Decepticon and Autobot stared at each other for a long moment, neither moving. Mikaela briefly wondered if either of them would suddenly fire. Nothing happened. Ratchet watched, frozen, ready to act if anything happened.
Starscream stared at Optimus Prime coldly, his missile launchers raised, meanwhile running internal scans. As his scans progressed, he became more and more shocked to find that most of his systems were now operating at right about 90 percent efficiency. He ran another internal diagnostic of his Spark casing, even more shocked to find that the casing had also been repaired and was now stabilized. He took a step back, his optics darting between Ratchet and Mikaela, then Optimus. He followed his looks with his weapons, ready to fire at a moment's notice. The air was thick with tension as he backed away slowly a few steps. He was completely confused as to why his enemy would help him. When no one made a threatening move toward him, he slowly lowered his launchers a few inches, looking directly at Optimus after a moment.
"Why?" Was all he had to ask, knowing that Optimus would pick up on everything that he was saying with that one word. Optimus stood still, his face guard still down, his face revealing many emotions at once.
"Because all beings deserve a chance to live, Starscream, no matter what," Optimus said calmly. "You may be a Decepticon, but that shouldn't matter right now. Your life was in danger and we decided to help you."
Starscream was still confused. This made no sense to him. Had positions been reversed, he would have left, no thought about it. He would have left them for dead. But now...what they did was forcing small tendrils of doubt through him, and he didn't like it.
"So, you saved my life...but what is your purpose behind it, Autobot?" he asked, taking another step back. His eyes flickered, distrust building up and constantly being contradicted by the Autobot's act.
"Repayment,"Optimus said slowly, watching Starscream. Starscream eyed him with equal regard.
"For what?"
"For long ago. You remember when you brought your own idea before the Leaders, do you not?" Optimus asked, trying to get him to open up a bit more. He was glad that they could be in this proximity with each other and not have fighting. Starscream nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off of the Autobot leader. He remembered, alright.
"Yes...and YOU turned it down," he said bitterly. Optimus watched him, calculating his expressions. They stared at each other for a second. Optimus was about to say something when Ironhide rounded the corner, followed by Bumblebee, who ducked back behind the wall when he saw Starscream. He was still injured, and fighting was not the best idea for him at the moment. Ironhide's entrance startled Starscream, and he raised his weapons, preparing to fire. Ironhide reacted with equal quickness,
his cannons already out before Optimus could really move. But Prime got in the way regardless, blocking both of them from firing at each other. He raised his hands out, metal gleaming in the dull light of the tunnel's lights. He was facing Ironhide, not realizing that he had just turned his back to the worst possible person. But he was the only one to not realize it. Ratchet raised a hand, intending to warn Optimus, but was stopped by a small hand on his foot. He looked down, seeing Mikaela shaking her head slowly. He looked back up, seeing that Starscream had not taken the shot. He raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the scene. This was very much NOT like the Starscream they all knew. What was going on?
"STOP! BOTH OF YOU!" Optimus yelled at both Ironhide and Starscream, his deep voice thundering down the hallway. Ironhide stopped and stared, then lowered his cannons. Starscream, though startled, took another step back. He kept his weapons still aimed at Ironhide, but refrained from firing at him, though. He still didn't trust any of them.
"Don't fire, Ironhide," Optimus warned, his optics glancing from Ironhide to Bumblebee, who was peeking out from behind the wall, curious as to what was going on. Optimus, after watching Ironhide for another moment, turned back around to Starscream,
suddenly fully aware of the danger he had put himself in. He smiled inwardly, knowing that they were making progress, though small right now. But it was still progress.
"You can lower your weapons, Starscream. We won't fire on you." He said, speaking confidently. Starscream, however, took another step back, his weapons still at the ready.
"I don't trust you, Autobot." He stated, his voice laced with distrust. Optimus nodded, understanding this.
