When they exit the office Skywarp can't stop the snigger from leaving her vocalizer at the sight of the secretary's scandalized look. The pink and yellow seeker's optics shines with clear jealousy and the black and purple female idly wonders how long the other uselessly has been wooing for Thundercrackers attention. The fact that he ignores the female completely on their way out is telling – not that Skywarp feels any pity for the other.
She favors the secretary with a knowing smirk and tugs closer to Thundercracker before she finally turns her back on the pink and yellow seeker. In response Thundercracker snakes one of his arms around her waist – nuzzling at the transformation seams at her hip – and like that they walk down the corridors towards the exit that will lead them to the flight deck.
Stares follow her on their way out – some appraising, some disapproving, some surprised and not a few longingly staring with broken hopes.
Thundercracker seems occupied and doesn't pay the attention any mind and she decides to just ignore them all. Perking her wings proudly on her back she sends blatant signals to everyone who might think about disturbing them.
Outside on the flight deck he releases his hold on her and steps away from her. Turning towards him she stares fascinated at the sight of his transformation into a sleek but sturdy tetrajet. The rumble originating from his thrusters is deafening, but she doesn't care. The thunderous vibrations leaving the powerful thrusters as they keeps him hovering sends tingling sensations throughout her whole sensor net and she shudders delightfully.
Dragging her processor out of the haze of pleasure almost drowning her thoughts she shakes her head to clear it. Then she transforms herself and moments later they are both off the flight deck and en route towards the center of the city and the royal residence.
The silence in the flight is broken by her com line activating.
"Do you know why I became trinemate to the Crown of Vos?" Thundercracker's rumbling voice sounds hesitantly.
"No." she answers, surprised by the question.
"Let me show you." He answers and turns in a sharp angle to the right before he dives.
She hesitates a bit before she follows him in his dive. Far down below among the numerous ruins in the outskirts a group of towers stands out. They are not just a ruin, but completely destroyed.
"I'm sure you wonder why the outskirts look like they do while the rest of the city flourishes." He adds after a breem.
He is in root mode and hovering beside him she transforms back before she nods as she looks around at the destruction.
When she looks at him again, his optics has hardened and she knows he is remembering old memories – bad ones if the frown on his face is anything to go by.
"Starscream rarely visits me in my office. He can't stand the sight of the outskirts. They remind him too vividly about what he lost here more than five hundred vorns ago. They remind us all about our failure to protect our Crown." He explains in a hard tone and his facial features harden while his optics whitens out in barely repressed rage.
"Starscreams sire and carrier was killed in these very towers 531 vorns ago. They were assassinated by the leaders of Vos' criminal underworld after his sire had declared war against the crime in the city state. No one had thought them able to get close enough to carry out the threats they had made towards the Crown. And they didn't, they just decided to bomb the whole area." He explains further, his voice filled with so much anger and pain.
"We failed utterly in protecting them. When we learned that traitors among the royal guards had provided their destination to the underworld, it was already too late to do anything. Everything was a burning inferno and no one within miles survived the attack." He explains, and the pain visible in his voice is now also visible in his optics, and he clenches his hands to fists as his whole frame trembles.
"His third caretaker committed suicide a few orns later and Starscream was left all on his own." Thundercracker finishes with a deep sigh.
"Starscream chose me among all enforcers to become his trinemate as a sort of protection. He wanted someone he could rely on completely to avoid something like that repeating itself. Not that the underworld is after him. Their message came through clearly and Starscream is afraid to take any statement towards dealing with them – even with me by his side." Thundercracker sighs and his wings droop slightly.
"Wh-Why are you telling me this?" Skywarp asks shakily when it is clear Thundercracker isn't going to say more.
"Because you need to understand why he is as he is. He trusts no one beyond me and since I'm taking you home with me, he is going to be on edge. Don't take everything he says to spark." He softly explains as he reaches a hand to gently caress her lower arm.
Drifting closer to him, she leans in a pecks a gently kiss on his lips.
"You really trusts me that much to let me that close to him?" she asks with a small sad smile.
"Yes." He answers with a frown. He doesn't know why he is this trusting, but his spark tells him that what he is doing is right.
"I won't let you down." She answers seriously.
His facial features clears and the anger, pain and sadness evident in them before disappears when a smile forms on his lips.
