Alright, I'm done with my SAT and am currently free while waiting for my scores (speaking of which, I doubt would be stellar since I guessed the answers at least one third of the math section). I should be able to update more frequently now, although no promises because I still have to search for college and financial aid for a poor international student like me. Try it, I dare you. Juggling both ain't easy, so I encourage all future college students to start early.
Anyways, here's the next chapter. Not that much of a plot development, but I ensure you that things will get interesting later.
Thanks to Guest, zrexheartz, fan girl 666, nathanielsims3 andFirewarrior123X for reviewing!
"Don't jou think jou're being too hard on him?" Blitzwing asked doubtfully.
"This is Megatron we're talking about!" Starscream shot back, "He deserves to be yelled at for everything he's done to me!"
The injured flier resisted the urge to bash the Seeker upside of his helm. Sometimes Starscream was too dense for his own good, which was surprising because as a scientist he was supposed to be especially observant... especially concerning courting affairs. Not to mention he was the one who took Megatron's advances badly.
Hook had released him from the med bay a while ago so now Blitzwing was free to go to and fro as he wished, although he was not allowed to enter combat. When Starscream had come storming into his room demanding a discussion, the other hadn't been surprised. So the conservation turned to the subject of the Seeker's unintended courtship again, and Starscream wasn't been helpful at all as he accused Megatron repeatedly. Blitzwing suspected that the Seeker had exaggerated things a lot though, so he was only half listening until now.
"Look, Starscream," Blitzwing went for a more direct approach, "Vhy don't jou vant to approach him, or even give him a chance?"
"Because he is not worthy of me!" Starscream immediately retorted.
"Vhy—"
"Because the only reason he wants me is to keep him company in his berth. Any mech in my position could tell, the way he gropes me, tries to get my attention and tries to seduce me."
"Vhy—" Blitzwing was starting to see the main problem here, but Starscream was getting worked up into a rant.
"He is a fragging pervert and a glitchhead! I don't want to get close to such a mech! I don't want him at all!"
"Vill jou let me finish?!" Blitzwing's anger arose quickly in him, and he had to restrain himself from lashing out at the fuming Seeker. He steeled himself for a nanoklik, cursing the fact that his temper was getting the better of him more lately.
Starscream gave him an annoyed sidelong look, but fell silent.
"What do jou know about Megatron? And I'm not asking for more insults."
At that Starscream scrunched up his faceplates with a look of concentration, which soon turned into dejectedness.
"He is admittedly a genius computer programmer and engineer who created the communication network we're using right now, and a skilled user of dual blades known for his unconventional fighting style."
"Any Decepticon vould have all zhose facts memorized," Blitzwing snorted, "As zhe mech Megatron is trying to court, jou vill have to do better. Describe his personality."
There was a long silence as Starscream presumably thought of possible answers to answer this inquiry.
"He seems… determined to fulfill the cause… and will work hard to do so when really puts his mind to it… Argh! I don't know!" Starscream raged, "He doesn't have much of a personality in the public!"
"And in private?"
The other did not reply to that. Starscream instead averted his optics and turned his helm to one side, which immediately gave Blitzwing the clue that whatever happened between the two of them, the Seeker was unwilling to share it.
"Vell, whether publically or privately, zhat's not enough," Blitzwing shook his helm, "Starscream, please. Alzhough my advice has been overused countless times, at least get to know our esteemed leader better before jou jump to any conclusions. It vould be better for zhe both of jou, and jou can always make zhe decision to cut off the courtship if jou find him incompatible."
"Megatron was the one who started it in the first place. Do you honestly think he would let me go so easily?!"
"Let's not think zhat far yet. For now jou vould do vell to know him better." Blitzwing said patiently.
"He's inscrutable, and he never showed any attempt to know me! Why should he start now?" Starscream became doubtful again. By the AllSpark, that mech really thought too much sometimes.
"Jou could only hope. But ozher zhan zhat, jou have plenty of chances to know Megatron as his new second-in-command. By zhe way, congratulations."
"Thanks," Starscream said in a quiet voice, "This is probably the umpteenth time you saved me from another crisis."
"Crisis might be exaggerating a little. While jou're at it, please go and apologize to Megatron for jour outburst."
"What?! No! He deserved it!" Starscream immediately snapped. But his expression became distant, and then urgent.
"Speaking of that fragger, he wants me to help devise another battle plan this cycle. I need to be at the command center right now. Later, Blitzwing."
With that, the Seeker promptly rushed out of the room and into the hallways, his thrusters clicking sharply again the metal ground. When the sound faded, Blitzwing allowed himself to a small chuckle of amusement.
Really, Starscream was a rather sociable mech under his irritable and reclusive exterior when one got to know him. It was a pity that he distanced himself from the others, or he would have been a rather influential figure among the Decepticons. However, it did surprise Blitzwing that Starscream was made second-in-command so quickly after joining the army. He also highly suspected that it had something to do with the Kalis mission.
