Chapter 100: The Origin of the Impostor
"Very well! If you truly are that legendary elder of the Decepticons, it would be an honor to become your apprentice! But I think we should get to know each other first. According to my coordinates, one of my useless subordinates is nearby. Have you seen him?"
Megatron was referring to Starscream his so-called useless subordinate.
Despite his occasional compliments toward Starscream, Megatron had already ranked every one of his soldiers in his mind.
"Starscream? I remember sensing a strange presence earlier. He seemed to be mingling with a group of Autobots. I could feel the aura of a Decepticon coming from him. Could it be… an impostor?"
Perhaps due to the passage of countless years, this Fallen seemed to know many secrets that only the high command of the Transformers once possessed.
Back in the era when Decepticons and Autobots distrusted one another yet still coexisted in uneasy peace, both sides sent elite spies to infiltrate the enemy's ranks and steal intelligence. These operatives were collectively known as Impostors.
As time went on, the fragile pretense of peace vanished. The Autobots and Decepticons no longer feigned civility; their open conflict escalated into total war.
The very last Transformer of the Impostor program was defeated during the Age of the Fallen.
Naturally, this part of history never made it into Megatron's databases.
After all, he was, at best, a self-made king a warlord, not a member of the so-called Cybertronian nobility.
"Starscream, that one… He's a master of opportunism. The Autobots on that planet probably have no idea what's happened on Cybertron over the years, so they still maintain that unspoken truce with us, the Decepticons. I suppose that loser surrendered because he was afraid of the Dinobots' power!"
Due to ideological differences, Megatron didn't fully grasp the meaning of "the Fallen." In his eyes, Starscream was nothing more than a coward a useless fool.
What truly thrilled Megatron was meeting what he believed to be a progenitor of the Decepticons. If he could gain this ancient being's inheritance or favor, Megatron could finally rule Cybertron legitimately in the eyes of the old aristocracy.
The reason the giant dinosaur Salas and Scorponok bore such resentment toward Megatron was simple they saw him as a mediocre leader.
He had no noble lineage, no powerful family name.
So even though he had conquered all of Cybertron, many of the noble Transformers obeyed him only in public while secretly despising him.
Originally, Megatron's plan had been straightforward: continually expand his military strength until he could crush his rivals through sheer power.
But everything changed when he received the Fallen's signal.
It was as if a new path to power had opened before him. If he could invoke the Fallen's name, who on Cybertron would dare disobey?
"Well, I'm not interested in these petty matters," the Fallen interrupted. "And you? What business do you have on this planet? If Cybertron is truly under your control, why concern yourself with such a tiny world?"
From the tone of Megatron's voice, the Fallen sensed a regal aura.
Whether Megatron was a ruthless warlord or an interstellar bandit, he was undeniably a hero of his age.
"Since you ask, I'll tell you the truth," Megatron replied. "At first, I thought this was just a primitive world, not worth my time. But after that fool Starscream sent me a video, I changed my mind. Cybertron urgently needs a massive energy supply and this planet is the perfect source. So, I decided to come and take it."
As the saying goes, one should not lie to an honest being.
After some testing, Megatron realized the Fallen before him was indeed genuine.
That meant his previous plan was doomed after all, this veteran had already claimed the planet. As a newcomer among Decepticons, Megatron had no right to challenge him.
Megatron decided to reveal his true purpose and even displayed a recording of Starscream extracting crude oil hoping to see the Fallen's reaction.
"Hm? This black liquid can be converted into energy? I don't recall noticing that before. Is this some new technology developed on Cybertron in recent years?"
Sure enough, after watching the footage, the Fallen showed great interest.
His original plan for this planet had been far more destructive to annihilate it completely and use the massive explosion to feed Cybertron with raw energy.
However, for various reasons, that plan failed, and the ancient Autobots had sealed him away intermittently ever since.
"This energy-conversion technology was developed by the Autobots around eight hundred years ago," Megatron explained proudly. "And now, we Decepticons have perfected it, making it far more efficient. It can convert over two thousand different energy elements."
Megatron's face radiated pride as he spoke.
The Autobots had originally invented this technology to revitalize Cybertron to create new energy sources. But the Decepticons had twisted it into a method of plundering power from other worlds.
A tragic irony indeed.
"So it's a new technology! Seems you youngsters aren't entirely useless after all," the Fallen said, his voice rising in excitement. "If I had mastered this back then, I wouldn't have suffered so much fighting those meddlesome Autobots. And that Unicron who appeared later those fools ruined all my original plans! Megatron, would you be willing to become my apprentice and help me develop not only this planet but the entire galaxy? According to my earlier coordinates, there's more than one world rich in this kind of energy!"
That was one thing admirable about the Decepticons they spoke their minds directly, unlike the Autobots, who always danced around the point, pretending to be diplomatic.
Autobots called that attitude "restraint."
Decepticons called it "wasting time."
(End of Chapter)
Thanks for the comments Warmachine78, your support kept me translating this because I really didn't want to. Thank you.