Starscream grunts in surprise, and he cycles out his blasters, though it'd be blatantly obvious even to a non-empath that he would much rather turn tail on the whole situation. Unfortunately, there is too much at stake for him to give into that instinct. Fear of having to report such a massive fuck-up far outweighs the fear of having his spark ripped out.

"You must realize that there is no way I can allow you to deliver that device to your empress."