Blitzwing wasn't sure why he continued to associate with the (admittedly) emotionally unstable Seeker. At first he thought it was because he wished for a companionship, something that was always denied to him because of his slightly disturbed mentality. When Starscream had reacted rather neutrally the time Blitzwing went to ask him about his anxiety for the position of second-in-command, the jet was pleased to know that at least one mech found him approachable.
Or maybe Blitzwing grew worried about the increasing whispers among the others, which he certainly took more time to hear than the other. The bets and crude jokes he didn't pay much attention to, but the ones that earned his concern were those of complaints and disapprovals. Starscream had no idea how many were criticizing his promotion and supposedly unacceptable behavior with Megatron. Though most of these whispers had dwindled away now that the war started, Blitzwing knew there were at least three of the S Team officers that were against the two's "relationship". If Starscream was to keep his position and safety at the same time, it was going to take some serious forethinking.
Or maybe it was the simple interest to watch how Starscream progressed in his courtship with Megatron. Blitzwing also saw that if the two learned how to work together (preferably as lovers, although as close comrades will also do), they would definitely achieve many victories over the Autobots. But with one misstep for the either of them, then Decepticons will fall apart by infighting and a divided leadership, or by Megatron's neglectance should he get so caught up in his personal affairs.
No, Megatron would never do that. He was too dedicated to his faction to allow such a presumptuous thing to happen.
Blitzwing sighed somewhat wearily. Sometimes he cursed his uncanny insight and the ability to see things more deeply than they appear at the surface. But he will continue to observe, and step in to help Starscream when the occasion called for it. Plus the Seeker had saved his life in the underground pipes. He would return the favor eventually, though for now he would settle for his advising role.
After speaking to Blitzwing, Starscream was far from at peace. Blitzwing's advice didn't assure him much at all, assuming that Megatron would even remain favorable towards him. The other was practically telling him to do everything he hoped he would never do with Megatron. Apologize?! Get to know him?! That fragger should be grateful if the Seeker even looked at him after all this!
Or not. Centuries of being taught to treat a figure of authority with respect had somehow still ingrained itself into Starscream's processor. Megatron, though an immature pervert and one of the most annoying mechs he had the misfortune to meet, was still Decepticon leader and in charge of leading an entire army to war. It had been wrong of him to blow up so brashly at the warlord like that.
Starscream ground his dentas together tightly and scowled. Part of him still stubbornly insisted that he had done nothing wrong except to make his opinions known to the other. After all, he had to draw his boundaries; no one trod all over Starscream and got away with it!
But as quickly as that flare of defiance came, it soon melted into uncertain apprehension, leaving Starscream with a feeling akin to being caught doing something he shouldn't be doing back at the Academy. He still had to face Megatron this solar cycle as his newly-appointed second-in-command.
Now Starscream was trying hard to resist the temptation to just turn tail and run for it as he strode towards the command center. He hadn't meant to lose his temper in front of Megatron the last solar cycle like that, but the frustrations he had experienced made him just suddenly snap and once he was ranting, he couldn't stop.
There was sure to be some consequence for what he did. The worst Megatron could do is to strip him of his rank, the least giving him the most tedious tasks today. With this expectation in mind, Starscream mentally steeled himself as he stepped into the command center.
To his utter surprise, Megatron only gave him a cordial greeting and sent him to go over some more paperwork, and then to inspect the Decepticon weapons store. When Starscream finished those tasks, his leader even asked him if he had been giving him too much work. After spending a cycle stuttering in disbelief, the Seeker retorted that they were barely enough.
"Now don't underestimate your duties as my second," Megatron warned, "There will be a S Team meeting this solar cycle, and this will be the first time with you attending. Just sit, listen and bring up sensible opinions and you will be fine."
"I know how to handle myself!"
"I'm sure you do, Starscream. Hmm… Starscream… and here we have another new advisor whose designation starts with an S. I really should make that an official requirement from now on. What do you say?"
What did Megatron consume that solar cycle that made him the amiable mech he was now? What happened to his somewhat perverted personality (not that Starscream was complaining)? He was definitely up to something, according to his abnormal behavior. Or maybe he had actually listened to Starscream's rant.
The meeting was surprisingly unproductive. The other members first stared at Starscream with a mixture of disdain and curiosity. Then Strika proceeded to launch into a full report on the current movements of the Decepticon forces. However, Megatron dismissed it with a wave of his hand.
"First, let us hear the progress of the identification of Project Omega."
"None of the Autobot captives we took from Kalis and Altihex know anything about it," Hook shook his helm, "There is no need to extract the information out of them."
"Then is this whole thing a false alarm then? Did Shockwave mishear?" Straxus said doubtfully."
