One week later, Starscream stood just inside the door to one of the storage rooms, appraising their ever-increasing pile of energon cubes with satisfaction. Their work in the lab had turned out to be far more significant than he'd ever imagined, not only for the Decepticons, but for the entire planet as well.

"At our current rate of production, we will never need to worry about another energy shortage again."

The seeker was startled from his thoughts; he had not realized that Megatron had been standing behind him. When he turned to acknowledge the Decepticon leader, he saw that Scrapper, Mixmaster, Hook, Soundwave and Onslaught were also present, admiring their stockpile.

"Yes, we have done well," Starscream said after a long pause. "And to think, none of this would have been possible had it not been for Scavenger's ormus crystals, and a little Decepticon ingenuity," he contemplated.

"Speaking of Decepticon ingenuity, that neutron bomb of yours was magnificent, Screamer," Onslaught said, ribbing him. The bemused look he received from the Air Commander made them all laugh.

"What can I say? It served its purpose," Starscream replied smugly, then gave them a smirk. He would probably never live it down.

"It sure was one crazy idea, but it was brilliant – I've got to admit," Onslaught conceded.

"I still can't believe the Autobots fell for it," Hook said, shaking his head in amusement.

The activity in Iacon Central slowly but surely returned to normal, the city saved from a devastating fuel shortage thanks to the Decepticons' new source of energon. It would take some time, however, before the majority of Cybertron's regions and city-states could fully recover, as energy to spare gradually became available to those locations according to each area's level of priority. Meanwhile, the Autobot-controlled industrial and military zones were the first to become fully operational, since they were considered to be areas of highest importance. Furthermore, whilst many of the planet's inhabitants had already been placed into stasis, Autobot Command was not in any hurry to order their reawakening – all "non-essential civilians", as they put it, could wait. Of course, with their own independent and – to the Autobots, at least – mysterious source of energon, the Decepticons in Kolkular were the only exception.

When Sentinel had informed Cybertron Command via Proteus of his decision to officially annul the inter-planetary agreement the Autobots had made with the Jarrians and Darosians in favor of accepting Megatron's terms, the Elders were beyond livid. However, Sentinel had been prepared for such a response.

Alone inside the control room of Iacon's Command Center, he sat back in his chair, steepling his fingers in thought as he replayed in his mind the message that Proteus had just conveyed to him from the ruling elite.

"They want these Decepticons stopped," Proteus had told him. "The High Council cannot have their authority challenged by some rogue group." He had leaned over Sentinel's station, one hand placed firmly upon the control panel. "The law must be enforced! Without proper rulership, our society will fall apart, and chaos will be the result, or worse – this could lead to civil war. Do you really want to have that on your conscience?"

Sentinel had avoided his gaze. If the Elders had something they wanted to say to him, they could do so without the messenger. Regardless, he would stand by his decision. "We have always had Destron rebels to contend with – why should this particular group be of such a concern to you now?" he had asked, though he'd already known the answer.

Proteus had become tight-lipped on that. "Oh, and one more thing… you have been instructed to seize their new source of energon – make sure it's under Autobot control. We can't afford to have it in the wrong hands," he'd replied simply, walking out before Sentinel could ask him how in the Pits they expected him to do such a thing when their own energy needs depended upon the very same group they sought to bring down…

He had not known it then, but his question was about to be answered.

His advisor appeared at the entrance to the control room, and he looked up. "What is it, Prowl?"

"Sir, we've just received an unscheduled delivery. What do you want me to do with it?"

Sentinel leaned forwards, looking back at him in puzzlement. "What kind of delivery? Energon cubes?" Megatron had already sent them a generous truck-load earlier in the week, just as he had promised, so Sentinel couldn't imagine why the Decepticons would be sending more so soon.

"No," Prowl responded, and then hesitated. He seemed to be a little unnerved. "It's… sir, it's a container load of energon crystals."

