Title: Of Younglings and Seekers

Rating: K+

Universe: Movie 07/09 verse (AU)

Characters: Youngling Bluestreak, Prowl, Barricade, Hound, Sunstreaker and a certain Aerial Commander

Warnings: Fluff, use of profanities May contain spoilers for Reign of Starscream, TF Defiance, and ROTF

Disclaimer: Not mine, I just toy with with them and hand them back in less than pristine condition.

Summary: Starscream discovers that not all Autobots are afraid of him

A request from Hiding In My Writing, so here it is Hun hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! This one shot was inspired by Starscream's behaviour toward the hatchlings in the 2009 movie.


It was a fact. Starscream officially hated Earth, not that he liked the tiny little mud ball in the first place. There was only one reason why he had come to this pathetic planet in the first place, and that had been to retrieve the Allspark before the Autobots did. The F22 Raptor had been quite happy to proceed back to Cybertron and put his plans into motion which included building a new Allspark and ridding himself of the last remnants of Autobot resistance. However those plans had quickly been blown to the pits as although he had managed to create a new Allspark per se, two forces had stopped him from taking control of Cybertron; naturally the Autobots were there to stop him after they had seen some of their comrades sparks being sacrificed for the supposed new cube, then there was that snivelling back stabbing coward Dreadwing who had thrown a spanner in the works.

So now here he was back on this miserable little planet looking for large quantities of energy that could be converted into energon and then shipped back to the Nemesis where numerous cocooned hatchlings were depending upon it for survival. Starscream had been none too pleased when the newly resurrected Megatron (an unprecedented factor in his new plans that had involved restoring the original Allspark) demanded a total rebuild of the Nemesis, which meant much of the materials and the last watts of energy keeping the hatchlings alive had been removed and rerouted. The F22 Raptor had pleaded (an act he found disgusting) to his leader to spare at least thirty percent of the hatchlings, only to be granted with half that number. Now he understood why the Autobots were so over protective of one small life to the point they would die for him, however that was one difference between him and them as if it came down to it, he would rather sacrifice a couple of hatchlings to spare his own life.

The Decepticon's 2IC and Aerial commander had never been fond of sparklings or younglings unless of course they were either in a maturation sac or in recharge since they couldn't irritate him with their ceaseless babble, but what was more irritating for Starscream was the line of coding woven deeply into his programming that compelled him when needed too, to protect either a sparkling or a youngling from harm. The F22 Raptor had tried to delete the coding on many occasions but it was simply too far encoded into his programming to get rid of it. Of course Megatron knew of its existence and used it to keep Starscream and his trine mates in order by either terminating or sparing a young Cybertronian, however the aerial commander only became more bitter rather than subservient like his comrades had become, with each hatchling sacrificed.

But right now he had other things to preoccupy his mind with such as his aerial patrol which was soon coming to an end as well as his ordered search for a new energon source. The silver Raptor dropped to a new altitude and stretched his sensors as far as he could although they could barely penetrate through the thick fog that had suddenly enclosed around him. Starscream knew he had two options; either rise above it and miss a potential energon source on the ground or continue through it and run the risk of running into an unforeseen object. He decided upon his third choice; land and wait to see if the fog lifted or at least thinned out. After all he wasn't due to report in for another few hours at least. The silver Raptor transformed into his root mode and descended through the trees until his clawed peds touched the cold, dew covered ground below. His crimson optics immediately scanned his surroundings whilst keen audio receptors listened out for any sound that could prove harmful to him, but so far all he could hear was birds singing in the trees and the wind rustling the leaves and the undergrowth. Starscream knew he was vulnerable out here since the Autobots and the humans NEST teams conducted long range patrols in various parts of the world, but the Raptor was more than capable of taking on any Autobot stupid enough to attack him.

