WRONG TURN TO THE BABY WAR

[jetsplaining]

So, good news -- the space bridge prototype worked. Less good news -- it seems to have taken Starscream with it instead of the drone, which was definitely not the intent. And he hadn't intended to send it to a...ship? It looks like he's on a ship. He can feel the hum of the engines through the bulkheads. There are almost definitely people on this ship -- whose is it? It seems Cybertronian in make, but it's not as though the ports of Cybertron have been especially bustling lately. The hallway he's in is too nondescript to give him a clue as to just what kind of ship this is, but the lack of Decepticon insignias in sight doesn't install a great sense of confidence in him.

His radio pings are hitting dead air, so either no one else was transported here, or the trip messed with his comms. Neither prospect is especially heartening. Clutching his datapad to his chest, Starscream flattens himself against a wall and starts inching toward the nearest turn in the corridor, calling out in a low hiss.

"Megatron?" Nothing. Well. Hm. "Slipstream? ...Strika? Anyone?"

Comments

[jetsplaining]

Civilians? Hahahahahaha.

"Well, immediately after the Senate was finally dismantled, the plan was to have Decepticon forces occupying every major Cybertronian city so that Megatron could begin the post-Functionist reform -- starting with an overhaul of the nursery system, and the job assignment protocols with it -- but by then the Autobots were already organizing, and even after the fall of the Senate, there were still pockets of the old memory trying to resist against the Decepticons."

Starscream hadn't joined the revolution until a little later, so the beginnings of it he'd only seen from the other side, but he's pretty well-versed in both sides of history by now. "The Autobots opposed the occupations, and then it became about territory, and they attacked the cities -- they even took some back and got enough of a foothold to keep the fighting going. The public opinion on the war is...mixed," he admits begrudgingly, wobbling a hand back and forth, "and the Autobots were preemptively offering protection to civilians the second they had enough forces to do so. And now Cybertron's sustainability is in decline, and the fight is shifting focus from territory to resources -- not just energy, but nurseries too." He frowned. "The Decepticons only control a handful of nurseries right now. They're pretty fiercely guarded."

[towardspeace]

'Yikes' is not a word Megatron has said or even thought at any point during his extremely long life, but the little uptick of his robot eyebrow zone definitely communicates a yikes-adjacent sentiment.

"Nurseries," he repeats thoughtfully. He's not, of course, familiar with the term, but the meaning is fairly easy to intuit, especially considering how much importance Starscream's placing on them. "Hm. Do your Decepticons offer protection to civilians as well? What about alliances with groups opposed to the old system but who don't want to take on the Decepticon badge?"

[jetsplaining]

"If they don't want to join the Decepticons, then they're more likely to ally themselves with the Autobots. They claim to be opposed to the old system, too." Starscream scowls. "But not all of them. Megatron has made some alliances, though most of them have formally joined the Decepticon movement by now. And civilians in Decepticon-controlled cities are about as protected as the troops are."

[towardspeace]

"Are the Autobots not allied with the Senate?" Megatron asks, surprised.

[jetsplaining]

Starscream gives him a puzzled look. "Megatron thought so at first, but -- no, they formed independently during the revolt against the Senate. Technically they started out as a civilian group."

[towardspeace]

"Hm," says Megatron. "Interesting. What exactly are their... goals, then? You said they opposed Decepticon occupation of cities, but why? "

[jetsplaining]

"They claim to protect the people's freedom," Starscream says with a roll of his eyes. "Freedom that was bought by the efforts of the Decepticons. Thanks for the revolution, we'll take it from here." He makes a face. "They weren't happy with the way the overthrow of the Senate and its aftermath played out, but I'd like to see them attempt a bloodless revolution -- as if starting a war is going to lead for fewer casualties. Now they want to take complete control of Cybertron, but I haven't exactly seen any civil planning on their part."

[towardspeace]

"And you said there's no negotiating with them," Megatron muses. It's all too easy for him to believe that, what with how the Autobots started out in his own timeline. "In that case... I'd focus your efforts away from occupation and expansion and towards defence and public relations. You don't need to control every city -- it's probably better that you don't, in fact. Give the people options. Force some accountability on your leadership."