Title: Aftermath
Characters: Rodimus Prime, Ironhide, Prowl, Jazz, Skyfire, Ratchet
Rating: PG
Summary: The Autobots decide what, exactly, to do with Starscream.
Disclaimer: Still not mine. Except for Optronix, which means I have Starscream. Woo-hoo!
Notes: rezuri beta'd but I still lay claim to any and all mistakes.
Author Notes: This is set between chapters 5 and 6 of Kite Strings and Sealing Compound. Story has been tweaked a little.

"Optronix-"

"Optimus!" Ironhide snarled.

Jazz turned his chair in preparation; whether to tackle Ironhide or jump clear he wasn't entirely sure. The other mech had been furious since Starscream had arrived and they'd discovered their former Prime's fate. Optimus had been a close friend and Ironhide wasn't taking the loss well, to say the least. Jazz regretted taking a seat next to him at the conference table.

"-the sparkling," Ratchet, smart mech that he was, completely avoided the issue, "presents as being roughly a half-vorn in age, and in excellent health. He only needed some slight defragging of his databanks and memory along with minor adjustments to his repair systems."

Before Ironhide could open his mouth, Ratchet cut him off. "All problems trace back to the fact that Starscream didn't have a recharge computer or seemed to have the medical knowledge to correct the problems. He's been upgraded with backing equipment and appears to have relied on that."

"Backing?" Prowl questioned before Jazz could. From the interested looks on Rodimus and Red Alert's faces they didn't know either.

Surprisingly, Skyfire was the one who answered.

"It's a way of taking care of a sparkling," he said. "Specialized equipment is installed in the back of the parent, which allows for hard connections between adult and sparkling. A mech can refuel the sparkling from his own lines as well as update viral defenses, perform maintenance and upload programs."

"Wait," Jazz said. "Starscream had all that installed for the kid?"

"Highly suspicious," Red Alert added. "That means they planned-"

"No," Skyfire interrupted, voice soft and sad. "It's an old-fashioned method, predating the recharge computer. He had the backing installed to use for his own sparkling, before the war."

"That's a load of Pitslag!" Ironhide raged, standing so fast his chair skidded backwards.

Skyfire also stood, towering over Ironhide. "You doubt me?" His tone was icy with offense.

"Whoa!" Rodimus rose, hands raised to form a T. "Time out, you two." They subsided, glaring at each other as they reseated themselves. "Thank you."

Rodimus switched his gaze to Ratchet for confirmation. "Ratchet?"

Ratchet eyed the two mechs before answering, "Skyfire's right; Starscream had the backing equipment long before any of this happened. The way it's incorporated to his internal components is indicative of long-term integration. It's been in place for hundreds of vorns."

Rodimus frowned thoughtfully. To Skyfire, he asked, "What happened to the sparkling?"

"She died." Skyfire looked even sadder. "Along with his bondmate. Our survey mission was the first thing he'd shown an interest in since their deaths, and well..."

"Ah, slag." Rodimus sank back into his chair, optics closing.

Jazz winced, pieces putting themselves together in his head; he remembered the reports of a Seeker returning without his partner and the scientific community up in arms about it, claiming he had murdered that partner.

"There were reports," Red Alert began.

"That were untrue," Skyfire stated vehemently. "I've read them and nothing like that happened. Starscream loved his family and he earned his reputation as a scientist."

Ironhide made a rude noise, opening his mouth to say something. A gesture from Rodimus made him shut it.

"Back to Optronix," Rodimus said, in an attempt to move the meeting along. "He doesn't remember being Optimus?"

"No," Ratchet sighed. "He has no conscious memory of being Optimus. But what he was subjected to was highly experimental and Starscream's notes indicated that memories have surfaced on occasion, in the form of nightmares."

"He's scared of Swoop," Jazz murmured absentmindedly. He focused himself when everyone looked at him. "He's scared of Swoop," Jazz repeated.

"He's scared of First Aid, too," Ratchet told him.

"No, he's wary of First Aid," Jazz said. "He's scaredof Swoop, and Swoop's not had much interaction with him."

