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A Matter Of Trust

Trust me! Sam databurst again as he saw horror at what he had done reflected in Ratchet's optics. Before Ratchet could reply or react, Sam sprang for Ratchet, bearing him to the ground, planting one big hand on his chest, extended claws touching (but not denting) the armour, as his other hand kept Ratchet's lethal saw-arm pinned to the ground.

"Lord Megatron, let us help you dispatch these weakling Autobots." said Starscream.

That was the last thing Sam wanted. He turned his head.

"You think I am incapable of dealing with three offlined and one captive Autobot, Starscream?" Sam said in a low, quiet voice, allowing the menace to colour his tone again. It worked.

"N-no, Lord Megatron, not at all, I thought merely to render assistance if you desired it." Starscream said, clearly scared now.

"Autobots made me suffer by interfering with me while I was thought to be deactivated. I will make them suffer in my own way and in my own time. I need no assist in my deserved revenge." he said, keeping the menace in his tone.

"Of course not, Lord Megatron, they are yours to deal with as you see fit." Starscream said. He sounded disappointed as well as scared, but at least he was not trying to challenge him, which was a good sign. It was one of the others who did not take the hint.

"Lord Megatron, you can't keep all the fun to yourself. Let us join in, I haven't ripped an Autobot apart for a millennia or two." one of the other jets said coldly.

Sam looked at the speaker, not sure which of the two had spoken. Although Sam's optics were blue, the intensity of his gaze made the flyer step back. The problem was that Starscream had not identified the two fliers separately, so he had no idea which of the two, Thuindercracker or Skywarp, had just spoken. He had to challenge him, but if he got the name wrong, he could lose his authority, and maybe his believability.

Something of his concern must have been apparent to Ratchet, who must have also worked out what he was doing and guessed his dilemma, for Sam got a short, quiet databurst of a single word from the captive medic beneath him.

Skywarp. Ratchet 'said'.

"I am perfectly capable of extinguishing their Sparks by myself. Challenge my authority again, Skywarp, and your Spark can join those of the Autobots in oblivion." he said, feeling slightly unwell at the threat he was making. It had obviously been the right thing to say, however, for Skywarp backed off.

"I-I meant no disrespect, my Lord." Skywarp whimpered. "Please forgive me!" Sam ignored him, turning to speak to the group as a whole.

"Return to Base, all of you, and I shall follow when I am done here." Sam said, belatedly realising that maybe he should have confirmed with Ratchet that they had a base. "If I deem you worthy, I may bring one back alive for you to play with for a while."

"Right away, Lord Megatron." Starscream said, sounding a little happier. "May I suggest that you bring back the two who dared to lay hands on your person? We will see to it that they pay dearly for the insult."

"Starscream, must you always challenge me? I have said I may bring one back for you. Go, now, or must I make a painful example of you to the rest? I will not tolerate treachery in my ranks, a traitor can expect only death."

Starscream backed off, sounding panicked.

"No, please, my Lord Megatron, I'm more use to you alive, please! I'm loyal, I'm no traitor! Decepticons, transform and return to Base, Lord Megatron will join us in his own time."

Sam watched as the three fliers all wasted no time in lifting from the ground, Starscream first, before transforming and taking off at speed. The four larger non-flying Decepticons also transformed back into vehicle form, while the little but lethal Frenzy scrambled back into his place in Barricade's chest compartment.

Sam turned his attention back to Ratchet. Much as he would have liked to have watched the other Decepticons leave until they were out of sight, it was something he thought Megatron would be unlikely to do, and he did not wish to risk blowing his own cover, even with the three fliers now distant dots in the sky. Looking at Ratchet, who was either a good actor or still genuinely scared of Sam when so helpless and vulnerable under Sam's large clawed hand, Sam hoped the brief shuttering of one optic-the nearest gesture he could make to a wink-would reassure the medic. He could not be certain, but he thought he felt Ratchet relax a little under his hands.

He counted five minutes, and, confident that they would all be gone - and not hearing engine noises to suggest otherwise - Sam lifted his hands off Ratchet, retracting his claws, and releasing the green Autobot.

"I'm sorry, Ratchet, I had to be sure they were gone." Sam explained as Ratchet sat up. "Bumblebee's just been stunned, I thought I had best take him out, using a non-lethal setting, before any of the Decepticons decided to shoot him themselves."

"Sam, you would have made an excellent actor if you were still human. You were quite scary, and I knew you wouldn't really turn on us. If I hadn't known better, I would have believed you to be Megatron." Ratchet told Sam as he got up, and moved over to check Bumblebee, and then moved over to the red mech. "Sam, could you go and bring Sunstreaker over here by Bumblebee? I'd like to check them over, they are likely to need some basic repairs before they head back for base." the medic said, stooping to pick up his red patient.

Sam guessed that Sunstreaker was the yellow mech that had been downed by the fliers when they had found him. Sam went over, saw the marks the laser had made on the head of the yellow mech, and winced: the metal looked stressed. The mech would probably have one heck of a headache when he woke. Stooping, Sam carefully lifted the yellow mech into his arms, who was bigger than Bumblebee, but still, beside Sam, comparatively small.

He must have already been regaining consciousness, for the movement made him groan, and his optics unshuttered and flickered. They flared to full brightness, and then widened as Sunstreaker's processors, obviously undamaged, registered the face above him as that of a lethal enemy. Sam heard a whine as Sunstreaker's right arm reconfigured to a cannon not unlike (although bigger) than Bumblebee's. Sam suddenly found himself looking down the business end of it as Sunstreaker brought it to bear on Sam's face. Sam's reaction was purely instinctive, as he dropped Sunstreaker and threw himself to one side.

