Title: Flicker
Rating: M (Rated for: Violence, Sexual Situations, Death, Abuse)
Author: EcontraBlue
Author's Note:
This is a pre- Transformers Prime timeline. Much of the Cybertron lore and past hinted at in the TFP series are too fertile for me to resist. There are some alterations to the Aligned continuity using IDW and G1 for backstory but most of the primary characters will be from the TFP show. For more extended Notes please see the end of Chapter 1.
Summary:
Before coming to earth, the Decepticon warship Nemesis spent millennium in space facing trials of starvation, mutiny and uncertainty. There among the Decepticon elite and the last remnants of the army, Megatron and his future second-in-command, Starscream form the lasting bonds that tie them together for better or worse.
"Through your own interests you created this. You brought us here. You didn't just make it possible—you made it happen. All we did was give it a name." -Starscream, Megatron's Origin
The lights flickered.
It was a poor omen of the future to come on the mighty Nemesis- it had began to consume the last of its reservoirs.
Starscream knew that it would be followed by a summons to the bridge. He was becoming adept at forecasting Megatron's mood simply by feeling the small environmental changes in the Nemesis. For several orns now the remnants of the great Decepticon army had drifted in the last warship- badly damaged in the final confrontation with the Autobot forces. It had now limped to an almost dead stop, drifting along through deep space, its functions ceasing one by one. The Energon that had been hoarded for the final flight from their husk of a home planet had been severely depleted as well, after an exceptionally unlucky strike from the Ark as it was rent apart and flung through a space bridge.
'All officers report to the bridge.' Megatron's voice growled, the intercom functioning perfectly, even as the lights failed- casting the Nemesis into shadow.
Starscream dropped his long servos from the large pump feeding to the wheezing engine of the Nemesis and pulled his patch cord from the data feed by the monitoring systems. Several drones stood nearby, watching him like curious sparklings and waiting to continue their duties in the engine room after his departure. He paid them little notice, slinking past them and scowling to himself.
What did Lord Megatron expect? That the Nemesis would crash into an Energon-laden asteroid? Starscream muttered to himself in frustration as he hastened to make it to the bridge before the last of the other ranking Decepticons.
Now that the ship was running on empty and there were a good deal more officers on the vessel- Starscream was sure Megatron would find ways to extract energon if the raw mineral wasn't found. He needed to find a way to make himself invaluable and fast. In this case, his flashy personality could just put him at the front of the line of a mass compressor and energon extractor. He shivered at the thought.
He increased the speed to his steps and hurried past a crowd of curious Vehicon drones, who turned to stare at his retreating form. The bridge was a long walk from the engine room, but Starscream made it before some of the senior personnel- cutting in front of Hook, the ship's medical officer and his assistant, an over-polished red hot-rod of unimportant designation.
"-me to retrieve the Energon you require, my Lord." A loud voice boomed on the walkway of the bridge. "I shall fly around the solar systems nearby and return with more than enough fuel to hunt the accursed Autobots!"
Ramjet.
The over-sized white tetra jet was prostrating before Megatron, who stood, towering above all his officers- an omnipotent colossus of Decepticon might.
"No one else will be able to accomplish such a feat in time before the last of the Nemesis's reserves are depleted." Ramjet was very sure of his own speed and skill, but it was not a feeling that was shared. Judging by the look of utter disdain on Megatron's face, and the way Soundwave neglected to incline his head down to the hulking solider, Starscream guessed the two mechs thought Ramjet was only capable of finding Energon if he collided with it.
Ramjet seemed to sense this dismissal, but as with all things he continued to charge head forward. "I swear to you, my Lord—"
His bow became lower. "All I require is a carrier and some hand selected drones—the asteroid belt in the near-"
Megatron's lip curled and he growled, cutting off further assurances.
"I cannot find a reason to justify giving you command of a fleet after you lost your own trine in such a crude and worthless manner."
