Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Megatron had been having a horrible month.

Ever since "the argument" doors had been randomly closing in his face, his energon always dispensed at the wrong temperature and he kept tripping on absolutely nothing. It was getting infuriating.

"STARSCREAM!" he shouted up at the air. "OPEN THIS DOOR! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!"

A few seconds passed, just long enough for him to consider blasting the door with his cannon, before it finally slid open and he stepped into the meeting room. Everybody else had already assembled and the entire room's gaze fell upon him as he entered. He huffed as he took his chair, only to find it had suddenly moved a foot back and he fell on his aft.

"RIGHT! THAT'S IT!" Megatron shouted as he stood up, grabbing the chair and throwing it half way across the room. "I'M GOING TO BLAST THAT TITAN'S BRAIN MODULE TO SMITHEREENS!"

His command staff suddenly stood up, worried about the terrible outcome of Megatron actually carrying out his threat.

"Megatron: best consider other course of action," Soundwave said.

"No! That blasted entitled titan deserves what's coming to him."

"My lord Megatron, I'm sure there are other options that can be considered," Shockwave said.

"Best course of action: apologise."

"No! I will not apologise! It's him that should be the one apologising!"

"You did kick him first," Shockwave pointed out.

That was true. On the night of "the argument" they had both gotten into a disagreement over some trivial matter Starscream had been obstinate on, and in a fit of rage Megatron had kicked his processor. Ever since then the titan had been pulling petty pranks on him and messing with him every step of the way. His alarm had gone off at random times. Meetings with foreign dignitaries had gone wrong. His life had become some sort of waking nightmare.

"Attacking titan: not best advised."

"OH, WAS IT, SOUNDWAVE? WAS IT? YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME! I HAVEN'T HAD A DECENT RECHARGE IN CYCLES!"

Being the ruler of the most opinionated City on Cybertron was starting to become the worst pain in Megatron's entire life. When he'd managed to get himself declared Lord of this esteemed titan warship, Megatron had thought he had made it, only to discover this damn titan was the most infuriating piece of sentient slag he had ever had to deal with. They clashed constantly and Starscream never listened to his suggestions. Megatron had started off his leadership determined to knock Starscream into shape, but now it was clear the titan was winning, and all Megatron wanted was a decent recharge and a nice warm cube of energon.

"Alright," he sighed as he slumped down onto his seat. "I'll apologise."

There was a collective sigh from his command staff.

"Soundwave: will go and talk to Starscream. Prepare him for apology."

"Thank you, Soundwave," Megatron said as Soundwave left the room and the doors effortlessly glided open for him. Megatron hung his head in despair, readying to swallow his pride.

"We really need a new cityspeaker," Megatron muttered under his breath. The last cityspeaker had walked straight out after only a few minutes talking to Starscream. Since then they had been relying on Soundwave, who was not officially qualified as a speaker but his telepathy at least allowed him to communicate with Starscream.

"We have been sending out calls but erm... we have not had many applicants," Shockwave announced.

Starscream normally turned away his cityspeakers, or was rude to them, or hated them because they tried to do things differently from how he wanted to do them. They now had a reputation, and no one wanted to come near them with a barge pole.

It didn't help that Starscream was of the opinion that since he was the city, he should run everything by himself and he didn't need an interpreter. 

"I don't care how we get one, we need someone who can deal with Starscream now ."

Chapter Text

Skyfire got the first glimpse of his new assignment as he broke the clouds. Starscream Station was a stunning sight to behold, a huge floating fortress high above Cybertron. Even from here the towers shone and glimmered like a crown ladened with jewels.

Skyfire's jets nearly faltered as he stared in awe before he reactivated them again and shot off straight for the city. As he got closer he saw aerials dancing around the city.

::[Starscream Station Control to incoming shuttle, please give clearance.]::

::[Hello, this is Skyfire. I've been given clearance code four-one-two-three.]::

::[Clearance accepted, you are cleared to touch down on runway three.]::

::[Thank you.]:: Skyfire said before the line cut. He continued the rest of the way, taking his chance to admire the city from above. If it weren't for the tumultuous reputation of its titan, Skyfire was sure that every cityspeaker would be scrambling for this position.

He set down on the rather spacious runway before transforming back into root mode. There was nothing like the feel of being on a cityformer. They felt alive, always moving and changing. On these cities there was a wonderful symbiosis you got between the people and the city itself.

Skyfire would have to visit the city and get to know it's civilians, understand how they lived. To understand a cityformer was to understand its people.

As he set down he was greeted by two figures, one blue and one purple. They both had the bulky functional look of military frames. The blue one was some sort of host model judging by his chest, and the one had some sort of altmode that Skyfire wasn't entirely sure what it was.

They bowed as he approached them.

"Greetings, you must be Skyfire," the purple one said.

"Indeed, let me say it is an honour to arrive at your city. I have seen so very few floating cities, this truly feels like a privilege."

"Compliments: appreciated," the blue one said.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Shockwave, head scientist of this station, and this is Soundwave, our communications chief."

"An honour to meet you."

"Please follow us, and we shall take you to Megatron."

Skyfire followed alongside them, still admiring the city. He watched several more seekers fly past the spires.

"There do seem to be a lot of aerial frames here."

"Population: seventy percent seekers."

"Wow, that's quite high. I think the only other city with such a high seeker density is Vos itself."

"Nature of titan: suitable for aerial frames."

"Seekers are the favoured residents of Starscream," Shockwave said, pressing his hand to an elevator door.

"I see," Skyfire said as the elevator opened. The two of them stepped inside and he ducked in order to not bang his head. With all three of them and his huge size it quickly felt cosy. Skyfire tried to tuck in his wings and take up less space. They were heading to the lower levels but Skyfire's optics kept scanning the city, looking for any clues about it he could glean.

"And what is the rest of the population?"

