#10 - Fallen Comrades: A Solution

Megatron now knew that Starfeather was smarter and stronger willed than he had first concluded. She had also formed stronger bonds with her wingmates than he had first assumed. He would have to be more forceful in his approaches, swift and to the point. When he did have her in his clutches, then he could go as slow as he wanted.

-x-

Starfeather had a hard time getting a recharge that night. Visions of what could have happened to her clouded her mind as she squeezed her optics closed. Her spark refused to calm down, further depriving her of much-needed sleep. When she did manage to fall asleep, she would just be startled awake again, dreaming Megatron had come in and touched her. But what could she do to stop him from getting to her?

Then finally, after half the night of fretting, she had a plan. She would ask Terrorsaur and Waspinator to be her guardians again. With at least one of them in her vicinity at all times, that might be enough to turn Megatron off if he tried to get close. Then, if he did try anyway, he would have at least two to go up against. With this plan going over and over in her mind, she finally slept easier. She was woken up the next morning by Waspinator when she didn't show up for her morning duties.

"Bird-bot?" the wasp said, shaking her shoulder.

"Tenmoreminutes..." she slurred as she rolled over onto her other side, shimmying away from the offending hand.

"Bird-bot, wake up!" He shook her harder.

"Huh? Waspinator?" she groaned and yanked her arm away from him. She couldn't open her optic shutters.

"No more zzleep. Megatron very angry and want Bird-bot up now," he explained.

That made her sit bolt upright and look at him intently.

"Does he want to see me privately?" she demanded.

"N-no," he stuttered.

"Good," she sighed with relief. "I don't want to face him ever again after what he tried to pull last night."

"What did Megatron do?" he wondered. She sighed and looked down at her feet, readying herself to explain.

"He-" Before she could answer, Scorponok came in the doorway.

"How many 'bots does it take to wake you up?!" he asked, exasperated. "A stasis pod has been detected and we'll need you two and Terrorsaur to get it before the Maximals do!"

"Yay," Starfeather grumbled sarcastically under her breath as she got out of bed. All three went down the hallway to the main control room. There, Terrorsaur was voicing the coordinates as to where the stasis pod had just crashed.

"Shall we go?" he asked eagerly.

"No, not yet." Megatron answered. "The Maximals will surely send their only flier to attempt to reach the pod first, yes." He paused, glancing back at the others before he continued. "Let us make sure that he experiences turbulence."

-x-

"Fire!" Terrorsaur commanded. Megatron had sent him, Waspinator, and Starfeather to take out Optimus Primal before he even tried to leave for the stasis pod. Starfeather wondered why Dinobot had come out first but went back inside the base. She wondered if the Maximals had detected them. The three of them began blasting away at Optimus and Dinobot. Waspinator shot Dinobot's tail shield like device right out of his hand.

"Oooh! Wazzpinator got him!" he exclaimed happily. It was rare for him to get a shot like that. Terrorsaur laughed in that squawking style of his.

"Ha! Watch this!" he said, narrowing his crimson optics and activating his shoulder cannons. He aimed and blasted once from each cannon at Optimus. He got him dead center in the chest plate. Dinobot responded by firing at a loose boulder above the three. Poor Waspinator could only watch, petrified, as the rock came collapsing on top of him.

"Hey!" Starfeather shouted, turning and firing on Dinobot. She hit him in the knee and he fell to the ground. She hated to do that, but mess with her friends and she would do her best to mess you up. Terrorsaur blasted at the rock and freed the somewhat flattened wasp, who gave a buzzing groan of pain.

"Want me to get him?" Starfeather offered.

"Nah, I'll do it. C'mon, back to base!" Terrorsaur answered as he reached out for Waspinator's hand. Once the injured 'bot was in a firm grip, off they went.

"Cowards! Face me!" Dinobot roared after them and shot at them, but they evaded his lasers.

"Not today, scale face!" Starfeather snapped back before they out of vocal range. They got back to base and quickly dunked Waspinator in a CR tank and went before Megatron. He wasn't too happy with their report.

"So, Optimus Primal was not destroyed," Megatron concluded. "You disappoint me Terrorsaur, yes." Starfeather was glaring at the Predacon leader the whole time.

Serves you right for trying to violate me, she thought, holding back a smug grin.

"B-but we knocked him half to scrap!" Terrorsaur retorted. "No way he'll be flying anywhere."

"Yezzz, we will beat them to the ztazizz pod eazzily!" Waspinator said.

"If not effortlessly," Starfeather added.

