A rescue mission and a violent, bloody confrontation between Thundercracker and the Decepticons. Who is left standing?
Underestimating the prowess of your enemy gets you killed
After several thousand vorns of war mechs tends to forget. Mistakes happen and you have to take the consequences of these mistakes.
This time the first mistake happens when an extremely dangerous prisoner is released from his cell. The second is to be negligent to the accomplishments this prisoner has accomplished during his long life. The third is to underestimate the danger the prisoner represents when free of the confines keeping him docile and only having a handful of guards escort the prisoner to the prepared procedure designed to turn him into a useful tool.
A fully charged sonic boom is the consequence of such mistakes and miscalculations. In close proximity it is simply devastating, mercilessly tearing into structures and mechs alike, creating massive destruction in its wake, if not outright killing the unfortunate being too close when the weapon is released.
A deafening klaxon begins to blare through the whole space ship, voicing warnings about hull breach, flooding on several levels of the sunken space ship and even as the impersonal voice talks the sonic shockwave travels along the whole structure, rattling everything on its way until it finally abates when the charged outgoing energy is spent, absorbed by the space ship's structure.
"I think we found our objective." Jazz comments to Mirage, whistling impressed at the sheer force of the shockwave he feels through the floor. And they are still only in the back of the space ship, far from where Thundercracker is. It is clear to the two spec ops mechs that the Autobot Air Commander has held himself back in the direct confrontations with the decepticons during his time with the Autobots.
When another boom sounds they set in motion towards the source. "Might as well see if he should need our help." The saboteur grins to the towers mech. With a nod Mirage checks the effect of his cloaking device and strengthens its field around them as they begin to move into the hot zone.
Earlier:
When Starscream this time enters the high-security part of the brig, Thundercracker remains unmoving. He is almost convinced that the blue seeker is unconscious or in stasis-lock. But something tells him that that isn't the case and unease begins to settle in his spark.
What is Thundercracker planning?
"What a pathetic sight." Skywarp sneers beside him, and Starscream glances at the black and purple seeker out of the corner of his optic.
"Yeah… Yeah." He adds, but his voice holds no true conviction. While Starscream seems to have softened since the loss of their trinemate, Skywarp has become dangerous to be around. Become unstable, more reckless and merciless.
Silence.
Then a vicious snarl before Skywarp throws him against the cell opposite Thundercracker's.
"What is it with you?!" the teleporter growls, cold red optics staring daggers at the momentarily shocked tricolored seeker. Then Starscream regains his wits and with narrowed optics and a snarl of his own he forces the black and purple seeker back.
"None of your business!" he growls menacingly before he begins to tap at the keypad beside the blue seeker's cell. A klik later the energon bars dissipates and with another few taps the shackles restraining the seeker releases their hold on wrists and feet, dumping the seeker lifelessly to the floor.
At the sight Starscream frowns and tentatively walks into the cell, fingers roaming the seemingly unresponsive frame.
"He isn't dead already, is he?" Skywarps voice sounds behind him, and even if the seeker tries to hide it, Starscream hears the underlying worry in the voice. Primus forbids anything to happen to the teleporters future sparkbonded.
"He is okay Sky. Don't worry." The tricolored seeker reassures as he watches fingers move almost imperceptibly while the lips moves almost soundlessly, whispering so low that he himself barely can discern what the blue seeker is saying.
But this close he hears the whispered numbers and recognizes the specific movements of the fingers while Skywarp remains completely ignorant to the silent communique between them.
With an almost imperceptible nod of his own, he begins to lift the seeker from the floor, supporting Thundercracker's head against his neck and the feeling of the lips touching his sensitive plating sends small tremors down his frame.
"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me get this fragging heavy frame out of here?!" Starscream snarls to Skywarp while struggling to keep standing with Thundercracker resting his whole weight on him. When Skywarp moves to help him, he hides his movements against the blue seeker's side, entering the small latch there and activates the miniature keypad hidden behind.
Secretly tapping the code given by Thundercracker a little hatch opens beside the latch and as he discreetly reaches his hand into it, his fingers closes around the only item stored, withdrawing it unseen and closes the subspace again. Storing the item in his own subspace he redoubles his effort to get Thundercracker out of the high-security part of the brig and to the guards waiting inside the regular part of the brig. There he and Skywarp hands over the blue seeker to the guards and as they leave the brig they take up front, wings hiked high on their back.
But even as he keeps up the defiant front, daring anyone to interrupt them in their quest to complete the Command Trine once again, inside he is torn. His subspace feels like burning, housing the item entrusted to him by the prisoner. Should or shouldn't? His mind is battling a raging internal fight to decide what cause of action to take.
Then they are already there and he is out of time.
Seeing the large pitch black CR chamber ready to accommodate the reprogrammed and reframed blue seeker when the procedure is complete he finally makes the decision. With steely red optics he stares fixatedly at the prone blue seeker held among the guards and motions for them to place the seeker on a berth beside the one supporting the seeker's new and modern frame.
