All was surprisingly quiet on the Nemesis when Starscream flew back. Reporting back to Megatron would very likely break that silence when he came back empty-handed once more. He didn't look forward to the possible punishment for failing his master, but he would think of something to appease him for a short while.
As he walked, he couldn't help but think of Terra. Why did she make him feel such strange sensations in his spark chamber? He wasn't sure if he ever felt like this. If he did, it had to java been thousands of years since he last felt that feeling. It was similar to the feeling he had whenever he was left in charge of the Decepticons, but it was much different. What was he feeling?
His thoughts were interrupted when he came across two grunts carting away those machines that were made for Terra. He paused and looked at them. They had to be destroyed and all plans on how to make them needed to be erased.
"Where are you two taking those machines?" He asked, making the grunts stop.
"We were instructed by Knockout to put these devices in one of the storage chambers. They were taking up too much space in the main bridge," one said. He could be rid of these infernal machines right now if he wished.
"Give them to me. I'll store them away for you," he said while pushing them away. They grunted in annoyance, but did nothing else as they watched him cart away the machines.
"Go make yourselves useful or something," he growled as he pushed the machines away until he was sure he had lost them. How exactly was he going to get rid of these infernal machines? Simply blowing them up would set off multiple alarms and cause damage to the ship. He could just push them out of an airlock or off the top of the ship. So many different solutions, but so little time.
He remembered the now empty escape pod space and knew it would be easy to open it up and push them out. That was a perfect idea. He just had to get there without raising suspicion. Once he was done doing that, he would report to Megatron.
He had come across some grunts, but they didn't question him as he carted the machines past them. He found himself in the corridor leading to the escape pods and found that it was empty. Perfect. He went into the main room where the escape pods were and found the one he had used to help Terra escape. The door was closed, but a push of a button would open it and take anything out that was standing close by.
Starscream pushed the machines in front of the door and checked behind him in case anyone was coming. Nothing so far. He had to act quick. He pressed the button and smirked as he watched the machines get sucked out.
"That's one problem gone," he crowed as he pressed the button again, shutting the door. Now he had to go see Megatron. He turned to go and let out a yelp when he saw Megatron standing in the doorway, looking absolutely furious.
"Ah! There you are, Master! I...I was just about to report to you on my efforts in finding those little brats," he said, his voice shaky.
"Why did you eject my machines, Starscream?" Megatron questioned, stepping forward so that he loomed over Starscream. He could see his eyes looking in different direction. He was beyond furious and Starscream had to think quick to avoid his coming wrath.
"The machines stopped working, Master. Some soldiers were moving them to a storage unit, but I thought it was best to just dispose of them. We don't want them to explode and cause damage to the ship," he said, smiling as innocently as he could.
"They were working perfectly earlier today with their daily test runs, Starscream. I'll ask you once more. Why did you eject my machines?" Megatron demanded, his eyes turning purple with rage as he lunged forward, making Starscream cry out and fall down. This wasn't looking good at all.
"Forgive me, Master! I just...I just thought those machines were unneeded. Why go through all the trouble of putting a human in those machines when you can just tear them apart with your claws? It would be slower and much more personal. Don't you think that would be better, Master?" Starscream said while getting on his knees to look up at Megatron with pleading optics.
"Even though tearing them apart would be wonderful, you still destroyed something that belonged to me, Starscream!" Megatron bellowed while grabbing Starscream by the neck and raising him to eye level. He was about to say something else when he paused and brought Starscream closer.
"M-Master? What are...What are you doing?" Starscream stammered.
"You have that human's scent on you, Starscream. How is that possible?" Megatron asked, tightening his grip on him. Scrap...How could he possibly get out of this? He knew that Megatron could simply squeeze and end him right now.
"It….It appears I haven't washed her scent off after I killed her and cleaned up the...the mess, Master. That's it. I swear!," Starscream said. If he were to manage another successful visit to his friend, then he would have to wash off to avoid another situation like this.
Megatron was silent for a moment before he let Starscream go, making him fall to the ground and cough up some energon.
"You're up to something, Starscream. I will get to the bottom of this sooner or later and if I find out you're up to some ridiculous scheme, your punishment will be severe," Megatron growled as he turned to leave. Starscream glared at him while wiping away the energon leaking from his mouth.
He remembered a human word he had come across while searching the world wide web that fit perfectly for Megatron.
"Bastard," he hissed when he was sure Megatron was out of earshot.
Megatron was growing more suspicious of him. He had to be careful when going out to meet Terra. He could easily picture Megatron tracking him down while he was gone and making a surprise appearance at Terra's temporary home. He didn't want to picture what Megatron would do to the two of them. It wouldn't be pretty.
