Ch. 111

If Starscream wasn't so prideful, he would be skipping down the halls of the Nemesis. He had yet to see a single drone or higher ranking Con, but he was still giddy. There was a forbidden excitement to what was going on, not unlike finding the cheat codes to a game. He was God-moding and shamelessly proud of it. The seeker came around a corridor briskly as he held his wings high. It was then that he was finally able to get a glimpse of his future interactions with the inhabitants of the ship based solely on the welcoming group of Vehicons that came running at him, guns drawn and charged.

"Starscream!" one of them shouted, "Lord Megatron has made it our sole duty to capture you alive!"

The shameless excitement. It lingered.

Starscream pursed, "Yes, I'm sure he has. I'm sure he has made an empassionate speech laced with undertones of malice and devastation should you fail. I'm sure he told you of the importance of all this, that my capture would be one that the historical archives would cover. I am very sure that he is gathering more troops as we speak, and most likely making another speech about the victory that is nearly at hand beyond the veil of your understanding."

"No," came an amused voice, "he's not busy making speechs," C.Y.L.A.S. came up from behind the seeker, his spider legs twitching in anticipation, "But he is thoroughly excited to see you've made a bold move in coming here. Though we do have to have an air of caution around this, don't we?"

Starscream glared back at the disfigured mech, "Still alive are we?"

He was awarded with a chuckle, "Of course. My skills are needed here. They are appreciated. But allow me to do you a courtesy before I take you to Lord Megatron myself," the seeker bowed lightly, "I go by C.Y.L.A.S. now, as in Cybernetic Life Augmented by Symbiosis."

Starscream clicked his glossa on the roof of his mouth, "Cute, you're an abbreviation now. What a lucky human you are."

C.Y.L.A.S. glared, "I am Cybertronian. Respect that. I may not have come to life the same way you did-"

Starscream sneered, "You're nothing but a parasite. Want me to 'predict' something for you?"

C.Y.L.A.S. charged his missiles and aimed carefully, "Right now, I'd rather you not. Now start walking. Lord Megatron is waiting."

The silver seeker scoffed, "Is he? No, I'm not in the mood to see him. I'd rather we have some fun wrecking the place first."

"'We'?" C.Y.L.A.S. sneered back, "You're the only one who made it onto our ship."

"I know," Starscream chuckled, "I'm going to make the lot of you look like cheap rust buckets."

The silver mech transformed out his blasters and ducked as the first Vehicon fired. He was well aware that his hologram could very effectively attack with well placed jabs and kicks, but his blaster transformation was all for show. Starscream was sure that he wouldn't be able to blast any of his enemies away, at least not today. And the Vehicons were doing a lovely job of firing down upon C.Y.L.A.S., the startled creation diving to the side as he growled. Their frantic blaster fire traveled up the walls, smoldered into the floors and a stray shot even hit a pressurized water line in the corner of the ceiling, bathing the hallway in steam.

'By Primus,' Starscream thought as he scuttled away with a laugh, 'no wonder the Autobots were always winning. The drones are terrible shots.'

The seeker came around another corner and arrived at the lifts. This floor was no longer fun and his drive to press on meant he needed to cause mayhem elsewhere. So he opened the lifts and activated the next floor's button, scheming quietly on what and who he would torment as the doors closed. A small part of him hoped Megatron would be next on the scene. Humiliating him would be fun. But Dreadwing would suffice, too. A second load of drones would be bothersome.

And that is exactly what happened as Starscream watched the lift doors open. A large troop of drones came running at the door, all yelling excitedly, and the seeker sighed as he pressed the button to go up.

"No," he grumbled, "this wouldn't be a fun game to play. It would just be sad."

The lift doors closed and went up to the next level. The doors opened and Starscream walked out slowly, peering down the halls on either side to check for a glimpse of any foes worthy of his God-moding. He was greatly surprised when he saw Dreadwing waiting down the hall, arms crossed in an unamused fashion, with only a glare on his faceplates.

Starscream held in a gasp and sneered, "Is this all I am awarded with, Dreadwing? Your angry faceplates?" he fluttered his wings as he started to walk towards him, "I make it onto the Nemesis to stretch my power, to gloat, to perhaps smash a few of you out of existence, and this is it? Surely Megatron has told you what I am capable of, what I could possibly do to all of you. Aren't you the least bit ready for what I will dish out upon you?"

Dreadwing said nothing and simply drew out his sword, waiting.

The silver mech laughed, "I have become far too powerful for your silly weapons! Prepare yourself!"

"Hubris will be your downfall, abomination," Dreadwing hissed.

