Heeding Megatron's advice and taking a break from the work in the lab at the end of the evening cycle, Starscream found his trine mates along with Megatron, Onslaught, and the Insecticon, Kickback, gathered in the sparsely lit common room, well beyond scheduled recharge. The general mood seemed contemplative, with only Skywarp's light-hearted remarks every now and again breaking the subdued tones of casual conversation. When Starscream walked up to their table, Skywarp immediately welcomed him with a cheerful smile, indicating for him to join them.
"What are you all still doing up? It's not the best use of our available resources, you know," Starscream reproached them all, though he did so in a half-hearted, casual manner.
"Eh, couldn't get any recharge after hearing the news broadcasts," Skywarp explained. "Besides, Megatron's been telling us all about the Council of Elders. Fascinating stuff."
"Really?" Starscream looked to their leader, who still reminded him of the controversial yet brilliant mathematician and inventor that he'd always known him to be; only now, the burden of leadership and the responsibility for the security and prosperity of an entire planet seemed to rest upon his broad shoulders. "I haven't had a chance to tune in to the broadcasts. What's the latest?" he asked, looking back at Skywarp.
"The rioting's become rampant. Mass arrests are happening in every city-state now, but mostly in the Destron dominated ones." The purple and black seeker shrugged. "Something about the Council implementing forced stasis on Destrons in select areas as a precautionary measure – you know, because of the riots, and the energy crisis."
Starscream's reaction was disbelief, as he sat down in the empty seat beside Skywarp. "Kolkular?"
His concerned query was answered by Thundercracker, who shook his head in mild reassurance. "Nah. As long as we don't venture outside this fortress, the Autobot troops are staying away. At least for now."
There was a momentary pause in discussion before Starscream spoke again. "It sounds like we don't have a lot of time, then." The others simply nodded in agreement, having nothing further to add. "So, tell us – what do you know about the Elders that we don't already know?" he asked Megatron, changing the subject as he relaxed back in his chair.
"You mean, other than the fact they're a bunch of rich, stuck-up jerks?" Thundercracker couldn't help share his sentiments about the Autobot elites who made up Cybertron's supreme ruling body.
"I hear Protus is a real piece of work," Onslaught said. "He'd sell his guardian's own fuel pump for some extra crystals."
"Hm. You mean Proteus," Megatron corrected him, "and that probably isn't too far from the truth." He leaned forwards slightly, clasping his hands together in contemplation. "But you must remember that Proteus, along with his contemporaries, is only a mouthpiece. He has no real say when it comes to Cybertron's affairs, however much he may claim otherwise."
"Really?" Thundercracker raised a brow. "What about that Galactic Peace Treaty? You know, the one he and Decimus both agreed to sign into law? We watched the event on live stream. You remember that, don't you?" he asked Starscream.
"Sure. I also recall Maximus promised to kill them all for it," Starscream replied.
Megatron listened patiently, and then nodded, looking back at Thundercracker. "If you observe that transmission closely, you'll notice that those two Autobots are not the ones calling the shots." He lowered his voice slightly. "Let me ask you all a question. Do any of you recall ever seeing any of the Elders? That is, have any of you ever cast an optic upon any of them, or perhaps encountered them in person?"
This question made Thundercracker shift uncomfortably in his seat. Starscream seemed contemplative, though his tiredness and need for rest was beginning to show.
Onslaught shook his head. "Nope, not me," he said.
"Have you ever questioned why?" Megatron continued.
This time Thundercracker shook his head in puzzlement. "I just assumed everyone deals with their representatives, you know? Plus, they're upper-class Autobots – they'd never be seen dead mixing with lower class mechs such as ourselves," he said acerbically, then turned to Megatron. "Why, have you ever met them?"
"No." The Decepticon leader paused in thought. "You probably aren't aware of this, but the Elders have made it an unspoken rule to never show their faces in public. They believe that they should never have to suffer the company of any Destron, or even of lower-class Autobots, for that matter."
"Suffer, huh? Well, then it's no wonder none of us have ever seen them," the blue and grey seeker responded.
"Wouldn't want to, from the sounds of 'em," Onslaught remarked.
"So, how do you know anything about them, then?" Skywarp asked, curious.
Megatron frowned slightly as he contemplated his reply. "Sentinel told me all that I know, back when I served as his military strategist." He looked at them each in turn until his gaze settled on Starscream. "He would always refer to them simply as 'The Overlords'. It is no secret that he has always despised me for being a Destron, but I think he despises them even more."
"Huh." Thundercracker shook his head in disbelief. "I had no idea."
"As far as everyone else is concerned, Proteus, Decimus, and the other states-mechs are the Council. However, there have been a select few who had claimed that this is not the case at all," Megatron continued, "that they are not the ones who make the ultimate decisions, and that they do not have the real power, though most Autobots are completely unaware of this fact."
Kickback, who had been silently listening, was intrigued with what their leader had revealed to them thus far. "What do you know about these Overlords, Megatron?"
The Decepticon leader acknowledged him with a glance, introspective. "Not a great deal. It is mostly hearsay."
"Tell us, anyway," Starscream said.
