Hey look! Another chapter. Loosely based on 'Crossfire' (s2e07).
"There's going to be more trouble with the officers again," ZS-03 said as she sat down at Ucon's table in the breakroom on the Nemesis.
"Why do you say that?" ZZ-04 asked. He was sitting next to Ucon.
"I just heard Megatron order Dreadwing to get rid of Airachnid."
"What's wrong with that?" asked ZX-02, staring at his cube as he swirled his energon. "Nobody really cares about her. Especially after that stunt she tried to pull while Megatron was gone."
"That's not the problem," ZS-03 replied in a low voice. "Megatron told him to take backup. SZ-03 told me that Dreadwing and Airachnid just left with Breakdown."
"With Breakdown? I hope he comes back," Ucon commented.
"Five! Don't say things like that!" ZZ-04 cried, elbowing him.
"You're right. What am I saying? He'll definitely come back. Excuse me for a moment." Ucon got up from the table and left the breakroom with his cube.
When the end of their break time came around, he still had not returned. They found out later he had been loitering by the ground bridge, waiting for the officers to come back.
[Protect Breakdown]
Ucon didn't usually send a direct communication to base unless he thought it was of the utmost importance. And, as usual, without much explanation. Echo immediately located Breakdown's spark signal. It was off the Nemesis, moving through a forest with Dreadwing's and Airachnid's signals.
Liliy was in the rec room with several of the 'boys' when Echo called her up to explain the situation.
"Permission to fulfill Ucon's request?" Tango asked Liliy.
"Granted." She turned to the others in the room. "Kilo, Oscar, Seaser, go with him."
"Yes, ma'am."
Airachnid shot a bit of webbing and trapped Breakdown's hammer above his helm when he raised it to smash her. He strained against the webbing, trying to break it. When it didn't break, she pounced on him. He was able to catch the first swipe of her spider limbs that was aimed at his throat. He jerked, trying to throw her off, and her second strike missed, slicing deep into his shoulder joint instead. He roared in pain and jerked again, this time succeeding in throwing her off. On the ground, she kicked out and knocked him off his peds. The webbing still didn't break under the weight of his body falling, but his injured shoulder did. Breakdown's arm came clean off as he collapsed.
Lying on his back, the vision in his single optic was starting to blur as multiple warnings popped up on his HUD. His chassis rose and fell rapidly as if quick vents would help lessen the pain. Airachnid was top of him now, smiling triumphantly as she raised her spider limb to strike.
"BREAKDOWN!"
An orange blur slammed into the femme, knocking her off of him. A small part of Breakdown relaxed, recognizing that voice and that bright colored frame. His helm fell back as he tried to slow his vents.
Tango threw Airachnid against the rocks. She crumpled to the ground as a few warnings flashed across her own HUD. She lifted her helm to look up at her attacker. Orange and silver, he was about the same size as Knock Out. But his faceplates were hiding behind a vehicon mask.
"I'll leave her to you, big guy," Tango said.
He stepped aside and a hulking frame took his place. Airachnid tried to scramble away but she was immediately picked up and then slammed to the ground on her back. She tried to thrash at the servo pressing her to the ground but the huge mech only pressed harder. Optics wide with fear, she gasped painfully as she felt her frame slowly being crushed into the dirt.
"Ease up a little there, big guy," said Oscar, as he joined Kilo. "You just need to restraint her, not flatten her."
Much to Airachnid's relief, Kilo did pull back slightly. Oscar knelt next to her injured spider limb and pulled out his medical kit.
"What are you doing?" Airachnid watched the other copterbot suspiciously.
"My job. I'm a medic."
"Who are you people?" she snapped. The fact that they were wearing vehicon masks made her uncomfortable.
"No one to be trifled with," said Kilo, his voice surprisingly soft for someone his size. "So don't get any ideas."
Tango went back to Breakdown as Seaser knelt next to the Con. Breakdown didn't understand why. Maybe it was the masks, even though the frames did not match, but for some reason he felt safe with these bots he barely knew. He felt no distress at all as the teal and silver femme started to work on his shoulder.
"Tango. What are you doing here?" Breakdown asked, focusing on the orange mech.
"Just hold still and let us treat your wounds, Breakdown," Tango replied as he watched Seaser apply a field patch to the Con's shoulder.
