Rendezvous with the Night Wanderer
A/N: Transformers and Rendezvous with Rama (as mentioned by the character) do not belong to me. Only my original character is mine.
Chapter 1: Cold Desert Night
Zachary's point of view
Zachary Wright, a twenty-eight years old scientist whose expertise is astrophysics, lays his feet and sinks them into the sand of Sahara desert. He looks upon the night sky and gazes the shining stars with his mind merging with the beauty he feels from the sand and the stars. Then, the cold wind blows right at him. Zachary puts his sweater on and wears his reddish socks. Many would think that the extreme weather of the Sahara is far from being defined as "peace", but Zachary doesn't think so. He enjoys the weather of this place and wishes to stay a little bit longer.
When the wind blows stronger, he decides that it is time for him to seek shelter in the medium-sized tent he constructed. He closes the zip of the tent and lights it up with an easy-to-use lamp. The wind outside still blowing aggressively against the tent but Zachary is very sure that the tent is able to withstand the force of the vicious wind. As time passes by, Zachary notices that the wind changes from its destructive side to a more comforting side. But in this comforting side, there is loneliness – a very specific type of loneliness. It's not the usual loneliness that he faces every day. This loneliness, reminds him of how small he is to the universe and to God. Usual people would rather not be embraced by this loneliness but Zachary chooses to be. He always thinks that all the troubles in the world come from humanity's neglecting this kind of loneliness.
A few minutes later, Zachary unzips his backpack and grabs something out of it. It is one of the books that Zachary loves to read it all over again. It is "Rendezvous with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke. He reads it with his imagination overwhelming his mind. He imagines about the spaceships, the vastness of space, the characters and many things he could imagine. Zachary looks down to his wristwatch and closes the book and since it's midnight and he feels like he needs to sleep or else he won't be able to wake up early and watching the sun rises. He lays his head onto the soft pillow he brought with, covers himself with two thick blanket, turns off the lamp and slips into the world of dreams.
Starscream's point of view
The Decepticon air commander crashes landing on the sand-covered place, much to his displease – he shouts, "Megatron! I swear, from here to the edge of the universe, I'll find you and make you bow down to my knees!".
Starscream transforms into his original mode (the giant robot mode) and walks in circle, thinking. "Well, this is great. Where am I now?" he says to himself and activates the guidance system located on his right wrist. "Guidance system activated. Current location: Sahara desert, Africa. Current planet location: Earth, Solar System, Milky Way galaxy." the guidance system said. "Not this primitive planet, again!" Starscream says with his angst bursts out. He turns off the guidance system and continues his walking through the desert since his alternate mode is broken from the previous crash landing. Many hours has passed, Starscream feels that he needs to take a rest, so, he sits down on the sand dune nearby. He gazes into the wilderness of the desert and lays his legs down. Normally, Starscream regards Earth as a "primitive and ugly" planet but this time – something changes his mind. "This place is so peaceful and yet so lonely. I wonder if there's someone who doesn't hate me." Starscream thinks. He switches on his holographic diary and types
"Dear Diary,
I've never thought I'd be on this planet again. The last time I was here is when I fought the Autobots alongside my seekers brothers. Of course, it was fun and entertaining but Megatron wasn't very happy about it because he said that "it was not in my plan, Starscream! How many times do I have to tell you about what we're doing here?" I didn't say anything to him. My words are worthless to him in every which way.
For all these years, I could never truly understand Megatron's vision of conquering Earth and destroying the Autobots, especially Optimus Prime. I always wanted to become a Decepticon leader and I've shown Megatron many times but he always looked down to me and disgraced me. I don't know what's wrong with him; I'm just trying to do what I can do the best. I know that I sometimes failed to accomplish the mission he ordered. So what? What's the point of disgracing and insulting me with his cruelty? Yet again, I think that his vision is nothing but his own night time fantasy while he is recharging. At least when he kicked me out of the Nemesis,he didn't say anything about me. But I'm sure he was happy to kick me out, in his eyes, I'm just another burden.
Now, I'm here, sitting in the wilderness of the Sahara desert. This desert has something very majestic about it. I feel like it wants to comfort me and says, "don't be worried Starscream, Megatron isn't everything. He's just a Decepticon leader, that's all." Maybe I was wrong about this planet after all. This planet maybe primitive, but it does have its own souls. Unlike Cybertron, a civilized planet but lacked of souls. I probably considered myself unlucky since I was too overwhelmed by the greediness in me. Today, I've decided that I won't search for power or becoming a Decepticon leader anymore. I'll be myself, Starscream – the night wanderer".
Starscream finishes his writing and clicks the "save" button. When the file is saved, he turns off his diary and lays his body down to the sand, with both of his hands under his head. He looks to the night sky and sees the stars, shining its own light. For the first time in many years, he smiles. His smile isn't a sinister smile like he used to have, but a smile of happiness and peace. Starscream has found of what he really is. He is neither a Decepticon air commander nor a part of Megatron's army. He is just Starscream, and that's what he is. He closes his eyes and thinking about where to wander during tomorrow's night. "Maybe somewhere a little bit far from here. But first, I've got to build something to cover myself from the heat of this desert when the sun fully rises. I'll do it tomorrow, then". As he stops thinking, he lets his processor does something it never did before. He lets it open the gateway to his own world, where reality isn't important. It is the world of dreaming.
A/N/N: Yes, this is the first chapter of "Rendezvous with the Night Wanderer" and it is also my first time to publish here. So, feel free to comment or review and more chapters will be coming. Thanks!