"Hmm," Megatron thought over their excuses and reasons. He decided to penalize them later for something else. "Yes, but they will still make an attempt... A land body, yes. Leaving only Optimus, and perhaps one other, to guard the base..." He formed a plan swiftly. "You three will proceed immediately to the location of the stasis pod. Ensure that the protoform inside is reprogrammed as a Predacon. Go!"

With the order, the three went beast mode and soared out of the base and high into the sky. They went on in silence for a while before Starfeather spoke.

"Hey, guys? There's something I need to ask you."

"What?" Terrorsaur wondered.

"What would you say if I said that Megatron... tired to... rape me... last night?"

"He what?!" Terrorsaur and Waspinator both exclaimed.

"That's why I was so off at that battle... and I'm sure he's gonna try again," she stated darkly.

"And you're telling us this because...?" Terrorsaur wondered, not seeing anything he could do about it.

"Because I was wondering if you two would be willing to help keep him away from me," she replied.

"How can we do that?" Terrorsaur asked, sounding skeptical. "Megatron is... well, Megatron. He can do whatever the Pit he wants whether we like it or not."

"Well, if at least one of you is near me all the time when I'm not in my quarters, he just might back off," she explained.

"Wazpinator agreezz," the wasp said, coming over and resting on her back as they flew. "Wazzpinator like Bird-bot." Starfeather gave him a look as he settled himself on her back. He wasn't exactly the lightest bug in the world. She kept that comment to herself, only smiling in appreciation that he would help her.

"Thanks Waspinator..." She paused. "Could you maybe get off now?" Waspinator giggled and lifted off, buzzing along between her and Terrorsaur. The pterodactyl looked at her and shrugged.

"Guess you can count me in too," he offered. She smiled warmly at her wingmates, touched by how quickly they agreed to help her.

"D'aww, you guys are so sweet," she said, her raven eyes sparkling in the starlight. Terrorsaur suddenly felt hot in the face. What has gotten into him lately? First, he played with her as a human and actually enjoyed it. Second, he wondered why he felt so sympathetic toward her when he heard her crying the day she became a Transformer. Third, he regretted speaking gruffly to her. And now, freely offering to help protect her from Megatron?

Eh, I must have a loose wire connection somewhere, he concluded.

-x-

The three flyers followed the Maximals, Cheetor, Rhinox, and Rattrap, at a distance once they were in sight or as much as they could be through the snowstorm.

"M-my j-joints are f-f-freezing!" Starfeather chattered.

"S-so are mine, b-but we gotta f-follow through with M-m-megatron's orders," Terrorsaur replied, also shivering from the icy winds and pelting snow. It was getting harder and harder to fly as their joints stiffened from the cold. Surprisingly, the storm soon cleared and flying became a little easier. They went higher into the sky so as not to be spotted. Starfeather looked down at the snowy terrain. There was a deep chasm up ahead and a natural icy bridge connecting the two sides. She breathed a cloudy sigh of awe.

"The v-view's amazing!" she whispered.

"What B-b-bird-bot zzay?" Waspinator asked.

"I s-said the view is am-mazing," she repeated, indicating the vast glittering landscape below.

"It's just tons of f-frozen water particles," Terrorsaur said passively.

"Kill-joy. L-lighten up, will ya?" she teased then flew up side down above him, catching his optics.

"If I'm f-flying, don't you think I've l-lightened up enough?" He smirked. Starfeather grinned stiffly. Flying upside down was difficult.

"Y-you have no idea h-how hard this is-s," she gritted out but faltered and flailed to stay airborne and avoid crashing into him. Waspinator and Terrorsaur laughed at her and once she righted herself, she joined with them. Her twittering laughter sounded like soothing music to his audio receptors... Hey, wait, what?

"O-okay, enough t-talk. Let's take out th-the competition," Terrorsaur suggested.

"Yeah, then we c-can have a snowball fight to ce-celebrate," Starfeather added.

"Wazzpinator no think z-z-zo."

"Let's T-terrorize! Raawk!" Terrorsaur transformed into robot mode. Waspinator and Starfeather followed suit and the three dove downward.

"Incoming!" Starfeather yelled, doing a somersault and flipping out her blaster and catching it with ease.

"Show-off!" Terrorsaur screeched and did a barrel roll, activating his shoulder three fliers began blasting away at the Maximal ground units. Shots were exchanged and the fliers went on overhead, banking back and dove into the chasm.

