THE RISE AND FALL OF SOUNDWAVE

By Charles Ellis

1. SMUG

2386, and the Decepticons had nearly been wiped out. The disastrous attack on the Barricade had left the Warworld armada near destroyed and hundreds of Decepticons dead or injured. Galvatron was offline, and in order to collect their wounded new commander Soundwave had to make a deal to have Onslaught sent over to Star Saber’s fake Cybertron to oversee the Predacon populace. Morale was low and it all fell on Soundwave to fix it.

   And he didn’t care, because he’d finally gotten Galvatron brought down and regained control. The dead be damned.

“Report.”

    “This is Fulcrum. You wanted an update on the status of our wounded and dead.” His voice was cold, detached. “We had thirty wounded Decepticons requiring attention pre-Barricade. Post-Barricade we have around one hundred and ten, and many of them are critical due to their spending the last week or so floating in space before Star Saber let us go pick them back up.”
   Soundwave allowed himself a little smile. In order to get the wounded, he’d let the Autobots keep Swindle and gave over Onslaught. Never let it be said that he was above even the pettiest of grudges. “The dead?”
   “We have three hundred dead from the Barricade. I would urge an immediate raid to gain medical supplies- I’m running low.”
   “We’ll do that.” Soundwave switched to another frequency- that of general Gutcruncher. “Report.”
   “Ah, yes, the stock taking.” The capitalist’s voice was smooth, refined and you could almost hear him reading through his many bits of paperwork. “Around two hundred Decepticons left during Galvatron’s reign to form new splinter groups. The most serious of these is that of the Trakkons- they have the last remaining Dominator fighter craft with them and are hiding in the K’Tor cluster. We also have a large amount of Decepticons hiding in various places thanks to Galvatron’s psychosis. Now, on our resources…”
   Gutcruncher ran on for twenty minutes. Soundwave listened whilst simultaneously communicating with Motormaster. “Report.”
   “I have twenty troops armed and ready to pounce on the Femaxian convoy! What’s in it again?”
   “Does it really matter to you?” said Soundwave coolly.

   “Nah! Motormaster, over and out.”

   Soundwave sat back, Gutcruncher’s voice playing in his mind, and considered his new position. Controller of the Decepticons. Master of hundreds. And soon he’d be known throughout history as the one who saved the Decepticons from ruin.

*********************************************************************

Soundwave! Damn him!
  Drench was a damn good co-ordinator. Damn good! Sure, he wasn’t very popular, but who gave a smelt about that? He did his job and he did it well, and everyone he’d worked for had known it.

   That damn Barricade. It had come online again too quick. So what if he hadn’t helped get the Warworlds out quickly enough? Sure, they’d lost the fleet and many lives, but how was this his fault? He was damn good but against that sort of rapid firepower…

   Soundwave hadn’t seen it like that. He’d moved his Rank Level down to Seven. SEVEN!

   No. No way in hell. He’d fix Soundwave for that. Just like he had all the others who’d tried to put him down. He’d find some dirt on Soundwave, or set him up for a fall, or something- something to ruin him as commander. Something to get the slagger demoted.

   “Show you. I’ll show you.”

2. STRATEGIES

2388, and the wounded Decepticons had all been returned to active duty. The Autobots had assigned several strike teams to deal with them, ranging from a Firestormer group under Wildride to the legendary Special Operations Unit. Soundwave saw them all off, and support for him was rising, making him the most popular leader since Bludgeon in 1991.

   He’d established himself- now it was time for the grand agenda.

********************************************************************

“The Decepticons will never truly be as great as we once were until we have gained a planet of our own.”
   “A temporary home until we can move on Cybertron?” asked Clench. “What world would that be?”

   “There are several Dominator Cyberworlds that would welcome a new strong leadership after the demise of Skyquake,” said Gutcruncher.