Breakdown's arm dangled above their helms, still trapped in Airachnid's webbing with the hammer still activated.
"Hey, big guy, could you get that limb for us?" Tango asked.
Kilo reached back and swiped a claw at the webbing. It snapped like old rope and the appendage dropped into Tango's servos.
"There now. I stopped all the bleeding. You should be fine." Seaser helped Breakdown sit up.
"I just finished up too," said Oscar, wiping his servos off with a cloth from his subspace.
"So, what do we do with her?" asked Kilo as he lifted Airachnid off the ground again.
She squirmed his grasp. "I'll get you all for this."
"For treating your wound?" asked Oscar with a chuckle.
"For mech-handling me, you imbecile!" she hissed.
"Ah. Sorry but that was for our protection."
"What should I do with her?" asked Kilo again.
"Hmmm." Oscar's servo went to his chin in a thoughtful pose as he scanned the landscape. "There's a lake just over there." He pointed at the trees.
Kilo looked in the direction he pointed, scanning the landscape as well. "I see it."
"What? No. Wait! WAIT!" Airachnid screamed as she flew through the air.
"Nice lobe, big guy," laughed Tango.
"We were supposed to get rid of her," grumbled Breakdown. "Megatron isn't gonna be happy."
"If he wanted it done right, he should've done it himself," said Seaser.
"Are you saying that I'm incompetent?" asked Breakdown.
"When it comes to fighting a cunning opponent like her, yes," Tango admitted. "That's why we were called."
"Someone called you to protect me?" Breakdown asked, looked up at the orange mech.
Tango nodded.
Breakdown's only optic narrowed. "Who?"
"We should get you back," Tango replied, changing the subject while looking away. "Dreadwing is probably wondering what happened to you."
"Tango, who called you?" Breakdown demanded.
Tango looked back at him again, his expression indiscernible under his mask. "Are you going to get up and walk by yourself or does Kilo need to carry you?"
"I can walk!" the Con snapped, starting to stand.
Seaser helped him to his peds and made sure he could stand on his own.
"Let's go."
Dreadwing struggled against the layers of webbing that had him pinned to the tree but they refused to break. He tried his comm.
"Breakdown, what is your status?" he asked.
There was a brief static, then, {I'm still alive.}
"Where are you?" he demanded. "What happened to Airachnid?"
{Headin' back to your location now.} was Breakdown's reply.
"What about Airachnid?"
Static was his only answer.
"Breakdown? Answer me, Breakdown!" Dreadwing snapped.
"She got away," said Breakdown as he came into view.
"If that's what you want to call it," muttered Tango. He walked beside Breakdown, carrying the Con's amputated limb.
Dreadwing stared at the group. The four strange bots with Breakdown all wore vehicon masks. He wondered if they were somehow related to the masked, blue mech he had seen with the Autobots a few days before.
"Who are they?" Dreadwing asked Breakdown.
"They're..." Breakdown hesitated and glanced at Tango.
"We're Neutrals," Tango answered for him.
Dreadwing raised an optic ridge. "Neutrals? With vehicon masks?"
"It's complicated," said Oscar with a dismissive wave of his servo.
Dreadwing stiffened as Kilo stepped closer. The huge mech reached for him and he had to suppress a flinch. The webbing was no match for Kilo's strength and ripped easily. Dreadwing was free from the tree in seconds.
"You have my thanks," he said as he picked up his blaster and returned it to its place on his back.
"Then please make sure that Breakdown gets back to the Nemesis," Tango replied, holding out Breakdown's limb to him.
"What about Airachnid?" Dreadwing asked, taking the limb.
"She flew away," Tango answered with a shrug.
"So she's still alive?"
"Yep."
Breakdown and Dreadwing returned to the Nemesis via a ground bridge. Dreadwing was carrying Breakdown's arm for him.
"Commander Breakdown, Commander Dreadwing, you're back," greeted Ucon.
"ZZ-05…" Breakdown was surprised to see him.
"Yes," replied Dreadwing. He pushed Breakdown's limb into the eradicon's arms. "Please escort Breakdown to the medbay. I need to report to lord Megatron."
Ucon snapped to attention after accepting the arm. "Yes, sir."
Dreadwing left first.
