I know...it took way too much time. I'm sorry. Just too many things happened lately...

Slowly the darkness vanished. When he opened his eyes he could only see fuzzy outlines, but it was enough to make him realize, that he had not become a part of the Allspark.
He was alive. He didn't know why. But for the moment he couldn't care less. Apparently someone in this universe thought that his end was not yet to come.
His vision began to clear. He felt, that he was lying on a berth. Cautiously and accompanied by stinging pain he raised his head to look down his body.
Somebody had taken care of his wounds and he had been completely cleaned of off dirt and dried energon. Even his foot was back where it belonged; the seams barely visible. Only his broken wings were still missing, but he found them to be located on a table at the other side of the room. The single fragments had already been put together again and the scratches and scars had been attended to. Whoever was responsible for this treatment...that mech did a pretty good job.

He began checking on the room. It looked familiar. And slowly he started to understand where he was: in the medbay of the Nemesis.
'So...the autobots saved me...' He shivered at that thought. The autobots hated him...and he hated them. So where in Primus' name lied the benefit in saving your worst enemy? It made absolutely no sense at all...
Starscream wasn't even sure if he wanted to know the reason. He just wanted to disappear as soon as possible, regardless of the bad condition he was in. He simply couldn't stay any longer.

With strokes of pain running through his whole body he tried to get up. To his annoyance he had to realize that his legs and arms were tied to the berth.
„Raaaaaaah! Cursed autobots!"he swore loudly. They had thought of everything. Why couldn't he have simply died on top of that tower? It would have been so much better than being his archenemies prisoner...

„Those 'cursed' autobots saved your miserable spark, Starscream. But I didn't expect gratitude from someone like you to begin with...It doesn't seem to be programmed in your processor."
„Who...who's there?" The seeker twitched in shock, when he heard the noise. He hadn't noticed the presence of another mech in the room until now. And it was now, that he could finally spot the figure hiding in the shadows next to the door.

Slowly Knockout stepped into the light to show himself to his former commander.

„Knockout...". Starscream's gaze became dark for a moment, after he remembered, that the red mech had betrayed him not long ago and was now a member of the autobots.

But the hate in his eyes didn't last long and was replaced by something else. He looked pensive now...somehow melancholic.

„Personally I would have left you to the rust...but your saviour was very conciving. I don't expect you to thank me or Ratchet for putting you back together and polishing you. But if you have a little sense of decency left in you, then you should at least show HER some respect."

Starscream stayed silent. Saviour? Her? It couldn't be Arcee...could it?

Too many things in his head kept him from thinking reasonably and he wasn't in the mood for conversations of any kind. He wanted to be alone. To think carefully about his next plans and steps. As a matter of fact he would be bound to this place for quite some time. So it would be wiser to adapt to his situation and to not anger the autobots with rash actions. The more he behaved himself, the bigger the chances of his release would grow.
„Although I do understand, that I am in no position to demand anything..."He chose his words carefully. „...I would prefer being alone for a while."
Knockout was astonished. This polite way of talking coming directly from his former commanding officer was something he was not used to.
„Hm...My task was to watch over you until you wake up, so...guess my job is done now and I can finally enjoy my lunch break." He accepted his wish. He never had the nerves to keep company with the seeker to begin with. He always felt so uneasy, when he was around. Too many things had happened in their shared past...Things, that both of them wouldn't forget so easily.

The young medic stretched his arms above his head and started to approach the door. Without turning to his patient he said: „Ratchet will check on you again later. I advise you not to try something stupid...like escaping...In your current condition you wouldn't make it very far, so...well, see you."

Starscream watched him leave the room, until the door closed silently behind the doctor. With a deep sigh he layed back on the berth. He closed his eyes and started to recall the events of the past days and weeks.

He thought about Megatron, how he had tried to cyberform Earth, to rule over it and Cybertron together as an absolute leader.
He thought about, how his former Lord had failed. Killed by the hand of the young autobot scout Bumblebee. He would never forget that image: the star saber, piercing through Megatron's chest and sending him down to earth in a ball of flames afterwards...
And he thought about how Megatron was revived by Unicron, only to end up as his will-less tool for the destruction of Cybertron. But the autobots were able to avoid the upcoming catastrophe...they had saved the planet...And in the end they even had freed Megatron from Unicrons control.

'I now know the meaning of oppression and have thus lost my taste for inflicting it. The decepticons are no more. And that is final!'
Starscream had thought of those words from his master as a consequence of a trauma...as a result of some kind of damage, that Unicron had caused to him after leaving his processor...

