.
I'm concerned about the fact that your Megatron wants control, not power. They're not the same. A person can have great power and use it to do good. A person can have very little power, but make everyone with less power than themselves exquisitely miserable.
I don't think this person really wants to rule everyone; I think he wants to eliminate everyone he doesn't think he can rule, and to create 'tractable' minions, such as the Vehicons--you explained to me how they were made--so that he can maintain absolute control over the few actual individuals he considers 'worthy' of his dubious attentions.
What I'm curious about is if he ever wanted to rule a society and make it a functional, thriving civilisation for all, or if he discovered that ruling a society fairly is too hard, and being sadistic is too enjoyable, for him to bother with it.
I'm not saying my former lord wasn't cruel because sometimes he was exquisitely so, but he didn't do it for the sheer pleasure of doing it. We had a saying; cruelty in peacetime and mercy in war are both perversities.
I think your Megatron enjoys causing pain for its own sake, and I doubt he can be convinced to confine that drive only to people who actively wish to be subjected to it. I think he wants to control us all, which means that first, he will have to winnow the crop, first by seeing who chooses to follow him, and then by eliminating those who resist him. Am I wrong, Starscream?
And I want power, and you want power; but neither of us would do that.
[ Starscream takes some time to reply; he doesn't disagree with what Ravage is saying even if he wouldn't have used some of the same parallels as she is drawing. Ultimately the small differences are just that: small. ]
No, you are not wrong.
[ Although she was, perhaps, being a little generous in her assessment of him. Starscream would not choose such a method, but he could. He knew himself, he was capable of it, even if he would find it tedious and unpleasant.
The difference between them was that that Starscream wanted loyalty yet would accept fear and control as an alternative, whereas Megatron wanted control, and loyalty was an interesting side bonus, not something to be valued. ]
Find a place for us to meet. Are you briefing Ratchet on his task, or am I?
I'm sure I can find a place. I'm not so sure about Ratchet being the best choice for this job. I'd feel better setting Ratchet to distract him while someone else keeps an eye on him. Of course...I don't have to tell that person why. I have been known to play pranks in the past, among other things. I pulled a few stunts with Skywarp. And sometimes we got blamed for each other's tricks.
[ He'd advised the Brigade's Starscream: "Bury your grief. If you let mention of your trine rattle you, others will use that as a weapon against you." So even outside the text conversation, Skywarp's name gets little more than a few seconds pause, and no follow up to the lighthearted remark. ]
You might be right about Ratchet. As I said, I don't know him very well. I defer to your wider range of trustworthy candidates for the task.
[ It was a pity they couldn't set Skywarp on the "creating a distraction" task; Starscream had certainly used his trinemate's mischief to strategic advantage before — he promptly excises that train of thought. ]
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What would qualify as a location that could be kept secure from that particular eavesdropper? I've met three people using that designation since I joined the R-2, and they all have the same talents as the one I spent most of my life living with, but their areas of particular strength vary. I don't know if the one you're speaking of is primarily a telepath, primarily a hacker and datapath, or primarily a soundshaper.
I do not object if you wish to choose the location.
I have enjoyed our previous conversations and our dance at the Ball. I really hoped that further conversations between us would be more amusing and less strategic. But this situation is horrifying.
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[ Or if he is, he's kept that ability so deeply buried that Starscream's heard no wind of it. Certainly the rank and file liked to bandy about that the communications officer had had such a capability, but Starscream had never seen actual evidence of it. ]
Further, his manipulation of recorded data — coded or uncoded — is unparalleled. A suitable place would be somehow soundproofed or otherwise shielded, with no cameras or video feeds that can be accessed. Ideally with someone watching his location to make sure he hasn't detached Laserbeak as proxy.
For the situation... it is Megatron. On some level, this is expected.
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The people on this ship that *I* trust--aside from the two Megatrons that I trust, one of whom is in the medbay--are Drift, who's been my friend since I was literally twenty years old, his Ratchet, whom I've also known that long, small Ratchet, and Cayde-6, whom I've known a much shorter time, but he's got no stake in any of the politics and he will definitely care about the danger. Is there anyone that you would trust in regard to this matter?