"Shall we go, sir?" Ucon hefted the limb over his shoulder and looked up at Breakdown.
Breakdown shook himself and mumbled an agreement. They left together and headed for the medbay. Ucon kept glancing at the larger mech.
"What is it, ZZ-05?" Breakdown asked finally.
"I'm just glad they made it in time," the eradicon answered, adjusting the weight of the limb.
Breakdown stopped short and stared. "You called them?"
Ucon stopped as well and looked back at him. "...They told you?"
"They just said someone called." Breakdown grabbed Ucon's arm and pulled him closer as he hissed, "Five, what have you been doing? If Soundwave catches you-"
"It was a one time thing," Ucon protested. "I just wanted to make sure that you came back alive!"
"So you do know them?"
Ucon turned his helm away without answering.
"You told me they were dangerous."
Ucon's visor flashed as he looked back at Breakdown again. "Because they are dangerous! Don't underestimate them just because they've saved you a few times."
Breakdown let go of his arm. "They didn't kill Airachnid."
Ucon looked at the floor. "...I knew they wouldn't."
"ZZ-05, who are you really?"
Ucon's helm jerked up. "I am a Decepticon and a member of this crew! For you to suggest that I'm not is- Damnit! I just didn't want you to be offlined. Of all the officers, you're the one the vehicons like most!"
Just then the ZS squad appeared at the end of the hall and spotted them.
"Oh. Commander Breakdown, sir, are you ok?" asked ZS-01, coming up to them.
They saw that his arm was missing. "What happened? Was it Airachnid?"
Breakdown was surprised that they knew about his mission.
"I'm relieved to see that you're in one piece," ZS-04 commented.
"Well, mostly," corrected ZS-02.
"But you're still functional," added ZS-05. "That's the important thing."
"Oh, there you are, ZZ-05," said ZS-03 when she realized who was standing next to Breakdown. "We were wondering what happened to you after you left the breakroom."
"I wanted to be the first to greet the commanders when they returned," said Ucon.
"Yeah but now you're late for your shift so AA-00 is going to be mad when they find out."
Ucon shrugged the shoulder that wasn't weighed down with a limb. "When don't I make them mad?"
"True. You better hurry and get the commander to the medbay or Knock Out will have a fit too."
"You guys better get to work too," said Breakdown.
"Yes, sir." They all saluted and walked off.
"I see what you meant," Breakdown said after they were gone. He smiled down at Ucon. "Thank you for looking out for me, ZZ-05."
"Somebody's gotta do it." Ucon adjusted the weight of the limb again and headed toward the medbay.
Knock Out looked up at the sound of the medbay doors sliding open.
"Breakdown? What in the AllSpark…?" he gasped at the sight of Breakdown, his right arm gone. "On the med berth now!"
Breakdown obeyed immediately. There was no arguing with Knock Out once he knew Breakdown was injured. He always got treated before the vehicons. And they understood why.
Ucon passed the limb to one of the vehicons who helped in the medbay and quietly took his leave.
"I heard that Dreadwing took you and Airachnid with him on a scouting mission," Knock Out commented as he ran the scanner over Breakdown to check for more injuries. "But it is obvious that it took a turn for the worse. What happened?"
"We were actually supposed to take out Airachnid. But I… I let her taunts get to me and I snapped," Breakdown admitted quietly. "We could've probably taken her if we had worked together."
"But somehow you managed, right?"
"No. If it hadn't been for Tango and his group, I wouldn't've come back at all."
Knock Out paused as he set aside the scanner. "Tango saved you again?"
"Yes."
"Who did this patch job?" The medic leaned closer to examine the metal patch on Breakdown's shoulder. "It was really well done."
"A flyer. She reminded me of Starscream a little bit."
"Another femme? Those Neutrals are full of surprises."
Ucon turned a corner to go join up with his squad and found Soundwave blocking his path. He stopped well out of arm's reach of the silent mech. Though, he wasn't sure the distance mattered if Soundwave decided to use his tentacles.
"Is there something I can do for you, commander Soundwave?"
The mech's blank mask lit up as he played back Breakdown's quiet warning. "If Soundwave catches you-"
Ucon was glad for the mask that covered his face as he mouthed 'Scrap!'. He squared his shoulders and kept his voice level as he replied. "Having them save Breakdown benefited the Decepticons. I don't see the problem."