"I'm sorry Thundercracker." he murmurs; voice loud enough to be heard by everyone in close vicinity. Then he surprises everyone when he reaches into subspace and in a fluid motion stabs the booster directly into an exposed energon line in the blue seeker's neck, pushing the plunger flat against the cylinder, releasing the whole content into the blue seeker's frame, praying that he didn't chose the wrong energon line and that the boost doesn't go directly to the spark instead of the surrounding fatigued and energy suppressed systems.
"What are you doing?!" Skywarp screams horrified. Desperate he tears the booster out of the energon line, but it is already too late. Systems begin to whirr for a few kliks only to shut down completely a moment later. "No. No, no, no. NO!" Skywarp chants terrified when any sound from the frame just silences.
Starscream stares just as terrified at the prone, now completely lifeless frame. 'I hit the wrong line. I killed him. I killed him… I…killed him.' Tears begin to well up in his optics and he fights greatly to prevent them from falling.
"I'm… I'm sorry Sky. It… This shouldn't have happened." He solemnly apologizes to the completely devastated black and purple seeker, stepping closer to his trinemate to try and sooth.
Consumed by grief none of the seekers pays any attention to the prone frame. None of them sees the tell-tale signs. It is first when they are both practically thrown away from the berth by the seeker and lands on the floor a distance away that they are aware that Thundercracker isn't dead. The following powerful sonic boom throws them further away in the room, wounds happen on their frames while energon lines ruptures. But even if their damages are extensive they are the only fortunate in the room, the harsh shove by the blue seeker bringing them at a safer distance before the weapon unleashes.
Through cracked optics Starscream sees the blurry shape rise from the berth followed by two heavy 'clanks' and the sound of transformation before the sound of rendering metal reaches his audios. Another sonic boom is released and he guesses reinforcements must have arrived to stop the seeker from fleeing.
Heavy footsteps and he feels Thundercracker's field mingle with his. Looking up, the blurry shape is standing above him, yet the sound of metal hitting metal continues with following screams, grunts and groans. Somehow he is elated that the blue seeker is alright, but scared shitless as well at the emotions he senses through their intermingling fields. Gone is the stoic, calm and collected flight instructor he remembers so well, in his place he senses a ruthless warrior.
Just when unconsciousness finally claims him, the damages and loss of energon too great for him to remain conscious he frowns when he hears a voice above the sound of the fighting.
"Holy PRIMUS Thundercracker!" Jazz exclaims in deep awe at the sight of the blue seeker in the middle of the energon soaked battlefield the CR chambers' room has been turned into.
Standing in the middle of the massacre, Thundercracker is poised in a defensive stance above Starscream and Skywarp, fending off the last decepticons in the room. Gone are his wings, instead an ancient shield and sword is held in his hands, both dripping with energon, the sword faintly glowing light blue.
"Na'hïl and Fraÿor." Mirage comments fascinated at the sight of the ancient weapons. Seeing Jazz's confusion the towers mech elaborates "Together they are "Freedom of the will." I'm sure you have heard about them in that context. I saw them portrayed in some of the wall murals adorning the Towers as well as the Halls of Primus. But I didn't know Thundercracker is the wielder. Legend spoke that they were lost a few thousand vorns after the Quintesson War. But that clearly isn't so."
"And if Megatron had known I'm sure he would have used the chance to get his hands on them." Thundercracker breaks in, straightening and easing out of the defensive stance now that his enemies are either dead or dying. "In that you are all lucky that I kept the secret to myself." He adds before he releases the magnetic field securing the weapons in his hold and allows them to transform back into his wide sweeping wings.
To that Jazz snickers. He would really like to see Megatrons face when the warlord realizes what a great mistake he made back then by scrapping the blue seeker's ancient frame and with it the two most legendary weapons in all of the cybertronian history.
"You have to tell us how you ended up with these legendary weapons someday Thundercracker. I'm sure it is a story of marvel." The saboteur demands eagerly.
"It isn't as glorified as you would think." The seeker snorts brusquely.
"Still want to know." Jazz chimes in.
"Very well." Thundercracker sighs, "But that is for another time. Care to help me with these two?" the blue seeker points at the two unconscious seekers at his feet. Bending down he takes the empty booster out of Skywarps hand and subspaces it before lifting Starscream from the floor and tugging the damaged tricolored seeker close to his frame. He is still bursting with replenished and excessive energy after the fight and when the boost had taken effect all he could do before unleashing the devastating sonic boom had been to shove the seeker away before Starscream could suffer the full effect of it.
"My little Starscream." He murmurs gently before stepping out of the room and walking down the corridor towards the location of the emergency entryway the spec ops usually use when in need to leave the enemy base in a hurry.