CHAPTER 2
Starscream's log
Entry #2
One week has passed since I left the Decepticons. Six days since I met this stranger named Creop Trivem.
He had energon pellets which he claimed would fuel me up for at least a month, and grant me supreme power.
Well, he was wrong!
I'm more hungry now than any other time I've gone without energon! And I haven't found as much as a single shard of the slagging stuff! And as for powers? Hah! I should've known better than to trust a stranger with an...outlandish name.
I fear I may have to raid one of Megatron's mines after all. I had really hoped it wouldn't come to this.
But desperate times call for desperate measures.
And I am desperate.
Starscream hid himself behind the boulders near one of the energon mines. Many Vehicons, both workers and warriors, were spread all over the site. While the guards were scouting for intruders, the miners scurried around, carrying large blue crystals in mine carts. The Seeker looked hungrily at the crystals.
"Alright," he muttered to himself. "I sneak in there, take out a guard or two, and then I take a crystal or two and get out. And if anyone should notice me in the meantime, then I'll—"
"AUTOBOTS!" one of the guards alarmed, making Starscream flinch.
"…or I could just let the Autobots make a distraction."
From where he stood, he had an overview of the entire scene; Prime and his minions running in, taking out several Vehicon troopers…wait a second, who was that Autobot? The white and reddish-orange 'Bot who fiercely severed a Vehicon with his blade?
"Must be the Autobots' medic, Ratchet," Starscream mumbled to himself. "It can't be anyone else. But why would Prime…"
He silenced as Ratchet started chasing after a miner up the cliff. The Autobots and Vehicons were busy fighting, not sensing the world around them.
"Here's my chance!" he said and carefully sneaked down from his cover of boulders. He crawled along the cliff-side, letting the grayish-brown rock camouflage his own gray paintjob.
Nobody had noticed him so far. He came in closer, nearing a cart with a fairly large crystal. Still clear. He reached out for the crystal…
A stray laser hit the crystal, causing it to explode in Starscream's face. He let out a scream which fortunately was deafened by the explosion. Lucky for him he was far enough away to not get any serious damage to his face. He jumped back and made himself flat against the wall, hiding behind a boulder. Nobody had noticed his outburst, nor his attempt at the theft of the now-destroyed energon crystal.
He heard a scream from above. It sounded like one of the miners, and that's when he remembered Ratchet chasing that one guy. What in the name of Primus was he doing to that Vehicon?
Whatever he was doing, it was enough to get the other Autobots' attention. The other Vehicons had either fled or been destroyed, so the remaining Autobots began climbing up the wall to attend to Ratchet. This was it. It was now or never.
Starscream stormed over to the nearest unharmed cart, snatched the crystal in it – not as big as the one he almost got, but an acceptable size nonetheless – and switched to jet mode with the crystal safely secured in his cockpit, zooming off into the distance.
"I did it! I DID IT!" Starscream cheered. "I can't believe I actually got hold of a crystal! Now I just need to find a place to enjoy it!"
He descended to the ground and found an abandoned bear cave near the mountains. Eating a raw energon crystal was much more difficult than simply drinking the refined form, hence the invention of refined energon.
Starscream often speculated if teeth were useful for anything besides smirking, and now he learned the true reason for their existence. He never knew chewing through a crystal could feel so…satisfying. He kind of liked the crunchy noises made by the metal teeth grinding the crystal to tiny shards, until they were small enough for him to swallow.
The crystal was far too quickly devoured, despite the lengthy time compared to drinking a cube. It left the Seeker with a feeling of satisfaction though, greatly decreasing his hunger.
He was about to leave again when it started to rain. Scrap.
"I really hate this planet," he said. "I'm not going to risk rusting as long as I don't have a medbay. Guess I'll just have to stay here for the night."
As a lightning stroke and thunder cracked, the Seeker crept further into the cave, crouching together in a fetal position and shut his optics. The loud sound of thunder reminded him of Megatron raging over another one of Starscream's failures, or attempts at treachery.
Slowly, anxiously, he fell into an uneasy sleep.
Starscream's log
Entry #3
Yesterday, I learned why Transformers have teeth. Since I don't have the means to refine the energon, I have to bite through raw crystals.
Though honestly, I don't really mind this way of consumption. It is very satisfying, to say the least.
The storm has settled for now, but I have a feeling I'm going to meet bigger trouble.
Alas, the crystal I consumed yesterday has slipped away like it was never there. I must find more. And fast.
A few days later, and all Starscream had found was a small shard which was barely even a snack. Perhaps he had to raid another mine. Maybe the last one had been abandoned by now?