"No, Shockwave has always been trustworthy. He would never..." At that, the council broke into disorganized talk as the gathered Decepticons debated whether the information was true or not. To say, Starscream was not impressed at all.
"Does this always happen?" He muttered.
"More frequently nowadays, but I wouldn't blame them. The Autobots' Project Omega is a highly probable threat that we must deal with, yet we have little to no information about it." Megatron answered quietly.
"Of course you will have little information on it. If the Autobots are working on a super-weapon that can possibly give them an edge in the war, would they even make the project widely known among their lower ranks?" Starscream scoffed.
The Seeker's voice hadn't been particularly loud, but for some reason it caught every mech's attention. Suddenly the entire room was silent as all turned their gaze upon Starscream.
"Well go on. We would all like to hear the new second-in-command's take on the situation." Strika drawled in a somewhat challenging tone.
Starscream scowled. Clearly these officers had underestimated his abilities and were testing him in a non-too-subtle way. Well, he was not about to hold back on anything now. The Seeker already had come up with some useful observations and suggestions of his own as he listened. But Megatron had stiffened in his seat with a strained expression on his faceplates.
"Isn't it obvious? Only the higher-ups would know of such a project, like Ultra Magnus and the other mechs on the Autobot High Council. We don't know how Shockwave obtained this information, but it would be in vain if we continue to interrogate the captives."
"Starscream is correct," Megatron sounded as if he had chosen his next words carefully, "In that case it would certainly be more difficult to gain information on Project Omega. But we must not give up our attempt on identifying it."
All the present mechs nodded in agreement. Starscream could particularly feel his leader's obvious relief as his posture sagged slightly. What was he being so tense about in the first place anyways? It's not like the Seeker had offended anyone.
"However, we have received word from our scouts that the Autobots are developing a new technology for the war known as 'space bridges'." Hook announced.
"That doesn't sound good. What exactly does this 'space bridge' do?" Oil Slick cut in.
"Judging from its name, it may be a teleportation device designed to instantly transport its user to any part of the galaxy. Our sources say that the Autobots had been experimenting on their Decepticon prisoners and that unusual energy signatures were detected around Iacon."
That explained the sudden signal offlining of said prisoners the past few orbital cycles, evidently showing that the experiment had either failed and killed them, or succeeded in warping them to an unknown part of the universe. Megatron grimaced at the revelation. He was hoping to liberate them at the next assault.
And Starscream. Megatron had expected him to contribute many helpful advices to the meeting. He had done just that, along with a total disregard for authority. While the warlord didn't mind his rudeness for most of the time, the officers had obviously seen him as a threat.
"Then this poses a greater threat than Project Omega," Starscream spoke up again, "The Autobots will be able to travel to the colonies without the need of their space fleet and take them back easily. We will never match up with the speed of teleportation in our flight-capable alt-modes. Whatever Project Omega is, it will not pose a threat greater than the space bridges. Since information about this project is obtained more easily than the former, we must focus on it more than the other."
Starscream was suddenly aware of a tense atmosphere in the room when he was finished speaking. Strika and Straxus were now looking at him with annoyed expressions on their faceplates while Hook had a disapproving one. Meanwhile, Megatron looked as if he had swallowed a cube of soured energon and was still trying to keep a straight face. What had the Seeker done wrong now?
"Project Omega must not be neglected," Megatron recovered himself smoothly, "We can only assume that it is a super weapon in development, and the Autobots must not be allowed to have the advantage in the war. As for the space bridge, I will contact Scrash and Sideways to stop advancing the troops to the other colonies and increase their defenses on the ones we currently hold should the Autobots start warping in their forces."
"I think we should also get our hands on this particular piece of technology if possible. Then we will be able to combat the Autobots equally." Straxus suggested.
The discussion soon turned to the matter of defending Altihex and Kalis, but Starscream wasn't listening. Instead he turned his mind upon Megatron and the council's strange reactions whenever he spoke. Starscream was sure that he hadn't done anything wrong; he only offered his take on the situation and the recommended action to proceed with. Then what was going on?
"—leave it to Starscream here." The mentioning of his name caught his attention.
"Huh?"
"When you were still occupied deep in your thoughts, no doubt concerning more of your insightful observations," Strika answered sarcastically, "We were discussing about the defense for Altihex and Kalis, the two city states that the Autobots had already beginning amassing their forces to take back. Lord Megatron has suggested leaving you in charge of Kalis, which we highly disagree with."
"Kalis?" Starscream chose to brush off the other's words, although he was tempted sorely to retort back, "I can do it. Why is there a disagreement?"
"Starscream is more than capable for the duty. I think I previously failed to mention that it was him who designed the strategy for the taking of Kalis." It was Megatron who cut him off.
