About this story:

- It's a child of Transformers: Armada and Assassin's Creed. (don't expect anything great from it)

- Intro inspired by Deceptigrape's 'Savior' story.

Other Story News:

-That other story idea will be started over summer (maybe).

Note:

You all know military time, right?

0032 = 12:32 AM (midnight)

0213 = 2:13 AM

0501 = 5:01 AM

1843 = 6:43 PM

Date reference:

# Sun = Day

# Moon Cycle = Month

(Yeah it's in Chinese style, deal with it)

Of Duties and Creeds

Chapter 1

(Autobot Base, Medical Bay, 0032 hours, 14th Sun of the 8th Moon Cycle)

Everyone he knew was against his decision to rescue a Decepticon, but a high ranking Decepticon on the side of the Autobots would be a major step in information, and maybe converting other Decepticons. Of course this was all in theory. It had been more than a little difficult to capture Starscream without some kind of fatality, and he was hell bent on not cooperating with them, even if they were his only chance at life. Optimus insisted that he just needed time.

"Shh-h-h-aa-a-ut up! S-s-s-shut up and g-get out!"

Red Alert jerked back out of reflex as a table was flung wide in no particular direction, smashing into an other table with various equipment on it and breaking everything on it. Optimus and Jetfire burst into the room, having been thundering down the hall since getting their medic's call for help.

"What happened?!"

"Great Primus!"

"G-g-g-geeeeEE-ET! OUT! A-A-Aaa-ALL OF YOU-U-U-U!" Starscream shrieked, energon still leaking from his multitude of wounds. It was a wonder he was still standing, and how he had his bearings at all. His vocal processor was obviously greatly damaged, skipping and emmiting multi-toned screams as he yelled at all of them. Unnatural growls and clicks were crawling out of his mouth as he limped in a slow, deffensive circle while the Autobots in the room tried to approach.

"You sure this was a good idea?"

"Calm down Starscream, we're here to help you."

"I need to seal your wounds and repair you. Conciousness, let alone activity, is out of the question for someone in your state."

"B-b-ack off Autobo-o-o-t!"

Starscream stumbled back and knocked over another table, stumbling again and crashing against the counter behind him. He let out a loud howl of pain and collapsed slightly, watching through optics crowded with warning messages as the Autobots approached him again. The Decepticon was running on empty, on nothing but sheer determination, and a single break in that was certain to doom his systems to shut down. He swiped at them blindly, trying to run using the counter for support, but feeling some one grab him.

"Jetfire! Help me hold him down."

"Trying! He's a bit slippery!"

"Le-e-et GO of me-e-e!" The open wound on his helm contacted the edge of the counter in his struggles, and his systems shut down.

"Red Alert!"

"Table! Now!"

"Ohhh shoot, did we break him?"

"I don't think so, but his phsycological state is obviously very strained. Strap him down."

They had managed to bring this seeker in on the brink of death, or so they thought, and it was Optimus's 'gut feeling' that was holding the Decepticon in the medical bay. He was being a bit of an optomist to think he could get the Decepticon sympathetic to the Autobot cause, let alone stop him from dying.

"Jetfire, get me that energon feed. Optimus, that welder." Red Alert instructed as he began to pull straps over unwounded areas.

Starscream had been found in the large midway zone between Autobots and Decepticons, fighting off two other seekers that had chased him down. He was already in a desperate state of impending shut-down when those two seekers had caught up to him, and they had a pretty good idea who had done the main beating. Part of his helm was cleaved away, and part of his faceplate was also gone, revealing a naked optic that was somehow still working. The elbow joint in his left arm was broken, and it was a fair bet that he had a fracture in his right leg. His sword wing had to be taken away from him, and the other wing was torn away at the lower edge. The second largest worry was a blaster shot to the abdomen that revealed circuitry and coolant tubing. Everywhere else seemed to have obtained moderate wounds, from shallow gashes to blaster marks.

"Alright, connect that tubing there, and pinch off any open tubing that's leaking until I get to it. Start taking off the armor around his elbow and leg over there."

"Everything okay in here?" Smokescreen stepped into the medbay amongst the chaos, having been wanting to take a look at this Decepticon since there was word Optimus was going to search for him. Pretty much everyone was against having the Decepticon here except for Optimus and Hotshot. Smokescreen himself was at a bit of a half way point, since he was very glad to have Hotshot back and safe within the Autobot base. But hearing about Starscream's rap-sheet of murders was threatening to make him overlook the one good deed. He'd assassinated more than a few Autobot commanders, and had just recently attempted to take out Optimus Prime himself. Luckily, he'd failed and had actually been captured for a few days before he escaped. If he hadn't escaped, he wouldn't have released Hotshot from that prison.

