Tales of the Intermezzo - Parable A Transformers Universe Story copyright 1999 by Dave Van Domelen based on properties owned by Hasbro ============================================================================= "intermezzo - n. A brief entertainment between two acts of a play." - American Heritage Dictionary Aki-M smiled inwardly at the Predacons clustered around him. Unlike most higher organic life forms, Cybertronians were "born" fully mature physically, able to fight after only a short period of adjustment. But many of them were still...childlike...mentally. Some never really grew up, in fact. So he very much felt like he was surrounded by a gaggle of young organics. "C'mon, Aki-M! Give us a story while we wait!" shouted one of the "children" in the crowd. Aki looked up at the balcony. The official events weren't due to start for a few clicks. "Well, I suppose I could tell you a short one while we wait for the Tripredacus Council to make their announcement...." A cheer went up, and Predacons at the fringes of the local cluster pressed in to see what was going on. A member of the Guard looked to see what the disturbance was, but when he caught Aki-M's eye he nodded and relaxed. "This story comes from the days when the old Decepticon leader Megatron was a young commander, still building his power structure," Aki began. "Perhaps it is only legend, perhaps there's a grain of truth to it...no, delete that. There *is* a truth to it, but that truth may not be a matter of historical fact. Rather, it is a philosophical truth." There was a rumbling of approval from the crowd. Anyone could look up the history banks, but very few could tell a good story. Who cared if it was accurate? "Megatron sought for himself a lieutenant, someone to be his right hand on the battlefield and in the negotiating room. These were the days before Soundwave joined the Decepticon cause, and very few followed Megatron back then. After surveying his limited resources, Megatron summoned three Seekers before him. The trio shared the same body design, but their personalities were as different as their colors. "Starscream, flamboyant aerialist and marksman whose ambition burned redder than the paint on his wings. Skywarp, cunning and resourceful, a flitting shadow in the sky. Thundercracker, strong and stalwart, a true blue Decepticon. Each had his strengths and his weaknesses, but Megatron valued them all...." * * * * Megatron sat confidently in his command chair as the Seekers entered the room. Thundercracker was first, precise and forceful, standing at attention as if a statue. Then Skywarp entered, eyes darting every which way and seeking advantage. Finally the arrogant Starscream sauntered in, looking for all the world as if he were appraising a property he wished to acquire. When the trio had assembled, Megatron spoke, his voice gravely but firm, reassuring yet intimidating. "You three are among my finest warriors. With your help, we have captured more territory than our enemies had thought possible. Now it is time for me to delegate some of my new power, that I might concentrate on new conquests." Megatron gestured, and an energon storage bin opened up, revealing its shimmering contents. "Each of you will be entrusted with a portion of our energon resources for the next decivorn, as a test of your abilities. At the end of that time, there will be an accounting." Megatron motioned to Thundercracker. "Draw forth 100 astroliters of energon, Thundercracker. This will be your portion to manage. At the end of the decivorn, there will be an accounting." Thundercracker saluted and stepped up to the container, siphoning the alloted portion into his reserve tanks. Next, the mighty leader turned to Skywarp. "Draw forth 200 astroliters of energon, Skywarp. This will be your portion to manage. At the end of the decivorn, there will be an accounting," he repeated, a slight edge to his voice. After a short pause, Skywarp withdrew his allotment and returned to the others. Finally, Megatron spoke to Starscream. "And you, Starscream...the remaining 500 astroliters in this container are your portion to manage as you will. At the end of the decivorn, there will be an accounting," he practically growled. "Yes, indeed, o mighty Megatron," Starscream bowed and fawned. Then he walked over to the container and picked it up in both arms. The other two Seekers looked on with some jealousy, but Thundercracker hid his feelings behind a mask of loyalty. "Now go, show me what you can do," Megatron commanded, and the trio went out into the world. Thundercracker scoured Cybertron until he found an abandoned sector near the ice barrens. He hid the energon carefully, then left. Every dekacycle he returned to assure himself that the energon was still there. Skywarp took his portion to the Crystal City and found a scientist named Spanner. With 200 astroliters