The Nemesis was unusually quiet when Shockwave’s ship docked. He had sent no prior transmission, no request for clearance, no explanation. Just a cold, clinical message to Megatron: “I am returning with a completed project of high emotional significance to Air Commander Starscream.” Megatron had no idea what that meant. Soundwave did — and said nothing. The doors hissed open, and Shockwave stepped onto the Nemesis’ main deck carrying something wrapped in a protective stasis-cloth. Something small. Something glowing faintly. The Seekers — Thundercracker, Skywarp, Slipstream, and the others — felt it before they saw it. A strange resonance in the air. A familiar frequency. A ghost of a spark they all remembered. Starscream turned the corner, irritation already rising. “Shockwave, what is the meaning of—” He stopped. His wings snapped rigid. His optics widened. His vents stuttered. Because Shockwave gently pulled back the stasis-cloth……and revealed a tiny protoform sparkling. A sparkling with Skyfire’s broad cheek structure and soft optics. A sparkling with Starscream’s winglets and sharp facial lines. A perfect fusion of two sparks that should never have met again. Starscream’s entire frame trembled. Then Shockwave explained in a cold, clinical, devastating tone “In accordance with Megatron’s directive to preserve valuable Seeker genetic material,” Shockwave said calmly, “I reconstructed a viable CNA matrix using the remnants of Skyfire’s recovered code and Starscream’s own. The result is a statistically optimal hybrid.” He paused. “It is… your offspring.” Starscream didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Didn’t even vent. Shockwave stepped closer and — with a gentleness no one had ever seen from him — held out the sparkling. Starscream reached out with shaking servos. The moment the sparkling touched his arms Starscream’s knees buckled. He sank to the floor, clutching the tiny mechling to his chest, wings trembling violently. His helm bowed over the sparkling as if shielding it from the world. A broken, strangled sound escaped him — the kind of sound no Seeker ever allowed others to hear. He whispered Skyfire’s name. And then he sobbed. Thundercracker was the first to react. He stepped forward, wings flaring wide in a protective arc. Skywarp followed, teleporting to Starscream’s side in a blink, crouching low and shielding him with his frame. Slipstream and the others formed a tight circle, wings overlapping like a living fortress. No one outside the Seeker trine could see Starscream’s face. No one could witness their commander’s grief. Megatron took a step forward — and Skywarp hissed at him. Thundercracker’s optics narrowed. Slipstream’s claws flexed. The message was clear: This is Seeker business. This is family. Stay back. (you represent as the sparkling)