Chapter 68: The Dragon Totem
"Alright, fine! I admit I was wrong. But could someone please explain what kind of relationship you robotic dinosaurs have with these humans? I just gave this kid a weapon, and now he's pointing it at me! What kind of logic is that?"
It was one thing for the two neurotic Dinobots to be on edge, but what Red Spider (Starscream) truly couldn't tolerate was the boy named General Rylen acting like an ungrateful brat...turning on him the moment trouble appeared. That infuriated the Decepticon.
If not for the presence of the two robotic dinosaurs, Red Spider would've already drawn his weapon and blasted those insolent humans for daring to point metal at him. No respect for their elders whatsoever.
"My children, lower your weapons," rumbled the Thunder Dragon. "We have far more important matters to discuss. And you, Fei Biao...what we need now is calm, not conflict."
Compared to the mechanical pterosaur, the thunder dragon seemed far more composed. Starscream still didn't fully trust them, but he had to admit: he was one of the newest and most advanced Transformers from Cybertron, equipped with unmatched technology...something he had already proven by locating the underground ruins.
The Dinobots had great combat power, yes, but finding their comrades without Starscream's help would be nearly impossible.
"Alright, then! Lower your weapons, everyone. Tell us...how have things been while we were gone? Who rules the world now? Are you still living in tribes?"
Upon hearing his comrade's words, the other Dinobot relaxed. Perhaps they had simply gone through too many strange experiences, leaving them naturally paranoid.
The Dinobot decided to get straight to the point: the most important thing was to understand the current situation. That boy, General Rylen, turned out to be quite cunning...he had been dodging questions before, but now that the two Dinobots were speaking, his attitude changed completely.
"Great Venerable Ones, what fortune we have! We never dreamed we'd meet the Totem Venerables themselves! Standard-bearers, bring forth the dragon banners...quickly!"
To express their joy, the clever young man ordered his men to bring out a pile of banners painted with intricate designs. Primitive civilizations loved to craft flashy symbols...perhaps as decoration, or perhaps as objects of worship.
But upon closer inspection, each banner bore the image of a dragon. One of the winged dragons clearly resembled Dart, while a massive four-clawed dragon looked suspiciously like the legendary Steel Cable.
It became clear then: this human race called Huaxia worshiped the Dragon Totem. No wonder they had been so excited at the Dinobots' arrival.
Because of these banners, new data appeared in Starscream's database. He compared them with the flags he had previously recorded from the Huns...those were totally different. The Huns preferred tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves as symbols...and one of them even resembled the Predacon that Starscream had recently slain.
It seemed the age-old conflict between Autobots and Decepticons had somehow transformed into a war between human tribes on this planet. Could this all be… a battle of faith?
"Alright, enough of this noise," Starscream said, crossing his arms. "I don't know why everyone's making such a fuss, but I'm not a fan of this primitive worship business. Can we just get to the point? I'm running out of patience."
Since the matter didn't concern him directly, Starscream had no interest in why these humans were fighting...or what schemes the Autobots and ancient Decepticons had left behind on this world. To him, it all felt like some ridiculous game.
"Lord Red Spider, please do not insult our totem!" General Rylen snapped, his voice trembling with reverence. "If not for the protection of these Venerables, our Huaxia race would have been enslaved by Chi You long ago! The life we enjoy now is a gift from our ancestors. To insult these Venerables is to insult the great Huaxia civilization itself!"
At that, Red Spider wisely kept his mouth shut. Otherwise, he knew he'd get no useful information from them at all.
"Alright, alright! My apologies," he said, raising his hands. "Continue, please. I'll just listen. If we're going to cooperate in the future, at least we'll need a little mutual trust, right?"
Since there was no direct conflict of interest, Red Spider saw no reason to turn these humans into enemies. In fact, he didn't even need the Transformer system to remind him of his mission...he was already neck-deep in it. He wasn't planning on returning to Cybertron anytime soon, so he might as well stick around and see what this planet had to offer.
As for the "final mission" to help Optimus Prime reclaim Cybertron… that seemed far too distant. Red Spider had little faith in it. Although he despised Megatron, he had to admit...the Decepticon style of leadership suited his tastes much more than Optimus Prime's endless preaching.
Besides, the current Decepticon-to-Autobot ratio was nearly 10,000 to 1. Even with Optimus Prime's strength, a comeback seemed impossible.
"Very well," said the Thunder Dragon, Sludge. "Though we don't yet fully trust you, we may need some of your skills. You may listen to what comes next...but please, Mr. Starscream, do nothing that would offend us."
At least Sludge seemed reasonable...grateful, even, in his own way. After all, if Starscream hadn't uncovered this underground city, even a hundred years of searching wouldn't have led the Pteranodon to it. That was the difference advanced Cybertronian technology could make.
"Alright then, Venerables," said General Rylen with a deep breath. "Here's how it all began…"
It seemed that only the presence of the two robotic dinosaurs could make the cunning young man tell the truth.
Starscream couldn't help but smirk.
He never imagined that this primitive human would turn out to be so intelligent ... perhaps even dangerously so.
(End of Chapter)