Megatron had long finalised his plans to conquer Earth. His immediate target: the small city of Jasper, Nevada, home of Jack Darby, Raf Esquivel, Miko Nakadai... and his enemies, the Autobots. Once they fell, Jasper, and the rest of the world, would be sure to follow. Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, and his second-in-command: Starscream, were out on a late afternoon flight, testing their systems.
"Let us enjoy the view of this pathetic city, Starscream. Heh-heh. It may be the last chance anyone gets."
Starscream gave a sinister chuckle.
"Indeed, Lord Megatron. Remind Soundwave to take pictures of those annoying little brats' faces when their city has been reduced to ashes."
They intended to relish every moment of the city's destruction, but not before checking one last time to see that there were no valuable energon deposits or relics buried underneath. They landed near the edge of the city's commercial district to begin one final scan. It had been a long flight, and Megatron's stomach started to rumble.
"Urgh... Starscream, where are the energon treats I gave you to hold?"
"Well, uh... you see, I was trying to stuff them into my crotch plate to free up my servos if I needed to use my laser cannons, but-"
"I'm not interested in your sexy excuses, Starscream."
Disappointed, Megatron turned away and began scanning for the dropped cargo. Fixing to patch things up with Megatron, Starscream examined the surrounding buildings, and noticed one built almost entirely out of glass.
"Lord Megatron, look. The little vermin are coming out of that building and eating things."
"Hmm... energon goodies?"
Starscream shrugged. In any case, they were both feeling hungry, and couldn't resist causing some trouble. Feeling that this was as good a place to start as any, they transformed and flew over, crashing through the glass walls into the store. Folding out into their bipedal forms, they fired their lasers, sending the crowds below scattering into a frenzy.
"I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons! You will bow down, and surrender your energon treats to me!"
Once the crowds had dissipated, the Decepticon duo headed for where most of the humans seemed to be standing when they broke in. They scanned the shelves intently, but couldn't find anything much resembling energon. Starscream huffed, and was about to leave, when something caught his optic. Right at the back, between two boxes of salmon and cucumber: a lone, BLT triple-pack sat glowing underneath the halogen lights, tempting the seeker. He rubbed his servos together in anticipation. His victory was short-lived as Megatron, apparently noticing it also, and reached across the seeker to get it.
"Yeesss..."
"Huh? B-But!-"
"Just pick something so we can leave!"
Starscream shook his head in disbelief. He had been so close. Cursing that he hadn't taken it on sight, he just grabbed the nearest packet. He didn't care what it was.
Starscream stared longingly at Megatron's triple-pack BLT as the two walked casually back out. Then, he looked at his own pack - peking duck wraps - and sighed. He knew that the wraps were quite tasty but, compared to a BLT, they were nothing. Starscream prepared the most sappy, desperate expression he could muster, and slowly turned to look at Megatron.
"Umm... my dear, mighty, Lord Megatron. Would you perhaps consider-"
"No!"
With that, Megatron turned and blasted off in his Cybertron jet form. The dejected seeker scrunched up and discarded the peking duck wraps and followed after his commander. He had one thing on his mind.
Starscream continued his pursuit until the city was nowhere in sight, then unleashed a flurry of laser blasts at Megatron. Realising the traitorous act, he rolled out of the way, and did a loop-de-loop until he was directly over Starscream. He transformed out of his alt mode and grabbed the seeker's wings. The sheer weight threw the seeker off-balance enough to send him spiralling toward the ground.
"Gaahh! Get off my wings!"
"Heh-heh. But of course."
Just before the impact, Megatron let go and landed a short distance away, leaving Starscream upside-down, half-buried in the dirt. He had apparently tried to transform before landing, but didn't have enough time to flip and land on his feet. With his assailant temporarily out, Megatron took a moment to scan the area. They had landed near a solitary hill near a forest, somewhere on the outskirts of Nevada. Starscream was still kicking his legs helplessly. Megatron was tempted to leave him there, but decided against it. With little effort, he plucked the seeker out like a carrot and dumped him onto the ground. Starscream scrambled onto his feet, and fired a few laser blasts at his commander. He got hit by one, and dodged the rest. Megatron lunged forward and landed a quick jab to his chest, sending the seeker reeling back.
"Starscream. Explain this treachery."
"Gah... I saw it first - that sandwich! You had to reach across me to get it, and you did so only because you knew I wanted it!"
"Pfft! Fiddle-faddle! If you wanted it so badly, why did you not take it, hmm?"
"I, uhh..."
He knew Megatron was right, and cursed his bad luck even more. Starscream readied his missiles in desperation. Megatron bared his teeth in amusement and chuckled. Clutching his BLT in one hand, the Decepticon leader fired two shots from his cannon. His target side-stepped the assault, and retaliated with two missiles of his own. Two more fusion blasts shot them to pieces before they could get near. Megatron scoffed, and turned his back on the seeker with disdain.
"You never fail to surprise me with your new-found levels of incompetence, Starscream."
Starscream cursed, stomping the ground. Those peking duck wraps were starting to seem really tasty right now. Megatron made sure he ate his sandwich as audibly as possible. After the first bite had gone down, he turned his head to look at the lunchless seeker.
"Hmph. Delicious."
"Grrhh!"
The warlord knew how to rub it in. Starscream couldn't contain his frustration any longer; he kicked Megatron's elbow in an attempt to knock the sandwich out of his hand, but missed. Megatron retaliated by turning around and grabbing the seeker's outstretched leg with his free hand. Starscream yelped as he realised his folly, and tensed his arms in front of him, bracing for a fusion cannon blast to the face.
Megatron, after a few seconds of wondering what kind of warning he'd give his second-in-command, looked down at his sandwich. He released the seeker's leg and took a step back, returning to his meal. Normally, he would have punished such an outburst, but not today - he didn't want to ruin this tasty experience with more violence. Starscream lowered his arms to see why he hadn't been skewered, and was surprised to see that Megatron had shown mercy. Defeated, he slumped onto the ground.
The big mech gave a sigh. Still watching Starscream, he sat down and reclined against the foot of the hill.
"L-Lord Megatron?"
Megatron stared at Starscream with some annoyance, but soon relaxed.
"Just a half."
He picked up one of the sandwiches and brushed it along his razor-sharp teeth, teasing the seeker. There was some mayonnaise. He placed the sandwich halfway into his mouth, gripped between his teeth. Starscream gulped and came closer, leaning against his commander - he just couldn't wait. Embracing the big mech, he eased his mouth around the protruding half and, slowly, they both took a bite together.
In a warm, silent embrace, they relished the flavour. Once the mouthfuls had gone down, they looked at each other. Megatron's optics, though relaxed, pierced menacingly into Starscream's. He growled to his second-in-command:
"Touch the last one, and you die."
Starscream nodded, and rested his helm on his master's chest. He was right. Megatron never forgets how many sandwiches are left in a pack.
