Update.
Not sure how successful i have been with this chapter. Havent had it planned beyond looking into the life of Starscream the last 100 vorns. Still i feel like i came around some of the important things and had some surprises and funny scenes... I hope i managed to portray him still like a seeker, but then not as much as Thundercracker and Skywarp.
Hope you can find your way in this one... I have decided to mark some of the parts specially to not confuse you too much from when we look back and when we are in the present. Just be aware that this is going on in Ratchet's medbay, then i think you can see when we are in the past and when we are in the present.
Let me know what you think.:)
Enjoy.:)
Iacon, the Autobot headquarters:
His close encounter with death had shaken the CMO enough that he couldn't transform. His energy seemed to have been drained to a point where he even couldn't stand. It was clear that the stressful situation with the seeker had taxed more on Ratchet's systems than he liked. So when they realized that the medic wasn't able to get off the battlefield by himself, the Prime had transformed and Ratchet had been stuffed into the Prime's blue trailer, under loud protests from the medic himself. It was obvious that Ratchet didn't like the undignified position, being carried away like any other of his patients.
Well underway back to the autobot headquarters he listened in on the reports the Prime received from around the battlefield.
When the information that Megatron finally had ordered retreat came, Ratchet slumped in relief back in the trailer.
No more killing that day at least.
Reaching the hidden base in Iacon, Optimus waited for the autobots that had followed him to move Ratchet from his trailer when they were out of sight. After that he transformed and gathered the medic in his servos began to carry the struggling medic further into the base.
Coming to the medical wing, Ratchets own territory the medic vocally demanded to be let down.
Finding his balance when Optimus gently placed him on his own pedes, the medic weakly strode into his medbay. Looking around, the rest of the medical team were milling among the many berths, treating the injured that had already been collected from the battlefield.
Being in well-known surroundings where he was more at home than at the battlefield, the energy slowly returned to the CMO, and before long he voiced out orders and demanded reports. With a smile Optimus left Ratchet as the CMO proved that at least at the moment he was back to his usual mood.
Heading for his office, ready to receive reports from Prowl about what they had lost in this fight, Optimus strode down the large corridor away from the medical wing.
He didn't make it far before a small agile frame in high velocity passed by him.
Turning around and looking at the departing frame, he let out a little chuckle as he saw the bumping wings on Starscreams back. They signaled both joy and uncertainty.
He was sure the little seeker had sensed some of the feelings Ratchet had had during his encounter with the seeker.
Turning around and resuming his walk towards his office, he contemplated the positive effect the sight of Starscream would have on Ratchet. It would surely mend some of the stress still lingering to have the little seeker around.
However he knew that Starscream would be requested to help later.
The battle had destroyed a large part of the still standing city, and the whole battlefield was a mess.
Back at the medical wing, Starscreams small thrusters let out clinking and clanking sounds as he skidded around several corners to come before the doors into the large medbay where a new fight for the medics was going on.
Panting he skidded to a frantic halt. Taking a deep vent he calmed his spinning spark and cooled his heating inner circuitry.
Opening the doors slightly and taking a peek into the room, he instantly scented Ratchet in the air and without any thought he slammed the doors open and walked into the medbay, careful not to get in the way of anyone.
A happy chirr left his vocalizer as he saw his creator in the middle of the room, voicing out requests and orders to the others.
Before he could stop himself, he lunged for the medic and Ratchet yelped as the little seeker latched onto his legs with a vicious grip digging his claws into his armor.
Looking down his initial scowl vanished at the sparkling yellow optics greeting him.
Crouching down, coming optic to optic with the little seeker, which didn't reach him beyond his hips when he stood, the CMO patted him gently on the helm, careful to avoid the wings.
"I am happy to see you too, little one." Ratchet cooed to Starscream, his voice softening in a way it always did when he talked to his adopted creation.
A chirrup left the little seeker in confirmation that Starscream was indeed also happy to see his creator back. His wings twitched a bit in some kind of agitation and Ratchet wondered if it was the usual issue or if it was because Starscream had sensed something from him.
Lately the little seeker's wings had begun to trouble him. They seemed to grow accordingly, but the right one was now fairly larger than the left, and it caused the seeker to be quite unstable in his movements. Only when Starscream flew did the problems vanish due to the now also larger tail sweeping at his back.
Frowning, Ratchet pointed at the wildly moving appendage and instantly Starscream curled the tail around his midsection.
The seeker knew to do so while especially in the medbay where mechs suddenly would move quickly if anything happened, and for the safety of the medics as well as the seeker, Ratchet had teached Starscream to curl the tail close to his frame to avoid accidents.
