//------------------------------//
// Plans 
// Story: War From the Stars 
// by James Pwyll 
//------------------------------//

Water. He had heard about it before, in reports about other worlds beyond his own. But it was quite another to see it with his own optics. A vast, seemingly endless expanse of it in all directions, save for the small plot of land their vessel had actually managed to crash into. The tall, silver-grey Cybertronian narrowed his red eyes to the situation, his fist clenching as the memory of the past battle replayed itself over and over in his mind. Clearly, their foes had more fight in them than he'd expected, hence why they were down here. But even so, he seethed over this mutual thrashing they'd given each other, leading to his present circumstances, standing at the bridge of what once had been a proud warship. Still, he knew it served him little to just dwell on failure, and so instead his mind turned to other matters. Namely, to find out what he could about this unassuming, alien planet they'd found themselves on. A hiss, indicating the opening of a door, was heard behind him, and without even bothering to look to the one approaching him, he spoke, his voice cold and almost detached. "Starscream. I trust you have news?"

The voice that replied was somewhat higher-pitched than his, but remained an intimidating one. "I do, Lord Megatron. Soundwave has completed his examination of our ship. Needless to say, it's not getting back to space."

"Weapons?" Megatron asked quietly.

"Wrecked. Save for one of our smaller cannons, but Soundwave says he has plans for it. Not sure what plans, but I learned a long time ago that I'd never get a straight answer out of him."

Megatron's mouth twisted briefly into a smile, amused over his as-yet absent subordinate's activities. "I take it we also cannot call for aid?"

"Correct," Starscream confirmed. "Communications this far out from charted space is a near impossibility. Our only hope is either having some other Decepticon ship pass this way, or to find some means of repairing our own with whatever meagre resources this world has."

Megatron, upon hearing that, looked out again through his window to the enormous ocean. "Speaking of which..."

He didn't finish, though Starscream already knew the question. "Heh, it took little effort to learn all we needed about it. This world has some sort of information-sharing network across the planet, not unlike the holo-nets of Cybertron." A dry chuckle escaped him. "But we're talking really rudimentary stuff here, my Lord, especially when it comes to security. Honestly, a newly-awakened protoform probably could've hacked into it."

"Be that as it may," Megatron began, leaving the question open.

Starscream, finally, walked into view for him, albeit in the form of standing alongside him so as to enter his periphery vision. Megatron briefly glanced in the direction of the red, white and blue Decepticon beside him before refocusing his attention on the waters ahead, instead just listening to his second's words. "They are a biological race, humans. Inhabiting every continent, I'd say their level of civilization is...maybe a five? Six, if we're being generous."

"Are they a threat?" Megatron asked warily.

To that, Starscream actually laughed. "Hardly, my Lord! No, after scouring their history, it seems that war, in general, is something they avoid as though it were a plague. The last major conflict occurred generations ago to them, and it spooked them so much they made it a point to demilitarise themselves. Truth be told? I think even just one of us could conquer this world if we wanted."

Slowly, Megatron's eyes narrowed. "Be wary of underestimating them, Starscream. Remember, we once thought the Autobots lacked the stomach for a fight. Yet, when the war began, they proved us wrong, and on more than one occasion."

Megatron could see Starscream nodding in solemn agreement, though it wasn't long before the latter added his voice once more. "And on the topic of our enemies, we have yet to detect them, though readings from our scanners prior to our fall indicated that they seemed to be heading in the same direction as those anomalies."

"What is the likelihood that it really is some undiscovered energon deposit?" Megatron asked.

"Cybertron never made it out this far before the war," Starscream explained. "The chances of it being energon, even naturally-occurring, are slim at best." He paused, musing on his own words. "Though if Prime was willing to risk a trip out here, it's worth investigating at the very least."

Megatron nodded to that. "Indeed. And make no mistake, Starscream, Optimus is out there. After all we've thrown at him over the years, it'll take more than a crash like ours to bring him down."

The Decepticon leader resisted the urge to smile at the thought of facing his enemy in battle again, choosing instead to maintain the image of the composed and stoic warrior he was so known for. Instead, he saw again in the corner of his eye that Starscream was looking to him. "Shall I head out? See if I can find any of them?"

Megatron thought about that, then shook his head. "Not just yet. Go back to work with Soundwave. I won't risk discovery. Have him modify what remains of our shield generator to cloak us. After that, head down to the cargo bay and get Clobber to try and clear up the mess in there."

"Well, she be happy to be given something to do," Starscream admitted.

The leader waited, listening for the sound of his subordinate's footsteps getting further and further away, eventually leading to that same hissing sound to let him know that he was, once more, alone in this place. Turning, he looked to the wall, to a pair of shining, and incredibly sharp-looking swords that were crossed over one another in a decorative fashion. Walking to it, he grabbed the handle of one, pulling it from the display and, in a menacing sight, trailing his finger along the edge. And only now, alone in this place, did he afford himself a smile. "Soon, old friend. Soon...we will meet again."