"Remaining population: twenty percent warframes, ten percent miscellaneous."

"Interesting. Starscream was built as a warship, I believe?"

"Yes, indeed,” Shockwave started to explain. “He was originally built for the expansionist efforts of Nova Prime, back when he wanted to expand the Cybertronian Empire beyond just this planet. They needed several ships that were capable of going into space and also housing entire militaries. However, when several of Nova Prime’s efforts failed Starscream was not used and remained on Cybertron."

Skyfire knew of those titans. Fortress Maximus had been created for the same purpose.

"Does that mean he is space worthy?"

"Potentially. We have not tested his ability recently, by all means it should be possible."

Skyfire started to imagine what that would be like, but for the purpose of exploration, not for war. A titan that could travel through space would allow them to discover new worlds, new species. Who knew what sort of scientific discoveries they could find if they went out into the universe.

Though Skyfire wondered if that would be possible. From what he’d heard of this city’s leader he wasn’t sure he’d be interested in exploring the universe purely for the sake of 'discovery'.

The door to the elevator opened and Skyfire came face to face with a grey mech who looked very strong, very angry, and very sleep deprived.

Shockwave and Soundwave both stepped out of the elevator and bowed before Megatron.

"Lord Megatron: cityspeaker has arrived."

"Ah, good. So you're Skyfire." He stepped forward, Skyfire would have said stormed forward. Skyfire was far taller than him but the shuttle found himself suddenly standing to attention, like he was a new recruit being grilled by his sergeant. Megatron was certainly good at giving off an intimidating vibe, even though he also looked like he hadn't recharged in several cycles.

"I need you to get this titan back into shape."

"Erm... excuse me?"

"This titan has been nothing but a menace. I need someone who can get him under control."

"If I may, sir, a cityspeakers role isn't to control their city. Our job is to merely interpret their thoughts and desires."

"Yes, yes, I've heard this all before. At this rate I don't care. Do whatever it takes to get this titan functional and listening to me again. Understood?"

"I... I will do my best, sir."

"Good." With that Megatron stormed off. Skyfire found himself staring in confusion as the mech left.

"Was that..."

"Megatron? Leader of this station? Yes," Shockwave supplied.

"Relationship between Megatron and Starscream: tumultuous," Soundwave added.

"I see," Skyfire said. "I suppose I will do what I can to help smooth things out."

"Also, it would be good to let you know..." Shockwave reached into his subspace and took out a datapad. "This is a list of the twelve steps Starscream asks all cityspeakers to take before meeting with him."

Skyfire took the datapad and looked through it, his face growing more confused as the list got more bizarre as it went on.

"...light a scented candle upon entering the chamber... Is this necessary?"

"Since it is not listed as official protocol; no," Shockwave said. "However, it is..."

"Advisable?" Skyfire filled in where he trailed off.

"Yes. We had one cityspeaker who threw the list in the trash. He insisted he would show Starscream a titans place was to serve, not demand."

"And how long did he last?"

"Two hours."

"Ah." Skyfire was starting to see glimmers of the titans rumoured temper. It was unusual for a group of bots that were normally quite hospitable and welcoming.

His friend Windblade had warned him about Starscream. She had somehow managed to last longer than most, but whenever she spoke of him she tended to constantly rant about how annoying, smug, and self-entitled the titan was. It was certainly surprising when she was normally so calm and level-headed.

She had also warned him about the list, but he hadn't quite been expecting this. Bowing to the floor before Starscream's processor module and saying a litany praising the titans grandeur? If he hadn't been warned he might have assumed this list was a prank.

However, if it would help put this titan at ease before they met then he would do it. It was his duty as a cityspeaker to make his charge feel listened to, for them to be able to openly talk to him and let their will be known. It was his duty.

Skyfire took one last intake before he stepped into Starscream’s processor chamber. He’d diligently gone through all the steps on the titan’s list, and finally he could step inside and meet him.

He had washed his pedes before entering (step 7), and then put on some plastic feet coverings (step 8). The titan apparently hated people tracking dirt in his mind chamber. Then Skyfire was sure to only step on the red carpet laid out before him (step 9) that led directly to Starscream’s processor.

He gazed in awe at the magnificent sight. A titan’s processor was so huge and capable of so much thought, running at hundreds of decisions a second. It was the most vulnerable thing any mech could show to another, so it always felt humbling to stand before one. Starscream's brain, etched in bronze and glowing with sharp red patterns etched into it, was beautiful to behold.

After a few moments staring in sheer awe Skyfire got down on his knees before bowing his head to the floor (step 10).

"Oh dear Titan, I bow before you and your grandeur. Truly, you are a magnificent sight to behold and I am in awe of your presence." (step 11) "It would be an honour to serve you."

That last bit had not been a part of the litany he was meant to read but he wanted to add it anyway.

Skyfire sat up and then got ready to perform (step 12). He took out an object from his subspace. A tiny crystal tree. It's colours swirled bright red and purple. Skyfire sensed the titan’s security cameras focus a little closer on him.

"Please accept this tribute. It is a crystal species I grew myself. It is an entirely new genus of flora I devised through experimentation. I hope it can symbolise the new discoveries and progress we can make together. I know you are a titan capable of great power and also great learning. I hope together we can bring out the best of these elements."

He delicately placed the crystal on the table in front of Starscream's processor, before he stood up and for the first time plugged into Starscream's systems.

"I think you make a very tempting proposal."

Chapter Text

Skyfire gave a gasp as he connected fully with Starscream's consciousness. He was met with the overwhelming but familiar barrage of the hundreds of thoughts necessary to keep an entire city running smoothly. Skyfire had been trained however how to tune these out so he could focus on the most important aspects. What had made him gasp was that he instantly got a sense of the titans personality.

Ambition, pride, and a solid sense of determination was present in every line of Starscream’s thinking. It was such a change from the normally calm and collected thoughts that Titans gave. Most titans’ first thought was how best they could serve their city, Starscream’s first thought was how his city could serve him.