"I know you won't." he says and gently nuzzles her neck.
"Let's move. There are too many bad memories on this particular spot." He adds and moves a bit away before he transforms back into his tetrajet mode.
With a smile she mirrors him and once again silence commence while they flies towards their destination.
The beautiful mesh of gold, silver and bronze soon fills their sight and with a fluttering spark Skywarp zeros in on the royal residence among all the other towers floating in the air in the center of the city state. Now she can finally get a better look at the beautiful towers connected by the intricate passageways.
Her eagerness spurs her on and makes her slightly faster than Thundercracker. His thrusters might be stronger, but they are needed to carry his heavier frame, while she herself is small, light and agile. She isn't aware that the male purposely falls back and allows her to lead, and while he follows her exhaust Thundercracker watches her playful flight with rapt attention. She is a true sky dancer – flirting with the sky and the wind as she flies.
The dance, however comes to an abrupt end when a warning shot is fired from somewhere far to their right. The laser shot brightens the sky for a moment before the energy dissolves and does no harm, but it startles Skywarp enough to cause her to lose control for a moment and she dips a few frame-lengths in the air. Thundercracker is by her side instantly and frowning he herds her towards the location of the shot, intent on investigating.
A thundering angry roar from his thrusters sounds when the source to the shot is located to be an incoming group of guards, all with their weapons out and online.
"Steelwing!" Thundercracker roars in the open com line and one of the guards visibly flinches at the communique.
"Thundercracker, Sir!" the leader of the group greets weakly.
"Why aren't you following procedure?! You know very well to announce through the open com line and wait for a response before you fire!" Thundercracker scolds in a grave serious tone.
"I-. I'm sorry Sir." The red and yellow seeker apologizes while his wings droop low on his back in submission. Behind him the rest of the guards instantly subspaces their weapons again.
"Don't let it happen again! Back to your posts!" Thundercracker orders, before he turns to Skywarp.
"Are you okay?" he asks now that the source of the threat has been identified and taken care of. He drifts closer to her and embraces her in a protective hold. Looking down in her wide shocked optics he tightens the grip slightly.
Snuggling into him she draws on his strength before she slowly nods.
"Yes. Yes I'm fine." She answers. Scenting him, she revels in the closeness and the new scents filling the air from his flight-heated frame – it's heavy and masculine, filled with the scent of a perfectly maintained frame and the intense smell of the potent fuel fuelling his thrusters.
Kissing her forehead reassuringly he fusses over her a bit longer before he leads her towards the residence.
They land on a small flight deck and when she looks down, she realizes that this is the crystals she had identified several orns earlier. All the flight decks are made of crystals in various colors. Awestruck she just stares down at the shimmering surface beneath her thrusters.
"Beautiful, aren't they?" Thundercracker smiles, seeing her wonder.
She nods in stunned awe. "Yes stunningly beautiful."
He allows her time to look around and take in the beauty before he shushes her inside the tower and away from prying optics. With a last glance to the sky and the guards patrolling, he keys the door to close and turns to follow her further inside the tower.
Starscreams personal servant greets them when they arrive at the central stairwell leading up and down in the tower, allowing for a seeker to fly while the few ground bound transformers visiting the Crown is able to get by as well.
"Your eminence." The servant bows before he addresses Thundercracker. "His majesty asked me to pass on the message that he will be out for a few hours. He will be back well within the dark hours."
"Thank you Skyflare. I will be at my chambers if you should need me." Thundercracker dismisses the servant and leads Skywarp up the stairwell.
Hours later Skywarp is straddling Thundercracker on the large berth in his chambers with the male laid out sprawled beneath her and his hands nuzzling her hips while they now and then gently kneads her aft affectionately.
They are both caught up in lively discussions when the door to the chambers is almost slammed open and a livid red, white and blue seeker storms into the room clearly flustered. When Starscream sees the unusual visitor he stops completely in the rant that had built up in his vocalizer and he stares muted at their positions.
"What the frag Thundercracker?!"The Crown of Vos splutters flabbergasted.
"Starscream…" Thundercracker calmly begins and when Skywarp moves to get off of him he firmly holds her in place. "Stay." He adds to her while he doesn't take his optics of off Starscream.