Then he heard it. A rustle in the undergrowth not far from his position, he knew there was a chance that it could be one of this planet's many lifeforms heading in his direction. But what he was not prepared for was the Cybertronian energy signature his sensors suddenly detected. The silver Raptor snarled to himself and powered up his weapons.

"Slag's sake, can't get five fraggin' minutes of peace." Starscream cursed as he watched the spot where he thought his enemy would appear from vigilantly. However what he was not prepared for was the sight of a small grey form stumbling out from the undergrowth, little sensory panels held high in distress. The Raptor wasn't sure what to make of the sight before him or whether he should feel lucky that the Autobot's youngling was but a few metres away, he knew that if the bitlet was here then the other Autobots couldn't be that far away, it was just a question of where or how far? Starscream deactivated his weapons systems and shifted slightly on his peds instantly alerting the small grey Cybertronian to his presence, the distraught youngling froze before baby blue optics met crimson ones. The Raptor watched as sensory panels drooped down upon the little one's back whilst absolute fear began to show in the youngling's frame and optics. Suddenly the irritating youngling protection programming sprung to life much to Starscream's annoyance and began relaying instructions on how to deal with the frightened little one before him, the Raptor grumbled to himself as it went against his Decepticon morals but none the less he lowered himself into a crouch slowly as not to startle the young Cybertronian nor intimidate him with his height.

"It's alright little one." Starscream said softly as he held his clawed hands up in a placating manner, he noticed how closely the youngling was watching him, gauging his actions. A trait no doubt inherited from his troublesome (to the Decepticons anyway) parents "I won't harm you." The youngling still refused to move from where he was frozen to the spot so the Raptor decided to scrutinise him closely, the little one was perfectly healthy in every way and his current rate of development showed that he would be coming up for his next upgrade very shortly. He also happened to notice the distinct likeness he had to the Autobot's 2IC, except the chevron and the wings were different in their own unique way, which showed good strong Praxian genes, although now the pure genetic imprint had been tainted by the Polyhexian coding from the Autobot saboteur.

"You're not like the others." A timid voice said drawing Starscream out of his reverie.

The Raptor glanced at the youngling curiously "Oh what makes you say that?"

"The others would have grabbed me by now or started sayin' nasty words about Optimus and the others." The little one replied "and you would have called ole bucket head here by now too." Starscream quirked an optic ridge up in amusement. Old Bucket head? There had to be no doubt that the youngling was referring to Megatron; after all that insult was often used by the other Autobots amongst other more creative and vile ones.

"I might have already done so and he could be on his way here now to claim you." The silver Raptor said, he saw a frown appear upon the little one's facial plates, a reaction completely different to the one he had been expecting.

"Daddy says its not nice to lie." The youngling scolded him, little sensory panels flaring. Starscream was startled slightly by that. Was it that easy for the little mechlet to read him "you don't like old mean bucket head so you haven't called him."

'Brave and smart.' The Raptor thought to himself "You're right little one, I don't like him."

The youngling frowned "Then why do you listen to him if he's mean and bossy?"

Starscream stared at the small grey mechlet, was he really having this conversation with a juvenile? He wasn't exactly sure how to answer the young Autobot as he had far too many reasons why he still followed the Decepticon tyrant, the unborn hatchlings aboard the Nemesis being one of them. The Raptor saw the expectant look upon the little one's facial plates and knew he was waiting for an answer, but Starscream decided to steer the youngling away from the current topic.

"Where are the other Autobots?" Starscream asked.

"I don't know." The little one replied quietly, sensory panels drooping upon his back "I wandered off when I'm not supposed too and now I'm lost and they don't know where I am." The Raptor was surprised at that revelation, he knew he could quite easily take advantage of the situation and grab the youngling, but the fragging line of coding blatantly told him that he was to protect the little one not harm him in anyway. However he couldn't help but laugh at the idiotic Autobots irresponsibility by losing their most precious member.