"Fascinating... " Skyfire said. In this space it was impossible for him not to say all his thoughts out loud. When someone uplinked with a titans processor all internal thoughts came out aloud, it would be impossible to hide anything from Starscream. He could already feel Starscream searching through his thoughts and trying to look for any secrets he might be hiding.

"There you are... new cityspeaker..." he heard Starscream’s voice for the first time. It was conniving and playful. The unusual tone actually made Skyfire smile.

"It is an honour to be in your presence." Starscream checked to see if he was lying, then preened when he could see he wasn't.

Skyfire could not see him, but he could sense Starscream’s presence in here, watching over him.

"Tell me about yourself, cityspeaker. Why should I need you? I am bright and intelligent, I have run everything by myself for the last vorn. Cityspeakers only try to stifle my creativity and ideas. Why do I need you?" It felt like Skyfire was slowly being circled by a predator honing in on any sign of weakness.

"Forgive me, great titan. I do not wish to ever stifle your ambition, but I still wish to offer my services. I feel you have many ideas but perhaps you need someone to convey them to others so they might better understand and implement them better. If we were to work together maybe your grand visions could come to fruition easier."

"I have governors and councillors who already do what I ask when I order it."

"But it sounds like they are sometimes reluctant to do so." Skyfire allowed his mind to think of Megatron's disgruntled form and he knew that Starscream caused that image. "Perhaps if I can convey your ideas to Megatron in a way that he would be more open to and then more time for your brilliant ideas will not be wasted on squabbles."

Starscream huffed, but he mulled over Skyfire's proposal. In the same way Skyfire could not hide his thoughts from Starscream, the titan could not hide his thoughts from Skyfire. A million little arguments and disagreements between Starscream and Megatron reared their heads and revealed how much time had been wasted on arguing and petty pranks.

"I can help you with that. I have the habit of getting on with people. I feel it's just communication between you and Megatron that is the problem. I'm sure there is a way to have you both see from each other’s points of view."

Starscream went silent as he considered Skyfire's proposal, weighing up possible outcomes and scenarios.

"Very well, I will allow you this chance to enact my will. Prove yourself and I will let you stay."

Skyfire beamed.

"Thank you very much. I hope I can serve you well," Skyfire said. "Now please, show me your city and all your ideas."

The titan emitted such pride as he heard those words.

"...When I was first created I was only built with pure functionality in mind. After all, the only mechs that were destined to walk my halls were supposed to be soldiers ready for battle. It was all grey barracks and it looked terrible. Over the years I have changed my focus to become more... hospitable."

Starscream had apparently decided to start at the very beginning for his story, but it certainly gave Skyfire perspective to see the city as it had been built versus what it had turned into now. Starscream used their uplink to show Skyfire the entire city as it stood, getting to see its most essential day-to-day runnings.

"Once Nova Prime's expansion was halted they realised they had put too many resources into my creation to scrap me, so I had to find a new purpose."

"So you became open for civilians."

"Precisely, seekers flocked to me, they loved having a city that could fly just as them. Many wanted to escape from places where they would just be seen as warmachines and fighters. Here my children are free."

"I see..." Skyfire focused in and looked on the seekers. He knew in many cities there was still a certain amount of prejudice against their frames, seen mostly as warbuilds that were good either for couriers or shooting things. Skyfire could imagine the alluring appeal of having a completely new city that was theirs to make and do with what they pleased.

Though there was one thing Skyfire noted about the people in charge at the moment.

"Are there any seekers on the council?"

"No, there has been some shuffling around meaning there are no current seekers on the council. The previous governor stepped down and announced Megatron as his successor. Since then all of Megatron's new appointees have been warbuilds."

"Hmm, that doesn't feel right when seekers make up such a big portion of the population. Maybe we should ask to get some seekers appointed to your council again?"

He literally felt Starscream brighten up at the mention of that idea.

"Yes, I wouldn't mind someone convincing Megatron of that."

"Then I will see to it that is done."

Skyfire was happy he had been able to convince Starscream of something. It gave him hope that he could get on the titan’s good side.

He looked at the other notifications and system settings that were running past him.

"The engines are running... are we moving at the moment?"

"We are on a slow course towards Praxus, we will stay there for a few days, trade goods and stock up on resources before moving."

"Stock up on resources," Skyfire repeated. "Does that mean the city is not currently self-sufficient?"

It was interesting how he felt a ripple of dissatisfaction from Starscream at the mention of that.

"I can no longer produce enough energon to remain self-sustainable. Production of energon factories was scaled back twenty percent to account for the necessities of the city's population. Though it has overall improved quality of life on my station. I would prefer my citizens happy, I wasn't originally created with the standards to sustain a civilian population for a long time. These sacrifices have been necessary."

Starscream helpfully brought up a map and pointed out to him the layout of the city and which districts were former energon factories.

"Would you want to be self-sufficient again? If you had the chance?" Skyfire asked.

Starscream mulled over the thought, calculating things.

"I would, but it's impossible to do that without my children being miserable. They need more things than just food in order to be happy."

Skyfire had a look at the twenty percent that had been converted. They were now given over to producing necessities for the people here. There were clothing factories, production of living appliances. The sort of things people would need to live comfortably.

"So to convert these back to energon would probably result in a loss to the quality of life of the citizens here."

"Exactly."

"So maybe the best option would be to find a way to make the current energon production more efficient."

Skyfire felt Starscream pause and turn to him.

"I like your thinking."

"I could have a talk with whoever is in charge of energon production here."

"Talk to Shockwave, he's in charge of any scientific endeavours."

"Thank you, then I will." Skyfire paused before he next spoke. "I feel at this time I would like to have a look around the city and get to know it better. I can go amongst your people and talk to them directly before reporting back to you about their state. Then maybe we can start devising even more ways to expand things."

