Chapter 1 : One Word
"This is the last time, Starscream!"
"NO! Please! You don't understand! I-I-I am not hiding anything!"
"LIES!"
"NO MEGATRON! Y-You have to believe me!"
A black finger stabbed at Starscream's direction. "And who would believe a backstabbing traitor like you! If it weren't for Soundwave, that little secret of yours would have resulted in another, might I say, pitiful bungling attempt for the Decepticon leadership!"
"I-It's nothing like that! Please Megatron! Don't!"
A pair of blue trembling hands clasped tightly before Megatron, begging for mercy. The watching eyes of the other Decepticons found this scene too familiar for their liking, and so did Megatron. There he was, kneeling before his leader in his favourite position, begging as usual. As many perks as the rank of being second-in-command offered, all was quickly dwarfed by the copious amounts of begging and grovelling one had to do to avoid the blast from their leaders fusion cannon. If a mission went wrong, collection of Energon was unsuccessful, or something, anything, was out of place in the Decepticon ranks, the second-in-command got the blame. It was being the ultimate scapegoat, and Starscream fit the profile. Egotistic, vain, intelligent but blinded by ambitions, he would do anything for self-preservation, even if it means that he would be seen as a spineless coward.
"Soundwave told me that you were hiding something in your body! And to think that you kept it hidden after all the repairs and physical check-ups performed by the Constructicons!"
Thundercracker and Skywarp watched their wingmate shrink under Megatron's words, but they could do nothing to help him. Starscream brought this on himself, and only he could help himself out of his own mess. The duo suddenly found themselves under Megatron's blazing ruby glare.
"Thundercracker, Skywarp! Take this buffoon to the repair bay for the Constructicons! I want them to find whatever he's hiding, even if they have to take him apart, piece by piece!" Megatron growled. The purple and blue jet only nodded in reply, and proceeded to escort the defiant seeker.
"NO! I've done nothing wrong! You'll never take me apart!" Starscream's legs bolted for the nearest exit, screaming in utter panic. "NEVER!"
A fierce purple blast raced through the air and hit the fleeing coward in the back. Starscream fell in an arced motion and hit the ground with a plaintive thud. After the initial shock from the ferocity of Megatron's actions, the two seekers meekly picked up the unconscious seeker and placed his weight on their shoulders, exiting the room. A small 'harrumph' escaped Skywarp's pout when the door slid shut and the trio made their way down the long dimmed halls of the Nemesis.
"Sorry 'Screamer…orders are orders…" Thundercracker whispered to the comatose Starscream.
"…And all that slag." Skywarp added.
-------
The aerial commander cursed the day Soundwave joined the Decepticons. The communications officer's telepathic powers meant that most of the Decepticons were like open datapads to him, and if he concentrated hard enough, he could dig out as many secrets as he can from his own allies. Soundwave did have some dirt on Starscream, but the one that niggled him the most was this particular secret that the clairvoyant Decepticon could not break as much as he tried, and Starscream made sure of that. After careful consideration and thought equalled by the silent frustration in the many vorns that passed behind that white mask, Soundwave reported this ambiguous finding of the red seeker to Megatron. Maybe with the help of their leader, his curiosity could be satisfied…and the safety of their leader and the Decepticon cause.
"Constructicons, don't leave one circuit unmarked but don't just cut through him; I want to make sure that we can take whatever he's hiding and put it to good use."
Now Starscream had a very good reason to slag Soundwave to the Pits and beyond.
The navy blue Decepticon stood by his leader, and they both watched from a distance in the repair bay as the Constructicons carefully removed Starscream's chassis with professional accuracy. A small wave of uncertainty ran through Megatron's circuits when the Constructicons took apart the aerial commanders circuits. Sure, Starscream just loved to pick fights and test Megatron's patience, but the manner of Starscream's pathetic begging sounded more desperate in tone even before Megatron put the seekers life at risk.