Ramjet flinched and began to withdraw, sensing defeat. "I—"
Starscream might feel pity for Ramjet- the loss of his own trine had been the worst experience of his life. It was a fresh and recent would that still seared in his psyche. He'd never known how attached he was to the two idiots that followed him around from nearly the onset of his onlining- until they had been snatched away by war. But Starscream at least had not been responsible for their deaths- they had been unable to escape the self-destruct unleashed on their home planet by the Autobots. Only Starscream, fleetest of the three, had survived.
Ramjet however, had carelessly flung himself at the Autobot flagship and gotten his wingmates caught in the crossfire. He had been a solider that had survived through sheer stubbornness and the thickness of his armor. That strategy however, was no longer relevant.
Ramjet looked exceedingly pathetic as he twisted around, looking for the support of wing-mates that no longer existed. "I can—"
His wide eyes, searching the crowd of officers for someone to vouch for his prowess, landed on Starscream's wings. They were the only fliers left on the warship.
Starscream twitched as he felt everyone else's gaze follow Ramjet's. Megatron stood impatiently- looking as though he was expecting Starscream's endorsement for Ramjet to be forthcoming.
We aren't in the same league, Starscream thought to himself. Ramjet is nothing but a flying tank. I am Command trine. I am a leader, a thinker. He slid his eyes away from Ramjet's hulking form and stepped forward, bowing slightly.
"Lord Megatron."
The former gladiator regarded Starscream with a raised brow ridge. "Starscream...where have you been skulking off to these past two cycles?" Despite Starscream reporting to their leader directly due to his scientific expertise and flying skills, the two had not spoken face-to-face for the past orn.
"The engines required my attention, my Lord." he began, walking around Ramjet and hiking his wings up high.
"If it pleases you," He gave another small bow and crossed between the Lord and the larger jet, "Might I suggest putting the Nemesis into orbit and allowing the ship to siphon solar energy into its reserves until the drones have finished repairing the damage done by the Ark's cannons. We cannot continue wandering around, hoping to run into random energon deposits- such an element is already rare outside of Cybertron."
Starscream ignored Ramjet's sputtering in protest and looked into Megatron's eyes.
The warlord narrowed his eyes, before a shark-like smile slowly curled to one side of his face. 'Wandering, Starscream?" he stepped around Ramjet, ignoring the large jet as the prostrated warrior stared at the two. "Are you implying that I have guided us to this location without purpose?"
Starscream tried to harden his reaction against the towering warlord, but it was difficult when the mech made the ground shake with each step as he approached.
"Of course not, my lord." He replied evenly, standing still as Megatron came within distance to grasp him, should he desire it. He hiked his wings up even higher.
"Do you think I've taken the Nemesis out this far into the galaxy for a jaunt, Starscream? That I've been merely guessing where to pilot our ship in the hopes to catch errant Autobots?"
It doesn't matter what you've brought us out here for, Starscream thought to himself. We're all so under-fueled we're as helpless as protoforms.
"Of course not, Master." He replied again, his tone flat with sarcasm. "I was merely recommending a course of action that would restore the basic functions to the Nemesis while Energon is unavailable."
Starscream heard a soft chuckle behind him, but he didn't dare to turn to face the anonymous mech responsible and show his back. Ramjet was rising behind Lord Megatron, staring at Starscream. Why was everyone always so shocked to see another mech offer an opinion to Megatron that didn't reflect his own? Were they all just waiting to see him torn apart by the sharp servos of the massive Decepticon leader?
Ah, yes he should have thought about that.
But the Decepticon Lord offered little more to Starscream than an enigmatic smile full of sharp edges.
"I see-" he walked around the slim jet. "You were an Energon Seeker before the war, weren't you? It's a compulsion then, to hoard and preserve as much as you can."
Starscream bristled at the mention of his former occupation, but didn't deny Megatron's words.
"According to the data feeds in the engine room," Starscream replied, turning to follow his Lord's gaze as the giant mech circled him. "The Nemesis only has a few more orns before it goes into emergency shut-down and we lose the capability to steer it out of the path of any sort of debris or planet we come across."
