Epilogue
Megatron ordered them out of Greenland. Starscream was not surprised. With Megatron's hiding place exposed, they needed another location for their glorious leader to continue sulking.
As he escorted them, Starscream briefly entertained the idea of leading his illustrious leader within visual range of the only human outpost this far out. One last chance for the Autobots. He discarded this. Should they find his small troupe, Megatron would expect him to throw his life away protecting the failing leader's worthless carcass. Unacceptable.
Starscream had no qualms about abandoning Megatron to die. However, Soundwave still orbited the planet, monitoring everything below. The spymaster, and several other Decepticons, revered Megatron. If he allowed Megatron to die – and, more important, they learned of it – they would never accept him as their leader. He needed Megatron to fail on his own. Or, at the very least, appear to.
Patrolling in circles around Megatron and Laserbeak, Starscream monitored the chains strapped around his leader. Megatron, wanting to depart quickly, had assumed a flying alt-form. Truly, it would be perfect if those chains failed, causing the Decepticon leader to plummet from the air. At this height, and with Megatron's poor condition, the fall would probably destroy him. Of course, being ever helpful, Starscream had suggested flying low to ground. His leader had refused the idea. As he knew Megatron would.
It was all a game. And Starscream knew how to play it. Very well indeed.
As the chains shuttered, crashing together, Starscream fumed. He could see a weak spot. One shot. That's all it'd take to rid himself of Megatron. The chains would snap, and he'd have won. Dealing with Laserbeak would be more difficult. He'd have to severe the mini-con's link to Soundwave, and silence him quickly. And permanently. But it could be done.
Except, high above, the ever-vigilant witness circled.
Soundwave's presence kept interfering with Starscream's plans. He didn't need to strike directly at the spymaster. The other bot served his purpose, served it well even. Starscream just needed him to serve that purpose on the surface, and not in space, watching everything he did.
He couldn't suggest that Megatron summon Soundwave down. Starscream chuckled. No, that would assure Soundwave stayed above the atmosphere for a millennia. Instead, he decided to point out how important certain intelligence operations were. And occasionally remind Megatron of the few times the mini-cons had failed. It would take time, but eventually Megatron would decide that Soundwave needed to personally oversee his spies. And the spymaster would obey. Just as Starscream wanted.
They left the rocks and ice of Greenland behind, and flew out over open water. And a softer landing if Megatron's chains failed. Starscream sighed.
He resigned himself to waiting. This plan had failed. Another opportunity would present itself. Even if he had to manufacture it. If nothing else, he knew Megatron's time as leader would end soon. And Starscream would be ready.
Author's Notes, Final Thoughts: It's short, I know. It's my first fanfic, so I wanted something short and (hopefully) sweet. I didn't want to take on too much right off the bat. I tried to tie it in with DOTM by hinting at why Soundwave's no longer in orbit. I hope overall it was enjoyable. I have some ideas for others fics: 2 one-shots, and a longer one, set after DOTM, titled 'Aftermath.' Hopefully I'll get one of those up soon. Thanks for reading! :)