The end of the decepticons? The end of the war? Peace with the autobots? Not long ago such absurd ideas never would have come to the seeker's mind...

But then there were Predaking and his two followers. The torment they brought upon him. His end that didn't come. The mysterious saviour, who gave him another chance in this new world...
He shook his head, as if he tried to get rid of all those thoughts by doing so.

He didn't know what to think anymore. He didn't know what to believe anymore. All his life he had been so sure about where his road was supposed to lead him to...or not?

Soon he would have to make a decision. But for the moment he could only wait and leave the decisions to the autobots. There was no other choice.

Bit by bit he felt his consciousness drifting away again. He was still very weak, so it would be best to rest a while longer, for that it was the most effective therapy. He allowed fatigue to take over and in an instant he was back into a deep sleep again...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile the autobots had gathered on the bridge of the Nemesis for a meeting. Bumblebee, Arcee and Smokescreen had returned from their exploration tour and were astonished about the two new arrivals. Even more about the third one, that was currently regenerating in the medbay.
After Stardust and Nova had introduced themselves to the others, it was Bumblebee who first started to speak: „We are really glad to see that you safely made your way back home. And maybe you are the first of many, who will return to this planet of ours. But as you can see there is still a lot of work to do, until we can call this place a real home again. Your help would be highly appreciated."
„Why certainly. We'll do whatever we can to help you." Stardust nodded into the black and yellow mech's direction, before she turned to Nova, who then gave his affirmation, too. „And for our 'attachment' I'm sure we'll find a suitable job, too, when he has recovered" With a slight movement of her head she pointed in the direction, where Starscream was supposed to be right now.

„Well, about your...'attachment'..." Ratchet began.

„I still don't think of it as a good idea to keep that lunatic on our ship!" Arcee interrupted him. „He's a murderer! And I will never forgive him for what he has done to Cliffjumper! We should get rid of him as long as he's vulnerable!" She had clenched her fists angrily. Even if it happened quite some time ago, the pain of losing her partner was still present. Too present. Smokescreen, who was standing next to her, noticed her sudden anger and grief and placed a hand on her shoulder, before he turned to Nova and Stardust: „She is right. Starscream is a criminal and I hardly doubt, that he will ever change. Your good intentions honor you, but it was wrong to bring him here." His gaze fell onto Bulkhead and Wheeljack. „Why did you two allow it in the first place?"

The two wreckers looked at each other, before Wheeljack answered instead of his friend: „Because my buddy here's sure, that Optimus wouldn't have left him behind...And I think he's right about that."
After mentioning Optimus' name a sudden depression befell all the mechs present. Although he told them not to be sad, it was easier said than done. Prime wasn't only a leader, but also a friend. A light of hope, when everything else seemed to be lost. It would take a lot of time, until they somehow got used to his absence.

„Optimus?" Stardust's voice broke the silence; not sure if it was the right thing to ask, regarding all the sad faces around her. She felt relieved, when finally Bumblebee made a step forward and started to explain: „Optimus Prime. He was our leader. He was the one, who offered his own spark to save this planet" His voice was quiet and slightly trembling. „Because of his selflessness Cybertron came back to life." „He was more than just a leader," Ratchet added. Tears were shimmering in his optics. „He was a friend...the best one could think of..."His voice stopped abruptely. He couldn't take it any longer...all this pain he had concealed deep within him until now made it impossible for him to speak. Of all those mechs around him he had known Optimus for the longest. The certainty of never seeing him again was something unbearable for the old medic. He turned away from the others. He didn't want to let his friends see him fragile like that.

Knockout, who was standing next to him, wasn't sure how to react. He knew just too well how the bot must have felt right now. Afterall he had lost his friend Breakdown not so long ago...and the sadness about his death seemed to be more present right now than ever before. Back on the Nemesis under Megatron's command he had nobody to talk about it. If he had shown a single tear or even the smallest sign of emotions, all the other decepticons would have laughed about him and called him weak. So it was not surprising, that all those piled up feelings were trying to reach the surface right now...

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he placed a hand on Ratchet's back and hoped it would somehow help him calm down.

„We're...we're so sorry about that..." Stardust said with a sad voice, turning to Nova and then back to the group of autobots. „I...shouldn't have asked."
„It's alright." Arcee tried to smile after she wiped away a single tear. „You couldn't have known. And it's more important right now, what we'll do about Starscream."
„We should ask Ultra Magnus for advice", Bulkhead suggested.
„Ultra Magnus is still too weak to let him decide on such a complicated case." Ratchet was himself again. „I'd prefer to have his processor completely recovered, before we burden him with this question." Without haste the others agreed on that. Currently it would be too much to ask from the still severely wounded Ultra Magnus, who was once Optimus' lieutenant.