"Wandering off can be dangerous for younglings." Starscream told the little one as he folded one leg beneath him and sat on it before resting his right forearm upon the still raised bent knee joint. Crimson optics never leaving the small grey form who was clutching his hands tightly in front of his chest plates.

"I know but I don't know what to do." The little grey mechlet uttered.

"I assume you don't know how to send out a signal beacon?" The Raptor inquired, the youngling glanced at him in confusion before shaking his helm "obviously not, fraggin' stupid Autobots do they not teach their young anything about survival?"

A scowl appeared upon the little one's facial plates whilst sensory panels flared "That's not very nice, take that back!" An amused smile curled one side of Starscream's lip components, if this young Autobot had been another from his faction, the Raptor would have terminated him by now for his insolence. However the Decepticon 2IC was fascinated by the mere fact that this youngling was not in the least bit frightened by him which meant he was either stupid or very brave.

Suddenly thunder rumbled overhead which had Starscream cursing vehemently under his breath as the last thing he wanted was to be caught out in the middle of a rain storm, he was about to transform into his terrestrial form so he could escape the storm before it truly moved in, but distressed whimpers from the youngling had him change his mind entirely. After all despite his Decepticon nature, he couldn't possibly leave the little one stranded in the middle of a thunderstorm. Another clap of thunder echoed across sky which had the youngling unexpectedly running toward him and tucking his little cold grey form into his left side. The Raptor was taken by complete surprise at the rather bold move and was about to push the little one away when the clouds finally dropped their load upon them. Starscream heard the distressed whimpers being intermittently broken by sparkling clicks and warbles from the Autobot youngling before he found himself picking the little one up and cradling him closer to his chassis. The youngling let out a whirl from his vocaliser before snuggling in closer to the warm plating before resting his helm against broad chest plates where he could hear the strong steady beating of a fuel pump and the pulsing of a spark.

"See you're different." The little one murmured before flinching when another clap of thunder rumbled above them.

"Hmm." The silver Raptor hummed as he minutely tightened his hold on the youngling. He allowed his mind to wander although he kept his senses sharp; after all he didn't want to be caught out by the Autobots when they came looking for the little one or by his own faction. He couldn't quite describe the emotion he was feeling towards the youngling at that moment in time as he sheltered him from the storm, besides the strong protective want clouding parts of his processor. He knew that this would be the only opportunity he would get at being able to hold a young life in his arms as the hatchlings aboard the Nemesis were likely to either die or as soon as they reached the emergence stage, their sparks would be transplanted into adult protoforms. He suddenly felt a lot more angry at Megatron for the destruction of so many young lives, although the Decepticon tyrant would tell him that it had all been for the 'good' of the 'cause'. Starscream snorted at that, the air escaping from his vents appearing as a white mist before him. The so called 'cause' Megatron had started out with all those millennia ago had been lost through the long years of waging a war over first the lack of support from Optimus' team when it came to protecting their home planet from alien attacks, to the rule over Cybertron and then over the possession of the Allspark.

The silver Raptor glanced up past the tree tops to see the storm beginning to intensify in its ferocity, he knew he could be there for a while so he powered down all non-essential systems although he kept his external temperature the same before settling into wait for the moment he could leave.


Prowl was worried. In fact he was just about ready to fry his logic circuits with the worry consuming his frame. His fuel pump was beating frantically in his chest as was his spark when he continued to see no sign of his son anywhere. The tactician cursed himself for letting Bluestreak out of his sight for just a single second, and now he had lost him in the forest in a thick fog and now a thunderstorm as the warm weather front continued to move in. His door wings twitched back and forth, their sensors extended to their highest limits in order to make sure that no minute energy signature went unnoticed. The others which consisted of Barricade, Hound and Sunstreaker were also concerned for the youngling's well being as they continued their frantic search for the young Autobot. The former of the two were a few metres ahead trying to track down any sign that his creation had come this way, but the heavy rain wasn't making it easy for them in the slightest. He couldn't help but think of the possibilities that Bluestreak could have fallen and was now seriously injured somewhere or his worst fear; the youngling had run into Decepticons.

