Trying to be an Autobot
"Chapter 4: Finding Energon"
By Leah King
Early the next day …
"Optimus, you may want to take a look at this." Ratchet turned from his monitoring station "An Energon spike just popped up on the grid." He pointed to the blinking dot on the South American continent.
Optimus viewed the screen, "Why haven't we detected this before?"'
Ratchet shook his head, "I'm not certain. But it could be an indication of an Energon deposit. And I don't need to remind you of our dismal shortage…AND the fact we've added another tank to fill."
Optimus looked at the monitor then said, "Perhaps Starscream could give us some information about this discovery."
"Huh. And what would HE know about it? " Ratchet scoffed.
Arcee, who had been observing the map and the conversation piped up, "Starscream always has his claws in most of the Energon deposits on this planet. If it's an Energon mine, he probably started it."
"True. But will his information be credible?" Ratchet inquired, "After all finding and defending Energon stores is a Seeker's primary job."
Optimus turned to Arcee, "Arcee, bring Starscream in here."
…
Starscream came out of his nightly recharge with a groan. He ached. The berth the Autobots provided was about five feet too narrow for his Seeker build and being in stasis cuffs was most uncomfortable. He had to resort to sleeping on his front which was not the best sleeping position. Obviously the Autobots lacked the necessary berths to accommodate one with wings. Of course why should he expect a bunch of ground rollers to know anything about the needs of one blessed with flight capability?
Speaking of flight, he was starting to notice a subtle tick in his wing tips which could only mean one thing: Flight Deprivation. The condition was only found in Seekers and it began with the twitching of the wingtips. Then the feeling of claustrophobia would begin to surface, forcing him into random panic attacks. If he was not granted flight by then he'd begin to hallucinate, followed by desperate attempts to fly. The twitching of his wings would worsen into spasms. Slowly his sanity would crumble until he'd try anything to fly…or so the reports had told him.
He himself had never been denied flight or even been imprisoned for very long, but he had read studies of Seekers going so mad from Flight Deprivation that they would fly straight up into the ceiling of their prison repeatedly thus smashing them beyond repair. Starscream swore he would never be put into such a state but currently he was growing troubled by the tick in his wingtips. He looked at the ceiling of his prison with worried optics; solid stone. He'd terminate instantly if he tried to fly through that. If Prime was a mech of his word then he wouldn't have to worry about such a horrid end…but it didn't stop the incessant paranoia from picking at his processor.
Starscream sighed, thinking about catching a bit more recharge. That is until the footsteps of a light-weight Autobot approached from outside. Must be the femme Arcee. He flexed his claws to rid them of the stiffness brought on by the stasis cuffs. Just as he pushed himself up off the berth's surface the door rolled up. Arcee blinked then raised a petite brow at the sight of the Seeker in the "all fours" position on his berth. His wings twitched.
He raised his own brow, "Something you want?"
Arcee frowned and held her hand blasters passive at her side in case the Decepticon chose to be difficult, "Get up. Optimus has some questions for you."
The Seeker stood up off the berth, "Ah. So I can prove my worth to your cause?"
"Whatever. Come on." Arcee motioned with her blaster hand.
Starscream obediently stepped out of his cell and marched in the direction of the main atrium, Arcee following close behind him.
When he arrived he gesticulated with his bound hands, "Ah. Optimus Prime. I am to understand you require MY assistance?"
The red and blue mech nodded and pointed at the screen, "What can you tell us about this Energon signal?"
Starscream peered with interest at the screen and then growled, "Those incompetent fools."
"Starscream, is that the location of a Decepticon Energon mine?" Optimus asked.
For a moment the Decepticon seemed to debate whether he should tell them or not. On one hand to do so would for sure solidify his role as a traitor. But on the other hand he would need to make himself invaluable to the Autobots so they'd be less inclined to terminate him. And not to mention he might get his flying time by "buying" it with his information.
