P.S: Extra chapter since it's my birthday today. Comment if you share the same birthdate!!
Skygnaw had no idea that his request had actually done Shockwave a massive favor.
For a scientist like Shockwave, who spent most of his time locked away conducting research, managing the entire ground-based Assault Corps was already a massive drain on his time.
Back when Soundwave was still on the planet ruling over the city of Kaon, the spymaster had easily shouldered half the military burden. But since Soundwave had departed for Earth, Shockwave had been stretched entirely too thin, forcing him to put many of his prized scientific experiments on hold.
After ironing out a few more tactical details regarding the Autobot resistance, their relatively peaceful first meeting came to an end as Snaptrap entered the room.
Needing to finalize the upcoming campaign strategy, Shockwave politely took his leave.
"Commander Skygnaw, here is the data intelligence you requested," Snaptrap said, his demeanor incredibly respectful.
Not yet knowing the temper of this newly arrived high commander, Snaptrap knew it was best to tread lightly. There was a well-known cautionary tale among the lower ranks about an elite warrior who had accidentally crossed Starscream, only to be beaten so badly his head was nearly wrenched from his shoulders.
"Excellent. Hand it over," Skygnaw said.
Taking the black data drive from Snaptrap, Skygnaw took a moment to look over the leader of the Seacons.
The commander's physical appearance was quite unique, featuring a slight hunch and a massive turtle-like shell mounted on his back that split down the center like a pair of curved wings. It was a design that reminded Skygnaw of ancient folklore prime ministers from his past life.
Then again, since Cybertron possessed actual seas, the existence of an amphibious strike team like the Seacons wasn't entirely surprising.
Thanks to the memory files he had taken from Blackout long ago, Skygnaw already held a decent understanding of the remaining Decepticon forces.
Blackout's files had been an incredible asset, ensuring he wasn't completely blind to the reality of the home world, especially since standard historical records offered very little detail regarding the day-to-day state of Cybertron.
Plugging in the drive, Skygnaw began filtering through the specific files he wanted to review.
On the Decepticon side, only three elite combiner squads remained within the ground-based Assault Corps.
First were the Terrorcons, comprised of Hun-Gurrr, Rippersnapper, Cutthroat, Sinnertwin, and Blot, who could combine into the monstrous Abominus.
Next were the Stunticons, consisting of Motormaster, Breakdown, Dead End, Drag Strip, and Wildrider, who merged into Menasor.
Finally, there were the Seacons under Snaptrap's command, featuring Overbite, Seawing, Skalor, and Tentakil, who united to form Piranacon.
As for the Air Division, only a single elite combiner squad remained active, the Predacons.
Led by Razorclaw alongside Rampage, Divebomb, Tantrum, and Headstrong, this powerful hunting pack could combine into the legendary titan, Predaking. The name alone was a testament to their reputation as absolute masters of the sky.
When Skygnaw shifted his attention to the Autobot data files, the numbers caught him completely off guard.
Anyone looking at the sheer volume of their remaining forces would doubt the Decepticons had actually won the civil war. The resistance didn't look like a defeated, scattered army at all.
Under the leadership of Ultra Magnus, the Autobots maintained an elite lineup that easily rivaled the Decepticons.
They possessed the Technobots, the Aerialbots, the Trainbots, and the Protectobots, alongside the notorious commando unit known as the Wreckers. In terms of organized squads, they actually outnumbered the Decepticons by one.
To make matters more challenging, almost every single one of those squads was a combiner unit.
The Aerialbots, featuring Silverbolt, Slingshot, Skydive, Air Raid, and Fireflight, could merge into Superion, while the Technobots united to form Computron.
The Trainbots could assemble into the massive Raiden, and the Protectobots formed Defensor.
Every single Decepticon combiner had a dedicated, bitter rival waiting for them in the Autobot ranks.
It was no wonder the resistance had managed to survive on this ruined planet for so long. If Megatron hadn't deployed three of their elite squads to Earth as reinforcements, the Decepticons would hold an absolute advantage on the surface, but now the scales were dangerously balanced.
Still, thinking of his own tier-five power and Blackarachnia's capabilities, Skygnaw's worries vanished. The core advantage was still firmly in his hands.
With a clear picture of the global military layout, Skygnaw projected a three-dimensional map of Cybertron in front of him.
To win a war, one had to understand the terrain perfectly. Most catastrophic military blunders happened because a commander lacked critical information, leading to fatal miscalculations. Skygnaw refused to commit such a basic mistake.
Aside from Iacon at the north pole, the map highlighted the planet's most famous historic metropolises: Altihex, Polyhex, Simfur, Vos, Mithril Hills, and Uraya.
