"Hey Starscream. Look at this." Skywarp popped into existence beside his trine leader.
"What is it Skywarp?" Starscream asked looking up from a report.
"A game I found, the fleshies call it chess"
Starscream regards the mech from across the field. His counter part, in black and white.
How fitting. Starscream thinks.
Around him a battle is waging. Mechs fly by, throwing themselves at the enemy. Explosions dot the landscape and cries pierce the sky. Starscream looks over the battlefield. This isn't war. No.
This is a game.
"These are the pawns and here's the king. You try to make it so the other player can't move without killing the king."
Starscream eyed the board. "Sounds dumb."
A game of wits. A game he and his counter part are forced to throw back and forth. Starscream sighs. A game where everyone is a pawn. And the prize can never truly be reached.
Because always. Always his counter part has his turn. And they both know the rules of the game.
Their Commanders may have started this war. But they both now lead it.
"Stop throwing your pieces away like that." Skywarp glared, as Starscream sacrificed another game piece.
"What?! I'm protecting the king aren't I?" Starscream huffed at the board. A human game.
"The game ends when the king dies, but EVERYONE know the queen is the most important." Skywarp states, making his move.
Prowl shields his optics as his gazes through the smoke. Megatron's forces let off a volley of attacks and the Autobots take cover. And then there is Starscream. Swooping through the sky. Gesturing and shouting orders.
"The queen can move anywhere she wants. The king is kind of stuck. The moment you lose your queen your as good as dead."
Prowl leaps up. Shouting counter methods through his comm. link.
"Checkmate"
Skywarp stared. "Since when did you get so good?"
"It's called practice." answered Starscream as he stood up and alarms blared through the base. "And my opponent is quite the challenge."