Chapter 133: Starscream's Plan
"You can rest easy, sir. To deal with those little reptiles, all we need is for my big brother to guide us. It's a pity that, according to our intel, those three outdated Autobot Dinobots aren't with them; otherwise, my boss would've torn that Grimlock guy to pieces right in front of everyone!"
Indeed. When it came to raw combat power, these three Predacons were truly fierce—but facing a supersoldier of Grimlock's level was not as easy as they made it sound. Yet it was precisely their arrogance that caused The Fallen to misjudge the situation. He truly believed that the Predacon warriors he had created were invincible.
"Devil, you, your brother, and Chimera will scout that place first. If you find any trace of those Autobots, you must NOT attack. Inform all three immediately. This time, the primary attack mission belongs to them. Understood?"
"Understood!"
With the main assault team decided, Starscream and his "brothers" became the scouts. Chimera was supposedly there only as support, while the real scouting mission was assigned to Starscream and his mechanical-ant brother. Though the task seemed grueling and thankless, the naive Devil gladly accepted—probably thinking The Fallen was showing him respect.
But that was fine; as long as he could stay far away from The Fallen and those three idiot Predacons, Starscream could go wherever he pleased. And coordinating with Storm Chimera required real combat practice.
"Master, what should we do now? Should we help them attack the Autobots?"
Perhaps due to the information inherited from Starscream's ashes, Storm Chimera seemed to have developed a bit of sympathy for the Autobots; at the very least, he no longer saw them as enemies.
Of course, this attitude existed only toward Starscream. In front of others, he still acted like a cold and ruthless mechanical chimera.
"Even though I don't have much connection with those old timers, we're still on their side. I'm not confident I can defeat The Fallen right now, but sabotaging his plan shouldn't be a problem. Next, I'll arrange for you to 'disappear' — whether by accident or by vanishing entirely. I'll make sure The Fallen has no idea where you are."
This was Starscream's plan: to hide Storm Chimera perfectly, turning him into a secret trump card—not only to help the Autobots secure a small victory, but also to deal a crushing blow to the Decepticons.
Of course, another major factor behind Starscream's plan to betray The Fallen was the imminent arrival of Megatron. Starscream's clumsy "acting" might fool the deteriorating Fallen, but it would never fool Megatron or Soundwave, both equipped with the most advanced detection systems.
Once Megatron arrived at The Fallen's side, Starscream's identity would be completely exposed. Rather than waiting foolishly to be discovered, he chose to make the first move.
If all went well, Starscream could gather an army to "welcome" Megatron—then completely annihilate the tyrant who had plunged Cybertron into chaos, thereby fulfilling the Autobots' ultimate mission.
"Host, your plan is good, but the chance of success is still low. However, if we use the power of humans, things could be very different. That is, we need to find human representatives willing to follow us, and then use them against The Fallen and Megatron. What do you think?"
The one most pleased by Starscream's willingness to take action against Megatron was the ever-strategic Smoker System. Although no one knew who invented this system, it was likely someone with a strong Autobot bias.
However, if The Fallen and Megatron could be defeated so easily, they wouldn't be Cybertron's nightmares within nightmares.
Historically, both The Fallen and the veteran Autobots had focused their strategic attention on human forces, while the Autobots maneuvered from the shadows. This method would allow Starscream to hide his movements while searching for an opportunity to deal a fatal blow to the enemy.
Thus, he needed to find followers among humans—common people with notable traits—who could assist in simple tasks and maintain secrecy. And this scouting mission gave him the perfect opportunity.
Unlike The Fallen, Starscream had no intention of contacting human leaders; they might already be bribed or informants of the Autobots. Starscream wanted to act quietly.
His strategy was to recruit the best among common people—or more accurately, common people with distinctive qualities. Starscream planned to use his power to mask his actions and make everything seem, at the very least, plausible.
"System, do you have any suggestions? Don't hide anything. Just tell me what you think. Or, if you've already chosen suitable candidates, I can contact them anytime!"
"Hehe, I've already selected suitable candidates based on the traces and information humans leave behind. Next, I'll create specific scenarios that allow you to meet these ordinary humans and see who can become our followers—and who can take on the mission of eliminating the Decepticons."
Unlike traditional reconnaissance, with the help of the Transformer System, Starscream could use remote-sensing technology to scan an entire human city dozens of kilometers away and analyze human activity patterns to find suitable candidates. Then he could proceed with his "star creation" plan.
With the technology of such powerful alien civilizations, even a simple farmer could become a human-world superstar instantly—that was Starscream's plan.
"Very good. I'd rather stay inconspicuous anyway. Besides, I doubt there's much difference between that Hunnic king the Fallen contacted and any random farmer. With advanced technology and powerful weapons, anyone on this planet can become a tyrant. And that is exactly the kind of person I'm going to create!"
It seemed Starscream had always been unconventional.
(End of Chapter)