"Them," Soundwave replayed the word with a curious tilt of his helm.
"The Neutrals."
"They didn't kill Airachnid." He quoted Breakdown again. He followed up with Ucon's reply. "I knew they wouldn't."
"They don't kill other people without reason, especially not other Cybertronians. I-" Ucon hesitated, debating on exactly what he could tell Soundwave. "I owe them my life so I'm afraid I can't tell you anything else. Please let me return to my post."
For a moment, Soundwave did not move. Ucon was afraid that he wasn't going to let him go. Finally he nodded once and moved forward. Ucon stepped aside to let him pass. When they were right next to each other, a slender servo fell on Ucon's shoulder.
Soundwave leaned close and spoke low with his own voice. "Soundwave: Always listening."
Ucon felt a shiver run down his spinal strut as Soundwave moved away. So far he had been able to stay off Soundwave's radar. Soundwave probably already knew about the Neutrals but now he knew that Ucon had a connection to them. Surveillance on him specifically was probably going to go up. He was going to have to be more careful from now on.
Airachnid was enraged after finally scrambling out of the lake. She took shelter in an abandoned energon mine that happened to be nearby. There she discovered an insecticon. And, much to her annoyance, Starscream.
"Why are you here?" he demanded. "Decepticons never return to stripped mines."
"You are not the only rogue Decepticon in need of energon." She showed him her patched spider limb.
"Was it a run-in with the Autobots? Or did Megatron invite you on one of his field trips?"
"Megatron was otherwise engaged… And I would love to say that I tore his lackey limb from limb but those strangers interfered again."
"Strangers?" he asked, curious. "What sort of strangers?"
"Mechs with vehicon masks but they looked nothing like vehicons."
"Oh. Those mechs. They have interfered with a few of my plans as well. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be in this pathetic state." He gestured to himself.
"Do you know who they are? Where they come from?"
"Unfortunately, no. But I know they are always helping the Autobots."
"That's interesting," she mused, "because there were no Autobots involved this time. And I think they came specifically to protect Breakdown. Though, I may be reading too much into it."
"Hm. That is interesting," he agreed. "Helping Autobots and helping Decepticons? Could they perhaps be…?"
"Be what?"
He looked her in the optic. "Neutrals."
"Neutrals? Surely you jest, Starscream. Neutrals don't help anyone. They usually flee when they see us coming so they don't get dragged into the fighting."
"True. And there is also the question of why the strangers wear vehicon masks."
"Perhaps they used to be vehicons."
"Don't be ridiculous. That's just- gah! My processor aches just thinking about it." He rubbed his helm.
Airachnid chuckled. "Maybe you should ask them, if you ever run into them again."
"I'd rather not." Starscream glanced over at the insecticon that had been standing quietly while they were talking and he got an idea. "You know, Airachnid, as fellow outcasts, we should consider putting aside our differences. With this creature under your control and at our disposal, we might employ it to terminate Megatron, allowing us to rule the Decepticons."
"Together?"
Starscream ignored her question and started to pace as he fleshed out the plan. "We would simply need to lure Megatron here, away from his support systems, so that we might catch him-"
"With his guard down," finished Airachnid. "An intriguing proposal... If ruling Decepticons or spending any length of time with you were of the slightest interest to me."
Starscream spun to face her. "Tha- uh-" he sputtered. He was at loss for words, thinking that his plan had failed.
"Of course, you had me at 'terminate Megatron'," she continued. "Pay back would be sweet."
"However you wish to spin it," Starscream played along.
"I would need to insure my assassin is up to the task." She gestured for the insecticon to step forward. "Perhaps a test run is in order."
Starscream realized exactly what she meant. "What?!" he cried. "I thought we were partners?"
"Oh, Starscream. When will you learn?" To the insecticon: "Eviscerate him!"
Starscream groaned as he fought his way out of stasis. He was still in pain to be sure and he wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep but the last thing he remembered was the insecticon was after him so this no time to be resting. The low energon warning flashed across his HUD among others, though, it appeared he was no longer leaking. How was that possible? According to the warnings, his self-repair systems were damaged too. He needed to better assess the situation.