The Prime stood up suddenly and rushed over to the senior Autobot. "What?" He began to lead the way quickly down the hallway and then down to the ground floor of the Command Center. "Who could have sent us energon crystals?"

Again, Prowl replied in the negative. "I'm not sure, sir. They're not from–"

He was stopped short as Sentinel spun around to face him, grabbing hold of his upper arms with both hands. "Who, Prowl? Who has sent us crystals?" he demanded impatiently. It should have been good news, he knew, but something about it just didn't feel right. Had the Jarrians changed their minds concerning Proteus' original agreement, demanding that it be enforced? Perhaps they planned to take control of Cybertron by force, this time with a larger fleet and a far greater army?

"It arrived via our main space port on an unknown cruiser." Prowl paused, unsure of what else he could tell him. "I can contact the flight center, see if I can get a positive i.d. on the owner of the cruiser," he offered after a moment.

But Sentinel shook his head, releasing his grip on Prowl. "No, don't bother. You won't find it," he stated with certainty before motioning for the other to keep pace with him, as he continued to make his way outside.

"Prime?" Prowl asked, perplexed. "I'm not following."

The precious cargo was waiting in an unmarked transport container just outside the Command Center, simply left there as if it were nothing more than a container loaded with construction off-cuts. When Sentinel released the latch to open the container door and examine the contents, he was momentarily taken aback by the large amount of crystals stashed neatly inside – in total, there must have been over one hundred thousand large cases full.

He gave an inaudible sigh, and then slammed the door closed again, turning to Prowl. "Get these inside," he ordered simply, and began to leave.

"Prime!" Prowl called out after him, more confused than ever. "It's against regular procedure to accept unmarked–"

However, he was quickly cut off by the Prime Commander, who waved a hand dismissively in the air at him. "Just do it!" he commanded impatiently, before disappearing back inside the Command Center.

For the Decepticons, the end to the energy crisis heralded the beginning of a new and prosperous era, one in which the endless struggle for survival, and the fight to become a distinct political and military entity in their own right, would gradually give way to new scientific discoveries and technological innovation, enhanced space exploration, and the continually unfolding expansion of what was eventually to become the great Decepticon Empire.

The vision of a much brighter future for all, which the Decepticons offered – a future in which independence and freedom from all forms of oppression were both fiercely defended and highly valued – would draw in many new recruits over the following weeks and beyond, though even with their ever-increasing and very busy schedules, the senior ranking Decepticons always made the effort to spend time together every week, enjoying energon breaks whilst discussing the latest planetary current events, or sharing all the details of their recent missions. These regular get-togethers would become a revered aspect of the Decepticon lifestyle, a token of the mutual trust and camaraderie that continued to grow strong among them – and a way to honor and acknowledge the unique sense of pride, and of accomplishment and connectedness, they all shared.

That evening, Swindle was analyzing a data pad when Onslaught joined him, taking a seat at one of the tables amidst a crowded and noisy common room.

"Must be intriguing," the Combation leader stated.

"Huh?" the munitions expert reacted, startled, and looked up. "Oh. Hi, Ons."

"Whatever it is you're studying there – must be intriguing," Onslaught clarified, leaning over to take a better look. The data on the display looked foreign to him – a bunch of numbers and graphs with values that were continually updating.

Swindle showed him the data pad. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." He glanced around and noticed that Megatron had just entered the common with Starscream and Soundwave. When they met his gaze, he waved for them all to join him. "Hey, check this out," he said, handing Megatron the data pad. The Decepticon leader took one look at it and then nodded, before showing the hand-held device to Starscream and Soundwave. Then he handed it back to Swindle.

"It looks like we've avoided a market crash – Cybertron would be in a far worse position right now had the Jarrians gotten what they wanted," Megatron said.

"Market crash? What's he talking about, Swin?" Onslaught asked perplexed, looking at his team mate with curiosity.