"I understand that, Starscream. But look to your left. Do you see those two?" He asked, indicating Ratchet and Mikaela. Starscream looked over at them hesitantly, noting both the medical officer and the small human, and then began to wonder why the human was covered in lubricants and black stuff. He looked back at Optimus, waiting for his explanation. "They worked all night to repair you."
Starscream took a second look at the two, stunned. He looked down at the human female, who definitely looked as if she had taken a bath in oils and lubricants. Her hair was messy, sticking to the sides of her face and stray strands flying out every which way. He looked at Ratchet, whose hands looked equally dirty. But...why? This makes no sense...I am their enemy...why would they help? He ran another scan on himself, trying to find some proof of them using him for their own means. He found nothing. No tracers, no bombs, nothing. Just well-executed repairs. He retracted his launchers in stunned disbelief. This still made no sense to him. Ironhide eased up a bit, relaxing now that Starscream had removed his weapons. Starscream backed up a bit more, still confused.
"I don't get it...I am your enemy...yet you chose to save me. The human helped save me...Why not leave me for dead? Why not destroy me? Take out the threat?" He asked, his voice still bitter, almost as if he would have rather died than be saved. His confusion over the whole situation was angering him. Optimus took a step forward, raising his hands to show that he was not armed.
"Starscream. We cannot change the past, but we can make efforts to change the future. This war has lasted long enough. There is very few of us left. War has driven us from our home planet. When do we start making the repairs to damage done over a millennia ago?" Optimus asked quietly, but loud enough for everyone to hear. Starscream stood quietly for a moment, briefly feeling the urge to transform and get out of there, but that idea was blown out of the water as he remembered that his left wing had been ripped off by Ironhide. He could already feel his regenerating systems working on repairing it. It would take several days for it to be complete. He looked over at Ratchet and Mikaela, his processors whirring slightly. He really didn't have much of a choice but to stay, at least until his wing was regenerated. He growled slightly, giving in.
"I can't leave until my wing is regenerated. I will stay here until then," he said slowly, thinking on the best way to keep them all away from him. "But do NOT cross me. I will not hesitate to fire at any of you." He finished, warning all of them. Optimus nodded.
"Agreed." He looked at Ratchet and Mikaela. "Ratchet, please get Mikaela to a resting area. She looks about ready for her recharging period. You may recharge after that, as well."
Ratchet looked down at Mikaela, who indeed looked very tired. He held a hand down to her and she crawled into his hand, leaning back against it, relaxing. Ratchet walked past Optimus and down the hall, taking Mikaela to the mess hall. Optimus regarded Starscream for a moment, who was looking away from everyone else at the moment. He turned to walk out, then stopped and turned back.
"Starscream, if you need anything, just let us know." Optimus said, trying very hard to show at least the beginnings of friendship. He knew that if there was ever going to be some sort of breakthrough with this war, this would have to be it. He looked at Starscream for a moment, watching as emotions flickered across the Decepticon's face, then turned and walked out, leaving Starscream to himself.
In the mess hall, Ironhide paced nervously around the room. He was not happy in the least with a Decepticon in their midst.
He started messing with his cannons again, forming them and tinkering with them, then retracting them...then reforming them again, tinkering, retracting, all the while pacing. Ratchet watched him out of the corner of his eyes for a few moments. Bee watched him, blatantly following him with his gaze. Optimus let him pace for a bit, but it was starting to get on everyone's nerves. After about twenty minutes of pacing, someone spoke up.
"Ironhide, please...you are making everyone here nervous. Relax."
It was Mikaela, she had returned from taking a nice hot shower. She was still exausted and was ready for bed, but she refused to go to bed without a shower. Now she looked so much better. Sam turned to her and grinned. He swore she looked more beautiful every time he saw her. Ironhide glared down at her.
"You don't understand the situation we are in, do you?" he said, retracting his cannons again. Mikaela stared at him and just blinked.
