Chapter 315:Forcing Starscream to Surrender — Subjugating the Decepticons! Unifying Earth!
"Another Decepticon incoming—looks like it's Starscream."
Pilot Tang Weilong aboard the Crimson Typhoon had already spotted Starscream's signal from the red alert indicator on the holographic display.
Glancing at Starscream's basic data, he reported the situation to headquarters and asked whether he should take the target down.
Tang Weilong's original mission had been to deal solely with Megatron, but Starscream's sudden appearance forced him into unexpected overtime.
[Take down Starscream immediately. Try to capture him alive for questioning so we won't have to waste time repairing them later.]
V replied. Technically speaking, Transformers were incredibly resilient; as long as their core remained intact, losing limbs wasn't much of an issue. It would only require time and effort to repair them.
"Roger!"
With V's order received, Tang Weilong instantly maneuvered the Crimson Typhoon back into combat.
At that moment, Starscream had no idea he was already being targeted by the Crimson Typhoon.
Positioned several kilometers behind the Crimson Typhoon, Starscream believed he was safely out of sight.
But without warning, the Crimson Typhoon engaged its flight mode. Powered by an advanced antimatter engine, it shot into the sky in an instant. It then veered sharply, launching itself straight toward Starscream.
By the time Starscream finally realized the danger, it was too late. A gravitational field projected by the Crimson Typhoon instantly slowed his movements severalfold.
Thanks to its exploits in the Halo universe, Universal Megacorp had acquired Forerunner gravitational field technology and seamlessly integrated it into their combat systems. As a result, elite Jaeger Mech squads were now equipped with state-of-the-art gravity generators.
As the Crimson Typhoon drew closer, Starscream—who had previously been able to move slightly—found himself completely immobilized, as if caught by some paralyzing spell.
To Starscream, it felt like he had been trapped inside an enormous, invisible washing machine. Gravitational waves surged chaotically around him, disorienting him completely.
Even his mechanical components began to buckle under the relentless, chaotic forces, nearing collapse.
"What's going on?!"
Terrified, Starscream lost control and crashed violently to the ground, smashing into a barren stretch of wilderness on the outskirts.
Boom—!
With a thunderous roar, the Crimson Typhoon swooped toward the crash site, its joints aglow with bright blue-white light—engine thrust at full power.
Before Starscream could even struggle up from the grass, the Crimson Typhoon planted a foot firmly on his body.
Starscream tried to fight back, but any damage he inflicted on the Crimson Typhoon was negligible—no real threat at all.
"Calm down. I mean you no harm."
Tang Weilong's words sounded reassuring, but the pressure from his foot only increased, nearly crushing Starscream to pieces.
"Listen carefully. If you don't want to end up like Megatron, cooperate. Don't even think about resisting."
"Otherwise, your death will be excruciating. That's a promise."
Tang Weilong's "calm and collected" advice instantly sobered the defiant Starscream. He studied the Crimson Typhoon carefully, recalling Megatron's grim fate.
It was obvious: this mysterious opponent was no ordinary Transformer.
"Who… who are you? What do you want?"
Starscream tried to probe the stranger's identity, entertaining the same thought Megatron had earlier—could this be one of the missing Thirteen Primes?
After all, the Crimson Typhoon's appearance and combat style differed drastically from other Transformers.
On Cybertron, there were giant Transformers over 20 meters tall, but those were typically specialized "utility types."
For example, the city-sized Megatronus , towering at 1,495 meters tall and weighing over 90,000 tons, served as the Decepticons' massive mobile battle fortress.
But Megatronus was essentially a piece of military equipment, not a unique combatant.
The Crimson Typhoon, by contrast—unorthodox in design, with versatile combat abilities—seemed far more like an ancient Transformer from a lost era.
"You'll know soon enough."
Tang Weilong ignored Starscream's question. His goal was simple: capture all the Decepticons.
Seeing that the Crimson Typhoon wasn't about to reveal its identity, Starscream's suspicions deepened. He grew increasingly convinced that this was indeed a vengeful member of the Thirteen Primes.
He had heard from Megatronus and the leader Megatron that the original Thirteen Primes—created by Primus—numbered thirteen, with six having perished or gone missing.
Perhaps the Crimson Typhoon was one of the lost Primes!
With this possibility in mind, Starscream finally calmed down. He understood that, like Megatron us, this mysterious figure likely needed allies to achieve his goals.
After all, Starscream and Megatron had joined Megatronus precisely because of his strategic brilliance and the promise of ambitious projects.