The cannon went off, but between Sunstreaker's fall and Sam's dodge, the bolt did not connect with anything. As Sam rolled back to his feet, he saw that Ratchet, too had acted. Ratchet had run over to Sunstreaker, and grabbed his cannon, pointing it to the ground, saying "Sunstreaker, stop that!"

"Ratchet, it's Megatron!" Sunstreaker's optics had located the red mech. "Sides?" There was no movement from the red mech, and Sunstreaker swung around to face Sam, anger clearly displayed on his face as he pulled his cannon from Ratchet's grip, swinging it around to bear on Sam again. "What have you done to my brother, you worthless heap of scrap metal?"

Ratchet's gasp was enough to tell Sam that to a Cybertronian, that had to be a strong insult. As Sam tensed and got ready to dodge again, he crossed his wrists at chest level, although he had an idea that 'surrendering' would do no good: Sunstreaker would likely try to shoot him anyway.

"Sunstreaker, stand down your weapons now! Do you seriously believe that if Sam there was Megatron, you'd still be alive after what you just called him? Look at him, standing in front of you, wrists crossed! Megatron's response to your comment could have been one of many, but surrendering wouldn't have been one of them!" Ratchet had by now got to Sunstreaker and was pushing his cannon groundwards again.

This obviously gave Sunstreaker something to think about.

"But-he looks like Megatron, and we were attacked!" he said, still not powering down his cannon but, Sam was relieved to see, not fighting Ratchet's grip on it either. "Just look at the state of my paintwork!" Sure enough, as well as the laser burn on his head, Sunstreaker had several very nasty-looking scratches in his paintwork, and a couple of dents to his bodywork.

"Attacked, yes, but by three Seekers, not by Sam there." Ratchet told him. "In fact, Sam is the reason you're still here, and alive. Sam managed to persuade the Decepticons that he was Megatron and would deal with you himself, or you might have been torn apart here, or worse, captured and subjected to the not-so-tender mercies of Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp. Considering how much of a nuisance you've made of yourself to those three Seekers, I don't think I need to tell you that between Skywarp's vicious tendencies, and Starscream's scientific curiosity, cruelty, and inventiveness, I don't think they would have made your death quick or painless. Between three fliers and four ground-bounds - two of those quite large - they could have easily taken you back with them had Sam not intervened. Starscream actually asked to be allowed to take you and your brother back to deal with personally, and Sam was able to refuse, and give Starscream a fright for asking in the first place." Ratchet chuckled.

There was a groan from the red mech, and that took Sunstreaker's attention. Both he and Ratchet moved over to the red mech's side. Sam decided to stay where he was with his wrists still crossed, although he sat, to make himself less threatening.

"Sideswipe! Sides, are you okay?" asked Sunstreaker. "Don't worry about Old Megs over there, I have it on good authority from Ratchet that he's just someone who looks like him."

"Then who or what hit me?" said Sideswipe, sitting up and raising one hand to his head. "I feel like I've been whacked by the back end of a space bridge!" He stood up.

"It was one of the three Seekers, either Starscream, Skywarp, or Thundercracker. They got me, too, and it's a good thing for us that the Megatron look-alike over there was about. From what Ratchet said, he apparently saved our afts from Starscream's lot." Sunstreaker told his brother.

Sideswipe gave an alarming-sounding growl.

"Next time I see that Seeker, I'm gonna hammer his aft into a shovel!" he said.

"I'll join you, brother, and we can punish all three of them, after all, we don't know who fired, so we'll make the three of them pay!" Sunstreaker said.

"Will you two aft-heads lie down, or will I have to stun you myself in order to patch you up?" grumbled Ratchet at them, grabbing Sideswipe's shoulder and pushing him back to a sitting position. The Twins, with a little more verbal sniping, finally acquiesced, and as Ratchet was completing a running repair on Sunstreaker (he treated Sideswipe first), Bumblebee came to with a groan.

Ratchet was by him in an instant.

"Sam only shot you to stop the Decepticons doing so first. Don't be scared of Sam, Bumblebee, he kept those Decepticons from tearing us apart." He chuckled again. "Sam put on such a good act, he out-deceived the Decepticons."

"Uhhh….okay, Ratchet." said Bumblebee, after looking over at where Sam was sat, maintaining his non-threatening surrender pose. "Are you okay, Sam?" Bumblebee lifted a hand to beckon him over. Sam stood, uncrossed his wrists, and carefully walked slowly over, stopping out of his arm's reach, for he figured the Twins and Bumblebee would still be understandably nervous.

"I'm fine, Bumblebee, and I'm glad you two are okay as well." said Sam, nodding to the Twins, both of whom looked at him. Their optics settled on his newly blunted finger tips, wandered up to his lipped, flat-toothed mouth, and finally wandered up to meet the optics as blue as their own.

"Thanks." said Sideswipe. "Sorry about the jet-judo. Mistaken identity."

Sam sighed.

"Yeah, don't I just know it, I've been getting the same sort of reaction from the rest of you lot all day!" Sam said.

"All the more reason, Sam, for you to continue on your way and gain your new alternative form." Ratchet said. "Another good reason is to make sure that Starscream doesn't come back and have an 'accident' with his cluster bombs. He will not be pleased to suddenly have, as he would see it, his new leadership of the Decepticons taken away so suddenly by a seemingly revived Megatron. We'll head back to base, you get your new vehicle mode, and then come back and join us. By then, I can explain to these two who you are and how you got like that, and tell all three what a brilliant performance they missed while knocked out."

"Right away, Sir!" Sam responded. He leaped up into the air, converted back into jet form, and flew off.

"Come on, you three." Ratchet said, once Sam had flown out of sight. "Let's all get back to the base."

The four all transformed, and headed back to the Autobot base.