Megatron seemed to be completely unfazed by this statement. "That would be inconvenient indeed." He growled with the smile still on his face.
Starscream looked up at Megatron incredulously. The fact that his lord was so calm truly disturbed him.
"My lord-" Ramjet's voice cut between the look Starscream was cycling with Megatron with a loud outburst. "With so little time, only I can command a proper search party!"
Megatron raised a sharp brow in Ramjet's direction and the larger jet sank back, cowed by his lord.
"Starscream…." Megatron rumbled down at the sleeker grey flier.
"You are in charge of bringing the ship into full functionality." Megatron turned with one long searing look into Starscream's face.
And should you fail, the silence spoke as Megatron walked back to the command terminal, you will be the first I pitch off the ship to save fuel.
Starscream hadn't meant to volunteer himself in Ramjet's place- Energon was something of a speciality for him- and no one else on the ship seemed to know as much or show the same enthusiasm for preserving it.
Should he fail…his outliving his trine would not last long. But should he succeed…
Starscream watched Megatron's massive back as it came to a halt in front of the command terminal- data feeds from all across the ship and the galaxy playing in front of him.
He could have a place there- at the head of the Nemesis. He could have Megatron's ear permanently.
His wings unconsciously twitched.
The most important thing to know when scouting for energon is to confirm your location. The Decepticon warship had been lost for sometime since jumping through a series of Space Bridges in an effort to pursue the Ark.
The Ark had been utterly destroyed, but so had all the existing spacebridges off of Cybertron. And that included the one around the Nemesis when it had been halfway through the portal. The Nemesis and her crew were flung across the galaxy and the Decepticons left were worried.
Their leader was really the one thing keeping them all from falling into pure panic. Megatron was a sentinel of cold, hardened determination and he had Soundwave piloting the Nemesis with maniacal precision towards…..something. Starscream was not privy to the Decepticon Lord's plans- a fact that maddened him. He had always been the decision maker within his elite squadron, and he had never failed Megatron- not once. Not personally.
Starscream had gone back to the engine room to run more precise tests before returning to the bridge. He hoped to find Soundwave alone, and he was not disappointed.
'Soundwave.' Starscream walked past the drones that were monitoring various ship routines and stood to the side of the silent mech.
'You…' Starscream felt at a loss, this was Megatron's favored- this silent, streamlined mech had never spoken to anyone- he wasn't sure how much Soundwave could even be trusted to assist him in anyway. No- he hardened his resolve. Soundwave had one key component to his reputation and that was a sycophantic devotion to Megatron. He would do whatever Megatron ordered.
'You know that I am in charge of obtaining new fuel reserves for the Nemesis.' He folded his arms behind his back and paced behind the silent Mech. He could tell that Soundwave was listening, even as his fingers and prehensile tentacles seemed very occupied. 'I need to know our location- as well as the location of all astral bodies within fuel range of here. I need them now.'
Soundwave continued to work, not pausing once to recognize his request. Starscream almost spluttered but bit back his temper. 'You know that I cannot proceed without the proper data, Soundwave. I understand Lord Megatron wants to keep our flight destination a secret, but he has assigned me a task that absolutely requires our location plotted out on the star grid.'
Soundwave continued to work in a feverish rhythm. Curse the mech to the Pits-Starscream could feel his systems heating up in anger.
'Soundwave,-' Starscream's long talons clenched. 'Did you not here me? I have-'
"You are in charge of bringing the ship into full functionality." Megatron's deep growl repeated back to Starscream as Soundwave turned ever so slightly to incline his head towards a now empty terminal. Starscream refreshed his optics and walked to it- observing a data feed ready and waiting for him. He looked out of the corner of his eye at Soundwave one more time. Megatron's shadow, indeed. Starscream wondered what else the slim mech recorded, besides his master's voice.
Starscream downloaded the datafeed from the terminal, only to find it heavily encrypted- with the corresponding codes attached. He took the package and made a quick retreat to the quarters he had claimed for himself in the higher levels of the Nemesis. While he was sure Soundwave could monitor him reviewing the files here, he was fairly certain no one else would know or care.