"You think I just spent all night with no sleep working to fix him to NOT understand the situation? Prime made a decision, and I think it is a damned good one. Why continue with the war? What the hell has fighting ever accomplished aside from the PAIN of losing someone close to you??" She looked pointedly at him, knowing her words would bring back the memory of Jazz to everyone, but she needed to say it. Everyone shifted uncomfortably at her words, Ironhide looking away. "Do you think Jazz would want you all to keep fighting like this when you have such a perfect opportunity to start repairing old hurt feelings"
She asked, staring at him. Ironhide didn't look back at her. He hated being wrong. And this time, it was a small human who was making perfect sense. Mikaela knew the situation alright, and she was tired of seeing her friends get hurt everytime a Decepticon entered their sensor range. She helped fix Starscream for the same reason that Optimus wanted her and Ratchet to fix him. For a possible step in at peace. No one spoke at her words, but Optimus was rather impressed by her words. Mikaela waited a few more seconds before continuing.
"No, I didn't think so. Jazz would want the same thing Prime does. Peace, after...how many thousands of years?? He was fighting for the same thing you ALL are. Your right to exist in this universe. The Decepticons also fight for that, for their rightful place, do they not? I don't think Jazz got ripped in half just for you to ignore this chance." she said,
stepping on dangerous ground. But no one got a chance to respond to her as she walked off, mad at Ironhide. Optimus stared after her, shocked at the amount of feeling behind her words. She truely understood what they were going through. Everyone was watching Ironhide by sideglances, wondering how he would react. Ironhide clenched his fist, growling. He didn't want to remember his friend getting ripped in half, but here was Mikaela, having ripped open that wound again. He looked down and away, closing his bright teal eyes, then walked off. Ratchet started to go after him, but Optimus held out a hand. Ratchet glanced at him, watching Optimus shake his head. He relaxed, heeding Prime's silent 'leave him be'. Everyone relaxed a bit more, but the wound had been opened in all of them from Mikaela's words. It made all the more reason to try at this, this chance for a possible peace.
Outside the messhall, Starscream stood and listened to the conversation. He was still trying to figure out why they had saved him from going into stasis for a very long time, in effect saving his life. Who knew what would have happened if the Earth's military forces found him and kept him. He probably never would have recovered because the liquid nitrogen they used to keep them in cryostasis would have slowed his systems down to almost nothing. He listened intently as Mikaela reprimanded Ironhide, realizing that they WERE in fact fighting for the same thing. He stared at the ground, remembering the time that he had brought his idea to the Leaders, and remembering how hurt he was when his first idea was rejected. He had felt angry,
like no one cared about his ideas. But he also realized how young he was back then. Right now, he would be considered, in human terms, about 25-ish. Back then, maybe about 16. He remembered how he joined the Decepticons, and how they all wanted to fight for their right to be heard. Now, it had morphed into wanting to control the universe...but that was under Megatron's ideals. Most of the Decepticons still just wanted to be heard. Megatron just took it to extremes.
Starscream's thoughts were interuppted by a small squeak down by his feet. He looked down, seeing Mikaela backing away a few feet. He had startled her by standing right out side the doors. He glared down at her, throwing up his defenses and looking menacing. But after a moment Mikaela stopped backing away and stared at him. He looked back at her, wondering why she wasn't running from him. He ended up raising an eyebrow.
"What?"
Mikaela just grinned at him with a knowing look.
"What??" Starscream asked again, starting to get annoyed.
Mikaela grinned more for a second, then spoke.
"There's more to you than you show, Starscream. Underneath that hard metal and asshole attitude, there's more. More than you would EVER let anyone see. And I am not talking about your systems, either." She tilted her head slightly, just looking at him. Starscream stared at her, opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. how in Cybertron could she see that much? he wondered. Mikaela seemed to understand what he was going to say.