"Yes, I like that idea. You know, I'm actually starting to be convinced cityspeakers aren't all useless."

Skyfire chuckled.

"I am glad I can convince you of that."

Chapter Text

Megatron knew things were going well when the door ahead of him automatically opened instead of staying closed. He stepped through and never once did the furniture suddenly move itself to trip him up. He made his way to the conference room without any interruptions.

Soundwave and Shockwave looked up as if he had interrupted them. They were no longer used to him showing up on time.

"I take it Starscream's first meeting with the cityspeaker went well?"

"Exceedingly well, my lord," Shockwave said. "The cityspeaker seems to have instantly charmed our titan."

"He did? You're serious?" Megatron felt certain he couldn't have heard Shockwave properly. After all the cityspeakers Starscream hacked off and sent storming out of his chamber he had never once heard of the idea of the titan being 'charmed' by one.

"Indeed," Shockwave nodded. "Starscream and Skyfire seemed to get on quite nicely. Skyfire was able to mediate and negotiate for a couple of proposals we had been struggling to put through until this point."

"Theory: Skyfire, previously trained as a scientist before becoming cityspeaker," Soundwave said. "This trait and his flight frame: appreciated by Starscream. Traits they have in common."

"Yes, our titan has always had a soft spot for flight frames," Megatron mused. "Oh well, this is all good. We have a cityspeaker that can actually put forward our ideas. He will be a valuable asset."

"Indeed, Lord Megatron. He has agreed to divert fifteen percent more power to my research department," Shockwave sounded almost giddy saying that. It was an unusual sound to come from the scientist.

Soundwave stood up and handed Megatron a datapad.

"Skyfire: spoke with Starscream and produced list of proposals from titan."

Megatron sat down and started to go through the list. A lot of them were surprisingly reasonable.

"Starscream: also wants more seekers promoted to head of staff. Wants more proportional representation in government."

"Did Skyfire teach him that term?" Megatron grumbled. He looked through the rest of the list then blanched when he got to the last item. "Hang on, this says Skyfire is to be given the luxury suite? That's MY suite." Megatron stood up and threw the datapad on the ground. "That two-timing shuttle. That's why Starscream likes him, he's just as devious and sneaky as he is!"

"Request: did not come from Skyfire," Soundwave said.

"What?"

"Soundwave: uplinked with Starscream after initial meeting with Skyfire. Proposal: entirely Starscream's."

"He wants me to give up my room to some random shuttle? There's no way I'm allowing this!"

"Sir, if we could..." Shockwave started. "This proposal would obviously make Starscream happy. A situation we have not dreamed of in cycles. It would be foolish to throw this away just because of one single request."

Megatron gnashed his teeth together. Of course the situation he'd dreamed of would come at a price.

"It is entirely possible Starscream proposed that due to Skyfire's size. We don't really have any other suites that would be suitable for the shuttle."

"Oh! Of course! I'm sure that's the only reason!" Megatron crossed his arms and fell back onto his chair, now thoroughly in a bad mood.

"Slight room change for peace of mind: minor price to pay."

"Fine! Fine! Since you two are so against me. I'll go pack my things! It's not like I'm meant to be doing anything else today like running a goddamn city!" Megatron sulked out of the room.

Skyfire was stunned as he saw his new quarters. It was huge, with a doomed glass window ceiling. Skyfire could see every part of the city through it. The whole place was furnished with gold and ivory. There were huge chairs around a sunken desk, and... was that a chandelier?

"This... this can't be for me, can it?" Skyfire asked.

"Accommodation: yours. At request of Starscream," Soundwave said.

"I will have to tell him how thankful I am of this place." He was still in a state of shock. Most cityspeaker accommodations were nowhere near as grand. Some were the definition of austere, the more religious speakers often preferred a place that was modest and humbling, to remind themselves of their place in the titans presence.

"Starscream may have originally been created as a warship but he does enjoy luxury," Shockwave said. "He likes the idea of his people enjoying the things he gives them, and since Cybertron is not currently in a state of war we can focus our energies on things like needless frivolities. Now please follow me and I shall show you the rest of this suite."

Skyfire followed him and noted how for a change he didn't have to duck under the doorframe. It was such a minor thing but the shuttle was so used to everything being too small for him it instantly put him at ease.

"On the east wing is the study, where you can do most of your work. The spiral staircase in the corner leads to the library where you will find all the documented history of this city and various selections of literature. On the east wing we have your berthroom, and through here is the washracks..."

"Wait, is that a hot tub?"

"Yes, indeed. No expense was spared on this suite."

"I... I am truly honoured. I did not think I would be so wonderfully graced by Starscream."

"All we ask is that you continue to guide Starscream towards being a prosperous and helpful city, please ," Shockwave put an odd emphasis on that last bit.

"I... I promise I will do my best. You have already given so much to me." Skyfire gave a deep bow before him. "You have my solemn oath."

They were all interrupted as the door suddenly opened. Megatron stepped in.

"Lord Megatron, I did not expect to see you," Shockwave said. Skyfire couldn't help but notice how Megatron was glaring directly at him.

"Lord Megatron, is there something you need of me?"

"You? Oh no! Absolutely nothing! Forgive me for intruding on your tour. I'm just here to pick up a few things. I forgot some of my books," he said before storming off towards the study. Skyfire looked at Shockwave with a state of confusion.

"Do not mind Lord Megatron. Some of his things had recently been placed in the study but he is moving them out to his new habsuite."

"Oh, well, I suppose if he likes using the study I do not mind him sharing it."

"Do not worry, Megatron's new study should more than suffice."

"Oh well, so long as he's okay with that," Skyfire said just as Megatron reappeared carrying a set of datapads under his arm. He was already heading straight for the exit. Before he could do that Skyfire stepped forward and used his huge bulk to block the way. He held out his hand to Megatron.

