Chapter 107: The Brave and Cunning Starscream
" Host, I've initialized all your weapons. Now, in addition to using the saber-toothed tiger's physical attacks, you can also access your original arsenal. I've transferred the firing ports to your main chip. For the next battle, would you prefer to fight alone or with my assistance?"
If Starscream didn't have the Fallen standing right in front of him, he would've activated the Transformer System's auxiliary mode without hesitation. In that case, wiping out those dozens of primitive machines would've taken no more than a few minutes.
But who knew whether the Fallen possessed the ability to peer into Starscream's past?
Starscream had no intention of revealing his full strength to Megatron too soon.
"System Chief, please stand by. Unless I encounter a major crisis, do not activate without my authorization. I want to hone my combat instincts!"
Of course, Starscream would never admit that he feared Megatron or the Fallen discovering his true identity and wisely, the System Chief didn't bring it up. Though they still had an operational agreement, the current events had long since outgrown their original mission parameters.
What started as a local disturbance on a small planet had escalated into an incident with galactic consequences.
Leaving aside how long it would take Megatron the leader of the Decepticons to arrive, the Fallen's sheer presence, capable of spawning limitless followers, was already intolerable.
If this planet, teeming with billions of lifeforms, fell under the Fallen's control, who could imagine what horrifying Predacon army he might forge?
But Starscream wasn't concerned with that right now. His immediate goal was to use his speed to lure the dozens of pursuing beasts large and small into a nearby primeval forest, trapping them so they'd never escape.
Whether due to the Fallen's complete transformation or the disturbance caused by the battle, the forest had become eerily empty. Not a single creature stirred. The silence felt ancient like a place untouched by time.
"Growl! Grrr!"
It was a massive, emaciated mechanical wolf.
Starscream, in his saber-toothed tiger form, recognized the energy signature it must have been one of the parasitic machines from the base, now turned hunter. It was the fastest of his pursuers.
"I'll start with you."
As the thought flashed through Starscream's mind, the massive mechanical wolf noticed the tiger ahead slowing down. Was it… running out of power?
Without hesitation, the wolf lunged forward, recklessly distancing itself from the pack.
Just as it was about to clamp its jaws on the tiger's tail, the tail suddenly twisted in midair
and transformed into a machine gun, its barrel pointing straight at the wolf's forehead.
"RAT-A-TAT-TAT!"
A flash of brilliant muzzle fire pierced through the pursuer's skull, drilling a dozen smoking holes. Sparks showered the ground as scattered wires crackled.
The unfortunate wolf's core processor was destroyed instantly it collapsed sideways and exploded into a heap of burning scrap.
But the death of one comrade didn't slow the pack. The other beasts kept charging, using the flaming corpse as cover to advance.
They failed to notice one curious detail: a rear-view mirror had sprouted from Starscream's left ear. Was he… watching them from behind?
"Heh… just three bursts would've been enough to finish them. Their armor's no different from those idiots I fought on the plains. Let's see how well my new claws and fangs perform wonder if they can withstand a Six-Faced Beast's attack."
Indeed, Starscream wasn't fighting for survival he was training.
After testing his ranged weapons, he decided to evaluate his melee capabilities.
The first targets were a herd of mechanical zebras.
Normally, such herbivores would flee at the sight of a predator, but these creatures, their striped hides hiding cold metal skeletons, had long lost the instinct for self-preservation.
Starscream suddenly swerved and lunged straight at the fastest zebra.
Just as their bodies were about to collide, he raised a mechanical claw, twisted his torso, and slashed across the zebra's neck.
"Rip!"
"Tear!"
He didn't even know what exactly he tore an oil conduit? A weak support rod? but it didn't matter. The blow had been fatal.
The zebra staggered, sparks and black fluids spurting from its throat.
Then
"BOOM!"
A beautiful explosion.
The creature's forward momentum carried it a few steps further before its life signal faded, consumed by the blast.
Next came a mechanical baboon larger than an ordinary ape leaping toward the saber-toothed predator.
Before it could even swing its claws, two gleaming fangs pierced through its chest and spine.
Its sturdy frame went limp, sliced apart by Starscream's titanium fangs.
"Slash!"
Throwing the mangled body aside with disdain, Starscream watched it explode midair before it even hit the ground a meaningless sacrifice.
"Awooooo!"
With three of their pack already dead, the remaining mechanical beasts finally hesitated.
No longer charging blindly, they surrounded Starscream cautiously, growling low, their primitive instincts screaming danger.
None dared to make the first move against this deadly hunter.
(End of Chapter)