"What have we gotten ourselves into, Terra?" He murmured as he got to his feet and checked for any other damage besides the pain in his neck. Nothing else felt broken, but he was going to have to visit Knockout just in case. He also had questions for the doctor about the pain within his spark chamber. Surely Knockout would know what was going on with him.
He made his way to Knockout's working space where the doctor was just finishing patching up a grunt. Knockout noticed him come in and frowned. He probably already knew about him ejecting the machines he worked so hard on.
"I can see that Megatron found out about you getting rid of the machines. What exactly were you thinking, Starscream?" He asked as the grunt got up and left after thanking him.
"Don't you think it would be better if we just tortured those little brats with the tools we were born with? Those machines were unnecessary," Starscream grumbled as he went over to the operating table. Knockout didn't seem to believe his excuse.
"Well, it appears our wonderful master wasn't too pleased with what you did. What's the damage now?" Knockout asked as Starscream crawled onto the operating table.
"My neck might be damaged, but I'm not sure if anything else was affected," Starscream said while wiping away more energon from his mouth. Knockout went over to his side and inspected him for any more damage.
"There's just a few dents along your neck. I can get those out in a jiffy," Knockout said as he went to get some tools. Starscream remembered the pain in his spark chamber and rubbed at his chest instinctually.
"There's...something else I'd like to discuss with you, Knockout," Starscream said.
"And what might that be?" Knockout replied as he got to work on getting the dents out of his neck. Starscream paused a moment, getting caught up in the sensations of the dents being smoothed out. How was he going to phrase this without revealing the person he was talking about was Terra?
"I've...been having these strange sensations within my spark chamber whenever I'm around this...certain someone. It feels like a dull pain whenever I see...them and it disappears when they're gone," he started, not daring to look Knockout in the eye.
"This pain doesn't happen at anytime?" Knockout asked, cocking an eyebrow as he listened.
"Never. Maybe when I'm thinking about them, but it never happens. It's actually quite concerning. I feel like it's a malfunction. Care to check, Doctor?" Starscream asked once Knockout was finished getting the dents out.
"I'd love to. Tell me more about this condition. How long has it affected you?" Knockout asked while putting away some tools and grabbing more.
"It's gotten more intense over these past few solar cycles. The more I see them, the more it happens. I don't understand it," Starscream muttered. He thought about Terra and that pain started again. He clutched his chest with a grunt and saw that his chest was glowing a dull blue.
"See! It's happening again!" He exclaimed while pointing to his chest. Knockout turned to look and he smirked while approaching.
"Oh, you poor fool. You really don't get it, don't you?" He crowed.
"What are you talking about? What is my condition?" Starscream demanded, glaring daggers at the doctor. He had to know what was making him feel this way.
"You've fallen in love," Knockout said, looking absolutely smug.
Starscream froze, looking at him in disbelief. No. That couldn't be! That was impossible! Him falling in love with a human of all creatures? The very thought was insane.
He opened his mouth and let out a laugh, laying down on the table and gazing at the ceiling. He was in real shit now.
"Impossible," he murmured, shaking his head. This had to be something else. It had to!
"Wow, you got it bad. You know, I had this exact same feeling for Breakdown thousands of years ago. I was confused too and then I realized I love that big lovable goof and he felt the same. Ah, see. My spark is glowing brighter now that I think about him," Knockout said, pointing to his chest that was now glowing as well. Starscream looked and saw that it was true.
"So, who is it that's got you so head over heels?" Knockout asked.
"I'm not telling you that!" Starscream growled, breathing a small cloud of steam which he quickly blew away.
"Con?" Knockout asked.
Starscream didn't reply.
"Autobot? My, that would be quite the surprise," Knockout said with a chuckle.
Starscream remained silent. Knockout frowned before his eyes suddenly went wide.
"It is an Autobot, isn't it?" He questioned with an exaggerated gasp.
"No!" Starscream growled. Knockout grew silent. It was obvious he was thinking hard about who it could be. Starscream just wanted to get away and think, but it was clear Knockout wanted to know all the juicy details.
"Hmm, I'd ask more, but I need to see Breakdown right now. We're both due for some...private time. I will get to the bottom of who you have the hots for," Knockout said before sauntering out of the room. Starscream groaned as he got off the table. He refused to believe that he was in love with a human. Terra was a dear friend that he wanted to protect from Megatron at all costs. He must be feeling the same feelings the Autobots feel for their humans. That had to be it.
He rubbed at his chest with a grimace. It still hurt a bit. This all was so confusing. What was he going to do when he met up with Terra again? He obviously wasn't going to tell her about his discussion with Knockout or his encounter with Megatron. He just needed to observe her and figure out his true feelings for her.
