Same Old Song And Dance
Deep within the Decepticon underwater base, Starscream and his fellow seeker, Thundercracker, were hard at work. It was a new day, and with that brought a new idea for domination of the Autobots. Long ago, the Decepticon had turned his back on his higher education and fully welcomed the military way of life. Yet, here he was, inside a science lab and loving every minute. It was a side Starscream hadn't been allowed to fully embrace in quite some time, that being his oft-forgotten love for science. Numbers and discoveries, properties and formulas; these were the things that long ago gave him purpose and pleasure.
Most of his time was now spent running around as Megatron's lackey, engaging in failed attack after failed attack. He was proud of his military expertise and was well respected by his peers for such, despite Megatron's habit of humiliating him in front of his troops. He was the best of both worlds, a devoted scientist and a respected warrior. Starscream was crazy, but he was also highly intelligent. Through his brash and somewhat ill conceived tantrums, the latter was easily forgotten. There was also the small matter of him attempting to replace Megatron as Decepticon Leader on a seemingly weekly basis.
"I don't think Megatron is going to approve of this," Thundercracker stated. "He doesn't exactly like you, you know?" Thundercracker enjoyed the never-ending confrontations between Starscream and Megatron. In times of boredom, it provided great entertainment. The only thing he enjoyed more in life was being able to listen to them go back and forth alongside Skywarp, his most trusted ally. The two of them had served together from the very start of the Great War, and had forged an impressive bond. Sadly, he wasn't around at the moment to provide any entertainment. "In fact, I'm pretty certain he hates your stinkin' guts."
Starscream looked up from his work and shot his fellow seeker a cold stare. "Megatron's opinion of me does not matter," he proclaimed. "Winning the war against the Autobots does! With this new weapon, we will be able to wipe out Optimus Prime and his comrades with relative ease. Then Earth will belong to me!" Starscream's voice grew loud, his words rich with intensity.
Thundercracker quickly corrected the Air Commander. "You mean us, don't you Starscream?"
"Shut up and keep working," he yelled. "I want this to be operational as soon as possible so we can show it to Megatron." Starscream returned his full attention to the data in front of him, and continued making last minute adjustments. "The sooner this weapon is online, the sooner we Decepticons can claim total victory over the Autobots!"
"I've heard that a few times before," he mumbled to himself. "Just out of random curiosity," Thundercracker added, a smirk clearly visible on his faceplate, "What are you going to do if Megatron doesn't see the importance of this weapon?"
"That's not going to happen," Starscream boldly stated. "Even one as slow and tiresome as Megatron will see the true value and worth of this device."
"Right," Thundercracker answered. "But what if he doesn't?"
"As the fleshlings would say," Starscream answered, "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."
end chapter 2