"Soundwave, I hope you are right." Megatron mumbled to himself, but not soft enough to escape the communication officer's audio receptors. Soundwave turned to his leader to assure Megatron that taking Starscream apart was an unadulterated decision.
"Starscream has been keeping this secret for many vorns. Classification of threat not imminent until further analysis but he was adamant."
"So you wanted me to make the order to cut him up on an account of your doubts?" Megatron smirked but Soundwave said nothing else. The red visors just reflected the light from the sparks as Hook surgically removed Starscream's wires to expose a metal bone.
-------
"I've never gone this far before."
"What do you mean Hook? It's not the first time we've cut open any Transformer."
"I know what you mean Scrapper, but this is Starscream."
"Eh-heh-hahahaha! So what, Hook-Hook?"
"What I'm trying to say Mixmaster, is that Starscream has never presented us with any injuries this far into his body."
"At least I don't have to carry the junk from his body to the smelting pot. But now that I think of it…"
"…Maybe Starscream's cowardice saved him from sustaining any grievous injuries. Do you think he's doing it on purpose?"
"……….."
"…Nah. He's just a coward."
"We should paint him ye-ye-yellow after this! Eh-hahahaha!"
"Less talk, more work Constructicons! I don't have all day!"
"(Okay guys, let's hurry it up. Megatron's working his megaphone too)."
"(Shut up! Soundwave might hear us!)"
"(I think he already did)."
"(Aaaah, slaggit)."
"(Wait!)"
-------
Green and purple hands stopped working after they heard a distinct click. Hook turned off his laser scalpel and the Constructicons stood dumbly over Starscream's comatose body, halting all actions. Small repeated blips from the machine regulating Starscream's life support was the only obvious sound playing in the room, but everything else remained deadly quiet. Even the Decepticon's body's that possessed an internal hum could not be heard over the deafening silence. The Decepticon leader only grew more and more impatient at the Constructicons stalling and he finally broke the uneasy silence.
"What are you fools doing! Have you found anything yet?" Megatron snapped. The Constructicons made a clearing for Megatron to see Starscream's body and their leader stomped towards his second-in-command's inanimate body. Scrutinising Starscream's open chest and arms, Megatron only grew more irritated to know that the purple and green Decepticon's labouring speed was exceedingly slow. The navy Decepticon quickly inquired about he Constructicons abrupt pause in their work before Megatron could blow a fuse in his own circuits.
"Why did you discontinue surgical procedures on Starscream?"
Scrapper then turned his attention to Soundwave's masked poker face and answered him in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Starscream was hiding something."
"It's not dangerous…" Hook continued. "But it is…intriguing."
The grey Transformer narrowed an optic. "Explain."
Mixmaster pointed to Starscream's clean cut bone structure. "Look at his arm-arm and his rib-rib-rib area."
Scavenger hurriedly pulled out a stray arm from the reject bin and placed it next to Starscream's for comparison for their leader and the communication's expert to see, and Hook pointed to Starscream's exposed infrastructure.
"Notice it's slender build compared to a normal arm width of the average Decepticon." Hook's finger ran along Starscream's metallic bone. "However, compared to other internal constructions, the metal properties of Starscream's is of a very high quality."
Megatron grunted. "So he's a more durable idiot. Now I can increase my fusion cannon setting."
"Oh great leader, there is something else." Scrapper quickly interrupted Megatron to explained further. They turned their optics towards Starscream's torso.
"The internal structure of his chest area is of a smaller build in proportion to his outer shell and so is the wiring within it. Starscream has cleverly disguised this difference by evenly spacing and reinforcing his circuits to look-"
"-Normal?" Scavenger finished.
"Conclusive findings?" Soundwave asked.
The Constructicons held their silence once again, waiting for the other two to come to the same conclusion as they have. Megatron's eyes flashed at a sudden realisation and Hook voiced out the answer.
"Starscream is a female Decepticon."