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[ A beat, then grudgingly (for as much as it carries over text): ]
The small Ratchet is tolerable, but I do not know enough about him to say whether he is trustworthy or not.
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When the Prime destroyed Unicron and restored his senses, Megatron claimed he had lost his taste for conquest. He ordered the Decepticons to surrender, threatened any who tried to resist that command, and fled into deep space. It has been over three vorns since that happened, and no one has encountered him any sign of him yet.
Soundwave was trapped in an out-of-phase dimension during the last battle; we had no idea. When the Autobots finally deigned to reveal what they'd done to him and explain how to enter that space, Soundwave had very nearly expired. It took him quite some time to properly recover from it.
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I don't know... he could be. I'm not the person to ask about something like that.
They were the original architects of the Decepticon movement, even before Megatron's involvement with Orion Pax. I believe Soundwave's loyalty is rooted in Megatron as an individual, not as a leader.
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There was a time in my life when I had every intention of having Optimus Prime's t-cog studded with rubies and set into a black trithyllium tiara.
I don't dislike your Optimus, though. That's probably in part because I hate your Megatron so much.
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For a very long time, I thought they were diametrically opposed. It was only once Megatron became obsessed with dark energon that I realized they were not.
Would that I had seen it sooner.
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But the way he treated the matter was beyond anything my friend has ever been capable of.
I don't know if your Megatron was ever a good person, if he ever truly cared about the welfare of the people of Cybertron, or of the lower castes, or if he just used that as a line to get people to follow him, but he's horrifying now. And it disturbs me deeply that your S, and Dreadwing and Skyquake, still willingly serve him.
...also someone told me that Shockwave is here, is that true?
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I am aware my perspective is hardly objective. I will, generously, assume that he did at least have the motivation to do something positive with it — but make no mistake, he was never not after power.
[ And yes, he's aware of the hypocrisy in his statement; Starscream himself has always desired power as well. ]
Shockwave? I have not seen any indication that he is here, whether the one from my universe or another.
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I'm not concerned about (your) Megatron's desire for power. I also want power, as do you, Starscream.
I'm concerned about the fact that your Megatron wants control, not power. They're not the same. A person can have great power and use it to do good. A person can have very little power, but make everyone with less power than themselves exquisitely miserable.
I don't think this person really wants to rule everyone; I think he wants to eliminate everyone he doesn't think he can rule, and to create 'tractable' minions, such as the Vehicons--you explained to me how they were made--so that he can maintain absolute control over the few actual individuals he considers 'worthy' of his dubious attentions.
What I'm curious about is if he ever wanted to rule a society and make it a functional, thriving civilisation for all, or if he discovered that ruling a society fairly is too hard, and being sadistic is too enjoyable, for him to bother with it.
I'm not saying my former lord wasn't cruel because sometimes he was exquisitely so, but he didn't do it for the sheer pleasure of doing it. We had a saying; cruelty in peacetime and mercy in war are both perversities.
I think your Megatron enjoys causing pain for its own sake, and I doubt he can be convinced to confine that drive only to people who actively wish to be subjected to it. I think he wants to control us all, which means that first, he will have to winnow the crop, first by seeing who chooses to follow him, and then by eliminating those who resist him. Am I wrong, Starscream?
And I want power, and you want power; but neither of us would do that.
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No, you are not wrong.
[ Although she was, perhaps, being a little generous in her assessment of him. Starscream would not choose such a method, but he could. He knew himself, he was capable of it, even if he would find it tedious and unpleasant.
The difference between them was that that Starscream wanted loyalty yet would accept fear and control as an alternative, whereas Megatron wanted control, and loyalty was an interesting side bonus, not something to be valued. ]
Find a place for us to meet. Are you briefing Ratchet on his task, or am I?
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You might be right about Ratchet. As I said, I don't know him very well. I defer to your wider range of trustworthy candidates for the task.
[ It was a pity they couldn't set Skywarp on the "creating a distraction" task; Starscream had certainly used his trinemate's mischief to strategic advantage before — he promptly excises that train of thought. ]
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I know I can't miss him as much as you do. But at times like these, I miss him a lot. Peace to your spark.
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I like you, for what it's worth.
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[ A little wry self-deprecation, even if it has some truth to it. He expects Ravage will sort out the meeting soon. ]
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