„So...what shall we do with Screamer?" Wheeljack shrugged.

„If I'm allowed I'd like to offer a proposal." With those words spoken Stardust immediately got everybody's attention. It was her idea afterall to bring him along and because of that she felt responsible for solving this task.
„Yes, of course. We're listening", Bumblebee said and let her continue.

„I will look after him personally, prevent him from causing trouble and help him to adjust himself. Sooner or later he will have to realize, that he can only survive in this world, when he changes his mind. And I'm sure he will do so."

„All due respect", Bulkhead interrupted her. „But it's naive to think that HE will ever change!" „How many times was he punished for his mistakes? Not only by us, but most likely also by his leader Megatron himself, and he never learned from it. Your efforts will be in vain. And it would be better you believe what we're saying", Arcee emphasized.
„You really should, Stardust." The first time since they had all met on the bridge Nova rose to speak. „Some mechs never change. And you should comprehend that now. Otherwise you'll only get disappointed." He looked at her seriously and at the same time insightfully.

„Now, look at that. He IS able to speak", Wheeljack joked and softly poked his buddy Bulkhead, who gave him a wide grin.

Stardust didn't noticed any of this. She seemed to be deep in thought suddenly and her facial expression appeared hollow and unfathomable.

Waiting for a reaction, the others looked at each other and then back to her again.

„I do understand your doubts", she finally said after another minute of silence. „After all those stories I've heard about him from Nova, those doubts are most certainly justifiable." She took a step forward, her optics more unflinching than ever. „But I do believe, that every sentient being has the capability to change...regardless of how evil it was in the past. So please let me try it!"

She paused for a moment and ran her eyes over the group. What she saw were astonished – not to say shocked – faces. Did she say something wrong?

„You know..." It was Bumblebee to first regain his voice. „Those were exactly the words Optimus used, before he...before he said goodbye." A sad smile showed up on his lips, while the others, including Stardust, remained silent. The seeker femme wasn't sure if or what to respond to that...

„Agreed."

That answer came suddenly – and out of the mouth of someone whom none had ever expected to be the owner: in a flash all optics were resting on Arcee.

„She shall do as she pleases", she said. „But if it should not work, then allow me to take care of Starscream, so that he'll never be able to inflict pain on others ever again!"

„Don't worry." Stardust smiled thankfully. „It will work." Yes. It would. She was most certain about that.

„Everyone agrees with this plan?" Ratchet asked the mechs around him. Although there was still doubt on some faces, nobody felt the need to object.

„Alright. Then it's your job from now on to watch over Starscream, Stardust. The medical treatment is of course still mine and Knockout's responsibility to shoulder", the medic continued.

„I feared you would say that...", Knockout muttered and made an annoyed face. But Ratchet didn't take any note of his comment. Instead he turned to Nova: „You could help Bumblebee and the other two exploring the area. As far as I can see you're a flier. Seeing everything from above will be a different thing and therefore most helpful."
„Sounds logical to me." The ex-decepticon seemed to be pleased with his given task.

„Well then. Since everything's settled, let's get back to work, shall we?" Wheeljack started to leave the room, followed by Bulkhead. „See you later, folks."

One by one, all of the others left the bridge to attend to their work again, too, with Nova and Stardust being the last. Before the black helicopter walked off to join Bumblebee's team, he pulled his friend aside to talk to her in private: „I know you long enough to understand why you're so determined to help that seeker-guy. But I fear you're making a huge mistake. I..have such a bad feeling about all this. What if something happens to you and-" „Shhhh." Stardust came closer to him and gently placed a hand on his cheek. „I appreciate your concern so much. I really do. But there is no need. What could possibly go wrong? I'm a big girl, right?" She gave him an encouraging smile. A pity it didn't seem to work as effective as planned, for Nova's eyes were still full of worry. He took her hands into his and drew her even closer. „I...I just don't want you to-" He wasn't able to finish the sentence, because Smokescreen's voice was echoing through the hallways: „Nova? What are you doing, pal? We're waiting!" He better should hurry now, although he didn't want to leave Stardust behind like that. „I'm sorry. I have to go." With those words he released her hands and quickly disappeared down the corridor.

A little perplex Stardust was left standing there alone. What did he want to say to her? It sounded kind of important. She would ask him after his return.

For now she decided to check on Starscream in the medbay. She was excited to know if he was really the monster everybody told her he was. If so, it would be a long, rough way to accomplish her goal, but still no reason for her to stray from it...