His quarters were equipped with a small console to work on, and he hastily cleared it of data pads, covering his berth.
Delicious information. Starscream began decoding the encryption eagerly. Finally, FINALLY he would know where they were. His chances of success were sky rocketing- even if the Decepticons fell upon each other, Starscream was certain of his own survival.
The star grid opened up for him and the flier immediately began logging the coordinates into his already substantial archives.
You spent so much time in the stars that its clogged your processor. Skywarp's mocking tone echoed in his own CPU.
'SOMEONE needs to remember where we are, or we'll just fly around aimlessly forever.' Starscream replied out loud. He honestly didn't care if someone overheard him. Let them think he was mad- it would behoove him to gain a reputation of instability now that he was lacking in wingmates.
Skywarp never understood the importance of bearings. He always rushed everywhere without knowing the destination or the obstacles in-between. He'd always been too lucky to care.
You say that's why you have random star grids archived in your CPU, but we all know that its because you want to go back and try and find HIM. Thundercracker's deep and quiet admonition made Starscream's wings hike up.
'You don't know what you're talking about! Don't you DARE bring that up right now- I'm trying to FOCUS.'
Maybe if you had cleaned that cache and left more space for upgrades we'd have been prepared for the flight from Cybertron. He continued, voicing Starscream's own guilty thoughts.
'NO,' he fought his own conscience, wrangling it into painful submission. 'I WAS prepared. It was your fault you couldn't make it. It was YOUR fault. And now I'm here in my room talking out loud, when I should be focusing on how to survive.'
The voices fell silent and he sighed.
He was beginning to run low on fuel- a small warning sending light pangs of pain along his sides.
He brought a taloned servo to his head. He would be okay- he just needed to concentrate.
Focus, focus- his processer was ripping through the encoding and the coordinates of the stellar systems were archiving into his already extensive maps.
Soundwave have really wrapped the package up tightly. And Starscream was beginning to see why.
They were nearing an Iaconian Repository. If it were loaded with the kind of technology that had been on hand during the war…there would be a wild scramble within the ranks to possess the most powerful weapons and tools. Megatron must be counting on there being Energon there- indeed there would have to be. There were security systems- back up sealing units; everything needed to keep Autobot and Senate secrets safe and secure from the Decepticon army.
Only now the Nemesis was knocking on their doorstep. Starscream's wings flattened.
There was an excited pulse running through his lines- Megatron trusted him. Allowed him access to this secret. He was one step closer to standing beside the head of the mighty Decepticon army.
A loud pounding on the door kept him from extracting the last encryptions.
Starscream hurried to close the Star Grid, concealing it just in time as Ramjet filled up the doorway and strode in. Oh, he was calm now that the enormous jet wasn't in the presence of Lord Megatron.
"Starscream." The jet began jovially. 'So, you're going to lead the retrieval efforts for Energon, are you? Finally I get to see what makes an Energon seeker so highly prized. "
Starscream snapped his talons together and turned to face Ramjet with his whole body. The large white jet was easily twice the mass of the sleeker, with heavy wings facing downwards instead of butterflied up, and a helm that was sharp and pointed at the tip. A symbol of pride as a soldier of Vos. His thin red eyes had a glint of anger and something else.
"I am merely trying to restore the Nemesis to a pilotable vessel, Ramjet." Starscream took a step back as the huge jet filled up his quarters.
"Huh, I'm sure. And whatever else you can grab up no doubt while you're at it." Ramjet looked around at the datapads and equipment in the room, obviously finding it dull.
He focused in on Starscream's face.
"You little parasite."
Starscream choked, feeling his temper rise. "How dare you?!" He could feel the words spilling from his lips. "I didn't here you offering any ideas besides going to fly out headfirst into an asteroid field!"
Ramjet took an angry step forward and Starscream flashed his talons at the large jet- his only melee weapon outside of opening fire on an opponent and menacingly long. Even the huge jet took a moment to observe them.