Onlining his optics, Starscream found himself laying on his back, staring up at the dark ceiling of a cave. It wasn't the most comfortable position due to his wings and the unevenness of the cave floor but it didn't bother him too much at the moment. His main concern was the bot sitting next to him. They heard him shift and turned to look. He stared in astonishment at the double visored mask of a vehicon miner. The miner looked away from him.
"Hey, Mike. He's awake."
Starscream followed his gaze as another miner emerged from the darkness. He tried to sit up as the second miner knelt beside him.
"Easy there, Starscream," Mike said as he gently pushed him back down. "We patched you up as best we could but your leg is barely hanging on. It's best to try to not move."
"What happened?" asked Starscream, laying back.
"As far as we saw, you squeezed through a gap in the wall, freaking out and bleeding," explained Mike with a wave of his servo in the general direction of where the gap had been. There was a giant pile of rocks there now.
"Then an insecticon tried to follow you by digging," added Nova. "You panicked and fired off one of your missiles at it. Which caused a cave-in."
"Is-is it dead?" Starscream squeaked.
"The insecticon?" asked Nova. "Yes. You killed it."
Starscream relaxed. "That's good."
"We're not out of the woods just yet," warned Mike. "Airachnid is still somewhere close by and we can't call for extraction cause both our comms were damaged thanks to you."
"Then what do we do?" Starscream looked curiously up at one and then the other.
"We wait," answered Nova. "If we don't check-in in the next hour, someone will come looking for us."
Starscream stiffened. "Someone from the Nemesis?"
"No. Someone from our base." Mike shifted from his knees to his aft to sit more comfortably.
"It seems you don't remember us, Starscream," said Nova.
"Eh? What do you mean?" the seeker asked cautiously as the two miners peered down at him.
"Think back to last time you were stuck in a cave," Nova continued. "Who left you there, holding up a boulder the size of a house, until Megatron pulled you out?"
"It was the Autobots!" Starscream exclaimed.
"And?"
The seeker thought hard. "...And two vehicon miners. But they were bronze-" Mike's light clicked on to show Nova's bronze paint. "...and copper…?"
Nova's light came on to reveal Mike's copper frame.
"IT WAS YOU TWO!?" he shrieked.
Mike and Nova pinned down his arms and shoulders as he tried to get up.
"Starscream, settle down," Mike chided.
"LET GO OF ME!" Starscream struggled against them.
"Damnit, mech!" Nova swore. "Your leg!"
There was a distinctive snap and they all froze.
"...What was that?" Starscream hesitated.
"Uh… That was probably your leg…" hedged Mike.
"Or what was left of it," Nova added bluntly.
They let Starscream push himself up enough that he could see his legs. The left one moved as he commanded, bending slightly. The right one lay flat and motionless. There was hardly anything left of the armor on the upper thigh. The slashed inner strut had snapped off just below the chewed up hip joint so now the only thing keeping his leg attached the rest of his battered frame was a few undamaged wires and tubes that ran up his inner thigh. He wasn't leaking anymore thanks to Mike's patch job but there was still a small puddle of fluids underneath him. The whole mess made his processor spin and he promptly passed out.
"Oh. Didn't realize he was that squeamish," commented Nova with the hint of a smirk.
"Well, to be honest, it is pretty disturbing," Mike replied, looking over the damage. "Maybe we shouldn't've riled him up like that."
"At least he is back in stasis. It should be easier to move him once help arrives."
"I hope they get here soon."
Help arrived about an hour later in the form of Leecher. As soon as they saw the sorry state that Starscream was in, they called for the medics and a stretcher. Mike and Nova explained what had happened to Leecher while the medics transferred Starscream onto the stretcher for transport. Leecher insisted that Mike and Nova return to base with them for a checkup in case they were damaged during the cave-in. The cave was not going to go anywhere. They could return later to finish their job.
Because they were not sure how Starscream would react to having repairs done, they kept him a medically induced stasis until they completely replaced his damaged leg. That, of course, took several days because they did not have a whole lot of spare parts that would fit him, so Bravo had to forge most of them. And it wasn't easy because seeker frames needed to be light but balanced for flight. Luckily, having to forge new parts for the twins recently gave him a lot of practice. They also replaced his missing t-cog but deactivated it so he could not transform until he became accustomed to his repaired frame. Once they were finished with his repairs, they let him come out of stasis naturally.