"What is that-… that-… that THING doing here?" Starscream demands, his optics flashing with anger and the insecurity hidden behind the volatile emotions.
"She is not a thing Starscream, and she got a name – Skywarp." Thundercracker admonishes gently, not showing the anger many would in such a confrontation. This was why he had told Skywarp about Starscreams past. He had known this would happen; Starscreams absence at their return had just prolonged the peace for a while.
"Hi." Skywarp greets awkwardly, forcing a smile.
Starscreams anger morphs into barely restrained fury and he is out the door in a flurry and the door slams shut less than a klik later.
"Sorry." She solemnly apologizes.
"Don't worry. He will be back. He just needs to console himself with the fact that he can't have me alone tonight." Thundercracker explains with a little smile. Then he tugs on her "Come here." He coaxes and she leans down.
He lifts his head and gently kisses her while he rolls them around and pushes her down into the berth.
"I'm not going to let go of you, so he will have to accept your presence." He rumbles pleasantly while he nibbles gently at her jaw line and then down her neck. Gently he lets his lips explore her whole frame from head to thrusters and she is a shaky mess when he is done with her thrusters. The lips and the expertly glossa playing with her dangerously rotating turbines drives her near insane with the sensations pinging through her frame.
When both of his hands suddenly flickers her wingtips simultaneously it's too much and she is caught up in a frame rattling overload from the tactile pleasurable touches.
When she comes down from the pleasure and the post overload haze slowly overtakes her tired out processor, Thundercracker gently arranges her on her side on the berth before he leans against her back and embraces her.
"Relax and recharge." He murmurs into her audio. Then he is gone in recharge himself.
With a lazy smile she snuggles into his embrace and drifts off herself.
A few hours later she wakes and frowns when she no longer feels his comforting embrace. Turning on the berth she looks for him and her sluggishly onlining optics clears in an instant. On the opposite side of the berth Thundercracker is hugging Starscream tightly in their sleep with his wings lazily yet clearly deliberately shielding much of the tricolored seeker from view.
A soft smile plays on her lips before she rises and walks to the free side of Starscream. There she lies down again and snuggles into his warm plating, completing the protection Thundercracker provides.
"You're safe." She murmurs before she drifts off into recharge again.
During the following ten orns Skywarp fights to gain Starscreams acceptance, but also, and more importantly his trust. The violent outbursts are lessening and he is no longer fleeing the room when he enters one and she is there. Instead he watches her like a cyber-hawk, prepared for her to attack him at any moment. But she doesn't and slowly he begins to relax around her.
That first morning where he woke sandwiched between the two other seekers had flustered him greatly and even if she hadn't hurt him, he had become wary. She had learned, and Thundercracker had adviced her to not become physical with the other. It had been hard when she woke in the middle of the night and didn't feel his embrace because Starscream had come in after they had begun their recharge and when the Crown of Vos visited his trinemate's chambers it was always because he needed to be reassured.
Right now she is inside one of the higher towers. To her delight that tower's structure is different from the others with open space from floor to roof – plenty space to fly and enjoy oneself without leaving the residence. Igniting her thrusters in root mode she giggles as she spirals all the way to the top of the large cylindrical room while she flares her wings wide and she enjoys the tingling sensations the spinning creates in her spark as her processor fights to process the data transmitted it from her wing sensors. Without the free sky and the open flow of air the data transmitted confuses her processor and it creates a pleasurable and funny feeling inside her whole frame.
When she reaches the ceiling she cuts her thrusters and allows herself to drop from the height only to catcher herself before she crashes into the floor, igniting her thrusters and gain in altitude once again.
Without her knowledge both males are studying her in her silliness, Thundercracker with a fond smile, and Starscream with his arms crossed above his cockpit and an indifferent look on his face. But even if his frame shows no interest, his optics follows every move and when he takes himself in staring he silently huffs before he leaves.
Thundercracker takes his optics off of Skywarp for a moment to watch the departing frame of his trineleader. The smile grows and he knows Starscream is softening.
Then his secured com line bursts to life and with a last glance at the dancing female he retreats back to his little used office in the royal residence.
"Thundercracker here." He answers when he is alone.
"We got clearance." Jazz's happy voice sounds.
"When and where?" Thundercracker answers, his thoughts briefly going to Skywarp and Starscream.