Gesturing to his spark and then gesturing wildly with his claws while supporting it with sounds from his vocalizer, the seeker began to ask about what he had sensed had filled the CMO the whole last cycle.
-A cycle prior-
Starscream had felt the pangs of emotion coming from the medic, and they hadn't been reassuring.
Especially the weak acceptance coming from Ratchet, when the CMO realized that he wouldn't be able to get away from the large Winglord had torqued Starscream.
The feeling he had gotten from his creator was an acceptance of death, and it had been covered in a dark color as it had seeped through their bond, greatly frightening him.
It had also confused him.
Ratchet rarely felt as defeated as he had the last cycle. Starscream was used to a vocal, arguing creator that now and then rose his vocalizer in heated arguments and had a tendency to turn a slight violent when mechs didn't listen to him and got hurt by their own stupidity.
Even his now soft and gently antics weren't normal.
Ratchet wasn't one to give up, no matter how hard or bad it all seemed.
What could have caused his creator to divert from his usual way and simply give up fighting?
Lots of questions had entered the seekers processor while he had been home at base, feeling the emotions coming from his creator and not knowing what was going on.
When one of the autobots left at the base to protect it and monitor the battlefield and the parts of Iacon that the autobots still controlled, had been by his quarters, the seeker had been an emotional mess. It was luck that the 'bot at that moment came by, because the seeker was about to move from his quarters to go and look for his creator.
He had to know what was going on.
Whatever was going on he knew that creator was in danger.
With a whine he had moved from his position on the floor and towards the doors, when the doors had opened and one of the others had been in his way.
Letting out a growl the seeker had expected the autobot to move. But he didn't. A slight anger rising, more out of fear for his creator than any annoyance at the autobot, Starscream had flexed his claws visibly, letting out a hiss while his wings had rose slightly on his back.
Still the autobot didn't move. Instead it just kept looking at the seeker with a bemused expression.
Then it had asked what was wrong.
Frustration at not being able to voice it out to the 'bot the seeker had just let out a piteous whine and tried to push past the frame covering the exit of his quarters.
The seeker had learned common cybertronian during the last 100 vorns and understood it fluently, still his vocalizer didn't allow for him to use the language himself. He still had to rely on his own language and gestures. It was frustrating to the seeker to not be able to communicate with his surroundings. The advanced communication device that would allow him a way to communicate was still on the development stage and would require a lot more time before it would be possible to integrate it into his systems.
Ratchet wanted it to be complete before he even dared to implement it in the seekers helm. Just a little mistake; a wrong discharge of energy from the device, or the seeker's own systems rejecting it could be fatal for the seeker. So he wanted to have not just a prototype, but the exact device in his hands to test before doing the surgery.
With one of the scientist working on it being Wheeljack, the CMO knew that anything could happen to his adopted creation if anything in the device malfunctioned after it had been implemented. It wasn't that he didn't thrust the scientist but Wheeljack's records of malfunctioning inventions were against him.
When the frame of the autobot didn't move out of the way, Starscream turned to glare up at the mech, his yellow optics shining with disdain.
It seemed that the 'bot finally understood and instead of moving out of the way, it had pushed the seeker back into the room, before crouching down and in a tone used on sparklings tried to explain to the seeker that Starscream had to wait for Ratchet – creator – to return.
/But he might not return./ Starscream had voiced out in his own language, and the autobot had just registered the trilling tones before it had turned and left.
The door had slid closed a klik later.
Hearing the pedes move away Starscream had keyed the door to open and had looked out into the corridor. He had watched the back of the autobot leave and had let out a sweet sound which in his own language wasn't as flattering as it sounded to the audios of the autobots.
Then he had moved towards the exit of the base.
Keying the final exit to open, he had watched the huge doors slowly slide aside to allow him to exit the base. As the opening grew wider he began to hear the distant sounds of weapon firing and bombs exploding. A weak shake could be felt up through his thrusters now and then.
The fine-tuned newer addition to his frame had developed from the base of his pedes and was extremely sensitive. Where his pedes had looked much like those of the autobots aside from the seeker having his talons, they now looked nothing like the squarely appendages the autobots moved around on.
The growth of the thrusters had been extremely painful.
The delicate new framework had emerged during a few orns, with the frame remodeling his pedes, moving mass of metal around almost visibly. Ratchet had guessed that the reason for the rapid way it remodeled was because of the delicacy of the forming hardware. In the stage of development, his pedes – now turned thrusters – wouldn't be able to hold his weight and to avoid crippling the seeker for a longer period of time the remodeling was coded to be that fast.