"Yes, although I don't know why those fools have allowed their signal dampeners to fall. We ensure our mining activities are masked from…prying optics." he boldly stepped forward between the two mechs to observe the screen again, "I remember the area well. Very humid, full of organic vegetation…awful place. The signal dampers must have malfunctioned. That's why you are able to detect them."
"How many workers are stationed there?" Arcee asked with interest.
Before any Autobot could protest, Starscream quickly plucked at the key commands, zooming in on the map's pin point.
"Get your claws off of that!" Ratchet swiped his hand away.
Starscream flicked his wings with a peeved frown, "DO you want to know or not? I was about to reveal the answer…" he leaned toward Ratchet, "when I was so RUDELY interrupted."
Ratchet snorted then looked to Optimus who said, "Show us."
Starscream gave Ratchet a smug smirk before finishing his command codes with lightning speed.
"Just a few proper command functions and…there." He announced producing thirteen purple dots in the mine's location, "Thirteen currently. Four of them guards, the rest would be mining drones. This mine is only a fair producer…hardly worth all that trouble given the conditions."
With a flick of a claw Starscream returned the map to its normal functioning mode.
Ratchet blinked at the readout, "What did you just do?"
Starscream raised a cocky eyebrow and scraped his claws together, "Something I MIGHT show you Autobots how to utilize if I'm given the proper liberties."
"Huh! What liberties?" Ratchet huffed.
The Seeker's optics directed at both of them, "The liberty of flying time of course. Surely you haven't forgotten, Optimus Prime?"
"I have not. We are still working out a way to allow you such time." The leader admitted.
Starscream's wings twitched, "I…hope it won't be too long."
The medic gave him a frown and looked at the blinking dot on the map.
Ratchet took Optimus aside "Optimus, now would be as good a time as any to seize that mine and take the Energon for ourselves. As I've said we are in dire straits when it comes to our supply."
Optimus nodded then called out, "Autobots assemble."
The bots all came into the main atrium to hear what their leader had to say, "We have an opportunity to gain some much needed Energon. An Energon mine has just been revealed to us thanks to Starscream and I believe now is our chance to get the Energon and get out."
Starscream seemed to be preening at the mention of his deed but no one really seemed to pay him much notice.
"Starscream will you show the team the map layout?" Optimus asked.
The Seeker bowed his head a bit and rapidly entered the command codes that revealed the map before. Ratchet seemed to be paying particular attention to the ex-Con's methods.
Optimus pointed to the dots, "Those represent our opposition. If we move swiftly then we can be in and out of the mine with the Energon we need."
Bumblebee beeped, "Sounds simple enough."
After Optimus concluded, Ratchet moved over to the lever that opened the Ground Bridge.
"Autobots, roll out." Optimus ordered as the green swirling vortex opened up.
Immediately the four soldiers passed into the tunnel and when they had vanished Ratchet shut the bridge. He then returned to his monitors and stopped, realizing Starscream was still standing there observing the screen.
"Oh great." he muttered under his vocalizer.
"A-HEM." Ratchet curtly cleared his vocalizer behind the Seeker.
Starscream glanced over his shoulder, "Yes?"
"I need to be at the monitors." Ratchet stated.
Starscream made a subtle noise but moved away to give the medic his space. Ratchet monitored the team's vitals constantly on missions to ensure no emergency Ground Bridge would be needed.
"So, they leave you behind to monitor the outcome?"
"More or less…and now that you've done your service, I suggest you head back to your cell."
The Seeker's optics widened, "B-but…"
"No buts. Go." Ratchet pointed with insistence. "I don't want you skulking about while I'm busy here."
Starscream growled, "I don't recall Optimus stating that I had to be kept in that cell as long as there was an Autobot present."
"And I don't recall agreeing to babysit a Decepticon while I'm trying to work. Report to your cell."
The Seeker gave a sneer, "Or what?"
Ratchet turned from the monitor and gave him a glare, "Do you recall what I said about your claws and filing them down…slowly?"
Starscream's brow twitched.
