Starscream always dreads these days. The days he has to face Megatron and explain how he messed up and then get beat to an inch of his life by a furious Decepticon leader.

This time wasn't even his fault, those idiot Autobots had raided The Nemesis and gravely injured Starscream's own subordinates; Skywarp and Thundercracker, and they'd all barely escaped. But, Megatron wouldn't take that for an answer. He never does.

So while he was fully expecting the beat down, he could never truly prepare for it. Every time it happens, some part of him thinks Megatron will finally get tired of his constant fuckups and finish the job and kill him, but he seems fully intent on prolonging Starscream's suffering.

Sparks fly from Starscream's faceplate and limbs as he limps himself with great difficulty to the infirmary, trying to not think about Megatron's smug face as he forbade anyone from helping him get medical attention. That was several meta-cycles ago and the order hasn't been recinded yet, and the other Decepticons simply stare and whisper amongst themselves about how they theorise he fucked up this time or completely ignore him.

Finally, finally, Starscream collapses onto an empty Circuit Slab in the infirmary, lacking the energy to make it to the C.R Chamber on the other side of the room.

And, finally revealing yourself after following him to the infirmary like a lost puppy, is you. One of the only humans that works with the Decepticons and who somehow knows almost everything that happens within the Decepticon base.

Starscream opens one optic, glaring up at you as you stand on a table. It's odd looking up at a human, but his ego is already too bruised to care.

"What are you looking at, human?" He spits the word out like its an insult, and to him it probably is.