"I have a knack for it...for being able to tell what people are thinking. Granted, you aren't human, but I know you have feelings. Otherwise you wouldn't be standing outside this door listening to us with a strange look on your face," she said, grinning. Starscream was stunned, but it made sense. He turned to walk away, not wanting to talk to anyone, but something stopped him. He stood there for a second, staring at the hallway in front of him, his back towards Mikaela.
"Why did you do it? Repair me?" He asked, wanting to know the human's version of Prime's story. Behind him, Mikaela shrugged.
"I wanted to." Was her only answer as she grinned at his back, then walked past him down the hall. She didn't look back, but she could tell what his expression was.
She wanted to? He thought, staring at her as she walked past. This world was more strange than he thought. He took a couple steps and caught up with her, looking down at her. He felt strange, being so close to the enemy and not taking action.
"What do you mean you wanted to? There is no reason to stay and repair your enemy." He said matter-of-factly. Mikaela looked up at him, watching as he took steps to stay next to her. She mentally giggled at this. Here was Starscream, one of the most feared Decepticons, and he was following her and asking her questions. She never thought she would see the day.
She grinned.
"If you feel that way, why are you walking with me?" Her grin told more than she let on, and her words stopped him in his tracks. He processed her comment for a second, then took another step to keep up with her.
"I can't go anywhere else right now until my wing is repaired, you know that, human." He said defensively, looking straight ahead. Mikaela giggled at him and he looked down at her.
"What's so funny, human?" He asked, annoyance creeping into his metallic voice. Mikaela shook her head, her still-wet hair bouncing around a bit.
"You. You are a complete oxy-moron."
Starscream stared at her, unfamiliar with the term.
"A what?"
"Oxy-moron. It means putting two opposites in the same thing...kinda like military intelligence. The joke is that the military is NOT by ANY means intelligent. You, you talk about not wanting to stay with the enemy, and that your ONLY reason for staying is your wing. But yet, you walk here beside me, asking me questions when, if you really wanted to be alone, you would not be here right now." She said, stopping and looking up at him. Starscream stopped and stared down at her.
He was surprised at her. He didn't even know why the hell he was walking with her. But he wanted to know her reasons for repairing him, and all she would tell him is that she wanted to. He made a small noise that sounded like a huff and turned back towards the hall again, walking again. Mikaela started walking with him again.
"YOu said you wanted to repair me," he said after a moment of akward silence. "So Optimus Prime didn't order you to do so?"
Mikaela shook her head.
"Nope. He asked Ratchet if he could fix you, but Ratchet said that he would eventually need help. I offered to help, and together Ratchet and I repaired you. You know, your Spark casing was definately fun to fix." She said, remembering her need to constantly ask Ratchet how to fix the casing. Starscream stopped and stared at her yet again. This human never ceased to amaze him.
"You...YOU repaired my Spark casing...??" He asked, completely stunned. Mikaela stopped also and looked up at him.
"Yeah. I had never seen anything so complex...I had to keep asking Ratchet for help."she replied, a smile covering her face.
She had completely enjoyed working on him, her mind absorbing everything that she came across. She had learned more about their race in one night than the military ever hoped to learn in 50 years. Human and Decepticon looked at each other for a moment, Starscream instinctively raising his hand to his chestplate, becoming ever -grateful- to the little fleshling. He shocked himself with this thought and lowered his hand and looked ahead again, taking another step and falling into a slow stride, Mikaela trailing him as she headed to her room that Simmons had given her.
"T...Thanks..." Was all the big Decepticon was able to offer. Mikaela grinned, feeling as if she had broken through to him.
"No problem." She responded with a smile, and headed off down a small turnoff in the hallway towards the rooms.
Starscream went out to the base doors, examining the damage that had been left there by the battle yesterday. He sat down,
staring out at the vast desert, Mikaela's words and the Autobot's actions towards him wieghing heavily on his mind...
End Chapter 10
Okay, I know, I am making him seem like a big softy. I blame the voices in my head telling me how to write this story.
I hope you all like it, though. There is definately more to come!!!