Ch. 60

Tap, tap, tap.

...

Tap, tap, tap. Tap.

Ratchet growled from his work station and glared over at Starscream, "It's been half an hour, stop that!"

The seeker's wings fluttered, but he didn't look up from staring at Breakdown's recharging faceplates, "I can't help it! It's been days!"

The medic scowled, "Yes, and it could be a few days more. Leave him alone. Do something, ANYTHING, else."

Starscream grumbled and tapped at the resting mech's helm again, knocking gently, "Come now, Breakdown. You're not dead. Wake up."

Ratchet slowly clenched his servos and went over to the silver mech, taking him by the arm and moving him away from the med berth, "That's it, I'm banning you. Go for a flight or something."

Starscream whined loudly and Arcee smirked at him as she walked up behind him, "Not a good idea, Ratchet. Optimus wants him here just in case talks with General Bryce don't go over so well. We wouldn't want him shot out of the sky while trying to explain his innocence."

The seeker sneered back, "That would just tug on your spark strings, wouldn't it?"

The femme crossed her arms, smiling sweetly, "It would be a tragedy for the bullets they'd have to waste."

Starscream laughed in surprise and clutched his chest plate, "Ah! Wounded again."

"Nice to have someone who can actually sass you back, isn't it?" Arcee mused.

The seeker shrugged and followed as she walked to the ground bridge, "It's refreshing. It's better than having a drone look you in the faceplates as though they don't even speak the same language. I swear, sometimes I think they only hear binary."

The femme typed in coordinates and pulled the bridge lever, "Well, you're going to have to go without for a bit. I'm meeting Bulkhead to help pick up the kids. We're driving back, so it'll be about an hour."

Starscream chuckled and looked over at Ratchet, "Ah, another hour of me rap, rap, rapping at Breakdown's helm."

The medic shuddered, his large shoulders tensing, "You had better NOT!"

The seeker only smiled, then feigned a pout when Arcee transformed and drove out through the bridge. The silver mech closed the portal and grumbled.

"Well, dear doctor, I find myself bored again," he sighed, walking back to Ratchet's work station, "Isn't there anything here that can amuse me?"

The medic huffed, "There's a TV. Bumblebee and the children seem to enjoy it."

Starscream grimaced, "Anything else?"

Bumblebee whirred and bubbled behind him as he walked in, asking why he didn't just go out for a flight.

The seeker turned, "Well, peace talks with some general have grounded me and confined me to the base. Prime's orders."

The yellow scout beeped an apology and asked if he wanted to try a video game.

Starscream shook his helm, "Not interested. Besides, I'm having quite an amusing time counting how many taps I can get away with before Ratchet has a meltdown. So far, the number is thirty-nine."

"And that little 'game' is stopping now," Ratchet growled loudly, setting a tool down roughly, "Why not... tell me about the Iacon relics you've gathered? That's something that's at least productive!"

The seeker shook his helm again and Bumblebee whirred, asking why Starscream didn't bring the relics to the base for safe keeping.

Starscream hummed, "Because I can assure you quite readily that they are safe where they are. Knockout, Breakdown, Soundwave and myself all know where they are and what condition they're in. There's no need to move them right now."

Ratchet grumbled, "Oh yes, they're completely safe in whatever location only four Decepticons know about."

"Former," the seeker emphasized, "I know we're not exactly Autobots, but we're... not aligning our affiliation with the Decepticons anymore."

The medic laughed, "HA! That's not a stab at you. I just never thought you would ever defect. You like destroying things too much."

Starscream crossed his arms, "I like being alive a little bit more."

Bumblebee beeped again, asking if the seeker wanted to scan for Decepticon activity on the monitors.

The silver mech sighed, "You know, I used to think things were far more lively in this base before all this. But it's just a bunch of waiting around and watching Ratchet get angry."

Ratchet glared at him, "I wouldn't BE angry if you would stop bothering me."

Starscream smiled wide, "I can't wait for you to start working with Knockout. It's going to be amazing."

The medic frowned, "The young doctor? 'Working with' is highly unlikely. He needs a teacher," he fidgeted with some of his tools as he adjusted the wires on a circuit board, "He's good, but he lacks patience... I'll have to whip that out of him if he wants to become a proper physician."

Bumblebee bubbled out a laugh and smiled, saying he was happy that Ratchet had already taken a liking to the red mech.

Ratchet became flustered and scoffed, almost dropping a tool, "Like? Hardly! I couldn't- he's an arrogant- I don't even know the mech!"

Starscream smirked at Bumblebee, "Has he ever admitted liking anyone?"

The yellow mech shrugged, beeping that the medic hadn't even admitted his attachment to the children.

The seeker pointed at Ratchet, "You are a hard frame to crack."

The medic turned to retort when Breakdown's spark and processor monitors lit up and sounded loudly.

Starscream's wings went flat, "What's wrong? Why is it doing that?"

Breakdown's helm slowly began to rock from side to side and Ratchet moved quickly, activating cuffs on the blue mech's wrists and ankles to keep him down, "He's waking up! And I don't think finding himself in the Autobot base is going to make him very happy, even if you're here to keep him calm."

Bumblebee whirled nervously as the seeker went to Breakdown's side and held his helm, the silver mech trying to keep him still, "At least I'll try to get him to see me first! COMM Optimus, or Arcee, someone!"

Ratchet rushed to the ground bridge, "We can't interrupt Optimus. I'll notify Arcee and Bulkhead, we'll need them here in case Breakdown doesn't accept his situation well."

Bumblebee beeped, asking what he should do.

Starscream frowned in thought, "You're doing just fine keeping watch. If they don't get here in time and Breakdown manages to get up, you're our only backup. Just be ready for anything."

The yellow mech beeped and nodded, his chassis poised to pounce. The seeker turned back to look down at Breakdown as the ground bridge opened behind them. Starscream was nervous. There would be human children in the base, easy targets if the mech didn't awake from recharge gently. And from the pained expression on Breakdown's faceplates, the silver mech knew he was not having a pleasant recharge at all.