"Lord Megatron, before you go... I did just want to say I do hope the two of the two of us can get on and work to make Starscream a prosperous city together."

Megatron gave a grunt before he took Skyfire's hand and shook it.

"Very well, I hope so too. I also hope we can make Starscream a great city."

Skyfire nodded and then let go of his hand. Megatron gave a terse nod and then headed out the room. As he left Skyfire felt sure he had heard Shockwave give a sigh of relief.

"I think that went rather well," Skyfire smiled.

"Yes, surprisingly so..." Shockwave mumbled. "If you like I can leave you to get acquainted with your new quarters. If you need anything, please just let Starscream know and I'm sure he shall see to it that is brought to you. In the meantime I have some matters to attend to."

With that Shockwave left the room. Skyfire gave a sigh as he looked around the apartment. He still couldn't quite believe this was all for him. After all the tales of the titan's impertinent attitude he'd been met with nothing but favours and shows of appreciation. It all felt just wonderful to him.

He headed to his berthroom and fell back on the mattress. It was soft, huge and filled with plush pillows. Skyfire could just sink into it and fall straight into recharge. He continued to smile, thinking how wonderful it would be here.

There was a little noise coming from a panel in the wall, a whirring mechanical sound. Skyfire sat up to examine the panel before it popped open and a flute of glistening gold energon was presented from a little arm inside the panel.

"Oh... well, erm," Skyfire gingerly took the flute and looked around. He couldn't see any cameras but he could feel the presence of the titan around him. Skyfire raised his glass. "Thank you very much, Starscream, for everything. I'm really looking forward to this."

Skyfire took a sip of the energon and gave a little hum. It was possibly the nicest glass he'd ever had.

He settled into the pillows, having his glass. From tomorrow he would be officially announced as the new cityspeaker and then he'd have to convince Megatron and Starscream of all the plans he had. He knew it would be a challenge, but it was one he was looking forward to.

Chapter Text

Skyfire observed himself one last time in the mirror. Applying the ceremonial makeup had always been one of Skyfire's weakest skills, and he'd always used to get help from Windblade during his training sessions, but now he'd have to do it himself every day for the rest of his life. It was only now looking at his painted face that he realised what a daunting task he had taken on.

Truth be told, a part of him had never imagined he actually would become a true Cityspeaker. He always imagined he'd be relegated to something like research and archival. Not that he would have minded that, he liked digging through the mysteries of the past, but now here he was, standing as a true cityspeaker.

He eventually decided the makeup looked fine, especially for a first try. Each titan had a different pattern to represent them; Starscream’s was a striking red, with strong lines and points reminiscent of a star. It looked quite bold next to Skyfire's predominantly white plating and blue optics, but also fit with the stripes of red he had on his plating.

Skyfire decided he'd had enough of stalling and headed out into his first day of integrating himself into the city.

As Skyfire walked down the steps, he looked out the window and saw the city's towering spires. Really what he wanted to do was go out into the streets. He always felt it was good for a Speaker to know not just their titan, but the population of the city, their cultures, their likes. It helped to make sure there was a balance between the city and those living in it.

However he couldn't do that today. There was paperwork to all sorts of official business and paperwork to be sorted out to officially declare him in his new position. Megatron had given him an entire mountain of paperwork and he wasn't sure how long it'd take to get through this all.

He was startled from his thoughts as a flash of purple appeared in front of him, and suddenly a black and purple seeker was suddenly standing there.

"Aha! You're the guy who knows about the job position, right?" the seeker asked.

"I... what?"

"We're here about the new positions. Megsy said you were the guy to talk to," the seeker said as he was joined by another seeker, this one blue and white.

"You two are the new appointments to the council?" Skyfire asked as he looked between the two seekers.

"Yep! That's us," the purple one beamed, "the name's Skywarp."

"And I'm Thundercracker," the blue one said.

"Okay, I'm glad Megatron responded to my proposal so quickly. Please, tell me what do you do?"

Thundercracker spoke first.

"I'm a playwright. I'm incredibly honoured to be working directly with our titan," he smiled, dipping his wings in a reverential way. "I must admit I'm less experienced with poetry but I'll do my best as the new Poet Laureate."

"Wait, was that what Megatron said you'd be doing?"

"Yes, along with Head of the Arts Council. To be honest there are definite things I think could be improved there. It's really underfunded at the moment."

"Okay, thank you for bringing that to my attention. I'll make sure to bring that up with Starscream and Megatron."

"Thank you."

Skyfire turned to Skywarp.

"And you?"

"Well, I mostly plan parties but I got told I'm gonna be Head Events Organiser."

"I see..."

Thundercracker passed Skyfire a datapad.

"Our credentials."

Skyfire looked through the datapad. Their positions seemed to be genuine. At least there were seekers on the council now. Though seeing as they were only appointed for roles in the arts department it felt like these were token hiring's.

Still, it was a start.

"I'm really looking forward to Events. I know it'll be tough, but I'll do my best!" Skywarp said, pointing fingerguns at Skyfire.

"Tough?"

"Yeah. I mean, Events is a big role. Starscream Station has a full calendar of festivities throughout the year."

"He does?"

"Oh yeah." Skywarp passed him a datapad that had a calendar in it. "As you can see there's one festival for each month’s Prime Day, there's the arts festival, then there's all the religious holidays, all the celebrations on the Vosian calendars are included. Then, most important of all is Starscream Day, celebrating the day of his launching. That one's just about the biggest festival of the whole year."

Skyfire looked at the list, somewhat befuddled by quite how full this calendar was.

"Right... I see..."

"His philosophy is; a good party always keeps the people happy."

"Right." From what Skyfire had already seen of Starscream's personality, he knew he liked being liked. Continuously hosting parties for his populace was certainly one way to achieve that. "Well... I'm sure it'll be good to have you two aboard."

The two seekers looked at each other and gave big grins.

