Chapter 651: Above the Moon (Patreon)

Transformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List

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Moon · Decepticon Base.

Starscream stood in the incubation room, gazing at the newborn Decepticon embryos hanging on the walls, deep in thought.

Footsteps echoed from the hallway outside the incubation room, approaching until they halted not far behind Starscream.

Yet, when he turned around, he seemed to already know who had arrived. “Barricade, has there been any word from Soundwave about finding Lord Fallen?”

Indeed, the figure who had just entered the incubation room was a mechanical body of black and white – the fearsome Decepticon known as Barricade. He was the elite Decepticon warrior who should have died in Egypt over half a month ago.

Barricade could be considered one of Starscream's staunchest allies. Even though he had never openly expressed his loyalty, it seemed he was equally devoted to Megatron.

However, this did not affect his special relationship with Starscream. A cunning character like Starscream needed others to agree with and support his governance ideas, and Barricade was one of his supporters.

This unique bond meant that Barricade and Starscream had grown very close in the past.

Barricade even kept a backup of his memory data with Starscream. As long as Starscream lived, even if he fell on the battlefield, he could be resurrected. This was the reason for Barricade's fearless demeanor during missions.

In response to Starscream's question, Barricade's cold voice echoed within the incubation room, “Soundwave is still searching, but so far there’s been no result. We must prepare for the worst.”

“Lord Fallen couldn’t have vanished for so long without leaving a trace. It seems he may have been killed by Optimus Prime... The Leadership Module? Truly, it's no wonder it's called the legendary Sacred artifact.”

There was no mistaking the covetous longing in his voice when mentioning the Leadership Module. But the thought of the Virtual Space guarding the Leadership Module made the scarlet glint in Starscream's eyes grow even sharper.

The legendary six Primus had hidden the Leadership Module very well, which was why Lord Fallen could never locate it.

Even a cunning being like Frenzy, who had followed a trail of clues from a vast amount of data to its location, came away empty-handed, just like him.

Thinking of this, envy towards Optimus Prime surged within Starscream.

"Autobots, truly a race favored by the Primus! Hmph!”

They had somewhat guessed that Lord Fallen might be gone, but they did not show any overt signs of fear or unease.

In hindsight, the reason Starscream awakened Lord Fallen in the first place was because of Megatron's ploy.

Over a hundred years ago, the Skytiger Legion finally won the second Civil War against the Autobots, banishing them from the Cybertron Planet.

Soon after occupying the dying planet – even before they could clear out the remaining Autobot guerilla factions – Megatron, the leader of the Skytiger Legion, entrusted the leadership to his most loyal subordinate and ally, Shockwave. He then departed the Cybertron Planet on a spaceship named the Retribution.

Upon learning of this, Starscream quickly sensed something was amiss.

Having battled Megatron for millions of years, he understood the allure of ruling the entire Cybertron Planet for Megatron, even if it was a dying world, its resources depleted.

At first, Starscream assumed Megatron went on an expedition to search for planets colonized during the Council of Primes era, hoping to plunder resources to replenish the Skytiger Legion. But soon, he realized the truth. While the Skytiger Legion was indeed embarking on such missions, they were led by the Legion's new military commander, Shockwave.

Sensing trouble, Starscream decisively gathered his confidantes and boarded another spaceship, tracking Megatron all the way to the Solar System, light years away from Cybertron Planet.

As they neared the Solar System, they unexpectedly received a distress signal from Megatron's spaceship, the Retribution.

Following the distress signal, by the time Starscream and his entourage arrived at the location of the retribution number, they discovered that it had shockingly crashed onto the satellite of a life-bearing planet, suffering significant damage.

On that celestial body known as the Moon, Starscream's team only found the remains of some of Megatron's guards but found no trace of Megatron himself.

They also sent probes down to Earth, surprisingly finding that although the human civilization was warlike and greedy, they were physically fragile, and their level of advancement posed no real threat to the retribution number or Megatron.

Fueled by this curiosity, Starscream spent decades searching both the Moon and Earth. In the end, he discovered numerous intriguing details.

Long ago, Pathfinders from Cybertron Planet had visited Earth. More than one had made the journey, leaving behind numerous cybertronian scripts detailing their visits to the planet.

Following an unusual signal, Starscream also located Megatron, frozen within the Arctic ice.

Even with his longstanding ambitions against Megatron, upon discovering him encased in ice, Starscream genuinely considered destroying him on the spot. Yet, like many beings, he was hindered by his curiosity.

The retribution number was the crown jewel of the Skytiger Legion fleet, and even at the pinnacle of Cybertron civilization during the Council of Primes era, no battleship could rival its destructive force. And yet, this formidable ship had been critically damaged and crashed on the Moon.

Even Starscream couldn't resist wondering what could have possibly dealt such a blow to the retribution number.

The only reason he found Megatron frozen on Earth was due to a beacon at Megatron's icy prison, continuously emitting a signal. Most intriguingly, this wasn't a distress signal but a directional coordinate.

Following this signal, Starscream discovered a slumbering Primus, Lord Fallen, hidden within an inconspicuous lunar crater.

Memories of being used by Megatron to awaken Lord Fallen and then being controlled by him for over a year infuriated Starscream.

It dawned on him that Megatron's seeming demise by a human boy with the All Spark might have been part of Megatron's larger scheme. "Damn Megatron," he thought, "plotting against both Autobots and us. How could such a tyrant ever allow anyone to overshadow him, not even his own teacher?"

The mere idea that Megatron had manipulated everyone, even feigning his own death to eliminate his mentor, Lord Fallen, sent shivers down the cold and calculating Starscream.

Suppressing his anxiety, he turned to Baricade, "How much longer till Shockwave arrives?"

"By Earth's time measurement, about twenty-seven months! However, the second vanguard will arrive in no more than six months."

Unlike the other Decepticons coming from different regions, Shockwave led a marching army, inherently slower than the individual Decepticon travelers. Moreover, they brought along a hefty load of heavy weaponry and supplies, further slowing their pace.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Starscream made a decision. "Inform Soundwave to locate Frenzy's current position."

Baricade was taken aback, "You intend to target Frenzy?"

"No, quite the opposite. I want to strike another deal with him."

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Next Chapter >>Chapter 652: A New Idea