"What do you say we m-make them take the long way around?" Terrorsaur asked slyly to his comrades. Starfeather didn't respond but Waspinator nodded vigorously as he flew farther apart, Terrorsaur going more to the right, Starfeather in the middle, and Waspinator to the left. They exploded through the ice bridge onto the other side, the bridge collapsing in their wake. The Maximals were left staring down at the shattered ice chunks below the sheer canyon walls. The three fliers flew back around, laughing mockingly at the three Maximals. But Starfeather stopped for a second and stared apologetically at them.

"I'm sorry," she murmured then followed after her wingmates. Cheetor crossed his arms.

"I still don't get it," he grumbled. "Why doesn't she just leave them?"

"Optimus said she had her reasons," Rhinox replied. "We can't force her to do anything she doesn't want to."

"Pfft, yeah, but the Preds can," Rattrap argued.

-x-

They were in their beast modes again and were almost there. Just a little farther and they would take their prize. Starfeather regretted every minute of this mission now. The only thing that made her a bit happier was that she might have someone new to talk to. Maybe they would even be a flier. She was distracted from her thoughts when a bright orange laser beam shone from somewhere behind them, reflected off the closest moon, and connected with a point somewhere close to where they were headed.

"What was that?" she asked, not really expecting them to know either.

"I dunno, but it doesn't matter now," Terrorsaur replied. "We gotta get that pod and greet the new Predacon."

"Ooh, Wazpinator seezz the pod!" Waspinator cackled. "Only a few minutez away. Megatron will reward Wazzpinator!"

"Not if I get it first!" Terrorsaur challenged and dove for it, the wasp tailing closely.

Starfeather rolled her optics. They soon landed, transformed, and began working on opening the pod. Starfeather was the lookout and was scanning the terrain. Nothing was close but she noticed two white tigers curiously watching them a short distance away.

"Hey kitty," she called sweetly. She didn't expect them to come to her but she wanted to was surprised when one of the tigers perked its ears and took a step forward. She smiled little and knelt down. The tiger came closer, sniffing the air around her. She had always liked big cats. Suddenly, her sensors caught the Maximal signatures approaching. She stood and turned around to warn her comrades when Terrorsaur demanded Waspinator to hurry up and open the pod.

"Guys, forget the pod! The-" She was cut off when the Maximals finally did show up.

"Hold it right there!" Cheetor called, pointing his blaster at Waspinator.

"Yeah, you're messin' wit' Maximal property, ya thievin' Preds!" Rattrap spat, aiming at Terrorsaur.

"We've got a friend in there and we won't let you turn him into a Predacon!" Rhinox added, eyeing Starfeather. Terrorsaur grinned defiantly, bringing out his own gun.

"You won't stop us, Maximals!" he retorted. Waspinator narrowed his compound optics. Starfeather was about to say when the ground began to tremble. They all looked around and saw Megatron approaching in his beast mode, his weight shaking the ground as he charged toward them.

"They certainly shall not!" he growled and transformed. The Maximals turned their guns onto him. Starfeather thought he was scrapped for sure but to her dismay, she was wrong.

"The stasis pod is ours, Maximals, for I know your weaknesses, yes." He then turned and blasted the frozen ground below the paws of the two tigers who still lingered near. They tumbled into a ditch with only one way out and that was through Megatron. The tigers growled and bared their teeth, ears drawn back. One even took a swipe at the Predacon leader. He smirked and laughed evilly. Starfeather stared in horror at what he was doing.

"Let them go!" Rhinox commanded. "They are not part of this." He was echoing her thoughts.

"That's right. Just innocent creatures," Megatron crooned. "So, surrender yourselves and the pod or they shall be terminated."

The tigers continued to growl and, by now, their neck fur was bristling and their ears were pinned back all the flatter. Cheetor was the first to stand down, then Rhinox, but Rattrap didn't go as quietly.

"You win, you depraved wad of stinkin' slag!" he cursed.

"Cultivated as always, even in defeat," Megatron mused. Rattrap glared at him. "Now," he went on as he strolled over to the fliers. "Witness my moment of triumph as I reprogram the protoform Maximal within the pod into a Predacon, yes."

Starfeather put her fists on her hips and narrowed her optics. She couldn't believe that Megatron had just brought two average tigers into the battle by threatening to kill them if the Maximals didn't abide by his wishes. They were just tigers, nothing special. However, they were white tigers. Those were rare and were supposed to be extinct in the wild. Apparently, in this reality or whatever, they were not or not yet. But that didn't matter. They were just tigers, incapable of understanding what was going on around them.