"We'll be happy to do our best for our city."

"Starscream Day?" Skyfire questioned when he next spoke with Starscream.

"Yes! It's a day where everybody worships Me! Can you think of anything better?"

"Hmm," Skyfire mumbled noncommittally as he  focused on reading the glyphs that were projected in front of Starscream's processor, giving readings of his daily goings-on.

"Also the new appointees..." Skyfire felt hesitant to bring up, worried that Starscream would be unhappy they'd be regulated to fairly minor positions in Megatron's government. "What do you think of them?"

"Oh! I'm delighted to see my children again allowed to make decisions in my government. Thundercracker's plays run the gamut of being hokey to actually being quite good, and I trust Skywarp's abilities to make things enjoyable."

Skyfire paused.

"I didn't know you were so intimately aware of their careers?"

"Of course, what sort of city would I be if I didn't keep track of my children? I'm so proud of them."

It surprised Skyfire, but then he supposed compared to a lot of cities, Starscream's population was actually quite small. He supposed it made sense that Starscream was able to keep better track of what his population was up to.

"I'm glad you are happy with their appointments to the council."

"Of course! I couldn't be more proud! I think I'll get them straight to work on some projects I have in mind."

"Oh really? What projects are those?"

Starscream went silent for a moment and when Skyfire next heard his voice over the speakers it was decidedly mischievous.

"Oh, you'll see."

Chapter Text

The next day Skyfire was woken up suddenly by a purple seeker zapping into his room.

"HEY BIG GUY!"

"Ah!" Skyfire fumbled around in his sheets before he sat up. "Skywarp? How did you get in here?"

"Ey, don't worry about it. So we got a big thing coming up today. I need you ready in one hour. Full makeup and all."

Skyfire moved his legs off the bed and stood up. "What is this for?"

"Special event. Starscream's ordered it, and we need you."

"Erm, yes, yes of course. I'll be right there."

"Cool, I will see ya round buddy." Then suddenly Skywarp disappeared in a flash of purple electricity.

Skyfire was left confused. He hadn't realised that Skywarp could teleport, he thought his sudden appearance from the other day had simply been him jumping in front of Skyfire while he'd been distracted.

He got up and decided he'd start doing his makeup. He tried to reach out to Starscream and feel what he might be up to, but all Skyfire got back was a pulse of 'anticipation/excitement' so Skyfire supposed he'd just have to wait and see what Starscream had planned.

Skyfire eventually made it down to the main hall, there was a flurry of mechs all rushing around the halls. There were more people than he'd seen gathered in the city before. All of them seemed to be getting the hall ready for some sort of celebration. Mechs were polishing and cleaning every surface, some were placing huge vases or purple and red crystals reminiscent of the ones Skyfire had presented to Starscream, and everywhere hung banners displaying Starscream's symbol.

Skyfire tried to keep an eye out for anyone he knew, and eventually spotted Skywarp. The purple seeker seemed to be directing everybody, meanwhile Thundercracker stood by his side and seemed to be checking something he'd been writing on a datapad. Skyfire made a beeline to them, hoping to reach Skywarp before he teleported away again.

It was only after Skywarp had finished dealing with some seekers holding huge bouquets he noticed Skyfire standing there.

"Oh hey! Just in time for the main event. Come follow me, we can't do this if the guest of honour is missing."

"Hang on, what exactly do you mean by-" Skyfire was suddenly grabbed by a set of seekers who pulled him into a little side room and started applying makeup to him and giving him a quick scrub of polish. Skyfire had no choice but to stand there perfectly still as this was all applied.

Skywarp was once again talking to someone about the arrangements and didn't seem to notice Skyfire trying to call him to ask what was going on.

"Please stay still," one of the seekers said to him, "we don't want this to smudge."

"Sorry." Skyfire stayed still as he let the other seekers apply more makeup and things to him. It was only after a few minutes Skywarp came back within hearing range and Skyfire was able to call out for him. "Skywarp! What exactly is this?"

"Oh, It's for your big ceremony today."

"My what?"

"Didn't Starscream tell you? He said he wanted a big press conference to announce your new role as Cityspeaker."

"He wants a what?" Skyfire blanched.

"You heard me, big guy. Now let's get out there, half the city turned up, or at least, as many as could get the day off on short notice. You gotta get out there and show everyone what you're made of!" Skywarp said as he was already pulling Skyfire through a door; a door that apparently led to a big stage with a podium and a microphone there. Megatron was standing there, in the middle of some speech that sounded quite grand.

Meanwhile a huge crowd watched the whole thing.

They stopped just before they reached the edge of the curtains which would have made Skyfire visible to the whole crowd.

Even though his plating was white he felt himself turn pale. Starscream wanted him to talk to the public? To this big crowd that apparently made up about half the city? Skyfire had never spoken to such a huge crowd before. Of course being a cityspeaker was a public role, but it was still one that mostly involved standing in the background and only being seen as an interpreter for a much larger being. Now apparently Starscream wanted him to be centre stage to a whole watching public.

All of Skyfire's struts froze up. What was he going to do? What was he going to say? He was overwhelmed by all of this.

"What... what am I going to say?"

"Hey, don't worry big guy," Thundercracker said, suddenly at Skyfire's side. He placed a datapad into Skyfire's hand. "I already wrote out your speech. It's fine."

"Yeah! You got this!" Skywarp gave him a shove forward, and Skyfire stumbled onto the stage at just the perfect time for Megatron to announce his entrance. Skyfire suddenly felt as if all the optics of the world were upon him, and he stepped forward timidly, worried about every detail of his actions now being scrutinised and watched.

Megatron stepped back from the podium and he gestured for Skyfire to take his place. Suddenly Skyfire felt jealous; it was clear from Megatron's calm demeanour that he was quite used to talking to a crowd. He gulped as he stepped up to the podium, he fumbled with the datapad for a minute before he looked into the microphone and started to read the words.