He flew to the mine. There didn't seem to be any Vehicons. In return, there weren't any crystals to be seen either. They must have either taken the rest or blown them up. Either way, it meant no energon for poor old Starscream.
"No, I have to stay positive," he said to himself. "Maybe there are still some crystals left in the mine."
He went inside, and after about half an Earth-hour of investigating, he concluded the mine had been stripped entirely for energon. This reminded him of the time where Megatron learned he, Starscream, had been keeping a mine of energon for himself, which almost led to the Seeker's destruction. This happened only a few days prior to his dismissal from the Decepticons. Was there any energon left in that place, even after the entire mine had collapsed? Starscream was desperate enough to try anyplace, anyhow.
He was about to exit the mine when he got the feeling he was being followed. He looked around but there was nothing to see.
"Must be my imagination," he muttered to himself. He transformed and took off.
Mere minutes later, he arrived at the caved-in mine. He could still see the hole which Megatron had left behind, after rescuing the Seeker from being crushed beneath the ceiling.
Well, rescued and rescued… He had first let the Seeker desperately swear eternal allegiance and loyalty to him, then waited a few more minutes to watch him suffer. Then, just before his tiny arms gave in to the ceiling's weight, Megatron had pulled him out of there and blasted his way through, with the near-unconscious Seeker in his arms. Despite the warlord's delayed rescue of the former Air Commander, Starscream was grateful that he at least had found him valuable enough to spare. Had it not been for that psycho Airachnid, Starscream might actually have kept his promise of eternal loyalty to Megatron...might.
Starscream wondered if the hole went all the way through to the energon chamber? He peeked through the hole. It was very narrow, but if he laid down his wings on his back and crawled like a Ground Crawler, maybe…
"Nice aft, Starscream."
The Seeker hit his head against the ceiling, startled by the sudden voice. He looked over his shoulder. There was no one there.
"I must be getting mad," he said to himself, but then let out a shriek as he got pulled out and up by the leg, facing upside-down. Someone was holding him by his leg! "No! Don't hurt me, please! Release me!"
He got turned the other way, and he saw a black and orange mech, kneeling on the roof of the cave. Because he was upside-down, it was difficult to make out details.
"As you wish," the stranger said and let go of the Seeker's leg.
He hit the ground, face first. As he sat up and nudged his face, he could finally make out the newcomer. He looked almost identical to Soundwave, save that he was much bulkier and had short claws instead of long fingers. That, and his orange and black paintjob, instead of Soundwave's gray and purple. Oh, and the fact that this one spoke. He had the same kind of chest plate as Soundwave, but whether his was a Laserbeak duplicate as well was unclear. His visor was orange on his black head and the expression unreadable - much like Soundwave - but Starscream had a feeling he was smiling at him, laughing at him, for being such a weakling.
"You little dweep," the Seeker snarled and switched his right arm to laser-gun mode. "Don't you know who I am? I am Starscr—"
"Yes, I just said that," the stranger interrupted. "And for your own safety, you better put down your weapon." He laid a servo on his waist, revealing a laser sword that Starscream hadn't noticed before. The Seeker laughed, unimpressed.
"What is your tiny knife going to do to my lasers?" he asked with an angry laughter.
"Well…"
The Soundwave-wannabe pulled out his sword, swung it casually against a boulder nearby, and the laser-weapon cut through the rock like butter. Starscream gulped and reverted his gun back to arm mode.
"Alright, since this absolutely has to happen to me… Who are you, and what do you want from me?"
"Yes, my apologies," the stranger said. "My name is Sideways, leader of a small group called the Heralds of Unicron."
Starscream stiffened by the name. "U-Unicron?! As in the Unicron? The Chaos Bringer? The Planet Eater? The Lord of Chaos?" He suddenly remembered Creop's parting words. The Dark Lord shall return. And he had worn the same symbol this Sideways wore. A third faction? Other than Autobots and Decepticons?
"Precisely," Sideways replied. "We are worshippers of the great and mighty Unicron. The prophecy foretells that when the 47 spheres align across the galaxy, the Dark Lord shall awaken from his sleep, and we, the Heralds of Unicron, shall serve him once more!"
"Eh…right. But what do you want from me?"
"Oh, nothing special. I just want to help you, is all. If I'm not mistaken, there's an energon mine beneath all this rubble?" Starscream nodded. "How about we lend you some help?"
"We?" Starscream repeated uneasily.
Out of nowhere, a jet descended and transformed into yet another mech. He wore the same yellow symbol of Unicron's head as Sideways, but was closer resembled to a Conehead, being black and red with a light gray face and a pair of pink optics. He smiled and nodded a greetings.
"I'm Thrust," the newcomer said briefly. "I heard something about needing help?"