"This is MY specialty, Ramjet." Starscream tried to embolden himself with the thought of Megatron's endorsement. "I am the one who is most suited to retrieving Energon and you know it."
A twisted sneer stretched over the huge jet's face.
"Huh, you alone? Your skinny fingers? Doing work? Its not really your thing, is it? We both know what your REAL speciality is."
He took another step forward. Starscream suddenly felt a huge void where Skywarp and Thundercracker had been. They would never have allowed Ramjet to get so close to him- the three of them would have been able to easily outmatch even this hulking mech. But now…
He was alone.
His quarter's door snapped shut, closing the two off from any chance of a random drone interrupting them.
"What good are you without your squadron, Starscream." Ramjet echoed his own depressing thoughts. He clenched his armored fists and pressed even closer, Starscream could feel his wing tips scraping against the wall. "Your kind…you're barely seekers. Only good for sniffing up trouble. You're a Command trine too? So all you've ever done in your life is give out orders."
Ramjet laughed at the absurdity in his own mind. Starscream could feel his frame rattle in indignation and fury.
Isn't this a delightful trip down the sentimental and classist society we just overthrew? He thought to himself, frantically trying to think of ways to remove Ramjet from his room and still retain some dignity.
Ramjet paused and stared down at Starscream- his mouth was open- about to speak more garbage most likely, but thought seemed to have fried his processor.
Starscream stared back for a few brief moments. Ramjet's face wasn't angry anymore- it looked confused and frustrated.
"What are you…" Starscream twitched as Ramjet scratched his wings.
He felt his combat protocols flare to life just as the bulky mech grabbed his wings, gripping them tight and- and-
Ramjet started to croon. It was a deep and grating sound- reverberating against his smaller body.
Starscream squirmed in the large jet's grip before looking up, sullenly. Obviously the giant lug was unbalanced by the loss of his trine, but to be pawing at an entirely different class that he'd just be-smirched- because Starscream had wings? It was beyond pathetic. Starscream had conversations out loud with himself and rubbed his wings against his berth at night to mimic a familiar touch, but he didn't just go around grabbing people.
'Ramjeeeeet.' Starscream let out a warning hiss and the bulkier jet loomed closer- grinding against his cockpit and forcing him into the wall.
'If you are quite finished-'
'You're too small to be alone, Starscream.' Ramjet said suddenly. 'You're making a mistake- making him notice you like this.'
Starscream kicked out with a sharp pede, scratching the larger combat jet in the thigh with a sharp point.
'Small can be useful, Ramjet,' Starscream patronized the larger machine, even as he felt his spark whirling in panic—wasn't Soundwave monitoring all the officer's quarters? Would he just allow Ramjet to continue to take liberties like this? Was this a test of some kind? 'You see, as we are now on starvation rations I can tell you now that I will outlast you by at least a few hundred vorns- unless of course you downgrade quickly—aaughhhhhh'
Starscream groaned as Ramjet cornered him and began bending his wings in response to his sharp kick.
Protocols were beginning to alert in his field of vision, telling him that he was in the beginning of a Trining rite. Dominant leaders often bullied their counterparts into submission by bending their wings.
'You won't live that long if you don't get yourself protection.' Ramjet crooned again, his grip loosening to stroke Starscream's butterflied wings and soothe the bent marks.
'You're glitched—' he hissed, reaching casually to his console. He had left an electric prod there earlier- a memento from time spent interrogating Autobot prisoners. His snarl turned upwards quickly into a teasing smile.
'Is this your way of proposing to trine with me, Ramjet? Insulting me and manhandling me?'
The heavy let the statement sink in, eyes widening as he looked Starscream over from toe to finial and leaned in again, crooning deeper.
'We are the only fliers left-' he said, tilting his head at the sight of the narrow jet's slim waist, staring. 'You aren't good for much, but you look just fine. You can pay me back for protection by keeping our berth clean and grooming me when—'
He didn't finish the last sentence as Starscream powered the electric prod to full and brought it to Ramjet's cranial unit, watching the sparks fly. Even with a head as thick as his, Ramjet felt the full blast tear through his CPU and Starscream felt himself smirk as his competition slumped to the floor, offline. He was sorely tempted to take the electric prod to Ramjet's spark….but. He glared up at where he was certain Soundwave's surveillance system was located.