Megatron ordered Waspinator to finish unlocking the pod hatch. He did so and Terrorsaur slowly opened the door, its hinges stiff with cold. His optics widened and he gasped when he saw inside. It was empty.

"What?!" Megatron roared. "Where is the protoform?!"

"Right here," a calm and very deep male voice said from behind them. "Tigatron: Maximize!" One of the tigers, apparently not a real tiger after all, transformed and shot a powerful blast at Megatron who fell backwards and dragged Waspinator down with him. Terrorsaur and Starfeather ducked but soon the four were back on their feet.

They were taking heavy fire. Starfeather was hit in her leg and collapsed to the snow. It hissed and melted against the heat of the internal fluid leaking from the wound. Optimus soon appeared, to Megatron's annoyance, and forced them to retreat. He, Waspinator, and Terrorsaur were able to get away but Rattrap had Starfeather pinned.

"You and your buddies are gonna pay for takin' out that bridge back dere," he threatened, tapping his blaster barrel to her forehead.

"None of that was my idea, I swear! Please, don't hurt me," she whimpered, trying to shrink came up behind him.

"Stand down Rattrap. I have a better idea of what to do with her," he said with a thoughtful grin. The raven stared up at him helplessly. "I have a new offer for you. This will be risky but how about you become a spy for us? You report to us if the Predacons are planning anything or try to delay them during pod recovery missions."

Starfeather was taken aback by his sudden offer. Her? A Maximal spy? She thought about it for a few minutes, the others staying quiet as they waited. Finally, she managed a smile and looked at her new commander.

"You've got yourself a spy, sir," she replied and saluted. Optimus chuckled.

"Welcome to the team Starfeather," he congratulated, holding out his hand to help her up. "Now, you better catch up with the others." She stood shakily but transformed and hovered in place.

"I'll report back to you when I can, sir." She then turned and flew off to follow the others. She felt like a great weight had been lifted from her back, but a new one came in to replace it. Now, she had a big secret to keep from her wingmates. Her loyalties lay on the other side now, but she had to prove that she was still a Predacon to Megatron and her wingmates. This would be difficult, but nothing in life was easy, was it? She would figure it out one way or another.

The other Maximals had been watching the whole time. Rattrap and Cheetor weren't too happy about this arrangement.

"Optimus, what if she's faking? What if she's just doing this to get our plans and help the Preds?" Cheetor questioned.

"Yeah, you know what she's done," Rattrap added, referring to Dinobot's current injuries and the broken ice bridge.

"You didn't learn anything about her when you met her a week ago?" Optimus asked, almost passively.

"Only that she likes nature and thinks the Preds are her pals." Optimus sighed, shaking his head with annoyance, and turned to their other new recruit.

"I'm sorry for the delay- Tigatron, was it?" he apologized. "I am Optimus Primal, the Maximal commander."

"It is well, Optimus Primal." Tigatron nodded in acknowledgment. He was in his beast again along with the others. "But I do not fully understand what has just happened. Who was that Predacon?"

"I'll explain everything once we get back to the base, about a hundred klicks due south."

"No, I'm sorry, but... I cannot come to your base," Tigatron replied. "You see, my identity circuits were damaged in the crash and I... I'm still more tiger than Maximal. Until my identity circuits restore themselves, I feel my place is here in the wilds with... with my own kind." He glanced back at the other tiger lingering a short distance from the group. "But, you can count on my loyalty."

"Sounds good to me," Rhinox said with a nod of approval.

"Yeah, we could use a spy up here. You know, in case the Preds get up to something," Rattrap added. "And if we can't count on ink feathers." Optimus gave the rat a sharp look before facing Tigatron again.

"Then it's settled."

-x-

When Starfeather finally got back to the base, Scorponok was stuck waiting for her return.

"What took you so long?" he demanded.

"Well, you guys left me behind to fight off just about all the Maximals plus the new one all by myself. Wouldn't it take you a while to blast their butts outta your face too? Thanks so much for all your help," she ranted, her last sentence dripping with sarcasm. She pushed past him, not listening to his whining retorts. Deciding not to bother with a CR tank, she remained in beast mode and went to her quarters. She locked the door and hopped into bed. She snuggled into her sleeping bag after twisting it into a nest-like shape. Fluffing out her feathers, she rested her tired head on her purple stuffed crocodile, who was tucked neatly under her wing.

"'Night Squishy," she murmured to the stuffed animal and drifted into recharge.