Chapter Seven: Removed
Orns passed. When the day of their expedition came and went, Starscream felt coldness drive itself between himself and his friend. Very little was said between them, save for questions and answers tossed between them during work. Nothing was said when off shift. It was as if his friend was replaced with a ghost; no interaction, he could see him, but not touch, he could hear him, but not speak.
Starscream had learned that another team had been selected for the trip. The two scientists were barely known, but they were the only ones free at the time, and of course willing to fill in the abandoned roles.
Skyfire sat where he usually sat, silently working. Recently, Starscream had suggested that the mass found at the centers of the deceased bacteria were actually fundamental parts of its creation. Taking this suggestion, Skyfire worked to discover just what it was…but refused to speak to Starscream about it further.
The red jet fidgeted. "Skyfire…"
"Don't."
"Skyfire, please…"
Skyfire's grip on the datapad before him increased. Starscream thought he heard the machinery squeal in protest. "I can't believe I listened to you…"
"You…didn't have to…"
Skyfire's optics shot up to his. "No. I didn't have to. But I did…because I trusted you. I was stupid, giving into your illogical fantasies. Who cares if we did die in that expedition, Starscream?" He tossed the datapad aside. "Wasn't it you who said, 'you only live once'? You played me for a fool, Starscream. I don't know what your real intentions are, but I should have known from the start that this was all some sort of game, some sort of ruse. The way you act with all this," he motioned towards their research. "It's like you knew about it for ages! I'm stumbling along and you're sailing through it."
"Are you…insinuating that I am trying to undermine you somehow?" Starscream could scarcely believe his audio receptors.
"If not that, then what are you doing?" Skyfire lowered his voice. "You bring out this discovery, you could care less about it, you get me to interface with you and then pull this ridiculous 'dream' ploy and get me to cancel the expedition…how do you think this is going to look in the optics of the council, Starscream? They're going to want an explanation!"
"I did not force you to not take the expedition," Starscream scowled, his voice rising. "You're the one who refused to take another partner!"
"I had no choice!"
Starscream's optics narrowed as he stood, his hands clenching the edges of the counter. "I saved your life, Skyfire, and you don't even know it!"
"Shut up already with that inane dream! Are your logic circuits fried?!"
"You depend on yours too much!" Starscream moved away from the counter, but not before shoving the reports he had had before him to the ground. He stormed to the door, opened it, then stormed down the hallway…only to find the Councilmembers making their way up the hallway. "Council…members…why…"
"No time for pleasantries, Starscream," one spoke, pointing back towards their laboratories. "Please make your way back. We have some important issues to discuss with both you and Skyfire."
Starscream frowned but did as he was told, circling back to the laboratory to find Skyfire sitting with his head in his hands. When Skyfire managed to look up, Starscream gave a small shake of his head right before the councilmembers entered.
Skyfire moved to stand up, but they waved him to sit.
"We don't come here on pleasant business, so I will get right to the point," the first councilmember said. "Since your…removal from the expedition, the senate has called into question our findings and is asking for an investigation into our new cellular research, stating that we may have falsified our evidence to obtain grant money."
"But that's a lie!" Starscream frowned. "Everything here is legitimate!"
"Then why did you two remove yourselves from the expedition? The collection of live samples is very conducive to this research…you might as well have not even begun the research at all," the second councilmember said. "You do know that we will have to switch this project from you to our new team."
"There are a lot of discrepancies in your work," the first councilmember continued. He looked each scientist in the optics and cycled a sigh. "We have no choice but to place you both under suspension, without pay, pending the investigation into your research."
"Suspension?" Starscream scowled. "Without pay? What are we to live on? This is absurd!"
"If your research is sound, Starscream, you have nothing to worry about," the second councilmember said. They moved to the door. "You have one orn to vacate the premises."
Starscream could only watch as the two left, leaving them alone. His optics turned to Skyfire.
"It's just as well," the larger mech said softly. "It was too good to be true. It…all was."
…….
The two soon found themselves living on the outskirts of the military installment, pooling their savings to rent a room in a residence of an older mech who was once also a warrior but left the military…but couldn't leave completely and now worked in energon shipping.
Skyfire kept himself busy with freelance assisting, something he considered debasing and below him, but the last thing he needed was inquiries into why he needed these jobs.
Starscream, however, upon their suspension, became interested in the news, engrossing himself in the political pages. Unrest was evident throughout the states, but the news reporters either refused to investigate matters fully, or were forced not to. "Reporters can be so cunning," he muttered to himself. "They twist their words about to make it seem as if they are not really saying what they are. The senate is stockpiling credits and energon while the outlying states are beginning to feel the effects of the beginning of a famine. They're going to start cutting jobs within the military…only this time I am here to witness it."
He switched pages on the datapad and was introduced to the faces of two mechs, two scientists, the ones who had replaced them on the expedition. He scowled and deleted the news from the datapad without reading the headline, and tossed the datapad aside. "Forget Skyfire. He is ungrateful as he is stubborn. He honestly thought I was trying to undermine him somehow! We…we were a team," he frowned. "We were more than a team."
The datapad beeped, signaling an incoming message. He grasped up the datapad and read it. "We regret to inform you that…you have been terminated from active military service after investigation into…what?! Our research was not unfounded! Those miserable addle cranial united morons!" The screen of the datapad cracked from the pressure of his hands. He turned and threw it against one of the berths in the room, where it shattered. "How dare they say that it is unfounded?! Do they know how much work we put into this?!"
"Obviously not enough."
Starscream whirled around, seething. Skyfire stood in the doorway, his own datapad in hand. The red jet calmed. "We should petition them, Skyfire…"
"Petition all you want," Skyfire entered the room and picked up a box full of his belongings. He was a rather simple mech, and carried few mementos with him, so Starscream was not surprised when the larger mech could fit his whole life in one container. "I'm going, Starscream. I won't be coming back."
"…what?" Starscream could barely register the words. "You're…leaving? You're leaving me here?"
"I can't do this anymore. I can't pretend that I have no animosity towards you. You got us fired, Starscream. I don't care what the circumstances are…my career and reputation are ruined."
"They were going to fire us anyway, Skyfire! They're firing mechs left and right, the senate is just using this to cover up their retraction of grant money, they're stockpiling it for themselves because a famine is going to hit…!"
"No, Starscream, don't. I don't want to hear of anymore of your dreams or visions or whatever they are. I'm not interested," Skyfire turned towards the door. His shoulders slumped. "Please, Starscream, see someone about this. You're unhealthy."
"No, Skyfire, you can't go!" Starscream raced over and tugged on Skyfire's arm, only to be shoved backwards. "Please! I'm begging you!"
The white jet shook his head and left. The door slid shut behind him, leaving Starscream alone.
"You…left me," Starscream's voice squeaked out. He sank to his knees, his hand reaching out for where Skyfire was. "You can't leave me!" He scowled, his fist clenching even as he felt his internals wrench upon themselves. "You can't leave me!"
When the door remained shut, and no one entered, and silence fell over his audios, an uncontrolled shudder wracked his chassis.
His hand lowered and the scowl ran away from his face, replaced with sorrow.
"You…you really did leave me…and I was helpless to stop it…"
"…again…"
