Trying to be an Autobot
Chapter 10: A Mech like Me
Later, back at the Autobot Base…
"That's the last of it." Bulkhead commented as he carried a massive chunk of raw crystal Energon through the Ground Bridge.
"Good work Autobots." Optimus congratulated. "We especially have our two scouts to thank for finding and defending this cache of Energon." He gestured to both Bumblebee and Starscream.
The yellow scout whistled humbly and Starscream merely huffed quietly at the acknowledgement.
Ratchet turned from his monitors, "Well, the Energon won't convert itself, so I need everyone to chip in to convert the crystals."
There were subtle groans from some of the Autobots. Energon conversion, while mostly done through automation, was a dull and drawn out process. No one really liked to do it, though it was a necessity.
"I will convert it." Starscream stated out of the blue.
The Autobots turned to look at him as if he had grown a second head.
His red optics darted nervously at the sudden scrutiny, "As long as I don't have to clean out any storage closets…I'd much rather convert Energon."
Optimus nodded, "Very well. You will take the first shift Starscream. Thank you for volunteering."
Starscream crossed an arm over his chest briefly, a throwback gesture he'd acquired in Megatron's service. Megatron always seemed to appreciate the gesture so perhaps Optimus would too?
Ratchet sighed, knowing he'd have to periodically check the Seeker's progress...babysitting again, "All right then, come on."
Starscream followed after Ratchet until they made it to the section of the base designated for Energon conversion. The Seeker blinked at the set up. It wasn't nearly up to the sophistication of the Nemesis's converter…not by a long shot. Other than the collection chamber and the initial converter, the rest looked like a jerry-rig of human components and partial Cybertronian.
"This…is your converter?" Starscream raised a brow.
"Yes. What of it?" Ratchet tersely replied.
The Seeker wasn't ready to start banter with the crotchety medic, "A…creative set up."
Ratchet glared at him, immediately detecting the disdain, "Well thanks to you Decepticons…"
"Former." Starscream corrected.
"We don't have a lot of the latest technology here. We've had to improvise." Ratchet pulled down the switch and the lights briefly flickered as the machine pulled the necessary power to activate.
Starscream didn't say anything but it boggled his mind to think that these ill equipped Autobots were still holding the Decepticon Empire at bay and creating such havoc for every mission. It was almost insulting.
Ratchet began to explain the ticks and quirks of the rig to ensure Starscream would be able to run it properly without constant supervision.
Feeling once again like a raw cadet being lectured the Seeker sighed until finally Ratchet said, "Have you got it?"
"Yes, yes. It runs like a standard Energon Converter." he sardonically replied.
"Good." With that he turned and walked away.
Starscream blinked and turned with genuine surprise. He was leaving him alone with this crucial task without supervision?
"I'll be in to check on the progress periodically. Just shout if something goes awry."
Starscream honestly couldn't believe it. The task was meager to be sure but entrusting a known former enemy with Energon production was quite the leap of trust on the Autobot's part. What if he were to contaminate the supply? Or stash some away for his own uses? His devious cogs were already turning.
"Hey Starscream!" Raf greeted.
Starscream looked at him with surprise, "What are you doing here?"
Raf unshouldered his back pack and dug out a bunch of parts, "Ratchet said since you would be in here we could work on the cleaning bot while the Energon is being converted."
"Great…"
"Hang on. I'll be back with the rest of the parts." Raf assured, running out through the door.
After he left Starscream clenched his claws against his face with frustration. Why wouldn't this human child leave him alone!? That medic probably sent him in there on purpose knowing full well it would just be another set of eyes watching his every move.
Watching his every move…? He glanced down at the shell and parts of the unfinished cleaning drone and an idea surfaced. The boy wouldn't be gone long but then again he wouldn't need much time to tweak the optical sensors of the drone to feed back to him. If he hurried he could make the drone his own personal spy camera to roam about the base freely…or perhaps figure out the base's location? Yes…the Autobots would never suspect such a thing since their little pet was involved with the project. The boy was above reproach.