   “They’re all under heavy surveillance by various groups. The planet would be blitzed the moment we arrived.”
   “I’ve thought of that,” said Soundwave. “And I’ve found a small Cyberworld near the fringes of the Destron sector. The designation is Cy-12, and it is one of the many Cyberworlds that have been overwhelmed by refugees since the fall of the Empire and the various changes in power- its population is a mismatch of Cyberformers, Dominators and Leaguer’s. The majority of Dominator’s will like the idea of a strong imperialistic leadership, and the Cyberformers should offer some support as well. We could provoke a civil war and have it come out in our favour, allowing us to move in as the new rulers. This would also end the problem of breakaway groups like the Trakkon’s- with a world under our command, the various Decepticon groups would be begging us to grant them asylum.”
   “Nice plan,” said General Ironcloud, “but what would the Destrons think of this? We’d pose a threat to their security, and they ain’t known for their diplomacy.”

   “We’ll work something out regarding them. Sign a treaty, or whatever. Now, do I hear any objections to taking over Cy-12?”
   There were none.

*********************************************************************

While Soundwave and his generals banged out their long-term strategy, Drench was breaking in to Soundwave’s room. Two years on and he still hadn’t given up his obsession.

   Soundwave’s computer was well-protected, but Drench had planned this all beforehand- he always did! He’d brought all the best equipment and AI viral programs, and swiftly hacked his way into the databanks.

   He shouldn’t have demoted him. He shouldn’t.

   There was a diary of sorts in the system- most Decepticon leaders tended to keep them, as it gave them a sense of living on long past their deaths. Copies of Bludgeon’s diary had been sold illegally to Decepticon troops since 1994, and Straxus’ diary had become a large seller throughout the galaxy. Drench knew they’d both have liked that.

    He didn’t know what he’d find in here. Something that could damage Soundwave’s reputation, he hoped. Anything like that.

    And he found it.

    “Good Primus…”

3. BLACKMAIL

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Drench spun round, his optics flashing nervously. “Soundwave!” Catching himself, his voice took on a harder, confident edge. “I know about the Barricade, Soundwave! About how you got us sent in and rigged it up to get Galvatron taken out, no matter how many Decepticons would be killed in the process! I know how you’re keeping Swindle’s survival a secret, I know- well, lots of things, really, right back to 1992 when you had the original Wildrider killed to cover up your own betrayal!”

    “I see.” Soundwave raised his gun. “And how will this convince me not to kill you?”
   “Because I came prepared,” came the sharp reply. “I have a Death’s Hand Transmitter implanted in my core, like the ones used by Destron suicide agents way back. If I die, the DHT will transmit all the dirt on you to a specific Decepticon- in my case, every single damn one of them under your command. Kill me and they’ll all know what you’ve done.”
   Soundwave slowly lowered the gun, his circuits going numb. “I see. What do you want?”
   Drench was elated. “My old rank back. Knowledge of and a say in your strategies.”
   “Done.” Is that all? thought Soundwave. If our positions were reversed… A brief moment and a record of the last meeting was sent to Drench. “Here’s the current strategy. You can send yourself out.”
   “Of course.”

   And that appeared to be that. No real threat.

   Except as time went on, it slowly dawned on Soundwave what kind of situation he was in. Drench was notorious for his pettiness and vengeful tendencies- he could easily reveal Soundwave’s secrets for the sheer hell of it. And if the Stormtrooper ever died, or decided to covertly rule the Decepticons through blackmail…

   His leadership was compromised. A single move from Drench, and it would all come crashing down and he’d be hunted through the galaxy by his former comrades. Even Frenzy, Rumble, Ravage and Buzzsaw. They’d lost friends at the Barricade. They’d never forgive him.

   One single move. That was all it would take.

 4. APATHY

2391. The Cyberworld of Cy-12, in a sector primarily populated by former members of the Legion of New Cybertron.

   Click.

   The bomb went off, claiming ten Leaguers in the name of the People’s Army for Decepticon Rule. A retaliatory attack would be launched, and then a retaliatory attack for the retaliatory attack, until the division between Dominators & pro-Decepticon Cyberformers and Leaguers & anti-Decepticon Cyberformers would be so vast that civil war would be the only outcome.