"Swoop's a big mech, could be menacing to a kid that size and age," Rodimus put in.

"Uh-uh, boss. I think he remembers something, even if he can't put it in words," Jazz told him. "I asked but he couldn't tell me why."

"Okay." Rodimus rubbed at his face. "Okay. Have to keep an eye on that."

"Slagging right," Ironhide growled. Jazz saw Rodimus slide him a look out the corner of his optics; Primus, he hoped Ironhide wasn't hoping the kid remembered being Optimus.

"Ironhide." Ratchet leaned towards him, arms braced against the table. "It'd be Optimus' memory files in a sparkling's frame and cortex; he'd never be able to handle them."

Ironhide glared at Ratchet for a few minutes then turned his head away, engine growling softly. Rodimus watched him carefully before turning to Ratchet.

"What kind of condition is Starscream in?"

Ratchet vented a sigh, picking up a datapad. He looked at it briefly before sliding it across the table to Rodimus.

"Not so good. He shows signs of frequent repairs, most not fully completed and sometimes poorly performed," he said grimly. "His fuel lines and cydraulics are contaminated; there's also some conflict between his firewalls and antivirals. His maintenance and repair systems are overworked trying to deal with everything, but I discovered nothing hazardous when I went through his cortex and databanks."

Rodimus picked up the datapad, paging through Ratchet's findings. "What was his operational capacity?"

"About 76 percent," Ratchet replied. "It's been at or near that level for vorns."

An electronic squawk cut the stunned silence and Jazz was embarrassed to realize he had made the noise. "We've been fighting an impaired Screamer?"

Ratchet couldn't quite quell the smirk lurking at the corners of his mouth. "Yes. You were thrown through a brick wall by a physically impaired mech two years ago."

Jazz slumped in his chair with a moan; Starscream had not only tossed him through that wall, he'd landed a good forty yards past it. One minute he was jumping a supposedly unaware Starscream and the next he was laying on his back, blinking at the sky and wondering why he hurt so much. Damn, if that was Starscream impaired, full capacity would put him almost at Optimus's fighting level.

"That why you have him offline in a CR chamber?"

"It is," Ratchet confirmed. "I would like to keep him offline until his fuel system and cydraulic lines are fully clean and the faulty repairs are rectified."

"You wanna *fix* him?" Ironhide was incredulous, palms slapping down onto the table.

"Sir, I protest!" Red Alerts voice rose. "A fully functional Decepticon on the base is a monumental security hazard!"

Rodimus placed a hand on Ironhide's shoulder and Jazz could see he was pushing down. "How long would that take?"

"Another three orns, then I'm certain his own systems can handle the rest." Ratchet glared at Ironhide and Red Alert. "He has the right to be healthy."

"It would reassure him that we are taking his defection seriously," Prowl mused aloud, "and possibly ensure his full cooperation."

"Starscream, cooperate?" Jazz snickered. "Where've you been, Prowler?"

"Down, boy," Rodimus murmured, amusement underlying his voice. A smile twitched the corners of his mouth when Jazz stuck his glossa out at a glowering Prowl. Ignoring him, Rodimus turned to Ratchet. "All right, lemme know when he's online."

Ratchet nodded. "Yes, Prime."

"How's the kid doing?" Rodimus flicked his optics from Jazz to Prowl. "Any problems?"

Prowl glanced at Jazz. "Not since we reassured him Starscream wasn't being harmed. Jazz-" He indicated his bondmate "-has been taking him to the repair bay before night recharge."

At Rodimus' look, Ratchet just snorted in irritation.

"He wanted to say goodnight," Jazz said with an innocent smile.

"The sparkling shows no sign of Decepticon indoctrination," Prowl continued. "He has no opinion on humans or any other biological creatures; in fact I'm fairly certain he's never been outside of the Decepticon base. And he's extremely fond of Starscream." Prowl kept the surprise out of his voice but Jazz could feel it through their bond.

Ratchet chimed in. "His education is somewhat behind what it should be, but he's intelligent and should catch up quickly."