Megatron did not condone random killing in his forces. All executions were done by HIS hand alone. Starscream shivered at the thought of those huge, sharp digits tearing a chassis apart, rendering metal into ribbons and scrap in moments. He turned to his comm unit and called for drones, they were in his quarters in moments.
'Clean THAT up.' He commanded with a wave, turning from Ramjet's prone body and waiting for them to haul his body out.
When they left, he was alone again- to open the Star Grid and continue to gather his bearings- floating in the giant carcass of the warship that even now flickered between functionality and a floating tomb.
He tried to ignore the phantom sensations of the dents in his wings and how it had felt to be NEAR someone, even for a moment. Ramjet had been so much warmer than the rest of the room. No- he was Starscream. Humble Energon Seeker, turned Command Trine, turned scientist, turned elite flier for Lord Megatron. His life was an endless struggle to adapt and survive. He would...learn to cope without companionship and touch. Without Cybertron. Without a full tank.
He put his head in his talons and shuttered his optics.
Enough. Time to focus. He hadn't gotten this far just to be thrown to an energon extractor or starve. Yes, Energon. Such a simple word for so many varieties of concentrates- but they all served the simple function of fueling the spark and living metal. An Iacon Repository this far out- it would have to have an independant fuel source- with renewable potential. Likely there was a large deposit safeguarded away. Megatron would want that fuel source, undamaged of course. Iaconians were some of the most radical in opposing the Decepticon forces, and Starscream didn't put it past them to light up their own hope of survival for a chance to hinder their conquest.
His wings ached as he turned to his console and pulled up the quick building readings for the Iacon Repository. It looked like a standard fascility- but that caused more reason to be suspicious. It had a large docking bay- not standard. Also- there was that needle mounted on tower- some sort of communications enhancement, no doubt. All-in-all, little things that made Starscream quiver with paranoia and suspicion. There was something bothering him, right now.
Ah yes. His wings. They were really starting to ache. As much as he was loathe to allow himself contact with Hook and his pawing servos, he would need to be in the best shape to run a scouting mission over the repository before Megatron raided it. He pinged the revoltingly colored Doctor, who answered amiably.
'Aren't your trinemates dead? I thought I'd see an end to bent wings now that there's only three of you fliers left.'
'Three?' Starscream replied in an irritated tone. 'Excellent, I'm submitting myself to the mercies of a doctor who can't even count.'
'I forgot to introduce you to my assistant- a very lovely seeker by the name of Knock Out. He IS in transition to a racer-build, but he knows more about your frames than I ever will.' Oh, Hook must have been referring to the red arm-candy that had been leaning on his larger frame during the bridge conference.
'In transition means that they are no longer a seeker, Hook.' Starscream replied, his mood becoming fouler. Not that it wasn't uncommon, but he himself could never understand why anyone would want a different frame besides that of his own.
'My apologies, Lieutenant. I'll ask Knock Out to straighten out your wings.' Hook was laughing at him now- having an assistant attend to him? Starscream was striding into the MedBay, a scowl on his face, ready to dress Hook down in front of all of his orderlies. Knock Out was leaning over a drone, finishing a metal transplant on it's leg.
Starscream was still angry, but his mood lessened at the sight of dozens of drones, all still in poor shape, waiting for repairs. The Nemesis had not yet recovered from the last battle and the signs were still there.
Knock Out was by his side almost immediately, the smaller arial sans-wings made a whistling noise at the sight of the larger flier's damages.
'Wow,' he said in a brazen tone, 'Those are something I wasn't expecting. Who's been courting YOU.'
Starscream wasn't sure how he felt about that question, so he chose to ignore it entirely and swipe at the wingless red medic.
'I have some important work to do, and I need these to be aligned and flight prepared immediately.'