"Three days. Kaon." Is the short reply. "You know the drill. We will wait for you at the rendezvous point to assign you your cover." Jazz adds before the communique is cut.
Three days later Thundercracker leaves the royal residence unannounced to meet up with his colleagues and blend in in Kaon before they strike. The criminal underworld knows to keep their optics open for any enforcer activity and it requires the agents to create trustworthy alibies before they can close in on the brothels and infiltrate them. The highest ranking enforcers in the city state where the mission is to take place creates believable covers for the different agents – meetings, work and other purposes. It is long and tedious work, but necessary to gain the criminals' trust.
While Thundercracker is gone Skywarp is suddenly the target of Starscreams full attention and she doesn't know if she is happy that he seems to finally trust her.
"How was your life?" he tentatively asks one orn. "You know, before Thundercracker?" he adds uncertain.
She spends the rest of that orn explaining everything she remembers from her time as a youngling and up until Thundercracker walked into her room. He seems deeply interested and now and then she is sure she sees emotions in his optics before he manages to hide them.
It's on the third orn everything goes to the Pit.
He is particularly edgy and she doesn't pay enough attention to his emotional state when she asks him about his past. She knows the mistake the instant the words escapes her vocalizer and she's mentally kicking herself. But the damage is done and without Thundercracker there to ease the growing ire, Starscream works himself into an all-out paranoid state.
Suddenly everyone is after him and she cringes when his outbursts turns into screeching.
Hours later she is kicked out of the royal residence by guards – ordered by the Crown of Vos. And even if the guards know that Thundercracker is going to kill them for what they have done they have to obey their Crown – even in his mentally unstable state.
All on her own again, this time without that little room to shelter her and the fuel to keep her online, she fights to keep alive after a few orns of starvation. Alerts warn her constantly about her low energy levels and her tank churns painfully in its empty state. She is only a few orns from entering stasis lock and her flight ability is becoming shaky when her thrusters wants to obey her and online.
Huddled down in the abyss and suffering in the darkness she scavenges for whatever energy she can find. She isn't the only one. To her surprise there is several other seekers fighting for their existence – the back side of the glorious city state.
One and a half orn later she stumbles into a random ruin of a tower hidden away from sight down in the abyss and her dull optics takes in her surroundings. It seems occupied and she frowns – or tries to, but her levels are so low that not much in her frame wants to obey her. She is lucky she even still can walk.
"Who are you?" a light voice sounds from further inside the darkness of the tower.
"Sk-Skywarp." She answers and the activation of her vocalizer finally sends her over the edge and into stasis lock and she tumbles to the floor unconscious and unaware of her surroundings.
Much to her surprise she wakes up again.
When her optics onlines, it's to a colorful and nice room with the owner's personal belonging strewn here and there.
And her tank is full!
And all her levels are normal!
And there are no warnings!
Confused she turns her head to take in more of her surroundings.
The outline of a sleek wing enters her sight and when she tries to see more of the flier, hands reaches towards her and tugs her down into the berth.
"Relax." That light voice from down in the abyss sounds.
"Wh-Where am I?" she asks weakly, her voice hoarse.
"A safe-house." Is the answer – said just a bit too fast, but her processor is too muddled to mull on it.
With a sigh she leans back into the berth clothing and offlines her optics.
"You were lucky." The voice sounds again. "A few more hours and you would have been gone completely." The voice adds.
"I-. Thank you." She says after some time, feeling grateful.
"No need. I do this all the time." The other answers indifferently.
"Still. Thank you." Skywarp murmurs again as she slowly slips into recharge to regain more of her energy.
While Skywarp recovers, Thundercracker returns to Vos and her missing presence after twelve orns. With a wide smile he walks from the flight deck towards his chambers wondering how she is doing. The mission had been a long one and the thoughts of her so far away hadn't made it easier. At least his colleagues had been too caught up in the mission to taunt him or pay him any other attention when his optics turned dreamy.
Keying the door to open he is ready with a happy greeting only to stop at the sight of the empty chambers and the unused berth. Where is she? he wonders.
"Starsc-" he begins when he opens a com line to his trineleader to know where the female is, but he is stopped in his vocalization by the desperate outburst from Starscream.
