Chapter 9: Agent Fowler

"Surely it can't take that long for a human to converse with their leader! We've been here for mega-cycles!" Starscream grumbled, his narrowed gaze trained on the military warehouse in front of him.

Megatron chuckled, finding Starscream's annoyance rather amusing. "Now now, Starscream. Do you remember how long it used to take for the Senate to make a decision?"

"Yes, it took a very long time."

"They would take absolutely forever even for the simplest thing. Could you imagine being a senator and having to sit through that? I'd go mad!"

Starscream couldn't help but chuckle. His mood lightened up a bit as a result. "I'll never understand how Shockwave did it. Crazy mech."

Megatron chuckled at that, though he wasn't able to answer before Fowler came out of the warehouse. His gaze followed the dark-haired man until he halted just a few feet away from where they were standing.

"Alright, here's the word from the big man." Fowler began. "He has agreed to grant you and your..."

"Decepticons." Megatron filled in.

"Right, Decepticons. Never thought I'd be saying that..." Fowler mumbled the last part to himself. "General Bryce has agreed to grant you and your Decepticons refuge on our planet. However, that means you must stay in contact. I will be your link between your kind and mankind."

"That does not include 24/7 surveillance, correct?" Megatron questioned in a serious tone. Starscream listened intently, shifting from pede to pede.

"Unless you give us a reason to, I can assure you that we won't be all up in your business. We have more pressing matters to attend to besides spying on a bunch of alien robots. That being said, I expect you all to refrain from causing trouble." Fowler replied with a huff, crossing his arms over his chest. "Now, tell me more about your enemy, the so-called Autobots."

Megatron nodded. "To spare you the long version of our history, I shall keep it short. The Autobots are led by a menace known as Nemesis Prime. He is responsible for destroying our home-world, which is why we have taken refuge on Earth. Now that he is here, I have vowed to keep your planet from facing the same fate. Nemesis will stop at nothing to get what he desires. Humankind stands no chance against him without our help."

"Just to get things straight, Decepticons are the good guys and Autobots are the bad guys?"

"Correct."

"Is there any possibility that this Nemesis Prime could attack human settlements and military operations?"

"Yes, which is why I strongly urge you to allow us to protect you. We will only step in when necessary."

Fowler nodded, his gaze wandering for a moment as he thought. "Alright. If you're telling the truth, which I believe you are, then I think I can trust you guys to deal with the Autobots. Whenever you need help or have a question, just give me a shout."

"Thank you, Agent Fowler. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated." Megatron said with a slight smile. This had gone much better than he had expected, relieving some of the stress he'd been harboring.

***

Night had fallen in the time that had elapsed. Seeing that there were no urgent matters that currently required his attention, Megatron decided it was alright to stay out for a little longer.

He let out a soft sigh as he gazed up at the starry sky. It seemed so empty compared to what he used to be able to see in Cybertron's night sky. Everything reminded him of home and it hurt.

Starscream glanced at Megatron, his expression falling a bit. He knew how much Cybertron had meant to him. Losing it was a painful experience for everyone, but he couldn't imagine the guilt Megatron felt even though he wasn't responsible for Cybertron's death.

The seeker had a slight urge to say something, but what would he say? There were so many things he could talk about, so many secrets he could spill. But he refrained from doing so out of fear. Fear that Megatron wouldn't take him seriously. Normally he never kept secrets from him since he was his close friend, but this secret was too embarrassing to tell. Megatron probably didn't feel the same way anyways.

"How am I going to do it?"

Starscream flinched, Megatron's words pulling him from his thoughts rather suddenly. "D-Do what, sir?" He questioned, hoping Megatron hadn't noticed the slight delay in his response.

Megatron turned his head towards the seeker so that he was looking at him. "Protect Earth. How could I possibly protect another planet after what happened to Cybertron?"

"Well, for starters... Nemesis hardly knows anything about this planet. You can't destroy something if you have no idea what it is or if it can even be destroyed, right?"

"He will find a way, I'm sure of it."

"So what? We're the Decepticons and you are Megatron, leader of the free galaxy. You've saved millions of lives! You can't keep weighing yourself down with all of your past mistakes. Whatever Nemesis has in store for us, we'll be ready for it."

Megatron stared at Starscream in disbelief, awestruck by his words. Then, he couldn't help but chuckle. "I should've let you write my speeches. Are you sure you didn't learn a few things from Alpha Trion?"

Starscream blushed a little and smiled. "I used to read a lot in the Archives when I had spare time."

"They let you have spare time in the Flight Academy?"

Both Decepticons burst into laughter at that.

Megatron wiped the tears from his optics, still chuckling a bit. He hadn't laughed like that in a long while. It felt good to laugh again.

"Megatron?"

Megatron looked up. "Yes, Starscream?" He said with a smile, his optics gleaming.

Starscream pursed his lip, trying to maintain his composure. He was so nervous that he was practically shaking. "I.. I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"U-Um.." Starscream's spark felt like it was racing a million miles per hour. "It's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while now. Oh.. how should I say this..." He finally mustered up the courage to speak clearly. "Megatron, we've known each other for a long time. I just wanted to say that I... I have fee-" Before he could finish, however, Skyquake's panicked voice blared through his comn and Megatron's.

<<We need backup! Nemesis is attacking the humans!>>