Great. Absolutely fantastic. Megatron was back after his little three-year vacation to Primus-knows where and everything Starscream had worked for had blown up right before his optics.

After Megatron had disappeared into space it was up to Starscream to keep the troops under control until their mighty leader returned. Surprisingly, he did well. Very well, in fact. Not a single Vehicon or Eradicon had been terminated and they always had enough energon in stock.

Starscream had enjoyed those years very much, mainly because he, for once, had complete control over the Nemesis and those who lived on the warship. The Decepticons had not once been attacked by their enemies and their energon mines also remained hidden. Everything was absolutely perfect.

He had never felt so… so happy since the fall of Cybertron. It was almost as if the war didn't exist anymore.

But alas, all great things always came to an end, and so Megatron returned and had promptly beat the seeker upon his arrival. Starscream didn't even know why and Megatron never needed a reason to beat his Second in Command up. Sometimes the seeker wouldn't even hear him coming and next he knew his face would we shoved into the wall or his wings torn up.

It annoyed him to no end, to see all his hard work being walked over as if it was worth nothing. It hurt to some extend, too. At the very beginning of the war, Megatron and the seeker had been on equal ground. The warlord even held some sort of respect for him, being the commander of the best energon seekers back on Cybertron.

Now, he was only Megatron's punching bag. He was no Air Commander. No ally. No nothing. Just something Megatron could let his anger out on.

With a heavy sigh, the seeker once again stepped- or rather, limped out of the medbay. As he glanced back, he saw Knock Out's sympathetic face just before the doors slid closed. On his way to his quarters, the freshly fixed-up seeker let his thoughts wander.

It was one of the rare times he thought about his home city, before the war started. He smiled slightly at the memory of his trinemates. He thought about Skywarp silly pranks and Thundercracker's soothing voice. And he thought about how terribly much he missed them.

The seeker had been so lost in thoughts that he almost walked right past his quarters. Sighing again, he tapped in the code on the keypad next to the doors and walked inside. Slowly, the lights flickered on and he stared at his small berth, wich stood to the side. To the other side stood a table and a chair, datapads scattered over the table's surface.

Starscream laid down in his berth, wincing at the sting of his injuries. While Knock Out did a good job at patching him up, he couldn't do anything about the pain as they had run out of painkillers a couple of weeks ago. He had confronted Megatron about the issue, suggesting to go for a supply run with a couple of Eradicons.

Apparently, the silver mech had not been in a good mood that exact moment and beat the seeker into the ground, thus the injuries he now had to deal with. Soundwave had found him on the control bridge after the warlord had left and informed Knock Out of the seeker's state of well-being.

Starscream sighed for what felt like the hundredth time and turned over, facing the wall. He closed his optics and fell into a dreamless recharge.

…

With a painful groan, the seeker pried his optics open the next morning. He stared at the ceiling for a couple of minutes before getting up and making his way to the control bridge to report for duty. He wasn't looking forward to it, not because he was too lazy to work but because Megatron was probably there.

Spark beating anxiously, the seeker forced himself to walk at an even pace, trying his best to hide his injuries. Lo and behold, the tyrant was there when Starscream arrived. He slowly walked up to the silver mech, looking at the ground, afraid of what might happen.

"R-Reporting for duty, Lord Megatron" The seeker almost slapped himself for stuttering, but he couldn't help it. Standing as still as possible, the nervous mech waited for a response. When he got none, he took it as a sign to leave and tend to his duties.

His day was mostly spend with sorting through files and checking up on the drones in the mines. It was boring but he'd never dare to say so out loud, or else he'd probably be beaten up again. Starscream shivered at the thought and tried to clear his mind. He tried to focus on his work but his injuries were throbbing, making thinking very difficult.

By the end of the day, the seeker's mind was hazy from the pain in his leg. He'd been standing very stiffly, not able to relax in the slightest with Megatron nearby. He'd gathered up a couple of datapads on his workstation and made to leave when suddenly, someone called his name. Someone he'd rather avoid.

"Starscream." Megatron said, looking at him with a calm expression, but Starscream knew from past experience that only because someone looked calm from the outside, it didn't mean that they weren't furious on the inside.

"Y-Yes, Lord Megatron?" The seeker stammered, freezing in place. He didn't dare look in the other mech's optics, otherwise he might pass out from nervousness. Starscream flinched as he heard the heavy thud of pedes getting closer, stopping right in front of him. For a few moments, there was nothing but agonizing silence wich seemed to stretch on forever.

Finally, the warlord spoke. "You seemed quite distracted today, Starscream. What's the matter?" Starscream started to tremble, wishing he was anywhere but here. Megatron would beat him up again, the seeker was sure of it. He'd slacked off while working, but only because he was injured! But knowing Megatron, he wouldn't care if the seeker was injured or not.

Suddenly, the silver mech grabbed the slim seeker's arm, yanking him closer. Starscream yelped and finally looked Megatron in the optics. He immediately wished he didn't. The warlord leaned closer, only inches away and Starscream could clearly see the anger in his optics.

"Listen closely, seeker, because I will not repeat myself. If you continue to do nothing but fool around while on duty then I will personally tear off those wings of yours. Am I understood?" Starscream nodded frantically, mumbling affirmatives over and over again. "Good." With that, the silver mech shoved him away and Starscream all but ran away.

As soon as he got to his quarters, he punched in the code and ran inside. With shaking servos, the seeker leaned onto the table, digging his claws into the edge. He almost started crying when he realized that he'd forgotten his datapads back in the control bridge, he'd probably dropped them when Megatron shoved him.

The seeker considered going back to get them, but then decided against it. He'd been lucky that Megatron didn't punched him in the face, there was no way he was going back there as long as he was there.

Legs shaking, Starscream limped towards his berth and collapsed on top of it. He already missed the time when Megatron was gone. The mood on the Nemesis had been better, everyone was more relaxed when the warlord was gone. That time was gone and Starscream once again had to fear that everyday could be the day that Megatron decided that the seeker wasn't worth it anymore.

He shuddered at the thought and curled up on his berth, exhaustion taking over. The slim mech fell into an unrestful recharge, plagued with nightmare of his own death.

Sooo, what do you think? Is it good, is it bad? Should I continue or not? Thoughts are welcome. :D