"C-c-citizens of Starscream Station, it is an... honour and privilege to take this role as your new cityspeaker," his voice couldn't stop trembling as he spoke. He felt the atmosphere get a bit more awkward but he tried to keep going. "Yours is a beautiful city, I know maintained by a beautiful population. I hope I can do my duty in serving you and the titan that has hosted you in his glory all these cycles. And now, I would like to recite a poem..." Skyfire paused again. How much more of this was there? There was a whole poem in here he had to recite. How could he possibly get through all this?

He blanked out for a bit and then a moment later someone had snatched the datapad out of his hand. Skyfire looked up to see Megatron had taken the datapad. He stepped back towards the podium and effortlessly addressed the crowd.

"It seems our cityspeaker is still somewhat awestruck by the magnificence of the city to speak."

That line got a little laugh from the crowd. Skyfire wasn't quite sure how Megatron had done it but he'd instantly brought the crowd back from that awkward disaster he had started. He felt he'd have to find out how Megatron did that one of these days.

Megatron read out the poem instead, and Skyfire was quite happy to fade back into the background. He listened to Megatron read out the poem in a much smoother fashion than he could have ever managed. It seemed when Megatron wasn't angrily shouting or growling, he had quite a pleasant voice to listen to. It was very commanding and grand, and perfect for reading out this sort of prose.

Once he was done the crowd gave him a round of applause and Megatron gave some extra bit of thanks to Skyfire.

"May he do well in his new position," he said in a voice that suggested he was secretly being sarcastic. Skyfire couldn't think to do much but give a polite bow to the crowd. Suddenly Skywarp appeared again at the podium and spoke into the microphone.

"Also just to let everyone know, drinks and treats will now be served in the foyer."

The crowd started to leave, obviously tempted by the lure of treats and stuff. Skyfire was just glad the attention was finally off of him.

"Hey, what happened there, big guy? You blew it," Skywarp said.

"Sorry, I just..."

"It seems our titan may be pushing Skyfire out of his comfort zone," Megatron said. His face was set in a straight line and Skyfire was having trouble reading his expression.

"Nah! He'll be fine in the future! It'll be cool," Skywarp said.

Skyfire looked up at Megatron and nodded.

"Thank you for helping me. I'm not sure what I would have done. It's appreciated."

Megatron looked somewhat surprised that Skyfire had actually given him that compliment.

"For now though... I think those aforementioned drinks would be quite tempting," Skyfire said as he allowed himself to be guided to the foyer.

The party was just as exhausting as giving the speech had been. Skyfire had felt like he had talked to a dozen mechs all in one go. He knew he wanted to meet the city and its people but this had not been the way he wanted to do it.

He returned to his suite later and collapsed on the huge bed, hearing it creak as his weight toppled onto it all at once. He currently felt like he wanted to never go outside and talk to anyone ever again.

He wondered if Starscream was listening in.

"Starscream, if you can hear me, if you could please never do that again it would be much appreciated."

"Why? What's wrong with the ceremony? I simply wanted people to know how amazing you were."

"I'm not good with big crowds."

Starscream was silent for a moment, as if the titan was struggling to comprehend the idea of not enjoying having mass attention on oneself at all times.

"Fine then!" Starscream sounded incredibly huffy. "I'll never host a welcome party for you ever again!"

“Thank you…” Skyfire gave a sigh as the speaker turned off.

It was only at this point he started to realise what he might truly be in for.

Chapter Text

Starscream spent time pondering his next move. Sadly his idea of celebrating Skyfire's arrival to the city had not gone according to plan, and he still didn't quite understand why. Surely everyone enjoyed to have a moment in the spotlight? So why had it gone so badly wrong? Why did Skyfire say he hadn't wanted to do anything like that again?

Starscream liked Skyfire, more than he had liked any other cityspeaker. Skyfire was not brash, or arrogant or tried to ignore Starscream's suggestions. Starscream wanted everyone to appreciate Skyfire. He simply wanted everyone to bask in how amazing he was.

Starscream had devised a whole list of plans in order to be able to honour Skyfire, but now all of them had to be scrapped. If Skyfire was going to act the same as he had done this time. He hated the idea that he had made Skyfire upset. But how could he make up for it?

If he wanted to get on Skyfire's good side he would have to try a different tack clearly, but what could he do?

If he could not figure it out for himself, then he would need to recruit outside help.

Soundwave stepped into Starscream's processor room, following all the twelve steps in as fast a time as he could without causing too much noise. He had gotten a sudden ping from Starscream, saying he wanted an urgent meeting with the cassette player immediately, but also that it was meant to be top secret and he couldn't reveal about this meeting upon pain of death. Naturally Soundwave took it seriously, so he did his best to comply with Starscream's commands.

He wasn't an official cityspeaker, but his telepathy had made it possible to decipher Starscream's complicated thoughts during the periods when a cityspeaker was unavailable. However, since Skyfire had taken over Soundwave's services had not been called for once. The fact that Starscream was calling him again now was distressing. Especially since Starscream's message implied this had something to do with Skyfire. Was Starscream upset with Skyfire's service? Was he about to demand they get a new cityspeaker? Just when it seemed their problems had been solved? Soundwave wasn't even sure they would be able to find a replacement for Skyfire.

Soundwave approached Starscream's core processor, preparing himself for what he would face. Then he plugged in.

"Starscream: requested Soundwave's presence."

"Ah, Soundwave, you're here." Starscream spoke, his presence psychically looming over him. "I have something extremely important to ask of you."

"Soundwave: ready to obey."

"I have a problem that relates to Skyfire."

In the psychic space it was bad to think about precisely what might be needed, but Soundwave couldn't help worrying about every scenario Starscream could possibly ask for. If Starscream was mad at Skyfire then he wasn't sure how they'd ever find a replacement cityspeaker ever again.