But that's how it is in war, isn't it? Good news for one side is bad news for the other.

"No, not really."

"Smokescreen, get out. We need all the space in here."

"Tell Hotshot this guy is going to be juuuust fine."

"Oh, uh, okay then."

"I said get out! Optimus, grab another welder from that table over there."

Smokescreen left quickly after that, still wondering if taking in that Decepticon was a good idea.

----(Autobot Base, Refueling Area, 0213 hours)

"Hey Hotshot, you know that guy in the medical bay, right?" Smokescreen asked as he walked over to their designated lunch table with two cubes of energon. The yellow bot looked up and just blinked at him, thought processes cycling for a few seconds before he realized what his friend was talking about.

"Oh, you mean Starscream? I watched him and talked with him while on brig watch duty." Hotshot accepted the energon cube gladly and started to drink.

"... And? Is he a hardcore Decepticon like everyone else says?" Smokescreen hadn't touched his cube yet, and it took a few moments for Hotshot to answer as he swallowed his energon.

"...Dunno about 'hardcore' since he let me go. But he is a grumpy prick who threw his own armor at me to get me to stop talking."

"... Ah. So is he an okay guy or should I start worrying about Optimus's mainframe?"

"... Not sure. But if Optimus thinks he deserves a second chance, I'll agree with him. You gonna drink that?" Hotshot guestured to his friend's cube of energon. Smokescreen nodded and picked the cube up.

"I'm not saying that Optimus is crazy or anything, really, I swear. But have you heard about all the stuff that 'con has done?" He started to down the cube while Hotshot looked thoughtful.

"... No? I know he did a bunch of stuff though to be so high on the Autobot wanted list. Up there with Megatron and Shockwave I think." Smokescreen choked on the energon.

"You don't even KNOW? He was the one that assassinated all those Autobot commanders. The first time he was actually seen was when he killed Ultra Magnus. I heard he almost got captured that time too." At this new information, Hotshot just stared. Why hadn't anyone told him about that rather major piece of information? For that matter, why hadn't he asked?

"... Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"... I... did not know that." This changed his perspective around a bit. Slaggit, they had a serious murderer in their medical bay! "We gotta tell Optimus!" He made to stand and run to the door, but Smokescreen grabbed him.

"Hold it there, Hotshot. He already knows, duh." Now he felt calmer with Hotshot being the one panicking.

"But just saving a lowly cadet isn't enough to match up to six Autobot commanders! And who knows who else!" He tried to run again, but felt Smokescreen's long arm hook onto his shoulder.

"Stop; don't you think Optimus has already thought of all that? And you kinda just insulted yourself there." Smokescreen started to drink more of his energon while Hotshot floundered in his thoughts.

"But he's KILLED-! And, and battlefields are different-! And, and and... Ultra Magnus is HUGE and old and a veteran fighter and-!" He flailed his arms a bit for emphasis. Behind him, the door opened and revealed a rather tired looking Wheeljack, who perked up at seeing the other two Autobots.

"Ah, Wheeljack! You can talk some sense into Hotshot. You know that Decepticon seeker in the medical bay, right?" Smokescreen knew that Wheeljack was possibly the only one who could put a roadblock in Hotshot's thinking pattern, and was hoping that the cadet would help him out. Unfortunately, he didn't know that the Autobot had just gotten back from recon, so he had no idea about Starscream being in the medical bay.

"... There's a Decepticon in the repair bay?" Wheeljack just blinked at the two of them, while Hotshot jumped right on the topic.

"Yes! And he's a serious murdering slaggart of a Decepticon! Next to Shockwave on the wanted list!"

"What!?"

"Optimus went out and rescued him in the midway zone! He did save me from that Decepticon prison, but he's killed a lot of Autobots! Really important Autobots!" Hotshot was almost bouncing with energy as he rambled, guesturing for emphasis at himself and then in a randomly chosen direction.

"Why is Optimus letting him in the medical bay then?" Wheeljack held onto his level thought processing, but it was obvious he was alarmed and confused. Smokescreen just sighed and smacked himself in the face, feeling that this would take a while.

---- (Autobot Base, Medical Bay, 0501 hours)

"LE-E-E-ET GO OF ME-E-E!" Starscream was thrashing against the bindings that held him to the medical table as he shrieked. Optimus was trying to hold him down while Red Alert attempted to replace his elbow joint. He was out of immediate danger, but still required critical medical attention. Jetfire had been replaced with Ratchet about five minutes into surgery, and the Autobot was growing quickly impatient with Starscream.

"You really need to stop waking up before we expect you to." Ratchet was trying to hold his helm still in order to harmlessly offline the Decepticon for the rest of the surgery, but it seemed like that would be almost impossible between the wound and Starscream's struggles. He let out a loud scream when Red Alert forced the fixed elbow joints back together.

