Ch. 101

It was many hours before Starscream allowed himself to emerge from the depths of the base into the main room. He and Optimus had spent the whole of the time sitting on the floor in silence. And really, how could Starscream say anything to top the Prime's promise? He would trade his spark for the seeker's? What do you say after that? Certainly not a 'thanks'. That would hardly be enough.

But the silence had carried for hours. Optimus was the one who finally pulled them both from the floor, urging Starscream to the front of the base as he answered a COMM from Ratchet. The seeker entered the room alone, readily aware that the children were present when Miko's face popped up from behind the couch.

"There you are!" she squealed excitedly, "You and Daddy Prime done talking now, huh?"

Starscream's optics widened and he huffed, frowning, "No! ... Leave me alone, Miko."

Raf peeked out briefly, then hid again, "Well... we're glad you're ok..."

The seeker sighed quietly and went to Ratchet's console, looking over the Omega Key he had taken from Smokescreen, "What, no comment from Jack?"

Miko giggled and tried to deepen her voice a little, "Gee, Starscream, what happened out there?"

Starscream looked over at the couch in surprise, "He's... not here? What is he sick or something?"

Raf shook his head, "No. After we arrived, Ratchet asked if he could take Smokescreen out to scan his alt. mode."

The seeker grimaced, "Oh joy. Knockout will be ever so pleased at Smokey's new 'race car' mode."

"How did you know-" Miko stopped herself and smiled, "Right, sorry..." she slipped herself over the back of the couch, leaning against the railing on the platform, "So... you're ok now, right? Bulk said you were really mad. We can't have our fastest flier upset like that."

Arcee smiled as she came in from the entrance of the base, "In all fairness, we can't have Smokescreen making comments, either," she glanced at the children before turning her attention to Starscream, "I made sure to emphasize that to Jack before they left. He should be settling our new recruit in," the femme then glared softly, "Are you better?"

Starscream huffed, waving her off, "I'm fine. I don't want to talk about it anymore..." he examined the Key more closely, humming to himself, "Has a decision been made for these yet?"

Arcee crossed her arms and shook her helm, "Not yet. We wanted to get your input before we handled them. Like what they are and what they do. You know, the basics."

The seeker sighed and nodded, "We'll do that later. They're somewhat integral in everything. But considering how downhill everything seems to want to flow, we may want to stash these away for safe keeping."

Miko gasped excitedly, "Do they hang the fate of everything in the balance?"

Starscream let out an amused chuckle, "More than that. So, yes."

Raf stared at the Key and adjusted his glasses, "Well, from what Soundwave shared in your relic gathering, this looks like the fourth one of those..."

"Omega Keys," the seeker answered for him.

The boy nodded, "The fourth Omega Key you've found then. If it's a key, what does it open?"

Starscream smiled gently, "A story for another day. That's still a little farther ahead and it would be best if we discussed the implications of me revealing that event with the group," he stared the somewhat eager faces of the children down, remembering what the Omega Keys had truly cost in the end, "Let's... just say that these are worth far more than the metal they're cast in."

"A real game changer!" Miko snickered gleefully, "And you got them all before that scrap-head Megatron did! Way to go!"

The seeker smirked, allowing the praise, "Yes, I did do well, didn't I?"

The roar of a new, wild engine cut the moment short and Starscream bristled as Smokescreen drove in loudly, Jack excitedly laughing from the passenger seat.

The boy managed to climb out of the white mech's alt. mode with a thrill in his eye as Smokescreen transformed and stretched, "Man, how fast do you think I was going? Ninety? More?"

Jack snickered, "Oh, easily more."

"Really?" Arcee interjected, a unamused look on her faceplates, "Couldn't you have picked a less obvious vehicle to scan?"

Jack smiled and walked to her, "Oh, c'mon, Arcee. I thought I'd be hearing that from Ratchet, not you."

Smokescreen went to smile and say something but paused when he spotted Starscream glaring back at him. The two locked optics and remained silent.

Arcee rolled her optics, "Alright, Jack. Was the rest of the mission a success?"

The boy nodded, "Oh yeah, totally. We had a great talk. He's up to speed, I swear," he looked up at the white mech, "Right, Smokescreen?"

Smokescreen flinched, glancing back at Jack but putting his gaze firmly back on the seeker, "Hm? Yeah, we got that settled."

Starscream made a small noise and looked away but Smokescreen took a quick intake and stepped forward, curiosity getting the better of him, "They told me you knew things. And Jack told me about some of these events. Is it true?"

The seeker didn't look up from Ratchet's desk, the tedious task of messing with the medic's clutter far more interesting, "What do you think?"

The white mech shuddered, "You couldn't have known I was coming unless you knew the future..." he glared, "or the Cons on the ship I escaped from somehow contacted you."

Starscream scoffed, "Playing it that way, then?"

Miko pouted, "Hey, whoa, it's so not like that!"

Arcee frowned and put herself between the two, "Smokescreen, you are so far off base it's insulting. What he has put himself through to save us has been beyond what any of us could have been capable of," she reached up, grabbing the top of his chest plate to pull him down to her level, "and he has more than proven to be a team player. So if we have to chose between him and you, we'll be choosing Starscream every time."

Smokescreen blinked in surprise but didn't move until Arcee let him go. The white mech let his optics dart between the femme and seeker, unsure of what to say or do.

Jack let out a small breath of air and patted the side of Smokescreen's ped, "Told you. Stick with us for a few days and you'll see what I mean. When Starscream says it's coming, it happens. You might even see him teleport out of danger."

Smokescreen stared at Starscream harder, his faceplates expressing disbelief.

"Smokescreen," came Optimus's voice as the mech came from the hallway, "if there is ever any doubt in Starscream's allegiance, take solace in knowing that I put my faith in him. As should you."

The white mech's form stiffened and his intakes became strained.

With a breathless voice, he snickered and leaned down to Jack, whispering, "Holy Primus. It's actually Optimus Prime. This is so cool."

Starscream rolled his optics, turning to the Prime, "See? I told you, complete and utter fan-bot."