As Starscream slowly became aware of his body again, he glad that he felt no pain. But that wasn't always a good thing, he reminded himself. His pain receptors could have been disabled and he could still have a hole in his leg. Or worse, his entire leg could be missing. First, he needed to find out where he was. He knew without having to bring his optics online that he was not on the Nemesis. There wasn't any engine noise or vibrations. He opened his optics and blinked up the grey metal ceiling. The room was small and the monitor next to him showing his vitals suggested to he was on a berth in a private medical room, most likely just off the main medbay.
Starscream closed his optics again and drew in a large vent. He was about find the condition of his frame. He let the vent out slowly as he lifted his helm. With just one optic, he peeked down at his peds. He had two! That was a good sign. And they both moved at his command. Good, good. Finally pushed himself up into sitting position and looked down at his right hip. It looked as good as new, thank Primus. Now that he noticed, so did the rest of him. All the dents and scraps he had gotten after going rogue had been flattened and buffed out. And he positively gleamed. He smirked at the thought of how jealous Knock Out would be if he could see him right now.
Satisfied, Starscream moved to the edge of the berth and swung his legs down. Gingerly, he stood up, keeping most of his weight on his left leg because he half expected the right one to break again. He sighed in relief when it held. Taking a few cautious steps toward the door, he kept his servo on the berth just in case. There was no discomfort or pain. The door slid open unprompted once he reached it and he found himself looking out at a large medbay.
"Whoa! Look out!"
The sudden exclamation had Starscream stumbling back as soon as he had stepped out of the room. A red and white mech passed in front of him carrying a tray of medical tools. The mech set the tray on the counter and came back.
"Morning, Starscream. Sorry for startling you. How are you feeling?" he asked with a grin. "Any discomfort or anything with the new leg?"
Starscream just stared him, or more precisely, at the vehicon mask that sat on top of his helm.
Foxtrot sighed. He reached up, took the mask off his helm, and stowed it in his subspace, aware that Starscream's optics never left it until it disappeared. The seeker then blinked and finally looked Foxtrot in the optics.
"Uh, what? Did you say something?"
"I asked how you were feeling," Foxtrot repeated.
"Fine. I feel great actually. Better than I've felt in years."
"Good. And the new leg? Any problems with it so far?"
Starscream shifted his weight on his right leg. "None so far."
Foxtrot smiled. "That's good. Bravo worked hard to make the replacement perfect. You should thank him later."
"Who's Bravo? And who are you? Where are we? What happened to those miners? Why do you have that mask? What-"
"Slow down a second, Starscream," interrupted Foxtrot, holding up a servo. "Let me introduce myself first. My name's Foxtrot. I'm a medic for the Cybertronian Rebel Corps. You're at our base. Bravo is our most brilliant engineer. Mike and Nova went to finish the job they were working on when you tried to bring the ceiling down on them. That was several days ago, by the way. And I have that mask because I used to be a vehicon."
"But that's-"
"Impossible? No. Just inconceivable to those of you who only see us as disposable drones. We have sparks, you know. Why is it so hard to believe that we would have personalities, emotions, and free wills to go with them?"
"Bu- wha- that's-" Starscream stuttered, trying to find words. "The vehicons on the Nemesis aren't like that."
Foxtrot stared at him. "...Starscream, you were the Decepticon second-in-command for a long time. I refuse to believe that you are that ignorant."
Starscream opened his mouth but couldn't think of anything to say, so he just shut it again.
"It's alright. Just think on that for a while. Now that you're up, you could probably use a cube, right?" Foxtrot asked with a bright smile.
"My fuel levels are adequate," Starscream grumbled after checking.
"Nonsense. Your last transfusion was two days ago," the medic argued, "and now that you are awake, you'll burn through it faster."
"I'm fine," the seeker snapped.
Foxtrot took out his mask and put it on. After a quick scan, he pushed it up.
"Fifty percent is not adequate for someone who is still recovering from major surgery, Starscream. As the medic on duty, my orders are that you refuel."
Starscream was a little taken back at the hard tone from this mech who so far seemed pretty laid back. He sighed and relented. "Very well."
"Great!" Foxtrot's mood instantly brightened. "Let's head over to the rec room."