Would an Autobot resort to torture? He surely had no problem with delving out torture…but this medic…better not risk it.
With a snarl, Starscream stormed away and peevishly kicked the leg of one of the work stations as he passed. In so doing he upset a tray of tools and they clattered to the floor.
"Starscream! I needed those!" Ratchet yelled.
The Seeker gave a look of nonchalance and surveyed the spilled instruments, "Hm. I don't see HOW. No real scientist would use such primitive tools."
"GO!" Ratchet pointed with insistence.
Starscream made a mocking sound and slunk off down the hall. But once he was out of Ratchet's sight he smirked. With no escort and Ratchet occupied he could snoop around on the way to his cell. Perhaps find something useful or even valuable? He walked a few feet until he came to his first large door. He peeked in the tiny window; assorted junk and barrels, nothing interesting. He moved to the next door and smirked upon seeing the familiar blue glow. It was the Autobot's Energon stash…meager that it was. No wonder the Autobots were in such dire straits, they barely had enough Energon for much of anything. Curious, he slid his claws under the garage-type door and lifted it.
[BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!] A loud klaxon blared.
Startled by the loud alarm, Starscream yelped and reeled back. The loud beeping echoed all over the base and Starscream didn't hang around to get caught. With all urgency he sprinted down the corridor toward his cell before he was discovered. He almost slipped outside his door but quickly ducked inside, slammed the door down, and sat on his berth. The klaxon continued outside for a moment and then went silent. The Seeker's optics darted upon hearing the hard footfalls of Ratchet headed toward his door. In no time the door rolled up to reveal a very irritated looking medic.
Starscream put on his best innocent face, "What was that alarm all about? Is the team in trouble?"
"Don't give me that slag. That was the Energon storage door alarm that you triggered."
"What? I went to my cell just like you told me to!" Starscream lied.
Ratchet snarled and entered Starscream's cell menacingly. The Seeker shrunk back against the wall as if expecting to get beaten.
"Listen here you lying sack of slag. Optimus might believe you're reformable, but I think it's the biggest load of scrap you've ever pulled. Now tell me the truth or by Primus I'll…" he activated his welding torch and raised it to the Decepticon.
"OK! OK!" Starscream pleaded, folding his wings as far from the mad medic as he could, "I just wanted to see how much Energon you had! Is that so wrong?"
"Why would you need to know that unless you were planning to relay that bit of information to Megatron upon your inevitable escape?" Ratchet accused.
"Not true! I was merely curious!" Starscream insisted.
Ratchet didn't seem fully convinced so he brought the welding torch closer.
"IT'S THE TRUTH! I SWEAR!" Starscream shouted in a shrill voice.
The torch hissed and puffed out as Ratchet reformed it back into his hand, "You are not permitted to go snooping around the base. Got it?"
The Seeker looked away. Ratchet gave a snort of derision and left, slamming the door down. At first Starscream sighed, thinking he'd gotten off easy, but then he heard the unmistakable sound of the welding torch outside his door and realized the Autobot was sealing the door.
"No! Don't lock me in here! It was a mistake! I swear!" Starscream shouted.
Ratchet finished the weld and tapped the door, "Just ensuring that you won't cause any more trouble."
"You can't lock me in here like this! You can't!" Starscream insisted angrily.
"Huh. Watch me." Ratchet scoffed, walking away.
Starscream's wings twitched hard, "No…NO! You let me out of here this instant!"
But his ranting fell on deaf audios. He stared at the confines of his cell nervously. If he didn't get out of the space he would start to go insane…if he hadn't started already.
…
Later…
Ratchet kept careful tabs on the team's health readouts but they didn't decline. So far so good. After a bit of time Optimus was calling for the Ground Bridge and Ratchet eagerly opened it. Through the portal drove the team, weighted down with fresh Energon. A smile broke the medic's normally stoic face.
"Thank the All Spark."
Arcee whom didn't have the size or vehicle mode to transport much Energon transformed with a nod, "That went well. I guess Starscream's info was correct."