When he finally had been able to get onto his feet again after orns of lying prone on his berth in pained agony, Starscream had been introduced to a new pain. The newly formed thrusters needed to harden and during that time pangs of pain would come from the new additions. Not only that, but he had to get used to a new way of walking. He was no longer able to just walk like the rest of the autobots. No, now the thrusters forced him to sway a bit while walking.
It felt so awkward.
As he was about to engage his thrusters to move towards the sounds of battle where he knew that his creator was the seeker had been tackled from behind.
Letting out an undignified screech Starscream had fallen to the ground, flailing with claws and wings to get away from what had tackled him.
"Starscream! No!" the autobot had yelled at him and had wrapped his arms firmly around the small seekers wings and chest, restricting the seeker completely from doing any harm to itself and the autobot.
Unable to move, Starscream had deflated without much of a fight. Looking up into the sky he let out a keen, a weak call for his creator.
As the doors closed, closing out the view of the sky, the seeker willingly let the other guide him into the base again.
Then the autobot had done something that had surprised Starscream. The mech had hugged him! Had talked to him in almost that same soothing voice Ratchet used when he was out of it.
"I know you can feel it, Starscream. He is going to be okay. Prime is there with him. He will get him home. Don't worry." The autobot had cooed reassuringly, and only because what he was told was the truth did the seeker relax. He would have smelled any lie in the statement.
At that Starscream hadn't been able to hold onto his emotions anymore. Letting out tirades of keening and wailing sounds he had let the autobot hug him as he voiced out all his fears. As the time went on his energy slowly dwindled and he entered a light form of recharge in the embrace. He could almost pretend it was his creator; still he wasn't able to fool his olfactory sensors, which told him the truth.
The moment Optimus requested entrance into the base; Starscream had been on his thrusters running for the medical wing where he knew his creator would be headed.
-Back at the present-
And now it was a huge relief to finally be able to ask the questions that had filled his processor.
Finishing the gestures he looks into Ratchet's optics waiting for his creator to answer his questions.
Looking at Starscream, Ratchet wonders how he is going to explain everything.
The little seeker knows of the war and what war does to the people around him. He has seen the battle ready autobots when the klaxons alert them to a new impending attack. And he has seen the destruction of the planet the times he is allowed outside. The concept of people dying isn't foreign either. But for the possible death to get this close to the seeker himself… Ratchet doesn't know if Starscream can handle it.
Leading the seeker to a free berth, Ratchet lifts the seeker onto it before he sit down beside it, looking into the interested optics shining with remnants of fear.
Taking a deep breath he begins to explain.
"I was out there with the others as you knows, helping those that were unlucky enough to get injured. Working on a mech that had taken a shot to his leg, I hid behind this wall." The medic began.
Seeing that Starscream understood he continued to the hard part.
"I got taken by surprise by one of the largest of our enemies, one of the most dangerous. An autobot not far from me got its attention by stupidly firing on it, and after it had killed the autobot, my hiding spot was revealed." Seeing the fear growing in the yellow optics, Ratchet reached and hugged the little seeker.
"Shhh. It is okay. I am here. And I am alive." He tried to sooth. Some of the incredulity at his own luck still lingered as he said those words.
"My patient chose that moment to panic and began to charge his weapon at it. Before that, it seemed like the enemy didn't care about us, but when it saw the weapon our fates were sealed. It was on us kliks later. My patient died at its servos, while I myself was caught in a dilemma. I am sorry Starscream. I had given up at that moment. There weren't much I could do to avoid my fate. I was sure I was as good as dead." Ratchet explained and some guilt filled him as Starscream clung viciously to him after those words. The little seeker let out a small whine and Ratchet could feel how Starscream filled their bond with pleas for him to never give up and leave him.
"Then I was lucky that others had realized the danger I was in and was coming to save me." He finished inelegantly nuzzling the helm of the seeker fondly.
He deliberately had left out the fact that the enemy had been a seeker. It was still a major secret kept from Starscream. It was agreed upon by every mech living in the base, by orders from the command that no one voiced anything about the seekers out loud in the closeness to Starscream.
As far as Starscream knew he was an autobot at spark even if his frame was different from those around him. If the seeker was to know of the large society of fliers that he originally came from, Ratchet feared that Starscream would enter an identity crisis, maybe even leave them. And that would break the CMO's spark as well as that of Hounds.
So they kept the fact that their enemy were seekers a secret and hoped that Starscream would never learn the truth.