   A war the Decepticons would win.

**********************************************************************

“The PADR are requesting more explosives, commander.”
  “Give it to them.”
  “And Hun-Grr is requesting assistance- seems the Special Operations Unit has his group trapped on a small planetoid-“
  “Give it to him.”
  “And Drench…”  Gutcruncher looked at his list in amazement. “I don’t believe this, he wants troops to launch an attack on one of the Grand Central Space Stations-“
  “Give it to him.”

  “What?! But Soundwave, it will minimise our level of Decepticons in base by 20% and Drench isn’t even supposed to take that sort of role-“
   “Are you questioning my orders?!” roared Soundwave, rising from his throne. “Give him what he wants!”
   “…yes sir.”

   Soundwave settled back down, back into his throne and into apathy. He was still commanding effectively, but it was all by-the-numbers commanding. There was no passion, no concern. He was carrying out a strategy that would give them their own homeworld again and he just couldn’t care.

   Drench was becoming more brazen in his demands. This was the second time he’d tried to carry out his own missions. He’d been raised to Rank 10. It wouldn’t be long before he’d be an official general at this rate.

2394. Drench sat on the table with the rest of the generals and was becoming more and more covertly responsible for Soundwave’s decisions. The government of Cy-12 was trying to put down the PADR, only to find huge resistance from their Dominator population, and the Cyberformers were becoming more and more divided in their loyalties. Soundwave had stopped talking to anyone non-formally.

2396. Four Cy-12 governors had been assassinated, tanks had bulldozed part of a Dominator ghetto and several Decepticons had arrived in secret to help train the PADR. Soundwave now hardly came out of his quarters anymore. The Cassettes were worried- he was acting far too much like Galvatron had before 2359.

2397. The PADR and their supporters finally launched an all-out assault on Cy-12’s capital city. Soundwave led the Decepticons in to assist and it all hit the fan.

5. DAMNED

“Stunticons, you have seven incoming from behind; send in Breakdown. Squad 10, you have an opening at 30 degrees to your right.”

   “Enjoying yourself?”
   Drench smirked at Soundwave’s hate-filled communiqué. “Top of the world, boss.” He put his hands behind his head and surveyed the landscape around the tower he was perched on. “Top of the world.”

   The Decepticons and their sympathisers were attacking the capital in full force, and soon the Cyberworld would be theirs. All they had to do was remove all the Citadel’s defences.

   Drench frowned, drew his gun and fired acid at the sniper to his left. Couldn’t they let him do his job in peace?

**********************************************************************

 Firepower blazed around him and shattered his cassette screen, and Soundwave didn’t care. He didn’t even wish for it to hit, he simply fought by the numbers. Duck, fire, reload, repeat.

   “Get DOWN!” Rumble shoved his commander onto the floor as missiles streaked just overhead them and harmlessly impacted with a building half a mile away. “Man, you need to get some help. You can’t keep goin’ on like this.”
   “I’m fine.” Soundwave got up and continued firing.

   Rumble disagreed, and the two continued their conversation at high-speed binary code transmissions. There was much arguing over Soundwave’s self-imposed isolation, his lack of enthusiasm for his job and so on. Up until the point when Rumble said, in the heat of the moment, that he was acting like Galvatron.

    Soundwave hit him.

   “…”
   Rumble got up, his face cracked, and slammed his fists into the ground, using sonic vibrations to bring down a building on their attackers. He glared at Soundwave.

   “I could do that to ya. I could kick yer aft for that. But I won’t. Not this time. Next time, your body’ll be lying on the floor in so many pieces.”
   “Rumble, I-“
   “Shut it.”

   Rumble stalked off, leaving Soundwave alone.

***********************************************************************

 Ten minutes later, and the Decepticon force had the Citadel surrounded. Cy-12 would soon be theirs.

   However, they had forgotten their opponents had a larger air force than they’d actually been using, and thus were taken by surprise when Cyberformer and Legion fighters swooped in and began blitzing.

