Editing Setting:Transformers (section)

===Starscream===
Formerly the Air Commander of the United Decepticon Army, Starscream began his existence as a scientist, a xenobiologist and a prospector whose simple joy in life was travelling the cosmos and exploring strange new worlds. When he was drafted into Megatron's army, he found a new calling in life; death and destruction, delivered from high above or at supersonic speeds. While initially a loyal warrior grateful for his prestigious position, Starscream soon soured on his master when he came to realise that Megatron had little use for independent thought or tactical input from anyone other than himself. Soon, Megatron went from rebuking Starscream for his "arrogance" to brutally insulting and physically assaulting him - of course, when Megatron's schemes failed, the blame for that likewise found its way to Starscream's feet as well. No wonder, then, that Starscream sought to usurp and overthrow his master.

Some wonder, then, if this may not be the root cause of Starscream's willingness to "cooperate" with organics - if he doesn't see something of himself in the small and frail creatures. Few bring it up where he can hear them.

Though he can be arrogant and vainglorious, Starscream is a skilled strategist and possess a tongue that could sweet-talk a Sororitas. His band of followers, known as Starscream's Brigade, may be small compared to some Decepticon forces but is loyal and well-motivated, and his plans have caused countless problems for the Imperium. What truly frustrates the Imperium is that, even though Starscream may be the weakest of the Cybertronian leaders, he is also literally unkillable.

All Cybertronians possess a "soul-flame", a strange power gifted to them by their Spark. This can be as mundane as preternatural strength, durability or agility, even by Cybertronian standards, or it can be something more exotic, as is the case with Starscream: he is immortal. Though his body can be blasted apart, any damage he sustains will repair, and even if the destruction is total, his spark can abandon its shell and recreate it somewhere else. Indeed, slaying Starscream only makes him more dangerous, as his spark can possess other technological items and bend them to his will; it is rumoured that sustained possession of a singular "host-machine" will cause it to kindle to life as a new Cybertronian. This tale is unconfirmed, but the rumours of Starscream subverting an entire Forgeworld in this fashion, reducing it to a grand brood nest for his followers, remain unchallenged. It is not as if the Imperium hasn't tried, but it has always failed. Indeed, Starscream seems to have taken to regarding the killing of Officio Assassinorum agents as a hobby, displaying tokens of each defeat with the pride of a devout collector.

Starscream's alternate form remains unchanged over millions of years; exemplifying his personal preference for high-speed, high-mobility assaults, Starscream's vehicle form is a Cybertronic jet fighter, capable of operating in space and in-atmosphere with equal ease. Not satisfied with that, Starscream has taken the unheard-of step of upgrading himself into one of the minority of Pretenders. Favouring the guise of a nobleman or a rogue trader, few realise the true deadliness that lies behind his typically foppish and narcissistic demeanour until it is too late.

====Bruticus Maximus====
One of the oldest and most iconic members of Starscream's Brigade, the Gestalt known as Bruticus Maximus is the combined form of a team of five Decepticon warriors - Onslaught, Blast Off, Vortex, Swindle and Brawl - who were once de-cerebrated on Megatron's orders under accusations of treachery. During the fall of Cybertron, Starscream personally snuck into the cerebral cortex storage unit, the infamous "Mind Prison", and rescued their brain units. Once the Slagmaker had disappeared, Starscream rebuilt the five and they swore loyalty to him as a result; despite their reputed treachery, the "Combaticons", as they call themselves, are renowned as the most loyal of Starscream's followers, something that has attracted sceptical curiosity from other Decepticons.

Although the individual Combaticons are deadly warriors in their own right, it is as Bruticus that they most shine. The Gestalt is a hulking figure the size of an Imperial [[Titan]], a juggernaut of destruction that ruins everything in his path. Adorned with thick armour and protective forcefields, and sporting a truly impressive array of weaponry, Bruticus would be a one-bot army anyway, but it is perhaps his flaws that make him truly deadly. Bruticus' component identities mesh together quite smoothly, united by a love of fighting and destruction, but this combined affinity for carnage is so strong as to overwhelm him. Bruticus appears in many aspects to be a simple-minded brute, incapable or perhaps just unwilling to listen to orders and thus limiting his tactical skills beyond being a "fire and forget" weapon.

When truly excited he goes into a rampage, singlemindedly obliterating anything not actively registered as friendly that happens across his path. Like his ally Piranahcon, he has been known to get so lost in the throes of combat that he will rampage for months at a time, stopping only after he completely exhausts himself. Starscream has sometimes had to go so far as to install a limiting device to keep Bruticus from going berserk, but his success record with this is rather spotty.

====Sunstorm====
A Seeker and reputedly one of Starscream's clones or offspring - the mysteries of Transformer reproduction are beyond the Inquisition, Sunstorm may be perhaps one of the craziest Cybertronians in the galaxy. Like Starscream, Sunstorm possesses a unique mutant power from his "soul-flame", and it specifically has turned him into a walking solar flare. Sunstorm's spark generates immense levels of gamma rays, x-rays and other radioactive isotopes, almost identical to those produced in the hearts of active stars. This imbues Sunstorm with strength, speed and reflexes far beyond the normal abilities of his kind, as well as giving him an inexhaustible supply of energy, but those powers are almost secondary. Sunstorm cannot contain the energies radiating from inside his chassis, constantly emitting radiation in levels even his fellow Decepticons find uncomfortable, and which can cook organics alive on the spot with prolonged exposure. And that's just when he's feeling calm! When his emotions grow more intense, his power output similarly increases, until he becomes a walking inferno that simply incinerates whatever else comes his way. As a side-effect of this aura of scintillating energies, most projectiles are incapable of harming him, as they are deflected, absorbed or destroyed by his radioactive output.