Bumblebee and Bulkhead drove down the hall to the Energon storage unit to unload while Optimus disconnected from his trailer and transformed.
"We owe Starscream thanks for this cache of Energon." Optimus commented.
Ratchet sighed, "Don't thank him TOO soon."
Arcee's brow lowered with concern, "What happened?"
"He tried to get into our Energon vault not long after you left." the medic explained. "Then lied about it."
"And you're surprised?" Arcee condescended.
The Autobot leader seemed troubled, "I will talk with him. Arcee, see to our Energon storage. Ratchet, I would like you to start work on an inhibitor."
"What sort of inhibitor?"
"An inhibitor that will grant Starscream flying privileges but keep him from escaping." Optimus explained.
"Flying privileges?! Optimus, really. We can't even trust him to not go poking around the base and you want to release him in his element where he could actually do some damage?" Ratchet interjected.
Optimus sighed, "I understand your concerns old friend. But I have witnessed the ill effects of Seekers like Starscream when they are denied flight for too long and it is not something I want on my conscience."
Ratchet shuttered his optics, "I…suppose a telemetric restriction of some sort with a remote distance switch would be possible. I'll see what I can do."
…
It had only been an hour but Starscream was becoming increasingly disturbed by the twitch of his wings, which had already become more frequent. He hadn't flown since before his capture outside the Harbinger which meant he hadn't left the ground for more than a day. Normally a day wouldn't have been too long at all, but the simple fact that he was crammed in a sealed tight space only hurried along the flight deprivation. Confinement always did. That's why he took regular flights from the warship daily so he wouldn't feel so cramped. Sometimes he'd even fly down the halls when Megatron wasn't aboard. (Even though Megatron always detested that sort of behavior.)
He stared at the door. It really wasn't made of a strong metal like a true Brig door. He could shear through it with his claws and be out. But if he escaped in such a fashion his punishment would probably be much worse.
What if they sealed him in a stronger cell and left him there for days? He would go mad for sure. But if he didn't get out of the cell now…
Starscream didn't care. He braced his wrists together and prepared to stab through the door when he heard the sound of the other Autobots just down the hall. He rushed to the tiny window, leaning into the door to test if he could see anyone.
"Hello? Hellooo? Anybody? Can someone let me out of here? That crazy medic welded the door shut." he called loudly.
He waited but no one responded.
Figures.
But soon Optimus was approaching and he stopped outside the door.
"Prime! Oh thank goodness! You'll never believe what the insufferable medic of yours did to me!"
"Ratchet tells me you attempted to break into the Energon storage vault."
Starscream's optics darted back and forth, "Uh…y-yes. But my intentions were innocent Prime, I swear! I was merely curious as to the status of your supply. It was one of my jobs when I served Megatron after all."
The Prime stared at the red optics peering at him behind the window, trying to root out any deceit. But with Starscream, that was a crap shoot. He might be telling the truth…if only in part.
"Did you get the Energon from that mine I told you about?" Starscream asked.
Optimus nodded, "Yes. Your information was very helpful."
The Seeker smiled, "If there's one thing I know well Prime, it's Energon. If I were allowed flight, I could seek out new Energon deposits for the Autobots."
"Ratchet is currently working on a way we can allow you flight. But know THIS Starscream; you're going to have to work VERY hard to earn our trust. And snooping around where you're not supposed to does nothing to further that cause." By then Optimus's features had grown stern.
"I…understand." The Seeker admitted.
Optimus walked away.
"Wait! You're going to leave me in here?" Starscream exclaimed.
But Optimus gave no reply as he walked down the corridor.
Starscream balked "He's just going to leave me in here." Then he began to rant to himself, "After ALL I did! Pointing out the mine's weaknesses and everything. They STILL leave me in here! ARRG! This was a mistake. A grand mistake!" He vented and then stared at the ever closing walls again with bleak optics. "I'm going to go offline in here."