he paid Spanner to augment his teleportation abilities, giving him greater range and accuracy. Then Skywarp spent the remainder of his time raiding both Autobots and rival Decepticon groups of their energon reserves. By the end of the decivorn, he had amassed 400 astroliters of pilfered energon above the amount he had used on the raids. Starscream, presaging the treachery for which he would become justly notorious, used his allotment to hire a quintet of mercenary warriors. In the dark of the night, the six of them crept into Megatron's command bunker and attacked. But crafty Megatron had set up a decoy in his control chair, and his counterattack quickly rendered Starscream and the mercenaries non-functional. The mercenaries had their personality cores...their sparks...removed and imprisoned. For his part, Starscream spent the remainder of the decivorn in the repair bay. At the end of the alloted time, the three Seekers were once again brought before Megatron. "Megatron, here is your 100 astroliters of energon. I have kept it safe against raiders," Thundercracker declared, holding out a small fuel tank. Megatron sneered and grabbed the tank. "It would have been equally safe here, if not moreso, Thundercracker. Your loyalty is to be commended, but you lack a sense of initiative, or even the ambition to use the energon yourself." He then placed the energon back in the main storage container. "Megatron, here is your 200 astroliters of energon back, and 200 more astroliters besides," Skywarp offered up a large tank. Megatron nodded and added the contents of this offering to the main container. "You have shown admirable initiative, Skywarp. However, you sacrificed a long-term strategic advantage for a short-term gain of energon. Our enemies now have taken the measure of your new abilities and you'll find you have gained nothing in the long run. Still, you are loyal and resourceful, you may have these 500 astroliters of energon as a reward for your actions." Skywarp smiled, then his face fell as he realized what this meant. "I am not to be..." "No," Megatron shook his head. Then he turned to Starscream, who was in laser shackles. "Starscream is to be my new lieutenant. Not only did he show initiative, he has ambition and is willing to risk failure to gain a greater prize. Now that he knows betraying me is futile, he can gain greater power by putting his talents to use serving me," Megatron added, deactivating the shackles with a wave of his hand. "Yes, Lord Megatron," Starscream cooed. "You will find me a very URGHHK!" Megatron's hand was now around Starscream's neck, hoisting the Seeker up off his feet. "Know that being my lieutenant does not mean you are my heir, Starscream. Should I meet death in circumstances that are even remotely questionable, you will not live to enjoy command. Be certain of that. My friends are many on Cybertron." "I...will keep...that in mind..." Starscream choked out. * * * * "And so began Starscream's career as the second-in-command to the mighty Megatron," Aki-M finished. "Always remember the lesson of this tale...it is good to be loyal, but better to be ambitious. You serve yourself and your leader better when your goals reach beyond simply serving. Remember, too, the other lesson of this tale: "If you're going to commit treachery, make sure your target isn't expecting it." ============================================================================ Author's Notes: Okay, I cheated, this is really a tale set outside the "Intermezzo" period. But making it a fable keeps me from having to worry about canonical details. }-> You may recognize the core of this tale as being borrowed from the Bible. Hence the title, "Parable." Of course, since it's a Predacon parable told about Decepticons, the details are a little different. After all, in the Bible, the son who got five bags of gold didn't hire mercenaries to kill his father. This parable also attempts to answer the age-old question, "Why would Megatron keep Starscream at his side?" I figure that Starscream did learn this early lesson, and avoided outright betrayal for a long time afterwards. But once on Earth and away from Megatron's "friends," Starscream got a lot more rebellious than he had been on Cybertron. He may have also arranged the demise of some of these "friends." Aki-M is a reference to the _Thieves' World_ storyteller Hakiem, and is not meant to be any Cybertronian in a new or old body. I initially came up with this story as something that my "Transformers: the Lost Years" MUSH character Channel might tell, since he's a historian and storyteller. But the more I thought about it, the less appropriate it seemed for an Autobot storyteller. So I decided to recycle it as an Intermezzo, since I'd already lost an hour of sleep lying in bed working out the details...gotta show it to *someone* after something like that, yes?