…
...
Shortly after the completion of the Seeker Trials…
A shadow slid over Contrail's face, causing him to activate his optics dimly. There, silhouetted in the door, stood Starscream. The red mech hissed through his vents, unable to say anything due to his broken vocalizer. Starscream entered slowly, hands clasped behind his back, optics glowing in the dark.
"Hello, Contrail." The red flier gave a small wheeze in his systems.
Contrail tried to raise his hand but failed, he could only weakly clench his fist.
"No, no. Don't get up. You must rest yourself. You've been through quite an ordeal." Starscream's tone almost sounded genuine but his expression, hidden in the shadows, was anything but.
Contrail's optics followed him as he snuck into the room.
"I can't stay long Contrail. But I thought it would be sportsmech-like to congratulate you on your impressive attempt to attain Top Wing from me." Starscream's mouth tipped upward as he observed the monitors, "I do hope you're kept comfortable Contrail. I would so hate to see you uncomfortable. But even more so, I would hate to see Rapida uncomfortable."
The broken flier's optics glowed a bit brighter.
"She will need comforting, knowing that you are incapacitated as a flier." He narrowed his optics with a dark smile. "And I, as Top Wing, will be just the mech to do so."
Starscream ran a digit against the railing on the side of the berth, "No need to thank me Contrail. I know you'd do the same for me." He leaned in closer to the mech's audio and hissed in a venomous tone, "Of course you do realize that you'll never fly again. And Rapida, well… she'll be looking for a mech with stature, a mech who has accomplished things in his life. Someone more like…me."
Contrail's optics widened as Starscream slowly stepped away and left the room.
…
Starscream strode down the hall, a slight swagger in his wings. How good that had felt; throwing everything back in that pompous ex-flier's face. Beating Contrail in the flying competition had been sweet. Seeing him crash and burn was even sweeter. But this…this moment was the sweetest of all. The taste of retribution warmed his circuits and left him craving more. As he marched he saw something that would help the "taste" linger; Rapida was standing at the end of the hall, leaning against the wall. No doubt she had come to see that waste, Contrail. But the setting was perfect; she was vulnerable, needing comfort. And there he stood, ready and willing to give it.
He lowered his wings just slightly as he approached and gave his most sincere sounding voice, "Hello, Rapida."
She looked up, ran up to him, and gave him a hug, "Oh Starscream, is he all right? Did you see Contrail? The medics won't let me go in to see him."
The femme didn't see the brief glower of disdain Starscream gave over her shoulder, only the sad expression as he pulled away to look at her, "He is damaged very badly Rapida. I don't think…" he trailed off.
"What?" she pressed.
"I don't want to worry you my dear." He stated.
"Tell me!" She insisted, taking his hands.
"I fear…poor Contrail will never fly again."
Rapida put her hands to her mouth in shock, "No."
"Yes, a tragedy that one so talented would be cut down from the sky by such a senseless accident." He lowered his head solemnly. "The real tragedy is that his vocalizer was damaged in the crash, so he can't even speak."
Rapida sobbed quietly and Starscream gently held her in his arms, "Oh, poor sweet Rapida. It's all right."
She cried a moment, "Can I see him?"
Starscream shook his head, "I'm afraid the medics want him to rest. No visitors until more repairs are conducted, they said. I snuck in if only to see how he was doing. I thought…you would like to know."
"Thank you Starscream, thank you."
He smiled and shocked her hands with his lips, "Anything for you my dear." He gestured to the door, "Come, we will let him rest."
Reluctantly the teal colored femme followed him. As they exited the medical facility Starscream turned to face her.
"Might I take you home?"
She nodded, "If you don't mind?"
Starscream smiled, "Not at all."
So together they walked, Rapida seeming distant with thought.
"Did…did you see how Contrail crashed?" she asked quietly.
Starscream looked at her a moment and thought carefully before responding, "I mostly heard it…when you're flying as fast as we were you don't have a lot of time to witness a crash unless it happens ahead of you."
