Warrior Star stalked out of the Med Bay, her optics blazing with anger as her entire body trembled ominously. The bronze femme wasn't just angry. She was furious.

Who does he think he is? She thought, her claws biting into the pavement as she paced back and forth in front of the Med Bay in her rage. Then she paused momentarily, uncertain if her fury was directed at Breaksteel…or her brother.

Keystone brought up a good point…yet…I cannot help but disagree with the mech. Nothing, NOTHING, warrants attacking a mech that isn't displaying any threat behaviors. Besides, I am well able to care for myself…Breaksteel should not have acted so aggressively. He deserved to feel my fangs. The bronze femme started moving again, allowing a snarl to curl at her jaws. Then she paused with a massive paw in the air, her head turning to stare downwards when a familiar voice reached her audios.

"Well. What was that about?" Will Lennox asked, his arms crossed as he squinted up at her. The sun cast highlights across the human's face, bringing out the light hazel tone of his eyes as his short cut brown hair gleamed under the light.

Warrior Star stayed silent for several moments, feeling the tension drain from her massive frame as she stared down at the human that was her greatest friend. Finally she vented sharply, allowing herself to sink to her stomach as she lowered her head to the ground. Will approached without fear, leaning against her muzzle and staring straight into her optics as she studied him thoughtfully.

"Breaksteel was trying to defend me from Ironhide. Instinct, Keystone called it. Ridiculous is what I think of it. I can certainly defend myself against a threat, and Ironhide was not one. Why the mech thought I was in danger is beyond me." She growled in annoyance, shuttering her optics as Will gently ran a hand along the plates of armor on her muzzle. She turned her attention to his touch, allowing the gentle movements of his fingers on her armor to lull her into a slight recharge as the sun warmed her back plates.

The bronze femme relaxed even further as the pain from her injuries faded into the background under the human's touch and the sun on her frame. She tensed only slightly when she felt the subtle tremors of a mech's feet on the floor inside the Med Bay, but didn't open her optics as the door opened. She did, however, come to attention when the mech spoke.

"William. Warrior Star. Ratchet wants you back on your berth. You have further repairs to be completed and he wants to ensure you didn't injure yourself further when you went for Breaksteel." She huffed softly, raising her head only when Will was clear to eye her brother in a less than friendly manner.

"Did you gut the mech, Shadowfang?" She asked, feeling her brother's amusement as he tugged at her spark gently.

"No, sister. We only spoke to him. He is…suitably chastened now. It may be best for you to leave him in peace…for now. And Ironhide has some replacement armor plates for you. That's why he stopped by. The mech finally just gave up and has made you a full backup set so you don't have to wait on armor repairs." Warrior Star rose to her feet, stretching and yawning as Will patted Shadowfang's paw affectionately. The steel gray mech lowered his head, allowing the human to clamber onto his nose before he turned back to go into the Med Bay, striding out in time with his sister as Warrior Star stepped forward as well.

Warrior Star's optics narrowed only in the slightest as every optic in the room focused on her, but she otherwise ignored them as she bounded back onto the berth she had previously occupied. She settled onto her stomach as Ratchet glared at her ominously, tapping his favorite wrench into the palm of one hand as Shadowfang reclaimed his berth with Will still perched comfortably on his nose.

The bronze femme gritted her dentals when the wrench danced painfully across her skull plates, and she leveled a glare at the chief medical officer that promised a painful retribution for the action. He ignored her, going back to work on her injuries while checking over her frame quickly for new damage as Shadowfang bit back a snarl when Ratchet's wrench flew his way and landed with a clang. The pain that flickered through her bond with her second brother made her bare her fangs in an angered snarl, but Shadowfang and Keystone both reached through and embraced her spark, sending her love and calm as the black mech spoke soothingly.

Calm, sister. Ratchet punished every single mech in here for the chaos. Breaksteel got it quite badly actually. Take your punishment with grace, Warrior Star. She turned her head far enough to see her brother, and the look in her optics brought him pause.

I. Will. Not. Breaksteel was the cause. Shadowfang and I stopped him. The 'chaos' as you described it was not our fault. We deserved no such punishment, and you know it. Turning her attention from the uneasy silence in the bonds to the medic working on her injuries, she focused on Ratchet, narrowing her optics as she stared at him menacingly. He felt her gaze and immediately looked at her, pausing his work as he studied her uneasily.

"Ratchet. Let me make this very, very clear. If you ever punish one of my brothers for an action that was not their fault to begin with, you will be hearing from me. And if you ever, ever strike me again without a fragging good reason…you will feel my fangs. I care not what Optimus will do to me. Do not ever strike me or my brothers again unless it is our actions that are the direct cause for the punishment. What happened here today was not my fault, nor was it Shadowfang's. You had no right to strike either of us. And while I'm thinking on it…the only one left in this world that has the right to punish Shadowfang and Keystone is me. No. One. Else. Am I clear?" Every mech in the Med Bay was staring at the femme in awe and no small amount of trepidation for how she spoke. Ratchet's temper was legendary and he feared no one. The look in Warrior Star's brightly gleaming optics, however, promised that what she said was deadly true. Every optic in the room turned to the medic, gauging his reaction to the femme's challenge. His light blue optics were narrowed thoughtfully as he met the bronze femme's gaze, and he pondered for just a moment before replying.

"You are aware that you are in my Med Bay, right femme? And that I control every medic on this base? This is my turf, not yours. Do not threaten me." Slowly, with every ounce of killing power frighteningly evident, Warrior Star rose to her feet, staring straight into the medic's optics as every mech in the room froze.

"It may be your Med Bay but those are my brothers. No one controls them but me. And no one controls me. I will respect your boundaries, but only if you respect mine. And what I said was not a threat, Ratchet…it was a promise and a warning." The tension between the bronze wolf and the chief medic was killer, but it was broken when a smile crossed Ratchet's face. He reached out a hand to the femme, and she shifted her weight to place a massive paw into his hand.

"Fair enough, Warrior Star. Fair enough."

A/N: Well. This one turned out rather strange. Been working on it for a couple days, but the confrontation between Warrior Star and Ratchet was entirely unexpected. Plot bunnies disappeared, now they reappeared with the strangest little battles in their evil furry little heads. How odd.

So sorry for the long absence! Been mongo busy in my corner of the country. But thankfully everything has slowed down for now...hopefully that means more chapters and more writing. That and I've also picked back up on crafting projects so I've been making stuff for my friends. That and the Muse took another vacation on me...I've been wanting to write like mad but the moment I sit down and put my fingers to the keys, I feel like my mind is just as empty as the page in front of me. I hate writer's block.

To my dear readers, reviewers, favoriters, and followers, thank you for your unending patience! You are amazing people!

Until we meet again...

Kani