"The CredEx market," Swindle explained. He pointed to an increasing line graph on the data pad screen. "See – the value of our cybertonium has gone through the ceiling over the past week, yet the shanix has remained relatively stable – if anything, it's actually increased in value."

Onslaught looked at him as though he were speaking in ancient Cybertronian. He rubbed the back of his helm in thought. "That's a good thing, right?" he asked uncertainly. Financial market analytics was not one of his strong points.

Swindle nodded. "Yeah, it is. Like Megatron said, if the Jarrians had gained controlling interest of our cybertonium, they would have made a fortune on the inter-galactic exchange simply by limiting its availability, while also raising its price–"

"Which, in turn, would have destabilized our economy," Onslaught concluded, suddenly catching on and seeing the larger picture, as well as the wider repercussions that would have resulted thanks to an economic disaster of that magnitude. Utter chaos, not unlike the one that had occurred due to the recent threat of a planet-wide shutdown.

"That's right – if not collapsed it entirely," Swindle confirmed.

"Maybe that's what they were after all along?" Starscream suggested. "Collapsing our economy would have certainly made an invasion much easier."

"I wouldn't rule out the possibility," Megatron agreed.

"Still, there's something that bothers me more, though," Onslaught pondered.

"What's that?" Starscream asked.

"The fact that the Autobots never even saw a potential problem in the first place. I mean, they were willing to hand over our cybertonium, just like that. It doesn't make sense, when you think about it – unless, of course, they actually wanted an invasion. I don't generally agree with the way they do things or anything, but I wouldn't go so far as to believe that about 'em." The table fell quiet for a moment, realizing that he'd raised a valid point.

Then Megatron spoke up, selecting his words carefully. "You are correct – it doesn't make sense… that is, until you consider the nature of those who are in charge."

They all looked back at him inquisitively, and then recalled the conversation they'd had with the Decepticon leader over a week ago.

"You mean… the Overlords, right?" Onslaught said in reflection. He received no verbal response, only a nod of acknowledgement.

"Speaking of the Autobots, I have just received a communication request from Iacon," Soundwave said, his unusually synthesized voice cutting into their conversation. He turned to the silver and black mech beside him. "They wish to speak with you, Megatron."

Megatron hesitated, glancing at the gathered Decepticons. He had been looking forward to spending the rest of the evening enjoying their company, without any unwanted interruptions. "Very well. Let's see what they have to say."

It was Prowl this time, rather than the Prime himself, who appeared on their communications room visual display. His message was short.

"Megatron, this is Prowl from Autobot Headquarters," the black and white mech began. Once he had the Decepticon leader's full attention, he cleared his vocal processor, ignoring the other Decepticons also present as they all focused their attention upon the view screen, waiting expectantly for him to continue. "Sentinel Prime wishes to thank you for all the energon that you have supplied us with in recent days." He paused, looking a little uncomfortable. "However… he is pleased to inform you that, at least for the foreseeable future, we have no need of any further deliveries. That is all."

Prowl's message, though straightforward enough, left Megatron feeling a little doubtful. "May I enquire as to why?"

Sentinel's advisor grimaced. He was about to say something in response, but then seemed to change his mind and released a soft sigh. "We have received a very large quantity of crystals… from an anonymous donor," he said, glancing off screen and offering no further explanation.

Megatron noted his body language, and gave Prowl a nod. "Understood," he said, and pressed a button on the communications terminal. The screen went blank.

"A large quantity of crystals from an anonymous donor? But – the energy crisis – then, it was… it was set up?" Starscream uttered in realization as Megatron turned away from the comms station to face them.

Indeed, why had this anonymous donor waited until Cybertron had reached the point of an imminent shutdown before offering the Autobots the much-needed crystals?

But the Decepticon leader had no sure answers for them. Instead, he rested an encouraging hand upon the Air Commander's back as he walked past him on his way out of the room. "It seems the problem was never an energy shortage, Starscream," Megatron replied, "but rather an imbalance of power."