"What's going on, Miss Terra?" He grumbled as he walked out of the room. He had a lot of careful planning to do.
It had been over a week since Terra was brought to her temporary home. Terra had spent most of her time hiking and exploring the area around her. She was always finding something new everyday.
One of her favorite discoveries was a small field of flowers. Upon finding it, she decided to lay down amongst the flowers and sing to herself. It was so peaceful, but she wished she wasn't alone. She knew one of the Autobots would be coming by at some point and Starscream was going to visit soon, but she still felt like she was all alone here.
Each night was spent looking up at the stars, searching for Starscream until she eventually had to go to bed. She was sure it must be difficult to successfully sneak off that ship.
Her dreams were starting to become stranger. She had been dreaming of that strange girl at the beach, but each time she tried to say anything to the girl, she would either disappear or she would wake up. It was quite a mystery.
When she wasn't dreaming of that girl, she often was dreaming of Starscream, but those dreams always felt so...off. He was standing by a cliff, his back to her. She would try to approach and talk to him, but he wouldn't say anything in response. He just looked to the stars, humming to himself. She was unsure what this all meant.
She was sitting in that field again, watching the sunset while making herself a flower crown. She looked down at her crown of lilies and smiled as she placed it on her head. She thought of making one for Starscream, but she would have to make some measurements of his head. That was going to take a lot of flowers.
Terra laid down amongst the flowers and looked up to the stars. She decided to search for Cybertron. It took her a few minutes, but she found it. It was so dim amongst the stars surrounding it. She wondered if she would see it brighter when it was restored someday.
The tracker in her pocket suddenly came to life, vibrating like mad. Terra gasped and jumped to her feet, looking to the sky for any sign of her friend. She didn't expect for him to come back so soon.
She looked to a fro until she heard a low roar in the sky that was quickly approaching. She looked in the direction of the roar and saw a familiar jet flying in her direction. Smiling, she stood up and waited for him. She quickly checked herself to make sure she looked presentable. She looked decent enough.
Terra stepped back as Starscream flew closer and hovered for a moment before transforming and landing before her. Terra tried to hold on to her flower crown, but it was blown away by the gust of wind he had created. Starscream appeared disgusted with the flowers before he spotted her and smiled.
"You're back!" Terra chimed as she ran to him, her smile beaming. Starscream chuckled as he bent down to be at her level.
"It's good to see you, Terra. I would have come sooner, but sneaking off is starting to become much more difficult. Megatron is starting to suspect something," Starscream explained, rubbing at his neck with an angry expression. Terra noticed some visible dents along his neck that certainly weren't there last time.
"Did...Did Megatron hurt you?" She asked while reaching out to touch the dents. She noticed an odd expression on his face as she touched his neck. He seemed so focused on her and so...confused about something.
"He did. He smelled you on me when I returned from our last rendezvous and nearly choked me to death. I need to remember to wash off before heading back to the Nemesis," Starscream grumbled while holding out his hand for her to crawl on. Terra was hesitant, not wanting him to get in trouble again.
"He's a monster. We gotta figure out a way to be rid of him," she said while clambering onto his hand.
"We'll get to that later. I just want to spend some quality time with you, my friend," he replied while raising her to eye level. There was a strange tone in his voice at those lost two words, but she decided not to question it at the moment.
"What are you doing out here, Terra? It's full of so much...organic life," Starscream said while looking around at the flowers in disgust.
"This is one of my favorite spots here, Starscream. It's quite peaceful and I can make flower crowns," Terra chimed. Starscream didn't seem too impressed.
"Why would you want to put such dreadful things on your head?" He asked. Terra realized he was actually serious about the flowers and tried to hold back a giggle.
"Well, I like the flowers. They may be dirty, but I don't mind. These are especially my favorite. Lilies," she said while gesturing to the field around her.
"I already made one, but I can show you how it's made," she added, smiling up at him sweetly. Starscream glared at the flowers, but upon seeing her smile, his expression softened a bit.
"Enlighten me. What's so great about these things?" He said while lowering her down to the ground. He then sat at the edge of the field, watching her as she got to work on making a new crown. Terra hummed happily to herself as she worked.
"Were there any flowers on your planet or in space?" Terra asked, looking back at him. He had been watching her with a smile on his face. Upon hearing her question, he looked up to the stars with a sigh.
"There were, but they weren't organic like these abominations," he said while plucking a lily and throwing it to the side.
"Much prettier. I never cared for the energon flowers or stardust flowers, but they are far superior than these lilies," he added. Terra perked up at the mention of new flowers. She had to know more about them.
"Tell me all about these flowers," she said.