"As I said, I do not know anything for sure, but Sentinel believes that there exists a great imbalance of power between the rulers of the worlds within our sector of space, and the inhabitants of those worlds – that their combined wealth, supposedly, is of such great value and exclusivity that they hold controlling interest in all of Cybertron's affairs – and not only the affairs of this planet, but also the affairs of several other worlds as well. I have also heard that these Overlords do not reside on Cybertron, but off-world. Regardless, as I said, these are only rumors, and I have never been able to confirm their validity."
Whether there was any truth to them or not, the rumors that Megatron had just shared had impacted each of them in a way that they had not expected, and they remained seated around the table together in the common room for several more minutes in silence, before returning to their quarters for the night.
The following day in the communications room, the higher ranking Decepticons were watching a live feed that was being relayed back to them by Laserbeak. Soundwave had sent the Cassetticon spy on a covert mission to the Central Hall in Iacon, where another emergency announcement had been declared by Autobot Command – this time to try to ease the ensuing tensions due to the energy crisis.
An image of a balcony overlooking a large hall, viewed from a high perch above the entire scene, appeared on the room's large view screen. The hall was overcrowded with Autobot civilians anxious to hear the latest announcement. Upon the balcony, safe above the goings-on down below, the two designated speakers had to battle against the deafening clamor of the crowd in order to get it to quieten down. The Decepticons recognized the speakers as Trailbreaker and Ironhide, whom they'd previously encountered whilst they were in Iacon during the Nemesis Army invasion.
"We have just received word from our team in Athenia. They say that they've managed to secure a shipment of crystals–" Trailbreaker's voice was amplified over the public address system, though he was still cut off by the loud cheering interspersed with roars of protestations upon his announcement.
"At what cost?" a mech yelled out from the crowd.
"We want real answers to the energy crisis, not just temporary solutions!" said another.
"We want to hear from the High Council! What are they doing to safeguard our future well into the next Era?" said a third.
"We should have sent teams into the Red Nebula to look for new sources of energon a long time ago! We want an official statement!" called out a fourth Autobot, whose demand was followed by shouts of support.
"'We want, we want, we want' – ugh!" Ironhide said in disgust to Trailbreaker before taking his place in front of the microphone. "Look, we're not here to speak for the High Council. We're here to keep you all updated – let you mechs know what's going on." He continued to speak loudly into the microphone, ignoring the din of the crowd. "Now, as Trailbreaker was saying: thanks to the efforts of our negotiating team on Athenia, it looks like we've been able to secure a full shipment of energon crystals, which will go a long way towards easing our energy demands considerably, at least until we can come up with a more permanent solution." Ironhide paused, then stepped back to allow Trailbreaker to continue speaking.
"As a result of the negotiations, we have agreed to grant our partners controlling interest in all cybertonium mining operations in Kalis, plus a ninety per cent claim to our titanium ore in the Oilplains."
The crowd roared wildly upon hearing this news, so much so that it would have been virtually impossible for the Autobot spokes-mechs to go into further details or to answer any of their queries with any measure of success.
Megatron had heard enough, and he indicated for Soundwave to cut the feed. "Inform Laserbeak that he may return. We have learned all that we need to know," he said in a controlled tone, though going by the way he had clenched his fist, it was obvious that he was displeased, and he wasn't the only one.
"How dare the Autobots give away parts of Destron territory to off-worlders without our agreement?" Starscream said indignantly, voicing the same concerns that were shared by his fellow Decepticons. "And all for what? A single shipment of crystals?"
Shockwave nodded in agreement, his yellow optic flashing as he spoke. "Starscream is correct. We all depend on the cybertonium that is mined from Kalis. If we allow foreign interests to control it, the future of all our kind will be at risk. Further, if they set foot in Kaon to secure the titanium ore by force, it will be a direct violation of the peace treaty that we have established with the Autobot Prime, and a hostile act against us."
"Yeah, that's right," Dirge said. "But what can we do about it? The Autobots think they own Cybertron, and can do with it as they please."
"That shipment's going to last them how long – maybe three or four months – and then what?" Thundercracker added after a pause. "If we don't replenish our energy supplies soon, there won't be a damn thing we can do to stop them."
After hearing all their concerns and considering the situation, it was Megatron's turn to speak. "I see no other option but to try to persuade the Autobots into backing out of their agreement – by any means possible," he said. He was fully aware that his intention, if carried out in full, would more than likely be seen by the Autobots as an act of rebellion, and may possibly even extend to a declaration of war against the ruling faction, so it was not a decision that he made lightly. "In the meantime, I will pay Sentinel an overdue visit."
The room fell into silence as they all contemplated their leader's words. Then Starscream spoke up once more. "But without the use of the space bridge, and with our flight capabilities and weapons limited by the energy shortage, I don't see how we can possibly implement an effective persuasive strategy, Megatron," he said.
"That may be true, Starscream," Megatron replied. "However, I have full faith in all of you. If we are unable to come up with a working solution to our energy problem in time, we will simply have to make a stand without our weapons, on what limited supplies we have. Either that, or we do nothing while foreigners take possession of our planet's only source of cybertonium and do with it whatever they see fit." His tone of voice was heavy, yet it also clearly conveyed his own anger and frustration with the current situation.
But he had made a compelling argument; one that Starscream was unable to refute. "Far be it from me to back down from a good challenge," he answered with quiet determination.