His lip curls in disgust – while Starscream's open terror is somewhat cathartic, his pathetic grovelling only makes Megatron angrier. His grip briefly tightens, and then he lets him go with a growl. This isn't what he wants, and he doesn't know what is.

Trashing Starscream would probably help, but both supplies and troops are too limited to put him in the medical bay – especially when an assault on Baelheit needs to be launched at the earliest convenience, Megatron can't afford to go without the two out of three underlings he'd be missing with Starscream recovering and Knock Out having to work harder than usual to repair him with substandard equipment and supplies.

But, frustrating as it is, the situation lets him tell himself that he'd be fine if he could just beat the shit out of someone. And for now that's better than having to face up to any deeper discomfort.

He takes a step forward, bringing one foot down, heavily, just shy of crushing Starscream as he leans over him.

"Count yourself lucky that I need this mistake corrected as swiftly as possible," he growls, "and do not fail me – if you do manage to prove your worthlessness once and for all, I would welcome the opportunity to destroy you."