Today, every single one of them lay in absolute ruins. Even if a few isolated structures remained intact within the city limits, the terrain was entirely unsuited for standard habitation.
The political structure of ancient Cybertron reminded Skygnaw of old city-state empires from Earth, where local city-state lords held absolute authority over their sectors. If a lord was in a foul mood, high command rules meant nothing to him.
Of course, that independence required immense raw power, enough to challenge the capital itself. Otherwise, the elite guards of Iacon would quickly remind a rogue lord why the capital held its title.
Beyond the ruined cities, the map charted the planet's most treacherous terrain: the Sonic Canyons, the Acid Wastes, the Manganese Mountains, the Toxic Sludge Swamps, the Heights of Dawn, and the Sea of Rust, which contained the isolated Hydra Island.
An entire second ocean occupied the opposite hemisphere of the planet, away from the Mithril Sea he had witnessed during his descent. It was a stunning layout.
These harsh wastelands, deep canyons, and toxic bogs were home to various native creatures of Cybertron, though most of them had been driven to extinction by the fires of war.
It was a shame to see such a magnificent world brought to its knees by centuries of conflict.
Then again, Skygnaw reminded himself that it wasn't his doing. When Cybertron was at the height of its golden age, he hadn't been around to enjoy the endless energy flowing from the Well of All Sparks. Why should he feel any administrative burden to clean up a ruined wasteland he didn't break?
Shaking the stray thoughts from his mind, Skygnaw closed the hologram and walked out of the Decagon. Blackarachnia had already left to attend to her own business while he was parsing the intelligence files.
Since Shockwave's networks still couldn't pinpoint the exact coordinates of Ultra Magnus's primary hidden bases, Skygnaw chose to keep his presence a secret for now, avoiding any formal assembly of the fliers. Instead, he made his way to a massive structure right beside the palace: the Iacon Archives.
Thanks to his clear understanding with Shockwave, the entrance to the facility was completely unguarded.
To ensure the Autobot spy networks didn't catch wind of two high-ranking commanders reinforcing the capital, the entire perimeter surrounding the Decagon and the Archives had been locked down by heavy Decepticon patrols.
The sound of his own heavy footsteps echoed through the cavernous, silent halls of the facility.
The Archives had historically served as the central repository for the planet's cultural history and advanced scientific breakthroughs. Consequently, the security clearance required to access the central vaults was incredibly high, keeping ordinary citizens and low-tier grunts locked out. Even elite warriors required explicit written authorization from Shockwave to enter.
But as the newly appointed Air Commander, Skygnaw held the administrative authority to grant those permissions himself, allowing him to walk right through the security gates.
Centuries of brutal warfare had completely liquidated the historians and scientists who used to spend their lives studying these ancient texts. This worked out beautifully for Skygnaw, allowing him to search the databases without worrying about anyone monitoring his queries.
He had three distinct objectives for this visit.
First, he wanted to find any hidden records or ancient myths regarding the true nature of the Matrix of Leadership.
Second, he wanted to search for the coordinates of other lost relics of Iacon.
Third, he wanted to uncover the truth behind the mysterious ancient war that had appeared within Blackout's old memory files, a conflict that predated the civil war.
Approaching a central data terminal, Skygnaw powered up an archaic console and entered a sequence of complex ancient characters.
The terminal was highly intelligent, designed to index massive amounts of historical data instantly. To Skygnaw, the facility felt like a blend of a grand museum and a high-tech library, separated only by its immense scale and digital storage methods.
An advanced civilization naturally didn't rely on paper records or standard electronic drives, and the metallic nature of Cybertron didn't allow for such primitive mediums anyway.
A long script of ancient Cybertronian text began scrolling across the primary display screen. Skygnaw scanned the index quickly, his eyes instantly locking onto a specific historical log:
*The High Council's Thirteenth Session Minutes Regarding the Decepticon Movement.*
Interest sparking within his thoughts, Skygnaw lightly tapped the display screen to pull up the full file.
*"If our core directive is to erase the lingering scars of the ancient wars, why must we order the systematic decommissioning of the military consumer lines? The security warnings issued by the high seats are nothing more than a convenient excuse to protect their own political monopolies!"*
*"Megatron is rising through the ranks of the gladiatorial circuits with terrifying velocity. The arenas left behind by the five-faced monsters, the Quintessons, have become a dangerous focal point where he rallies disaffected citizens to his banner."*
*"He has formally established the Decepticon faction. They share a single, dangerous ideology, and the High Council can no longer afford to ignore their assembly."*
*"He is actively inciting deep resentment against our ancient caste system, declaring to the masses that our current laws are an artificial barrier designed to choke the natural expansion of the Cybertronian race."*
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