Title: Deception
Author: Lurkerlynne
Characters: Rodimus Prime
Rating: PG
Summary: Rodimus has his reasons.
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.

Tossing the datapad onto the desk, Rodimus collapsed into his chair. Rubbing his hands over his face, he contemplated just taking off for the Uncharted Territories; deep space would be more welcoming than the base was going to be in the next few orns. Ironhide wasn't going to be the only one slagged off when word got out about the situation with Starscream and Primus knew what the rumor mill was going to be like. Jazz had his work cut out keeping that under control.

Starscream was the highest-ranking Decepticon to ever defect; there had been warriors over the course of the war, and even a minor officer here and there. Having the Decepticon Air Commander and Megatron's 2IC willingly spilling secrets was something he couldn't afford to pass up. Placing him in private quarters instead of the brig was an easy decision, angled to influence Starscream's cooperation.

Leaving Optronix in his care- that was going to cause even more slag. He'd listed to the reasons it was a good idea: Starscream had developed the process that made Optronix's existence possible; the Seeker was equipped for caring for Optronix in a way no other Autobot was; Starscream had defected to keep the kid safe; Optronix was dependent on him.

Yadda, yadda, yadda.

None of those were the real reason. That, he had no intention of telling anyone. They wouldn't believe him anyway.

ooOO0OOoo

Back when the war was new, when he was still HotRod, he had been part of a team responsible for the evacuation of a group of younglings from a small city being pillaged by Decepticons. Their supplies had run low and all were down on power, some dangerously so. He had been scouting, looking for energon, and for a clear path to the next city over.

The only thing he'd found had been a Decepticon. He'd been investigating the ruin of a small building when he felt the ground tremble from the impact of something heavy landing nearby. HotRod had spun to see a Seeker crouched a few yards away. He'd lunged for his weapon, foolishly placed aside while he moved some debris, but couldn't reach it before a plasma bolt had struck close enough to his hand to make his circuits tingle.

He'd expected the next shot to hit the middle of his spoiler and when it didn't, he'd turned. The Seeker still had his weapon pointed at him, scowling.

"Not the brightest thing you've ever done, Autobot."

HotRod grimaced, optics darting between the Seeker and his rifle. The other mech noticed, and sneered.

"In a hurry to die?"

"In a hurry to get fragged up?" he'd challenged back. The Seeker wasn't too far away now; it was possible that he could do some damage before being deactivated. His right hand crept to where he kept his force-blade.

The Decepticon snorted in derision. "You couldn't frag a glitchmouse. Been giving the energon to the younglings?"

HotRod had felt his spark stall. "What younglings?"

"Oh, please. The younglings in the camp three miles back the way you came."

HotRod had heard of Decepticons killing younglings; over his extinguished lasercore would he let this one get near any of them.

"And what are you going to do about it?" he said fiercely.

"Not a slagging thing." The Seeker had informed him. "You, however, are going to lead them to these coordinates."

A small databurst of information had followed, pinging off his firewalls. "And why would I do that?"

"Because, you glitch, there isn't any fighting there!"

A hail interrupted them.

"Starscream," a cold voice demanded, "what is the delay?"

"No delay," Starscream reported openly, not looking away from HotRod. "Merely a sensor ghost from the damaged power grid."

"Then return."

"Acknowledged, mighty Megatron." He signed off.

"Why are you helping us?" HotRod asked, completely bewildered.

Starscream didn't answer. Before HotRod could think to try and stop him, he was transforming midair, disappearing into the sky.

HotRod had gaped after him for a breem before taking off back to the camp. He made up a story about coming across a badly damaged mech who had given him the coordinates before deactivating. His team had bought it, gathering the kids up and marching everybody out. The coordinates led past the fighting, to a bunker only slightly damaged and very empty; it had looked like it had been unoccupied since the war started.

It made the small pile of energon cubes they found there all the more puzzling. His team figured it was a lost supply, forgotten by both sides. HotRod hadn't bothered to mention the footprint he'd found; that of a mech with a heel-turbine. He'd just scuffed it out of existence and settled in for his watch.

ooOO0OOoo

Putting his pedes up on his desk, and staring at the ceiling, Rodimus remembered the relief everyone had felt when the Autobot army had shown up later that night, following a tip about refugees with younglings. The call had been distorted, the caller's voice too mangled to identify and barely comprehensible but it had originated in the vicinity of the bunker.

He had paid attention after that; teams led by Starscream rarely deliberately harmed a sparkling. He suspected that a few of the distress calls that involved younglings originated from the Seeker.

Starscream was the vicious Decepticon Air Commander everywhere else, delighting in the defeat of his enemies, but as far as Rodimus had been able to tell, he had never seriously harmed a sparkling. If Optimus still existed he might have told him, but he didn't, so Rodimus had to keep his own counsel.