"Starscream, we are here to help you! Calm down!" Optimus was starting to think the only way they would be able to do this surgery was with Starscream awake, because he seemed to fight unconciousness like it was death. He had originally wanted to save talking to him for later, after Starscream had the time to think things over himself, but right now seemed as good a time as any, "Starscream, I know you're scared right now, but we are trying to help you!"

"I-I-I DON'T NE-E-EED YOUR HEL-L-L-LP! I-I-I DO-O-ON'T NEED A-A-ANYONE'S HEL-L-LP!" He screamed in denial, trying to struggle away from Red Alert as he moved to continue fixing the elbow. Optimus let out a heavy sigh as the Decepticon began to scream in pain again. This would take a while.

---- (Autobot Base, Optimus Prime's Quarters, 1843 hours)

"Do you feel able to be on active duty again?" Optimus looked up from his multitude of reports at the young cadet who stood a bit akwardly infront of his desk. Hotshot's wounds had been minor when he'd arrived, and Red Alert had said he would be allowed to return to active duty after resting for a while.

"Well, I feel fine now. Running around a bit won't hurt me." The cadet rubbed the back of his helm a bit absently.

"I'll return you to active duty then. You'll go on patrol in two days. You may leave." Optimus nodded slightly to the door behind him, watching as Hotshot saluted him before turning and leaving.

Ever since he'd returned, the flow of reports and paperwork never seemed to stop or lessen, and constant coordination of troops on the field ate up his time. Morale was always a concern, and he had made note to appear on the battlefield when he deemed it nessesary on more important incursions. Between paperwork, field work, conferences and participating in the all-important activities of recharging and replenishing his energon levels, he barely had any time for himself. Now the Decepticon in the bay needed to be watched over and talked to. Perhaps it was time to call in a favor from Scavenger.

---- (Data Scrambled, Rebooting System, Memory File Number AF0000276)

What makes you classify someone as a killer? The act of murder. Circumstances of the murder. Maybe even their reaction to the murder.

Every soldier must come to terms with ending the life of another. Whether it be grief. Or denial. Justifying it because they were the enemy. Because the enemies are bad guys. It's okay to kill the bad guys. Everyone else says it's okay to kill the bad guys. Because they're bad.

In the heat of battle, it's okay to kill the bad guys. Because the bad guys are trying to kill you and your friends. You aren't killing them, you're deffending everything you believe in. You're scared, and fear makes people do crazy things. You have to be crazy to do crazy things. Or maybe you have to be cool to do crazy things.

But what about those that don't need the fear of the battlefield to do crazy things? Those that go for the kill in the place their target feels safest.

Is it okay? When your hands don't shake with fear after killing someone. If you hold your kills close so they don't die alone? If it's easier to do than to think?

Is it even murder? If someone told you to do it. If you were following orders? They killed with your hands? They decided what was right and what was wrong?

What makes killing okay? Emotional attatchment or strict calculation? For the greater good?

What really is right and really is wrong?

What do you want?

"MURDERER!" Piercing light sliced through the dark room, even cutting into the dank smell of energon and oil. He could feel thick, clinging grime under every armor plate and he couldn't understand why. He was supposed to be proud of what he had done. To be the best of the best that only produced perfection. He should feel weightless and unstoppable after taking down Ultra Magnus. But something rooted him to the spot. The Autobot in the doorway wouldn't stand a chance against him. What was he so afraid of?

"...DON'T LOOK AT ME!"

(Autobot Base, Medical Bay, 1100 Hours, 19th Sun of the 8th Moon Cycle)

"He's awake. Run diagnostics." Footsteps. Clinking of metal on metal. The soft exhail of hydraulics.

"I've alerted Optimus, he'll be down shortly."

"Make sure he's secure."

"Starscream? Can you hear us?"

He felt weak, and his body was heavy. Muscle cables contracted but his limbs refused to move. When his optics finally flickered to life, the bright white blinded his sensors, processors working to filter in contrasts and identify what he was staring at. The clean, white tiled ceilings with soft, even lighting was unfamiliar. His vocalizer ground painfully in protest when he tried to use it.

"... Where am I?" This didn't feel like Decepticon HQ. Something felt very wrong.

"You're in the Autobot medical bay. Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

"Atleast this is better than him screaming at us."

That's right. He'd been captured. Captured by the Autobots after having an 'argument' with Megatron. There was nowhere he was safe now, no one he was safe with, and no one to rely on for guidance. He'd made a horrible mistake and there was nothing he could do to fix it.

The italicized bit was after watching 'The Brave One'.