"Eh? But-"
Foxtrot grabbed Starscream's servo and pulled him toward the door.
"It's fine. But let me know if your leg does start to bother you, alright?"
Out in the hallway, Foxtrot let him go but made sure the seeker was still following him.
"Isn't this place a bit too big?" asked Starscream as he looked up at the ceiling that was way above their helms.
"Nah. It has to be that high." They entered the main hall and Foxtrot pointed. "For him."
Foxtrot was pretty sure Starscream squeaked as the seeker tried to hide behind his slightly shorter frame, his wings drooping, while staring up, and up, at the giant mech who stood not too far away. He internally winched at the feeling of Starscream's sharp digits on his back but he kept a smile on his faceplates.
"Hey there, Kilo." He greeted the other mech with a wave. "Look who finally woke up." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder.
Kilo looked down at them and nodded at the seeker. "Starscream."
"Uh, h-hello," he stuttered with a tiny wave.
"The rec room's this way." Foxtrot turned away from Kilo and headed for the end of the hall.
Starscream hurried to keep up with him, glancing back at Kilo as they went.
"That used to be a vehicon?"
"Kilo used to be a tank actually. But, in order to save his life, we had to transfer his spark to a new frame and the only spare at the time was an eradicon frame. After he got used to it, Kilo found he liked flying but he missed the strength of his heavy duty build. It took lots of research and a ton of upgrades to get into his current frame-"
"And I am quite happy with it," Kilo's voice carried from down the hall.
Starscream flinched slightly and Foxtrot grinned.
"Go have a seat," Foxtrot said when they finally entered the rec room. "I'll get your cube."
Starscream nodded to him and looked around the spacious room. It seemed larger than the vehicons' breakroom on the Nemesis, but that might've just been because of the high ceiling. A huge monitor hung on the back wall with a variety of chairs facing it. There were a number of tables to the right of the door and the energon dispenser was set into the wall beyond them.
At one of the tables sat a pair of identical flyers playing a game of holographic chess. One of them looked up from the board and spotted him.
"Oh! Starscream's finally up."
His twin looked up as well.
"Hey, 'Scream. Come join us."
Curious, Starscream moved over to their table. As he sat down, he noticed that the only distinguishing feature between the two was the color of their accent paint.
"How are you feeling?" asked the one bearing the purple markings.
"The best I have felt in a while. Now, if only I could take to the skies again."
"Tell me about it," griped the blue marked twin. "Being grounded sucks."
"We've been grounded for the past month due to some major repairs," the other explained. "So we completely understand. By the way, my name's Golf and that's Indy."
"The three of you will be grounded until we are sure that you are completely healed," Foxtrot said as he set a cube of energon down in front of Starscream.
"But my t-cog-"
"Has been replaced," Foxtrot assured him as he sat down across from him. "It has just been deactivated for the time been."
Starscream stared down at the cube for a long moment. "Why did you do all this for me?"
"Well, part of it was us taking responsibility for letting MECH take your t-cog in the first place," the medic explained. "That was our fault. The rest of it was the fact that we just can't turn a blind optic on a wounded mech. We've all been in need of saving so we are willing to extend a helping servo."
"But you should be careful too," Indy warned. "That servo hides a blaster."
"If you try to repay our kindness with harm," added Golf, "don't be surprised when we retaliate."
"Checkmate!" Indy suddenly exclaimed after moving his queen.
"What?" Golf searched the board for any possible moves and found none. "Tch. You win."
"Have you ever played this, Starscream?" asked Foxtrot, gesturing to the board.
"No. Is it an earth game?"
"Yeah. It's a two player strategy game called Chess," said Indy.
In the middle of the twins explaining the rules of the game to the seeker, an alarm sounded. Foxtrot was up and out the door before Starscream could even ask what was going on.
"The Critical Alarm," Golf answered gravely.
Indy sighed. "Someone's been badly hurt. Again."
See? Loosely based. I just couldn't kill off Breakdown (for KO's sake mostly). And I prevented a eradicon massacre. (OP, Bulk, and Bee killing all the eradicons that came with D'wing to rescue Megs after his fight with the insecticon. In case y'all don't remember.)
Oh no! The Critical Alarm! Who is hurt this time? You'll just have to wait and see.