"He's never crashed before…never." Her voice shook minutely.
Inwardly Starscream was utterly sickened by her attachment to that scrap heap but he kept his "caring friend" face on, "Every flier can crash. It only takes…one wrong move."
The petite femme nodded with agreement.
Although Contrail's wrong move was butting in on his endeavors for Top Wing and wooing Rapida. But now all that was behind him. With Contrail out of the way and his position as Top Wing assured he had only time to achieve his third ambition.
Power.
….
….
Present day several long hours later…
Raf stood back from the cleaning drone he and Starscream had been working on for several hours, "So…is it done?"
Starscream plucked up the human sized drone in his talons and fiddled with an open panel, "We shall see." Sparks flew as he made a few more welds inside, "If this is right I won't have to be the Autobots' cleaning slave any longer."
Raf frowned, "You're not a slave."
Starscream rolled his optics and glared at the boy, "I am being forced to do demeaning tasks against my will...I call that being a slave."
"Yeah…but…"
"Ah! There." Starscream smirked as he closed the open panel and placed the drone on the ground, "Now little cleaning drone…work!"
With an electronic whir the beetle-like drone raised itself up on its treads. A panel flipped open and from it a sensory device extended which scanned the room briefly. It retracted then extended several cleaning appendages all round its frame. With a gentle whine it rolled forward, the cleaning appendages sucking up dirt and other matter, all the while wiping the metal and concrete it passed by.
"It works!" Raf cheered. "We really did it!"
"Of course it works." Starscream brushed his claws together with finality.
Starscream also couldn't help but notice his optics were reading exactly what the drone was "seeing" as well. Excellent. Maybe now that this little project was done the boy would find other mechs to engage. But instead of leaving, Raf sat down and watched the drone patrol the floor.
After a moment he asked, "So what was it like…being a Decepticon?"
Starscream looked down at the boy, "What kind of question is that?"
Raf shrugged, "Were you treated badly? Is that why you left?"
The Seeker huffed, "Yes. Why else would I leave?"
"What happened?"
For a moment Starscream thought about telling the child to mind his own business but he often felt better about things if he was allowed to vent.
"I was betrayed by that traitorous Arachnid. Megatron demoted me and put her in MY place! The wretch." He spat with potent venom.
Raf pushed his glasses higher on his nose, "Why did he demote you?"
"He…didn't approve of how I led the Decepticons in his absence."
Yes…that sounded much better than I tried to snuff out his spark and he wanted to return the favor.
"Arcee said Megatron tried to kill you in the mines."
Starscream sighed, ashamed even the mere child knew of that disgraceful chapter of his life, "It wasn't the first time."
Raf's brown eyes got bigger, "You mean…he tried to kill you before that? Why did you stay?"
Finally a good question; one that Starscream had often asked himself before, "I rather liked my position as Second in Command…there were just certain hazards to the position that I learned to live with."
"No offense, but that seems like a dumb thing to do." Raf admitted.
Starscream raised a brow expressively.
"Risking your life just so you could keep your job?"
If Starscream was truly honest with himself he could see the boy's point and probably agreed to a certain extent.
He huffed, "Position is all I had after the war began and position is all I ever wanted. If one possesses enough power, then there's nothing that is denied you."
…
Back on Cybertron a few weeks after being promoted Seeker…
In the weeks that followed, Starscream and his trine were promoted to the Seeker Squadrons where they were assigned their duties as Seekers; the foremost being to locate and acquisition new caches of Energon for Cybertron. Being Top Wing of his class, Starscream was instantly put on track to one day command the entire Seeker Squadron of Cybertron; a position he yearned for. However he would have to remain a Sub Commander until then…something Starscream did not relish. But then again there were the undeniable perks of the position he'd attained.
One such perk being the modification upgrades to suit their new duties and status.