Terra listened intently to Starscream as he talked about the beauty of energon and stardust flowers. She could only imagine what they looked like. Probably massive and big enough to look good for a cybertronian flower crown.
"Do you think there could be energon flowers here on earth?" She asked.
"I highly doubt it, but it might be possible," Starscream replied with a sigh.
Terra nodded in agreement and went back to finishing up her flower crown. It didn't take long before she was finally finished.
"Here we go. Isn't it pretty?" Terra asked as she showed him the flower crown. Starscream still didn't look impressed with it. Terra pouted before she placed it on her head.
"Well, I think it's pretty," she murmured with a sigh. Starscream made a strained sound and she looked up and saw an odd expression on his face. He appeared conflicted as he looked at her. She could see his claws digging into the earth as a strange glow appeared in his chest.
"Are you okay, Starscream?" She asked.
"I...I'm fine, my...my friend. It's just...I didn't expect you to look so...so cute with that crown on," Starscream stammered, looking embarrassed. Terra blushed, grinning like an idiot at the complement.
"Thanks. That's real sweet of you to say," she said, scooting closer to him. She picked a nearby flower and gazed at it tenderly and then up at him.
"Would you like a flower crown too? I'll have to make measurements of your head first," she suggested.
"I think I'll pass on that today, my friend. I would like to keep that flower you have right there. I'll start with that," he said while lowering his hand to the ground.
"I thought you didn't like the flowers here. Why the sudden change?" She asked. She had a feeling she knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it from him.
"Well, I feel that many things from earth might be more tolerable if you were to introduce them to me, especially if they had your scent," he explained. Interesting. Now she had another question.
"Sooo, what do I smell like to you?" She asked while placing the flower in his open palm. A panel in Starscream's chest opened and he placed the flower in there.
"You smell like sweet earth and rain. It's quite a pleasant scent," he said. He reached forward and gently pet the top of her head with a single claw, being careful not to ruin her crown or scratch her. Terra let out a happy sighed and leaned into his touch. His claws felt surprisingly nice. Weeks ago, she would have been terrified of those claws, but now she wasn't scared of them. She was grateful for her new friend and all he had done to rescue her and make sure she was safe.
"I...I never knew I smelled like that. Usually I smell like sweat," she said with a giggle.
"What's sweat?" Starscream asked, cocking his head in confusion.
"You...don't want to know," she laughed. She snorted and she quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment. She hadn't snorted like that in ages. The last time she snorted was when she was dating her ex-girlfriend.
"Ah, sorry about that. I forgot that I could snort when I laugh hard enough," she said, her face heating up.
"Don't be sorry, my friend. I actually don't mind it," Starscream crowed as he continued to run a claw through her hair. Terra felt all warm inside at the action. This all felt really familiar. She looked up at him and saw that glow in his chest was all the more intense. It seemed to pain Starscream from the strange grimace on his faceplates.
"Are you okay, Starscream? Your chest is really glowing," she said. She hoped he wasn't in too much pain. Was this Megatron's doing? She would get her answer soon enough.
"I'm fine, Terra. It doesn't hurt too much. I got it checked out and it turns out it's just...a normal reaction when we have...very close friends. It's a fairly new feeling for me. I'm pretty sure this is how the Autobots feel about their humans," Starscream explained. The way he worded that sounded like he was just making it up. Terra recalled how the Autobots interacted with their human allies and never noticed their chests glowing. This must be a different case with him being a Decepticon and hating humans for so long.
"That's wonderful. I still have a lot to learn about cybertronians and I have lots of good teachers to help me if I have any questions," she chimed.
"You sure do, my little friend. Maybe you'll be my teacher and you can teach me all about humans and the earth," Starscream replied, his smile growing. Terra smiled back at him before turning her eyes to the sky. She laid down in the flowers and tried looking for the constellations Starscream had told her about. She could feel Starscream's gaze on her. He seemed quite curious about something.
"Did you ever expect that you would ever help a human in your life?" She asked.
"I never considered it, but you just might make the earth and...humans more tolerable," Starscream replied. Terra smiled at that, glad that he was having a change of heart. Maybe he could join the Autobots and he could take down Megatron with their help. That would be amazing. For now, she would help him overcome his disgust with humans and other organic things.
A low rumbling purr filled the air, breaking her out of her thoughts. She sat up and looked around for the source before she realized it was coming from Starscream who appeared calm and content being in her presence.
"You're purring," she said. He sounded like a giant cat.
"I am. You...You make me beyond happy, my little friend," Starscream replied, rubbing at his glowing chest. Terra smiled back at him, wondering what it would be like if she laid on his chest while he purred. She wanted to find out, but didn't want to make him uncomfortable all of a sudden. The very thought made her blush again. Perhaps another time...