"THUNDERCRACKER! You're back!" Starscream yells in panic and Thundercracker knows what is required of him. With a sigh and a last glance into his chambers he closes the door and hurries towards Starscreams private chambers. He will need to wait with his questions until Starscream has become himself.
"So, where is she?" Thundercracker asks a few hours later when Starscream finally is able to relax and think coherently again.
"I-." Starscream stutter, frowning. "I don't know." He then says after a few moments.
"You. Don't. Know?" Thundercracker stipulates in deadpan at the words.
"You know how I get during one of my hysterics – I don't remember anything." Starscream growls annoyed.
Thundercracker rises from the berth with a deep sigh.
"Well she isn't in my chambers, so where could she be?" he wonders out loud.
"Maybe she has gone out?" Starscream wonders out loudly. "The guards might know then."
The guards provide the hard facts mercilessly and even if Thundercracker is livid, he can't bring himself to punish either the guards or Starscream for what happened. The guards since they would have suffered consequences if they had disobeyed and because he knows how his trineleader suffer during one of his hysterics. It had just been pure bad luck.
And now she is gone.
And she might be dead.
And he might never see her again.
And he simply can't handle the thought.
Clinging to the last string of hope in his spark he leaves the royal residence to reach his office and start an investigation. Someone must have seen her, and someone might have helped her. He need to believe that she is still alive – if not his spark is going to plague him the rest of his life.
It is telling as he leaves that Starscream doesn't complain and a faint sad smile forms on his lips before he transforms at the fact that Starscream has become fond of her.
It compels him even more to locate her and bring her home.
While Thundercracker gathers his forces to locate her, Skywarp slumbers in a healing recharge, only surfacing now and then when her systems compels her to online and refuel. She is unaware of the things happening around her and the interest she has garnered.
Unknowingly to her she is now affiliated with the very people Thundercracker fights against and this orn one of the leaders of Vos' underworld is visiting the "safe-house".
"This is the female you have found?" the mostly black male leading the group of males visiting the tower asks the female which room Skywarp currently is occupying.
"Yes. She was so close to dying when I found her. I am sure she will be willing to work for you Sir." Starlight, the white and silver female answers eagerly.
"Sir!" one of the males in the group interrupts. When he has the attention of his leader he transmits an image capture from one of their insiders.
The black leader's optics widens minutely before they deepens into a frown and his turbines' whirr increases for a moment.
"Well, well, well. So it seems we have Thundercracker's own little whore among us." The leader of the group utters in displeasure. Everyone in the room goes completely rigid at the mentioning of their worst enemy's name and they stare in horror at the still recharging female on the berth.
"Starlight – you have disappointed me. How could you bring this ticking time bomb to one of our "safe-houses"?" the male demands, turning to the owner of the room.
"Sir-… M-Master. I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know. I just found her down in the abyss." The female apologizes but the cold optics trained on her shuts her up and she lowers her head in submission.
"What are we going to do with her?" one of the other males asks.
"Sell her. I want her out of Vos. If Thundercracker is still fond of her then we can at least spite him this way." The leader says with a cruel smile playing on his lips. "He is never going to see her again, and if he by chance should, I'm sure she will be so defiled that he doesn't even want to touch her." He chuckles darkly.
"Do it! I'm done here." He growls. "But you! I'm not done with you yet, female!" he snarls turning towards the trembling white and silver female. "All these privileges and then you do THIS!" he accuse. "You might have risked this whole tower with your action!"
When she is about to speak up to defend herself he takes two steps towards her and backhands her. "I won't hear anything from you. I hear they need a new stock of females in Kaon." He snaps his fingers and two males from the group parts from it and walks toward her. "Have her fitted with the coding and shipped to Kaon." He orders coldly ignoring the litany of begging words escaping the female at the order.
She is dragged from the room and he glances one last time on the still calmly recharging Skywarp. "Make sure that, that one ends somewhere far away from here." He offhandedly adds before he leaves the room.
While Skywarp peacefully recharge, she is unaware that she has been sold to a brothel in Helix and that plans are being made to transport her out of Vos.
The black and purple female wakes by her empty fuel tank and sluggishly she looks around. She has become used to Starlight's well-known presence whenever she wakes, so the fact that the other female is missing alerts her to an unseen danger, but after a few thoughts she lets the feeling go. Of course the other female has other things to take care of than caring for Skywarp.