After considerable time and thought, Starscream had decided on his new upgrades. He had chosen new arms bristling with hidden as well as visible armaments; powerful incendiary missiles as well as super-charged Energon blasters. Being a lighter built mech meant larger more powerful weapons would slow down his flight, not to mention ruin the leanness of his silhouette. So instead of a large cannon or a cumbersome hand to hand weapon like a sword, he chose something more personal. Starscream flexed his new, long, dagger-like claws. Made from an alloy of the hardest metals on Cybertron, they were light yet durable enough to cut through the toughest of materials. The upgrade felt…natural. It was as if he was destined to have these weapons and these new wing modifications. He smiled watching the long bladed digits flex and bend.
"I would like to see myself." He announced to the Mod-Crew.
They nodded and produced a reflective surface. Starscream stood from the table and surveyed his new look. He preened, noting how good his armor looked and how his larger wings accented the whole picture. He was a Seeker, terror of the skies; and slag did he look good.
"Wait until the femmes get an optic full of this…until Rapida gets an optic full." He thought with confidence.
He strutted in front of the mirror for several more minutes until the Mod-Crew began to fidget uncomfortably. Once he was satisfied with looking at himself he cleared his vocalizer and placed his hands behind his back.
"A fine job." he commented.
With that he left the Mod Bay to show off the "new" Starscream. However, as he was leaving the Mod Bay a lower ranking cadet approached him.
"Sub Commander Starscream, the Supreme Commander wants to speak with you about your latest mission." he announced.
Starscream sighed with disappointment. Rapida would have to wait to gaze upon him.
After passing through several check points and hallways Starscream made it to the office of Supreme Commander Encal, a medium sized flying mech of dark blue metal. His helmet bore twin elegant wing like structures that swooped behind his head and his wings were long and broad against his rigid back. He stood a head taller than Starscream and his voice was elegant yet stern.
"You wanted to see me Commander?" Starscream asked formally with his hands behind his back.
"Yes, Starscream." Commander Encal stated stolidly, "I understand on your latest Energon scouting mission you came across a rather significant supply on the fifth planet in the Theta sector."
Starscream nodded proudly, "Yes Commander. I found the planet contains substantial pockets of Energon for our use. The climate is favorable for mining operations and I'm also certain on the far mountain range of the planet there is likely scattered caches of Red Energon. It is a considerable find."
"And what of the planet's life forms?"
Starscream waved a hand dismissively, "Nothing intelligent…at least not by our standards."
Encal frowned a moment before venting, "Well, intelligent or not the Senate has banned mining operations there for that very reason."
Starscream's brows rose with surprise and indignation, "What? What do you mean they banned mining there? Don't they know we have an Energon shortage? That planet was the most significant find of any squadron thus far!"
"Look Starscream, I know this is a significant find for you and your squadron…but the Senate will not allow us to disrupt life on other planets for our Energon consumption." Commander Encal stated firmly.
Starscream's wings rose with outrage, "And what of the Cybertronian race? Are we to slowly let our energy fade until the whole planet goes dark, just because we don't want to "hurt" some gelatinous masses on another planet?!"
"Cybertron will not go dark Starscream, nor will this ban stop us from finding other sources." Encal chided.
"But Commander…!"
"That will be all Starscream." Encal enunciated with authority.
Starscream scowled and abruptly left Encal's office. He raked his new claws against the wall in a violent swipe, slicing it like gelatin. He stormed out of Headquarters and into the courtyard of the Seeker Academy.
"What fools!" He hissed under his breath as he paced around like an agitated beast. "Putting the lives of insignificant life forms above our own!? Do they know how long and hard we searched to find that planet, assess it, and then report back? Of course not! They never pause to consider where the Energon comes from and what efforts I made to find it for them!"
"Is something the matter, Seeker?" A slightly familiar deep voice commented from behind.
Starscream turned and looked up. His optics widened when he beheld the owner of the voice.
His wings widened their position with baffled excitement, "You! You're…you're Megatronus!"
The tall, very broad mech smiled a toothy grin, "Yes, but I go by the name Megatron now."
Starscream genuflected elegantly to the gladiator turned revolutionary, "I am Starscream and it is a genuine honor to meet you. I watched many of your battles on the telecasts. Most impressive."