"Indeed? I must admit that was quite the ingenious plan. But the new second-in-command must be considered trustworthy if you must assign him a city-state to defend. We all know Shockwave as a mech loyal to the faction, skillful in his acts of intelligence gathering and fearless in battle. As for Starscream, I'm afraid we don't know the full extent of his abilities yet." Hook said thoughtfully.
"Then I will go and oversee Altihex." Megatron insisted.
"No, you are needed for the defense of Kaon itself, which will be disastrous if we ever lost our home base to the Autobots—" Straxus tried to argue.
"They won't dare to attack Kaon, for they know the majority of our forces lie here. Right now these two city-states we had just captured are the main targets. They need our attention the most."
Starscream was about to pipe up irritated that he didn't need Megatron supervising him. But the officers' continued discourse soon had him shut out again as they argued back and forth. The discussion eventually evened out when the majority decided there was no harm in having Megatron on the front lines along with his second in defending the city-states. The warlord was now visibly frustrated though, an irritated scowl twisting his faceplates. By the time he finally called for the meeting to end, Megatron braced a hand firmly against Starscream's back and steered him away into the hallway, opposite from where the other officers were headed.
"Let me go, you fragging glitch-head!" Starscream snapped after the other had put quite a distance between them and the meeting room, "What's gotten into you during that meeting? First you tell me to be careful in what I do and say, and then when I offer my opinions you act as if I had done something wrong. After that I receive the impression that you are trying to defend everything I say. And finally you mention it was I who devised the strategy of the taking for Kalis. Then you volunteer me for the defense of that city state, only to accompany me also!"
"Calm down, Starscream," The Seeker's rant wasn't helping Megatron's helm-ache at all, "I was trying to keep you out of trouble. For some reason my advisors feel intimidated by you and your outright straightforwardness."
"Straightforwardness?! I contributed much to the meeting! Why should they feel intimidated? They should be thanking me for my resourceful input!"
Megatron again had to resist the urge to slap a hand to his faceplates. Starscream really had no idea on what was going on, did he? How could he not notice the hostile looks he had been receiving from the other officials? It seemed like Starscream was much better at reading and analyzing situations than people, which was going to get him into trouble soon if he wasn't careful.
"How should I know? I cannot presume to know their thoughts, nor can I defend everything you say. Just… watch what you do and say at Kalis. Every one of the officers now have their optic on you, and I don't want to be forced to choose another second-in-command." He gave another exasperated sigh and left before he did anything he would regret.
The solar cycle hadn't gone well for Megatron either. Earlier he had finally spoken with the officers after much hesitation and unwillingness about Starscream's promotion. Most of them broke into outraged exclamations at that and listed several reasons why the Seeker should have stayed as the head of the scientific division. It was only after a quick improvised speech (which probably consisted of less truths than usual) defending Starscream that Megatron had managed to calm them down. But afterwards Hook had confronted his seemly poor choice of a second and for the first time since they had met, the two almost came to a fierce argument. It pained the warlord that he had actually snapped at one of his oldest followers, for Hook had been one of his staunchest supporters while Megatron's predecessor was still in power...
He actually had to do a quick processor reboot in order to stop himself from going over his memories of that particular period in his life.
"I'm sorry for the outburst yesterday." Starscream's voice seemed to reach Megatron from a great distance through the dissipating haze brought by the reboot. He suddenly remembered that his second was still there.
"Come again?"
"I said," The Seeker's visage was suddenly directly in Megatron's sight, his faceplates scrunched up in an expression of mock rage, "That I was sorry for that outburst yesterday! Do you usually wander away this much, or that meeting had finally done you in?"
So Starscream had actually apologized? Megatron hadn't expecting this at all, and was now pleasantly surprised that his second had taken the first step. His mood actually lifted quite significantly as he gave Starscream a wry smile in return.
"Of course I accept your apology. After all, I suppose I must become adapted to your emotional outbursts if you are to continue working as my second."
"Why you...!" The Seeker looked ready to throw a fit again, but instead huffed grouchily and crossed his arms, "You should be grateful that I even bothered to apologize in the first place. And I do not have emotional outbursts. Anything remotely resembling that is either caused by A) stress and B) you being the glitch-helmed fragger you are."
Megatron had to laugh at Starscream's petulant behavior akin to a spoilt sparkling. He could never become angry at his half-sparked insults and sharp sarcasm.
"Fine, I'm the glitch-helmed fragger who now has a city-state of my own to defend. I was hoping to have you by my side on the front lines. But since we are stationed separately, why don't we keep up a correspondence?"
He hoped to do so through the messaging system, both to request reports from his SIC and to make sure he stayed out of trouble. At this Starscream's expression seemed to soften as he replied quietly,
"That will be acceptable."
"Excellent," Megatron was pleased yet again by the Seeker's agreement, "Well, safe journey to you, and may Kalis remain impregnable under your supervision."
Review for the perpetually frustrated author? Constructive criticism also welcome!