Starscream smirked, "Here, in this moment, I have no room to be humble."

Starscream lunged forward and shifted to the side as Dreadwing's sword came down, listening in glee as the blade struck into the wall and floor with a loud CLANG. The silver seeker dipped around to the larger mech's back and leant away when the sword came at him again and missed, cutting nothing but air. Starscream was teasing. Dreadwing wouldn't be able to land a hit on him regardless. And he was waiting for the perfect opportunity to stretch his hologram's hit power. Starscream waited for the blue mech to extend his arm out in another thrust and jabbed his own servo up quickly into his arm. Dreadwing snarled in pain at the contact and nearly dropped his sword but tossed the blade up to catch it with his other servo as he cradled his wounded arm close to his chestplate.

"That's a torn limb line," Starscream mused sweetly, "Too bad Knockout isn't here to help you. You'll have to get a med drone to fix it. That won't be too pretty."

"When I'm finished with you," Dreadwing snarled back, holding his sword tightly, "it will be you who will suffer at the servos of our medbots. And I will relish every moment of your screams!"

The blue mech swung down swiftly as Starscream leaned away again, his blade stabbing into the floor. Dreadwing's optics widened when he pulled and the sword wouldn't come up. It was stuck. Starscream growled and ran at his opponent, jumping to kick hard into his chestplate and send him back. He knew the damage wouldn't be much, but he was making Dreadwing mad and sending him away without satisfaction. Besides, the silver seeker was bored now. He wanted another opponent to torment. But a thought struck him as he laughed and retreated down the hall. The med bay would be an excellent place to unleash his havoc upon. If they couldn't tend to their wounds, they would be far more vulnerable. He liked this plan. Sure, it was more Decepticon than Autobot, but no one was jabbering into his audials to tell him 'no'. The connection must have been weaker the more he wandered around this place.

Starscream came to the med bay doors and opened them wide, "And here I return! But not as a patient..."

The silver mech walked in and frowned. The room wasn't the same at all. It was...

Starscream walked slower, "Well, this isn't at all foreboding in the slightest..."

The room had more equipment stashed into it, equipment he wasn't all that familiar with. The usual berth that sat in the room was moved as well. Before, it had been closer to Knockout's console to make it easier to chat and type into his files. Now, it was given pride of place in the very center of the room, surrounded by these odd machines and seemingly-not-so-seemingly medical pieces.

Starscream cautiously examined some of the items. Most appeared to absorb or conduct energy. That wasn't a good sign. Others were sharp and nefarious looking cutting tools, some he had never seen before. Another not-so-good sign. The silver seeker trembled as he reached down and picked up two things that were scaring him the most at the moment: a long, thick cable, and a syringe, filled with something quite viscous.

"A cortical patch cord," came a deep, raspy voice from the med bay door, "and tranquilizers, all filled and ready for you."

Starscream swung around and felt his optics widen as Megatron's glared back in excitement, "It has been a short while, hasn't it, my dear Starscream? It seems you've been playing a little game with us, haven't you? But you're back home where you belong. I see you're becoming accommodated with your new quarters."

The silver seeker frowned and set the cord and syringes down, "I am not here for that."

Megatron chuckled, "Yes, C.Y.L.A.S. and Dreadwing tell me you've been causing quite a ruckus. I don't dislike that. They need to be tested."

Starscream transformed out a blaster, "And what about you? Are you ready to be 'tested'?"

The warlord laughed louder, "You mistake my being here, don't you? I am not here to be tested, I am here to test you."

Starscream was ill prepared as Megatron lunged forward, his sword ready. The seeker had become too used to the hiccup saving him from such actions so he was more than surprised when the blade slashed through his hologram and he had to remind himself he wasn't there.

But Megatron didn't look surprised at all, "And that explains quite a bit, doesn't it, my dear Starscream?"

"Y-you knew?!" Starscream yelped, stumbling back to avoid proximity.

The warlord slowly stalked after him, "An inkling of an idea crossed my mind when our security systems were breached earlier today. For a moment, C.Y.L.A.S. was registering on our system monitors as you and then your signal ended up in the belly of my ship. Not quite teleportation, but I figured you were prowling around using some other means. Certainly not here physically..." he almost seems to purr, "not that it will matter much now that you are here."

Starscream frowned, "You can't hurt me when I'm like this. You can't touch me."

"Can't I?"

A buzzing in Megatron's COMM activated and he sneered, suddenly lunging forward and grabbing the seeker, slamming him into the wall behind him, "You really don't understand this technology, do you?! All the better for me. Now that my security team has isolated the Autobots' control over my ship's projection systems, I can do whatever I want to you!"