At the last sentence Starscream voiced out a sound that Ratchet had become as familiar with as when Starscream said his or Hounds names.
"Yes. It was Optimus." Ratchet smiled at the seeker.
A loud happy trill left the seekers vocalizer.
-Flash backs-
Yes. Optimus had become an important part of Starscreams life ever since that orn where the seeker had barged into the medbay and almost had died at the servo of the Prime.
The Prime had become fond of the little seekerlet since then and had not long after his first meeting with Starscream asked the adopted creators if they would accept him as the little seekerlets guardian.
As the only seeker not under decepticon control Starscream had become important.
With the role as guardian to the seekerlet, Optimus had taken it upon his shoulders to protect and shield it from any threat from the surroundings.
It was mainly because of the Prime that it had been possible for them to keep Starscream a secret to both fractions up until the hidden autobot headquarters in Iacon was finished fifty vorns after the beginning of the war and the troops gathered under the same roof.
At that point the secrecy could no longer be kept on the autobot side.
The first time Ratchet went to study his new domain in the medical wing, Starscream had been cradled firmly in his servos.
The seekerlet had grown through those fifty vorns, and was no longer able to sit on the shoulders of his creators. Instead they had to cradle him, if the seekerlet didn't just hover by their sides. But going into this foreign surroundings Ratchet had wanted Starscream close to avoid the seekerlet straying away from him.
The sight of a seeker in the base had caused lots of flabbergasted looks from the other autobots, and not a few catcalls about it not belonging there.
Ratchet had defused the anger quite easily; flinging wrenches to the right and left as opinions was voiced. But it only silenced completely when Optimus announced his present stance with the seekerlet as Starscreams guardian.
No one dared to go against the Prime on his decision.
Still the acceptance of the seekerlet was slow.
When Starscream entered the rec room for the first time, and alone, he had caused a complete disaster.
Skittish after vorns of dealing with seekers, the mechs in the room hadn't taken lightly to the seekerlet gliding into the room.
Weapons had been fired.
However the outcome of the whole incident had been scary for the battle hardened mechs.
It had been one little seekerlet against a dozen autobots.
Out of them all only Starscream remained standing, his own internal weapons on the show on his shoulders.
As skilled as Ratchet had been when he fifty vorns prior to the incident had locked away Starscreams access to his weapons, the seekerlets coding had squashed the heavy coding the medic had put on the activation sequence and the weapons had activated at the danger to the seekerlet.
Being older Starscream had been in complete control of the weapons, and fortunately for the autobots only the pinkish beams had been unleashed. Back when the weapons had activated for the first time, they hadn't been potent. However time had changed that as the seekerlet had grown. Instead of just numbing the surface of the hit, the pink beam completely paralyzed the mech.
When some of the officers had entered the rec room to get their ornly ration, they had been greeted by the sight of the twelve autobots laying prone on the floor and a scared seekerlet cowering among them all.
Ever since respect had been paid to Starscream and he had been commonly accepted when the mechs realized what could have happened if Starscream hadn't been thoughtful enough to not use his laser.
Still they wondered how it was possible for the seekerlet to come out of it without a scratch on its plating.
The security feed clarified that mystery in slow-motion.
They had all watched astounded when they witnessed the agility of the little seekerlet.
Good natured banter had followed the incident, mostly teasing the unfortunate mechs at the receiving end of Starscream nullrays as they dubbed the weapon.
-End flash backs-
Announcing his presence to the CMO and his adopted creation Jazz tapped slightly on the door before he entered the medbay.
"Sorry Ratchet. I need ta borrow Starscream." The TIC told the CMO.
With a sigh the medic turned to look at the black and white mech.
"Your turn to follow him?" the CMO asked casually, like it was normal for mechs to come and ask for Starscream, which it had become. However the purpose to which they needed the aid of the seeker weren't and Ratchet still didn't approve completely of the way they put Starscream at risk.
"Yeah. Field has been swept. Don't worry, he will be safe." Jazz said, while digging in his subspace for the device that would be needed when they got outside.
Handing the little device to the medic, Ratchet reluctantly placed it between Starscream wings and activated it.
"I will reformat you if he returns with as much as a scratch." The medic warned as he watched Starscream leave the medbay with the saboteur.
"Love ya too Ratchet." Jazz responded with a toothy grin.
Out of sight of the medic Jazz looked down at the seeker who only reached as high as his hips.
"Ready for a flight Starscream?" he asked, his voice not showing anything about the serious work they were about to do.
A nod was the only reply he got from the seeker.