Harvesting energy by triggering supernovae—a grand and thrilling plan. If it succeeded, they'd all profit handsomely.
And if this mysterious Prime offered an equally enticing project—plus the right terms and benefits—switching sides wasn't out of the question.
In truth, Starscream cared only about gaining power. Ideally, he wanted to be the leader himself, but he'd settle for a top lieutenant position if necessary.
Who he served didn't matter much.
"Fine. I'll go with you."
After weighing his options, Starscream chose temporary compliance.
For now, agreeing to the terms cost him nothing. If negotiations later fell through, he could always betray them then.
Starscream had no moral qualms about treachery—he would do whatever it took to achieve his ambitions.
"Excellent."
Pleased to hear Starscream's more pragmatic response, Tang Weilong had the Crimson Typhoon lift its foot and instructed Starscream to carry the damaged Megatron.
Over the next stretch of time, Tang Weilong would lead Starscream on a global mission to subdue the remaining Decepticons.
At first, Starscream hesitated—doing so would amount to open betrayal of Megatronus, whom he'd only just pledged allegiance to.
As the Decepticons' second-in-command, frequent switching of loyalties risked damaging his reputation.
But after serious thought, Starscream reluctantly accepted the plan. Following the Crimson Typhoon to recruit his fellow Decepticons would serve as a valuable show of loyalty.
Besides, Megatronus had gone silent. With no response to any transmissions and faced with a clearly superior foe, refusing would only ensure the total destruction of the Decepticons.
At Universal Megacorp headquarters, V watched the Jaeger Mech squad's progress with satisfaction. In under half an hour, they had secured a decisive advantage.
This was the strategy of a seasoned interstellar governor—cripple the enemy leader first, then force high-ranking officers like Starscream and the other decepticons to persuade the rest.
Far more efficient than fighting them one by one!
Meanwhile, just half an hour after Megatronu's global warning broadcast, the Decepticons on Earth suffered a devastating blow.
Those who surrendered, those who resisted to the death, and those who tried to flee—all were captured by the Jaeger Mechs.
With Earth's communications fully controlled by Universal Megacorp, none of the Decepticons' calls for help reached Megatronus.
Under Starscream persuasion, the vast majority of Decepticons ultimately chose to submit to Universal Megacorp.
Only a handful, quick and lucky, managed to flee into space.
As the capture operation neared its conclusion, Earth's governments finally began to react—belatedly.
They were baffled by the sudden appearance of Universal Megacorp. No known Earth-based tech company bore that name.
At first, Earth's nations—especially those involved with Transformers-related affairs—suspected the company might be a covert American super-tech group.
After all, only North America possessed the kind of cutting-edge technology capable of defeating the Decepticons.
But before the U.S. could respond, global observers detected a massive fleet entering low Earth orbit.
Only then did the world realize that Universal Megacorp likely wasn't an Earth-based force at all—they might be an entirely alien civilization!
At a U.S. military base:
"The President has urged you countless times—get in contact with Universal Megacorp and find out who they really are."
"And yet all this time, you've made zero progress! You're all useless."
The man shouting at the American officers was the President's special envoy, tasked with ensuring contact was established with Universal Megacorp.
Every government on Earth now understood that Universal Megacorp had come to save humanity.
Whatever their motives, establishing communication—and ideally cooperation—was imperative.
If Universal Megacorp had wanted to destroy Earth, they wouldn't have bothered saving it from the Decepticons.
Faced with the envoy's scolding, the officers could only hang their heads in silence.
For the past half hour, they had been completely sidelined—unable to defeat the Decepticons, unable to contact Universal Megacorp—utterly powerless.
Suddenly, an observer's urgent report brought hope to the room:
[Report! A starship is entering the atmosphere from low Earth orbit—heading straight for Washington, D.C.!]
---
Inside the descending Skyhawk shuttle over the Washington, D.C. area.
"All right, everyone. On the Transformers Earth, the leading government is that of the United States—in other words, that is our primary point of contact."
The speaker was Rita, an officer in the Multiverse Advance Team. She was tasked with heading to Washington to negotiate with the U.S. government.
Of course, calling it a "negotiation" was generous. It was more like giving advance notice, letting them know it was time to choose sides.
"The U.S. government's leadership on this Earth is extremely short-sighted and foolish. The boss has no expectations of those idiots, so our plan is to replace them with a more suitable group."
"As for the method, it's the same as always—sow division internally, draw some in while suppressing others, and in the end, make them serve us like dogs."
After years of climbing the ranks within the corporate system of the Megacorp, Rita had advanced from a basic combat operative to a management role.