Knock Out held up his slender hands in a pacifying way and guided Starscream to a berth. The sleek flyer lay down on his front, bent wings spread out for the medic to repair. Despite his earlier protests...the former seeker seemed to know where to touch his wings, and Starscream found himself drifting. The thin fingers were carefully and slowly adjusting the tender seams that Ramjet had wantonly bent. The dull pain was fading into a pleasent ache that spread over his core. There once had been a time, when touching wasn't a precurser to pain, and there had been a relative peace, when he could have gotten his wings soothed like this at any moment. He didn't remember much about it, but his body seemed to.
'So...' Knock Out sounded far too interested. 'Who put their servos on such lovely wings and twisted them all up?'
Starscream couldn't help but be pleased by the compliment, even if he knew that the red medic was just fishing for gossip.
'Ramjet.' He hissed lowly as a cool filler was slowly stroked into the smaller dents and allowed to dry. Oh, that was nice.
'Hm, really? That big brute? Well I can't say I'm surprised.' Knock Out was polishing and laying down a glaze that soaked the raw metal, his thin fingers working masterfully over Starscreams precise and delicate wings. 'He's been getting twitchy and aggressive for orns now.'
The medic paused to carefully re-align the deepest groove in his wings and he clenched his denta to keep from making a pained sound.
Knock Out patted the dent and continued. 'You aren't suffering from the same Trineless Neurosis, are you?'
'I'm not.' Starscream replied, mumbling, his processor slightly scrambled from fatigue and the wing stimulation he was enduring.
Knock Out laughed lowly. 'So you were the one who put a high powered shock-prod to his head as retaliation for the wing bending? You're a pretty classy catch, Lieutenant.'
'I'm not interested in BEING a catch. Or Trining.' Starscream replied, looking over his shoulder to the small red seeker reject, narrowing his red eyes.
The mech seemed oblivious, because he merely chuckled and continued. 'That's not what I hear. Rumor is that you have a marked interest in Lord Megatron's attention.'
'Are you INSANE?' Starscream was practically twisting over his torso to snarl at Knock Out.
The red bot held up his hands, in defense and also in deference. 'Its just a rumor, I wasn't implying anything by it, sir.'
'You could have fooled me...' The larger flyer finally lay back, mollified by Knock Out's display of submission. Knock Out did not attempt any further conversations, and finished sealing and buffing his wings in tidy order, which pleased him greatly. He rose shakily off of the berth and took a small cube of medical grade energon, which he realized on his way back to his quarters were not a complementary part of being attended to. Hm. Being friendly with a medic besides Hook could certainly have its advantages in the future. Starscream made a careful note not to tear into Knock Out, despite the red mech's insolent manner.
He was sitting and savoring his small energon ration, examining the Iacon Repository on his console when he was pinged by the Decepticon Lord himself. He nearly dropped his cube, but he responded in a hopefully even tone.
'Yes, Master?'
'Come up to the Bridge immediately.' Megatron's tone didn't put much confidence in Starscream. In fact, his tank suddenly churned and he couldn't bring himself to finish the rest of his Energon. Perhaps the warlord wasn't pleased with Ramjet being rendered non-functional.
'Yes, my Lord.' Starscream replied evenly, stowing the rest of his ration and rising. He shut off his console and code-encrypted the Star Charts. He stood and walked from his quarters, feeling the door whooshing shut behind his newly-repaired wings, a small parody of the past cycles of his life, of Cybertron and the War, all gone, replaced by an uncertain and dark path.
End Chapter One
AN: As I said earlier- this story is being written largely to fill in the holes regarding the Decepticons and their lives before arriving on earth and the events that transpire on the Nemesis. It is largely based on loose implications within the show itself and then some fanon interpretations. I hope to continue this story for another 9 chapters. Based on how I feel, there may be a sequel.
I would really appreciate feedback, since this is one of my first stories regarding this fandom and it will really help me in my characterizations of the 'Cons and their rather dangerous hijinx.
Thanks for reading!