"The party I threw for him the other day, you don't think it was too much, was it?"

As Soundwave heard the words, his processor went blank. In fact, he internally replayed the question to himself several times before he finally answered.

"Starscream: concerned about reception of party?"

"Yes. Of course!" Starscream sounded offended, as if he was annoyed at Soundwave for not immediately getting what he was on about. "I tried to host a party for Skyfire but he told me he didn't enjoy it. I don't understand it! How can anyone not enjoy a party help for them? It's unthinkable."

"Query: Is this really what Starscream wanted to talk about?"

"Of course it is! Can't you see how important this is?"

"Honestly: no." Soundwave didn't want to say that, but the nature of the psychic interlink meant he couldn't keep his thoughts hidden.

"I wanted Skyfire to feel appreciated and adored, and instead it only made him upset. He didn't even read out the poem I commissioned Thundercracker to write about him. Megatron read it out! It's a complete disgrace!"

"Starscream: annoyed at Megatron for poetry reading?"

"No! It's just--Gah! Look here's the problem."

Soundwave could hear Starscream trying to collect his thoughts all together. A million different whispered all coalesced into one.

"I want to do something nice for Skyfire, but seeing as he does not like big celebrations of how great he is I'm all out of ideas on what to do. You are a telepath, so surely you can delve into Skyfire's mind and figure out what sort of thing Skyfire would want."

Soundwave stared blankly for a second then finally he spoke.

"Soundwave: does not need mind reading to diagnose problem. Skyfire: is introverted. Prefers: smaller more intimate gestures."

"But what sort of intimate gestures? I need to know! I need to figure out exactly the perfect type of date to take Skyfire on."

"Clarification needed: This really is all Starscream is worried about?"

"Of course! Nothing could be more important than this. Take it seriously."

"Soundwave… can collect data on Skyfire and give detailed report?"

"Yes. That would be perfect. That's exactly what I need."

"Then Soundwave: will do that."

"Very good. Also don't tell anyone or I'll make the walls of your flat squash you or something like that."

"Starscream: does not need to resort to threats. However: noted."

After that Soundwave left the conversation, unplugging himself from the cortical psychic patch. Once he was out he gave a very deep sigh.

Oh, the whims of their titan.

Still, if his mission was to spy on Skyfire without raising suspicion, he would do that.

"Hello: Skyfire."

"Oh!" Skyfire almost jumped. He hadn't noticed the cassette player until he had turned around. "Hello Soundwave. It's good to see you."

"Query: Skyfire, in need of anything?"

"Oh, ah, not really."

"Skyfire: certain? Soundwave: willing to help with anything. Skyfire: still new to Starscream Station."

"Well, that is true. Actually you could be of some help. You see, I was hoping to have a look around the station a little more. I've mostly been in the main city but I'd like to really get to know the layout of the whole place. I feel if I'm to understand the titan then I really should understand the city and it's inhabitants. I'd love to see more of it."

"Soundwave: Has map of Starscream Station with points of interest highlighted."

"You do? Oh, that would be wonderful. I'd really appreciate that."

Skyfire was sent a map on his comms and he quickly checked through it. It noted museums, large scale shops, historical points of interest. Still, he gave a hum as he looked through the map.

"Map: not adequate?" Soundwave asked.

"No, it is. It's just it seems very… touristy. I feel I'd like to go to places that the locals would visit, you know?"

"Soundwave: understands. Can provide alternative map. However: will take time to fully compile. In meantime: Soundwave hopes current map is acceptable."

"Yes, thank you. This will certainly suffice for now. It gets me started."

"Soundwave: happy to provide."

Skyfire gave a friendly wave to Soundwave as he headed off. Though that meeting still felt odd, it felt like even as he walked off that Soundwave was still watching him.

Soundwave had Skyfire trailed over the next few days. Accessing the map told him exactly which locations Skyfire preferred to visit, and every now and then he would send some of his cassettes to keep an eye on Skyfire's movements.

He found that often Skyfire would prefer smaller venues, going through the quieter streets and stopping for lunch at smaller locally owned cafes. It seemed wherever he went he found people to talk to and chatter with. Skyfire was extremely approachable.

It seemed he had been very serious in his statement about making contact with the people of Starscream Station. Many cityspeakers focused mostly on their titans, but Skyfire seemed to take just as much delight in knowing the citizens themselves as well.

With each visit Soundwave was slowly acquiring a list of things Skyfire liked. His favourite type of energon, what types of places he preferred visiting. Slowly this image of Skyfire was coming together.

After nearly a week, Soundwave stood before Starscream with his complete report.

"Soundwave: has compiled report: complete with suggestions on what sort of things Skyfire might like."

"Perfect, give it to me."

Soundwave downloaded the file in its entirety to Starscream's database. Then he waited as the titan slowly processed the information.

"Skyfire: visited multiple museums and businesses, smaller places of worship and also several local cafes. Skyfire: prefers places that are quieter, more local. Disfavours large and grand establishments."

"But why? Those are the ones that I put the most work in."

"Skyfire: believes that a city is represented by all it's people, not just important figures but citizens of every status."

"Hmm, I see." Starscream continued to examine the data.

Suddenly the door opened, and Shockwave entered.

"-Dear Titan, I have all the parts that you wanted- Oh. Hello, Soundwave."

"Query: what is Shockwave doing here?"

"Well, Starscream put me on a special assignment. I have been working on a special project for him."

"Query: What type of special project?"

"That's for you to find out later," Starscream's voice shouted. Soundwave watched as Shockwave downloaded another data packet for Starscream to read.

"Yes… yessss! This is perfect!" Starscream started to cackle. "Perfect! Now you'll see! Now you'll all see! I'll craft the most perfect date Skyfire has ever seen!" Then he devolved into maniacal laughter.

Soundwave watched the whole thing unfold and gave another heavy sigh.