   Drench was very surprised, and was blown off his perch into a nearby alleyway.

   Soundwave’s oil went cold.

   “Dragstrip, Clench, Blot- help Drench now!”
   “I’m sure he doesn’t need all of-“
   “HELP HIM NOW!”

   And off they went, shooting down enemy jets and giving Drench time to run. Blot was taken offline, but the commander didn’t care.

  Drench drove off in his alt mode, feeling smug. He’d been this close to termination, but Soundwave had saved him, despite the risks it had posed, despite how it compromised their assault. Because Soundwave couldn’t let him die. Not ever.

    There was a sharp swing in the air current as a bomb came streaking down to him. His armour could withstand the blast, of course.

    But the blast upset his acid spraying weaponry. Caused a leak. Caused him to dissolve from the inside.

    Through the pain, he could only think of the unfairness of it all. All that work, making him too important to be killed, and he gets taken down by a freak accident.
   He made a noise that might have been a laugh, and then he died.

   Everyone with a Decepticon Vorcode frequency on the planet felt information strike their brain.

   The fighting paused. Soundwave felt himself go weak.

   Then Wildrider screamed and fired. Laser beams ripped through Soundwave’s side and he quickly returned fire, blasting the gun arm off the Stunticon. And as soon as he did that, every Decepticon around him attacked.

    Soundwave activated his feet-mounted rockets and flew upwards, heading towards the Decepticon’s ship. A compartment in his waist opened up and released Wingthing, his trusty companion drone, to discourage aerial pursuit.

   <I have to run. I have to get away. Maybe- maybe I can wait this out, wait for them all to come to their senses and realise I had to do those things. It’s all a matter of time. Yes.>

    Soundwave flew into the ship and leaned against the wall, trying to calm his panicky thoughts.

    Ca-click.

    “I think it is time you and I had a little chat,” whispered Ravage.

6. A LITTLE CHAT

Soundwave betrayed no emotion.

 “I know you’re scared,” said Ravage. “Why bother to conceal it? After all, you have the entire Decepticon army out to kill you for treason-“
   He snapped. “Starscream did worse than I ever did!”

   “That is debatable. Less were killed in the Underbase than at the Barricade.”
   “Only because there were less Decepticons on Earth back then. If there had been the same numbers-“
   “Starscream was needed often,” said Ravage bluntly. “You were needed now for your abilities as commander. They have been compromised. So now they have no need for you.”
   Soundwave crumpled and fell to the floor. “This can’t be happening. Not to me. I’m supposed to be the manipulator, the one who stays out of harms way, the-“
   “Do shut up. The sight of you whining sickens me.” Ravage stalked around the communicator. “By rights, I should kill you now. You’re responsible for a great amount of Decepticons deaths and the entire army wants you for treason. Right now, they’re leaving the attack on Cy-12 to go after you, so your plan for the Cyberworld has failed and you will have no positive legacy. If I shot you now, none would care.” Ravage withdrew his weapons. “But I won’t. Because I have owed you several times in the past. For that, and only that, I let you live. I meet you ever again, you die. Now run.”
    Soundwave got up. The spy was right. He had screwed up. All he could do was run.

   It occurred to him he could flee to the Autobots and surrender, but why sully his reputation even more?

    No. He’d go into isolation and stay there until age caught up with him and his functions ceased. That was what he deserved.

    Before he left, he said: “Tell Rumble I’m sorry.”
   

***********************************************************************

Soundwave indeed fled and hid in deep space for centuries. The Decepticons quietly fragmented in the aftermath, until only a small unit remained when Megatron returned in 2403. Drench never had a funeral- his corpse was simply left to rust. Cy-12, weakened by its civil war, was swiftly taken over by the Destrons.

   And Soundwave, his character and mind shaken by both his blackmail and his new status as pariah, was never the same again. Slowly, nostalgia claimed him like a viral growth- nostalgia for an earlier time, before Galvatron and the Empire and all that.

   And so Soundwave- manipulator, communicator, general, legend –fell into a pit of his own making.