She had also mastered Li Ang's standard corporate playbook: "invite them in, behead the leaders, subjugate the rest"—perfect for moments like this.
"Understood!"
Among those responding were Megacorp staff assigned to negotiation roles, as well as fully armed Spartan warriors, including Chani of the Fremen tribe.
At present, Chani was one of Rita's personal bodyguards, responsible for ensuring her safety.
Seeing that everyone understood their mission, Rita nodded.
According to HQ intel, on the Transformers Earth, the foolish U.S. government had committed multiple baffling blunders.
Among the Transformers, the Autobots were one of the few genuinely good factions, striving to prevent Earth's destruction. Yet the U.S. naively believed that without the Autobots, the Decepticons would simply not invade.
Moreover, even knowing that humanity was the weaker side, they brazenly tried to extort Cybertronian technology from Optimus Prime.
Had the Autobots been even slightly less principled, humanity could easily have been driven to extinction.
Thus, when dealing with such deluded U.S. leadership, the Megacorp followed the same approach they used for the corrupt leadership of the UNSC in Halo:
Keep the useful ones in place. Execute the defiant ones on the spot. Replace them as needed.
"Our main targets this time are the U.S. leadership. Once we take control of them, the Megacorp can accelerate its global unification efforts."
Rita added this reminder.
From HQ intelligence, she knew that the rank-and-file soldiers in the Transformers universe were generally clearheaded—the real problem lay with the scheming political leadership.
While frontline soldiers risked their lives, the politicians in the rear sabotaged efforts for their own gain.
"In short, the boss doesn't want to waste too much time unifying this Earth. We need to be clean and efficient—no dragging things out."
At her words, the team showed eager anticipation, though their views on the mission varied.
Some hoped to follow the planned approach—divide, co-opt, and gradually bring the U.S. government under control, and from there, the rest of the world.
Others wanted to trigger a swift purge of the U.S. leadership.
As long as ordinary civilians weren't harmed, those clinging to power were nothing but petty tyrants. Killing them and installing new ones was no issue.
After all, anyone could rise to power with the right backing.
"I, for one, wouldn't mind seeing a conflict break out soon. It would make it easier to take full control of Earth-006."
One of the Spartans laughed. They weren't here to haggle with humans—their real targets were the Creators' civilization and the Cybertronians.
But the Spartan squad leader, the Master Chief, shook his head and said coolly, "We should start with diplomacy—lay out our terms and conditions first."
"Those who can accept them will naturally align with us. Those who cannot will clearly mark themselves as enemies."
"Then it'll be much easier for us to deal with them all at once."
His approach met with Rita's full approval. She agreed that they had no need to waste effort on a violent purge. Simply state their position openly.
Seeing both their officer and leader agree, the other Spartans nodded in unison and replied, "Yes, sir!"
A few minutes later, the shuttle slowly touched down at a U.S. military base in Washington.
This base was under the jurisdiction of the NEST division, a special U.S. government unit created specifically to counter Decepticon incursions.
Over time, NEST operatives had fought many battles against the Decepticons.
Now, the NEST forces stood at full alert for the arrival of the Skyhawk shuttle.
"See that guy over there? That's Galloway—an advisor to the U.S. National Security Agency and a presidential envoy."
Rita displayed a holographic profile for the team, providing full background information on Galloway.
Galloway was a politician who advocated cutting ties with the Autobots. In negotiations with them, he even went so far as to leak Megatron's death location to the Decepticons to balance the power dynamic.
In fact, Galloway had played a significant role in Megatron's resurrection.
"He's got some tricks up his sleeve, but he has no real grasp of humanity's position."
Rita had little respect for Galloway. Only politicians who understood the larger situation deserved to be called statesmen—otherwise, they were nothing but greedy fools.
Galloway tried to balance power between the Autobots and Decepticons, completely ignoring that humanity was the underdog. As the weaker party, they had no business playing such high-stakes balancing games.
What he was doing was gambling with the fate of all humanity on an unstable scale.
After thinking it over, Rita said, "Negotiators, stay put for now. Hold your positions. John, you go down and talk to them."
Rita knew Galloway didn't have the clout to negotiate at her level. Until the U.S. government sent someone of appropriate stature, she had no intention of wasting words on them.
"Yes, ma'am!"
The Master Chief nodded. Given Rita's current rank, Galloway wasn't qualified to negotiate with her.
As for the negotiations themselves, the Master Chief wasn't an expert, but he knew exactly how to give the U.S. officers a show of force—to let them witness the Megacorp's individual combat prowess.
Just enough to make them think twice.
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