It's first when the door opens and reveals not Starlight but three males that Skywarp knows certainly that something is gravely wrong. She tries to sit up and get out of the berth before they are closing in on her, but seeing her attempt to flee they jump her. Screaming in distress she fights a losing fight against them. Then suddenly everything is spinning and she feels how her nonexistent energy is drained from her being as the world around her deforms and reforms. Emerging from the teleportation a few levels below she enters unconsciousness instantly due to the massive energy loss at teleporting herself and three others.
"You certainly are interesting." A voice greets her when she regains consciousness a few orns later. When she turns her head towards the sound the frame of a mostly black male is revealed to her. He is sitting calmly on the edge of her berth studying her intensely.
"Wha-?" she breaths, her processor feeling like someone has hit the insides of her head with a sledge hammer.
"Not only are you his, but you are a teleporter too." He chuckles and the sound causes a chill to run down her backstrut.
"You know Thundercracker?" she asks warily, somehow knowing that by saying his, he means the blue male.
"Oh yes I do. Not that I have ever met him personally. But I know of him and I know about your affiliation with him." He answers with a knowing smirk.
Then his demeanor shifts completely and he stares coldly down at her.
"Are you going to behave? Or do I need to have someone pay your dear Thundercracker a deadly visit?" he demands.
She hardens her optics and turns her head in defiance. Thundercracker is strong and knows how to handle himself – these thugs are nothing.
The male leans in and his lips briefly grace her audio.
"We still got people inside the royal residence little Miss. Just a few drops of a cosmic rust solution into his energon and he is no more. Now are you going to behave or not?!" he cruelly smiles.
Starscreams pained expression when she asked to his past flickers in her memory and she knows that the male is deadly serious – they will target Thundercracker if she doesn't cooperate.
She keeps her head turned away but he can see the defeat on her face.
"Yes. I will behave." She says and the words are barely more than a whisper.
"Good little female." He appraises and he pets her cheek mockingly before he rises. "Now, let's get on with business." He announces and another male steps into her view.
They fit her with inhibitors to her thrusters which prevents her from onlining them and flee. Then she is lead out of the tower, which as she is lead out of the room turns out to be a brothel filled with ground bound females. Unable to watch what soon will be her own life again she offlines her optics and allows them to peacefully lead her out. A purple and black shuttle former waits outside the tower and she learns that his name is BlastOff before she's roughly forced inside him.
A breem late the shuttle takes off and she is secretly transported out of Vos shielded from the watchful radar of the enforcers.
"Thundercracker… Help me…" She begs with tears in the corners of her optics as she watches Vos' beautiful skyline become smaller and smaller.
Skywarps transfer from the tower and into the shuttle former didn't go completely unnoticed but when the information reaches the enforcers two orns has passed and it is too late to do anything. She could be anywhere on the planet.
"FIND HER!" the Crown of Vos' shrill voice rings out through the whole tower and the gathered enforcers, spurring them into action. Starscream isn't going to give up, neither is Thundercracker and they are going to set sky and ground in motion to locate her.
"Thundercracker, am I right in my assumption that she will be forced back into her old life?" Starscream coldly asks when he turns to his blue trinemate.
"Yes. She will be a pleasurebot again." Thundercracker sighs, hiding his own troubled feelings.
"Fetch me a sample of the damned coding. It's time I do something!" Starscream demands, his optics whitening with a rarely seen rage. Whatever happens from now on Thundercracker knows that Starscream is going to be just like his sire – declaring war. But this time they aren't going to fail in protecting their Crown! And even if Skywarp is alive solely thanks to people in the underworld, any thankfulness Thundercracker and Starscream might have felt is drowning in the fact that her fate among the criminals is to be one of their pleasure slaves. If they had been wise enough to just return her then they wouldn't face this change in the Crown of Vos.
Even in all the direness Thundercracker can't help the smirk at the radical change in his trineleader.
Then it fades and his facial features harden.
A war is coming and he needs to prepare everyone. With an air of determination around him he walks towards his office, intent on discussing the upcoming conflict inside Vos with his colleagues located around the planet. The war on Vos' criminals is going to be felt in the other city states and they need to take advantage of it.
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