"Good." Rodimus looked pleased. "I want him in Blaster's daycare as soon as he's ready. And," Rodimus braced himself, "I want him with Starscream when he's back online."

Rodimus let them voice their objections, and their rage, before raising his hand for silence. "Hear me out. Starscream created the device that turned an adult Seibertronian into a sparkling. He'd be the best one for spotting something going wrong." Rodimus turned to Ratchet, "You said that neither you nor Wheeljack fully understand how it should work."

"I did." Ratchet didn't look happy at the admission. "But Starscream?"

"He seems attached to the sparkling and the threat of removing him might provide some leverage," Prowl said.

"No slagging way!" Ironhide protested. "He stays with you or comes with me!"

"Sit down, Ironhide," Rodimus ordered. "Or I'll have you removed."

"You wouldn't." Ironhide crossed his arms, chin raised.

"I most certainly would."

"Optimus wouldn't-"

"I'm not Optimus," Rodimus coldly informed him. "And I'm never going to be Optimus. Primus knows why the Matrix chose me but it did; deal with it."

Rodimus flicked his optics over all of them. "And I say Optronix stays with Starscream, who is the only familiar person here. Starscream has been acting as his parent for as long as Optronix can remember; separating the two of them now would only be traumatizing."

"The Decepticons have deactivated sparklings before," Red Alert pointed out. "Who's to say Starscream won't?

"I do." Skyfire told him. "Starscream had every opportunity to harm Optronix while they were at Decepticon headquarters. He brought Optronix here, to keep him safe from Megatron."

"Concern for others isn't something Starscream's known for, Sky," Jazz said quietly. "If he was that ready to leave, why didn't he do it earlier? Those disks he brought were a couple years in the making."

Skyfire's mouth twisted, somewhere between a smile and a frown. "Star is stubborn - he makes a decision and sticks with it, even if it puts him through the Pit. If he made those disks, he was starting to think about leaving; Optronix must have been the push he needed."

"Prime, if he is keeping the sparkling, then we'll have to upgrade the brig." Red Alert frowned at his datapad. "That could prove difficult."

"They're not going to the brig." Rodimus raised his optic ridges. "I want a suite converted for them; surveillance, door locks, limited comms. The works. I want to bring Starscream over to our side and I don't see that happening in the brig."

"Sir!" Red Alert protested. "Starscream has been a loyal Decepticon since the war started; we have no real idea why he left! It may be a trap-"

"Starscream's sincere," Skyfire told him. "No ruse, at least on his part."

Red Alert didn't look convinced but reluctantly complied. "There are three sets of quarters which might be suitable; I'll have a report ready in five joors."

"No rush," Rodimus said. "It can wait until tomorrow."

"Acknowledged, sir."

Rodimus looked around the room. "Anything else? No?" Rodimus stood. "Dismissed, then."

Ironhide stormed out, clearly displeased and probably going to the range to work off that anger. Red Alert followed, optics flickering in a combination of his usual paranoia and working-on-a-problem; Jazz was positive that Red would have a room picked out by the time he reached his office. Skyfire took off in the direction of the exit, probably to work off his own unhappy in the air. Rodimus slipped through the connecting door to his office, Ratchet's datapad in hand. Jazz knew Ratchet would send him and Prowl their own copies.

He waited for Prowl to catch up and followed Ratchet to the repair bay; Optronix was there, offline while First Aid and Wheeljack ran more in-depth scans.

"Gonna get interesting, Prowler," he murmured.

"Indeed," Prowl murmured back. "Ironhide bears watching; he may do something... unwise."

"No slag." Like attempt to deactivate the highest-ranking Decepticon to ever defect; interrogation was useful but the information the harsher methods retrieved was frequently corrupted and useless. Forced data retrieval was tricky business and the fight to protect one's Self often damaged the data targeted. The disks Starscream had brought were clean and contained information on all sorts of Decepticon activities. The disks alone would be enough to grant Starscream asylum but apparently Prime was hoping for more.

Jazz would support his Prime but he couldn't but help but feel Rodimus was spitting in the wind.

Starscream, an Autobot?