All of this has given the Seeker a case of megalomania that is truly a wonder to behold. Sunstorm believes himself to be nothing less than a living god made manifest, demanding adulation and worship. In an almost Slaaneshi-fashion, his fickle whims and vanity fuel an explosive temperament, resulting in potentially deadly outbursts of spite and hate at unpredictable intervals. Most other Decepticons want to avoid him for these dangerous outbursts; as much of a whiny, narcissistic fop as he may appear to be, it's hard to argue with his deadliness. Only Starscream's silver glossia gives him the ability to reliably manipulate Sunstorm, and even he is wary about calling on the fiery Seeker unless he has to. Usually, Sunstorm is only called to assist other members of the Brigade in missions of [[Exterminatus]], as his burning aura tends to make him unsuited for missions that require leaving the surrounding area intact as opposed to being scorched to a cinder.

====Skywarp==== 

One of Starscream's seeker clones, Skywarp is considered one of the most valuable thanks to his ability to teleport over tremendous distances and bring assets with him, allowing for Starscream's forces to enjoy the benefits of tremendous maneuverability and agility and get the drop on the enemy time after time.  However, Skywarp has long struggled with one particular issue that prevents him from truly unlocking his full potential as one of the most dangerous Cybertronians of all; his cowardice.  Skywarp is very easy to scare and his teleportation abilities only allow him to further indulge in his constant dread of nearly everything that moves; teleporting out of engagements at the first sign of things going awry.  However, this has led to him creating a skittish, teleportation-heavy fighting style where it is extremely difficult to land a blow on him as he constantly teleports out of the path of enemy projectiles or their aim, which he has gotten very good at.  Despite, or perhaps because of his cowardice, he's also fond of quite malicious practical jokes to get back at those who taunt him for his lack of courage, and this mean streak hidden behind his outer layers of meekness has made him very skilled at sabotage.    

====Slipstream====  

Another seeker clone of Starscream who is surprisingly a female for reasons even Starscream does not know and that Slipstream has declined to reveal, Slipstream is perhaps the most competent of Starscream's clones, lacking their general laundry lists of crippling personality issues brought about by their origins as expressions of various aspects of Starscream's personality.  Largely identical to Starscream in capabilities, if not quite as ambitious and thus content to let him lead while she serves as his right hand, Slipstream helps keep the larger-than-life personalities of her comrades in check with her level-headedness and often caustic wit.  Starscream generally keeps her close to him, considering her a reliable and trustworthy subordinate and her similarly eternal spark lets her survive nearly any kind of engagement.  Having no particular grudges against the Autobots or humanity, she often comes with Starscream to broker deals and pacts.  

====Thrust====

Though not a clone of Starscream, Thrust is nevertheless one of the seekers thanks to his preference for aerospace fighter craft alternate forms.  A brilliant military mind well versed in the doctrines of tactics, operations, and strategy and one of the foremost military commanders of the Decepticon army, Thrust drifted to Starscream due to him having had prior conflicts of command with Shockwave and Strika and being much too ambitious to remain with Soundwave's Megatron fanatics.  Certainly, a capable combatant in and of himself, Thrust, however, prefers to fight as part of an army than stand as a single almighty champion and while certainly not a coward, would generally rather back off from duels to avoid being distracted from his proper duties of command than embroil himself in wasteful personal combat that many other Decepticons in Starscream's army are much better suited for.  Thrust is, however, staunchly ambitious and many in Starscream's brigade wonder if he's trying to build an empire of his own within Starscream's tally of conquests.

====Dreadwing====
Highly unusual even for the Brigade, Dreadwing (also known as "Darkwind") is a semi-Gestalt made of a Powermaster Combiner duo - Darkwing and Dreadwind - and their respective symbionts, who have taken the names Throttle and Hi-Test respectively. Both being Seeker-type models, the two Powermasters can transform into Cybertronic starfighters that can then interlock to become a battleship-sized super-fighter. With the power of two symbionts fuelling it, and their respective dark, vicious, brooding and sadistic personalities leading to a twisted form of mental harmony, Dreadwing is capable of unleashing a barrage of firepower even the Imperial Navy has learned to respect, and tanking it just as well as he dishes it out, but moving with the speed and grace of an Eldar ship.

Dreadwing is a shameless pirate, who revels in raiding any potential space traffic he can set his sights on. Because the semi-Gestalt features two former humans as members of its group mind, Dreadwing is one of the Brigade's members most respectful towards the Decepti-cultists who swear service to Starscream, and likewise, he can respect the capabilities of Imperial opponents. Although too vicious and cruel to allow this to breed the weakness of sympathy, it means that Dreadwing has never fallen prey to the weakness of underestimating his organic adversaries, something that has given him a high rank in Starscream's force.

====Bomb-Burst====
(Creepy "Cybertronic Vampire" Pretender that even the other Decepticons fear. Will flesh it out later.)

====Skullgrin====
(A decadent and mercenary Decepticon Pretender whose natural intelligence and logical disposition struggle with the bloodthirsty sadism of his shell. Will flesh it out later.)