The Dodge Charger knew that if they didn't find Bluestreak now then they would have to request for another team join him in the search which meant that there was a chance that Prowl would never hear the end of this from his bonded. Suddenly his door wings flared upwards when they detected an energy signature not far from their position, however it was not the one he was hoping for.

"I'm detecting a Decepticon signal several hundred metres to the south west of our position." The tactician reported.

"Same here." Hound responded.

"Frag it all to the pit and back, I've found Bluestreak's tracks and they slaggin' head in that same direction." Barricade told them as he stood up fully drawing his weapon from sub-space. The Dodge Charger felt his fuel pump almost stall in his chest at those words before he found himself running toward the Decepticon signal, praying to Primus for his son's son return.

"Prowl wait!" Sunstreaker shouted as he and the others chased after the military strategist whilst carelessly shoving young trees aside and stomping upon the undergrowth.

Prowl heard his comrades frantically calling for him but he had only one thing on his mind; retrieving Bluestreak. He slipped in the mud several times during his frantic run and he knew his paint work would require a complete overhaul when he got back to Diego Garcia but he couldn't care less about that right now. Finally he spotted a silver form sat upon the rain soaked forest floor just inside a ring of trees, he instantly recognised the frame configuration as Starscream. The tactician removed his acid pellet rifle from sub-space as he took up position behind a large tree, he immediately directed the others into position the moment they arrived although he could tell his older brother wanted to chew him out for his recklessness first. The Dodge Charger scrutinised the Raptor closely as he seemed far too relaxed for his liking, not too mention that Starscream should have detected them by now. His assumption was quickly proven to be correct when the large silver flier glanced over his shoulder and in their general direction.

"You call yourself a tactician, I heard you coming from several fraggin' clicks away." Starscream told him but there was no movement to draw a weapon or escape, from him.

"Where is he?" Prowl hissed angrily as he stalked towards the Raptor, azure optics blazing and door wings held high and rigid on his back.

"Where he should be … safe." Starscream replied as he shifted his bulk, his new position revealed to the tactician where his son was at that moment in time. The Dodge Charger found himself nearly glitching as he tried to comprehend the fact that Bluestreak was recharging in the arms of one of their enemy.

"What have you done to him?" The door winged mech demanded, he probed along the creator/creation spark link to find that his son was well and was simply recharging.

"Nothing." The silver flier replied as he pushed himself up onto his clawed peds, his crimson optics never leaving the little grey form snuggled close to his chassis, however he did glance away from the youngling and easily met the Autobot 2IC's gaze. Prowl was surprised by the amount of emotion being shown in the Raptor's optics in that one look as Starscream showed nothing but cold blooded hatred to them whenever they met on the battlefield. His grip tightened upon his weapon when the Raptor made his way across to him "life is too precious to waste or to lose, you'll do well to remember that next time you let him out of your sight." The silver flier gently handed the youngling over to Prowl before taking a couple of steps backwards, the tactician gave Starscream a questioning glance but the Raptor simply transformed and took off leaving two stunned Autobots and one ex-con in his wake.

Starscream immediately headed out of Earth's atmosphere and made his way back to the Nemesis. His emotions were currently conflicted as programming fought against Decepticon morals and beliefs, however he simply pushed it all aside as he entered the severely damaged remains of the large flagship, ignoring any gaze cast in his direction as he moved through the hallways and towards one of the storage compartments. When he arrived he entered the code and proceeded inside, he was greeted with the sight of more than a few dozen glowing hatchling cocoons. The Raptor vented a sigh out of his intakes before making his way over, he laid one of his clawed hands upon of the lower maturation sacks.

"I won't let anything happen to you." He murmured as he glanced at the other developing protoforms. There was no way he was going to allow Megatron to destroy these last few survivors, not whilst he had enough spark beating inside of his chest.


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