The Autobots' Last Ark

"General Starscream, our air control has been effective. We just shot down three Autobot scouts. I never expected them to have flying types among them! But those brats were too reckless—they actually tried to force their way through our defensive line. We blasted them so thoroughly there wasn't even any scrap left!"

After receiving the order from the changeling Transformer, Starscream arrived at the blockade, where one of his former subordinates ran over excitedly to claim credit. This guy was called Thundercracker, and his transformed form was an incredibly powerful fighter jet. Decepticons like him were the opponents Autobots found hardest to guard against. He possessed lightning-fast reflexes and formidable air-to-ground combat power. On top of that, he had a touch of madness—once he latched onto an opponent, he would not let go until they had been completely destroyed. It seemed three more unfortunate Autobot warriors had met with disaster just now.

Though he found it distasteful, as the Decepticons' air commander, Starscream still had to acknowledge their performance today.

"Good work. I knew you could stop those guys. Recommending you to Lord Megatron was clearly the right decision! Once this battle is over, you'll be the commander of a flying squadron too. Keep working hard, and try to capture Optimus Prime!"

Well then. It seemed that all these Decepticons ultimately wanted to capture the Autobots' commander. But forget ordinary Decepticons—even if Megatron acted personally, he might not succeed. It was said that during his past sparring matches with his senior brother Optimus Prime, he had always been beaten so badly he fled in disgrace!

"No problem. I've already gotten acquainted with the little guys I found first. If possible, General Starscream, please put in a good word for me. I want to bring all these youngsters into my unit!"

These Decepticons truly were insane. In order to expand their air force, they had gathered a huge number of sparks from who knew where, then used Transformers like Thundercracker as templates to create masses of underlings. When that dark swarm streaked across the sky, it looked just like a plague of giant locusts. For the poorly equipped Autobots, encountering such a massive force meant near-certain death, aside from a handful of elite warriors capable of dealing with them!

When the real fighting began, they would have to find a way to lure this brat and his underlings away. Otherwise, even if Starscream wanted to help Optimus Prime escape, he probably would not be able to pull it off.

"Lord Starscream, don't listen to this guy's nonsense! One of the Autobots just now was clearly shot down by me. I, Skywarp, deserve credit too. Don't listen to everything this brat says!"

Perhaps having overheard Starscream's conversation, another aircraft Transformer who looked rather shifty hurried over as well. But compared with Thundercracker, Starscream disliked Skywarp more. The guy was far too slippery. In every battle, he would use Autobot civilians to pad his numbers and pass them off as military achievements. As a result, even now he was merely a senior frontline warrior, without a single official post to his name.

After all, not every Decepticon was blind. Everyone had sharp eyes! This fellow even had a famous saying: "Attack before the enemy notices!"

In any case, even the Decepticons themselves did not like this kind of rogue.

"Skywarp, how dare you say that? The Autobot you shot down just now had clearly already been locked onto by us. You stole our kill. Don't you feel even a little ashamed?"

It turned out that although Skywarp was not particularly fast, he possessed an ability called psychic teleportation, allowing him to teleport freely within a range of roughly two kilometers. That was how he had stolen one Autobot's credit earlier.

"Enough. You two don't need to argue! They were only three insignificant grunts; compared to the important task we have tonight, they are nothing. You're both subordinates who have followed me for a long time. As your boss, I will definitely promote you heavily. But you'd better make me proud today. Pass my words on to the other brothers as well—after tonight, every one of you will become a commander!"

Although the Decepticons had seized control of Cybertron, internal strife never ceased. To put it plainly, they were nothing more than a disorganized rabble. Perhaps once the Autobots recovered from this setback, they might truly have a chance to return to Cybertron?

But first, Optimus Prime and the others had to survive tonight.

In fact, the Autobots' actual situation was even worse than Starscream imagined. Aside from a few independent escape pods that could carry away more than two hundred Transformer warriors, only one Ark responsible for evacuating the main force remained intact. Yet the energy needed to launch that Ark would likely have to rely on Fortress Maximus's last remaining strength.

To ensure that the Autobots' sparks would never be extinguished, both their supreme leader Optimus Prime and Fortress Maximus had already prepared for the worst. Next, they would scatter roughly a thousand Autobots across more than two hundred planets throughout the universe. Of course, they had also made an estimate: when the time came, less than twenty percent might actually escape!

"Optimus Prime, please let me stay with you. I don't want to be separated from you!"

The speaker was the female Autobot Starscream had previously smuggled out. As one of the old, weak, women, and children, she had been assigned a place on the Ark—a place that should originally have belonged to Optimus Prime.

"Elita, you must understand your mission. Those civilians will depend on your protection! I, too, bear a burden on my shoulders. But no matter what, you must believe that even if the entire universe separates us, our sparks will sense each other's existence. I hope this parting will lead to an even more passionate reunion. Believe me—the sparks of the Autobots will never be extinguished!"

The more perilous the situation became, the more the Autobots needed a spiritual pillar like Optimus Prime. Yet everyone present had long since prepared themselves to die.

"My dear, do you remember the Starscream I told you about? He really is on our side. If you see him, you must cooperate with him properly. Perhaps the key to our escape this time lies with that Starscream!"

Like most women, the female Autobot before him seemed to possess a woman's unique intuition. Without any evidence whatsoever, she not only believed Starscream's words at the time, but had also deeply influenced Commander Optimus Prime.

But was it really wise to stake all the Autobots' hopes on that strange Decepticon?