"Likewise, to meet such an accomplished Seeker Sub-Commander." the huge mech complimented.
Starscream raised himself, enjoying the praise from such a lofty figure rising in Cybertronian society. Megatronus, now Megatron, was the most famous and successful gladiator ever to grace the arena. The Seeker noticed the tall, slender figure of a second mech behind Megatron. Faceless and accented with fluorescent purple lines amid dark metal the mech carried a sense of eeriness about him.
Megatron noted the look and gestured, "This is my counterpart, Soundwave."
"Pleased… to make your acquaintance." Starscream greeted uncomfortably.
The tall mech silently nodded.
"And um… what brings you to the Seeker Academy?" Starscream inquired with interest.
Megatron turned, "Come, walk with me Starscream."
Starscream flicked his wings with genuine curiosity and began to follow beside the towering figure. The two walked past the Energon Hall, Soundwave silently keeping distance behind them.
"I understand you recently became the Commander of several Seeker squadrons." Megatron mentioned offhandedly.
The silver Seeker lifted his chin proudly, "Yes. It is a modest position."
"I have also taken a look at your success rate for Energon locating and retrieval…most impressive. One would hardly believe we are facing an Energon crisis." Megatron continued.
Starscream was almost glowing with pride. Megatron even knew of his success rate!
"Of course, being in such a position, I'm certain you haven't been subjected to unfair treatment at the hands of your superiors?"
At that Starscream stopped, his wings went up. Megatron stopped as well.
"Am I to conjecture that you haven't been treated fairly?" the huge silver mech asked.
Starscream recognized the tone Megatron used. He himself had used it when he already knew facts about someone, but wanted to hear them say it aloud. What was Megatron trying to find out about him? Or perhaps Megatron was just the mech he needed to air his grievances?
"Well…my Squadrons have been restricted as of late." Starscream admitted.
"Oh? Restricted how?"
Starscream looked carefully at the tall mech but admitted, "You are aware of our Energon crisis, yes? Well my squadrons have found certain planets with significant Energon deposits."
"Deposits significant enough to halt the Energon crisis?" Megatron concluded.
"Exactly! But my Commander will not allow us to begin mining operations there because of some fools up in the Senate who state that we should not disrupt the planets that have alien life."
Megatron nodded with understanding and almost said with hidden bitterness, "The fool you referred to is Senator Decimus."
"Decimus…" the Seeker snarled, "Here we are in an Energon crisis and that fool is more concerned about insignificant life on OTHER planets. Well what about Cybertron and its life? Without Energon we will be the ones who go extinct!"
At that Megatron smiled, "Then would it surprise you to learn that the Senate doesn't care about that alien life? That they've begun the mining operations already?"
Starscream gave a puzzled look, "What? But I was never told of this! I was told my endeavors were fool hardy. Why would they…" His head perked with realization, "Unless...they're hoarding the Energon for themselves."
"Precisely, Starscream. They hide behind false concern and morality when in reality they merely want to hold onto their positions of power and keep the rest of us "in our place"." Megatron explained almost quietly. "Energon is the life blood of us all and without it we will be nothing. Our "leaders" know this and that's how they keep themselves in power. Whoever controls the Energon controls us all." Megatron stated with fervor.
Starscream pondered that statement and found so much truth.
"The corruption of the Senate runs deep." Megatron straightened his back, "I've been considering getting more involved with politics…much more."
"Oh?"
Megatron nodded, "If changes are to be made, then they cannot be made with our current leadership."
Starscream nodded, "Of course."
"If changes are to be made…could I count on your support?" Megatron asked.
The Seeker raised a brow with understanding and dipped his wings, "Yes."
The tall, broad mech smiled again, "Good. Rest assured your support will be well rewarded. Excuse me, I have business elsewhere."
With that Megatron strode away, Soundwave following silently.
Starscream almost felt a chill go through him…but also a resurgence of opportunity. The things that had been spoken were treasonous…but somehow they just felt right.