Back in the medbay, Ratchets gaze lingered on the doors until they closed.
He hoped Starscream would be safe in his duty.
He had argued a lot with the officers when the suggestion of implementing Starscream in the troops had been voiced. He had denied them for a long time and he and Hound had agreed that the war was nothing for their adopted creation.
However, as the losses of life grew and grew and the arguments from the officers became more valid, Ratchet had found himself doubting.
He could see the point of using the seeker, utilizing some of Starscreams natural strengths and sate the seeker's code deep needs at the same time.
Still Starscreams safety had kept him from agreeing. He simply feared that even if Starscream didn't know of the seekers and didn't find any signs of them on the battlefield, the seekers would find Starscream if the little seeker was that much out in the open.
Then fate had decided to make its move and during a cycle where Starscream was allowed to stretch his wings, the seeker had suddenly deviated completely from his flight path, going into the zone of Iacon that at that time had been a complete ruin being the target of an attack several cycles prior.
It had turned into a hunt on the seeker, both to avoid Starscream being exploited to their enemies as well as keep the secret about the seekers' presence in the attacks. Usually the seekers managed to clear the battlefield, taking their injured and dead with them, only leaving the parts that had been severed from the frames as any evidence of their presence in the attacks. But now and then a frame of a dead or dying seeker was left behind.
The autobots on the ground had tried to follow the seeker as it flew further and further into the destroyed area.
Several breems later when they had been about to give up giving chase to the seeker, Starscream had suddenly begun to circle an area. When the autobots had arrived at the area below the seeker, they had been greeted by the sight of a large building that had collapsed during the last fight.
Ratchet had been contacted to try to explain Starscreams strange behavior, and when the CMO had received the information, he had asked the autobots at the spot to investigate the ruins of the building. Ratchet knew that Starscream now and then couldn't stop follow instincts and that most of the behavior that was strange to the autobots was deep seeker code that the seeker might not be able to explain.
When they began the work, the autobots was skeptic.
But when cycles of digging and removing debris passed they were greeted by the sight of intact base structure and a basement sealed off.
The instant the entrance to the basement had been revealed the seeker had shot down from the sky and had begun to claw franticly at the bolts closing the door into the basement. When they had tried to stop Starscream they had received warnings in the form of menacing growls.
The seeker was then left to his work while they watched the doors sealing the basement slowly fall under the onslaught from the seeker.
When the entrance finally caved in and opened under the force, Starscream had let out a soundly grunt and had scented the air. It seemed that he had found what he had looked for, since a content purr had left his vocalizer before he had entered the basement.
Not long after that small screams sounded from the entrance together with several purrs from the seeker.
The autobots following the seeker down the basement was greeted by a shock.
There in the darkness was the seeker snuggled firmly around a pair of younglings. Starscream was protectively cradling the smaller forms to his chest and covering them somewhat with his wings.
When the autobots tried to get closer to help the younglings, Starscream had voiced a dangerous warning, his optics glinting dangerously at his team mates.
It was only when they contacted Ratchet and got the CMO to come that Starscream allowed anyone close to the younglings who were clearly put off by the acts of the seeker. Simply because it was a seeker. They had grown up in the war and had known the evilness done by the very frame type that now lay snuggled firmly around them.
It had been an optics opener to the CMO. He had to accept that if it wasn't for Starscreams increased sensitivity they would never have found the younglings alive.
Since that orn he had accepted the request for Starscream to join them in the clean up after battles. The seeker would be able to more easily locate those injured and alive among the dead and debris littering the battlegrounds, finding the survivors of the battle faster and increase the chance for them to survive the injuries.
The device placed between Starscreams wings had been the only demand from Ratchet, if he was to let Starscream into any post-battle areas to sweep it for survivors. And the areas had to be swept for any trace of the seekers before Starscream was let into it. The device had been created from the same concept following Mirage's cloaking device and would make Starscream invisible in the air, while Jazz on a monitor could follow Starscream from the ground.
It had become benefitting for both parts.
Starscream got his need for hunt sated, making the search for the survivors into a game, while the autobots got to the injured faster than they would have been able to on their own.
With a sigh Ratchet returned to the other medics working all around him. He had his own duty to perform instead of worry unnecessarily.
He knew Jazz would keep Starscream safe.
Turning to the medics he began to yell out requests and give orders again, making order in the chaos filling the medbay.
A/N: Any guess on the pair of younglings?:D And sorry to dissapoint, but they wont have any further part in the story, beyond maybe being mentioned now and then.
Please review.:)