Chapter 9
Dawnstar flew farther and farther away from Kaon. Away from her sire and everything she had ever known. She wasn't sure where she was going, she just had to get away. She had finally managed to lose the other Seekers shortly after Starscream had fallen out of the sky. Thundercracker and a few other Seekers stopped their pursuit to rescue him, and the rest couldn't keep up with her. She was free, but had no where to go.
Her engines were overheating and she was low on fuel. She needed to land, but wasn't sure if this place was safe or not. She flew further towards a city. Maybe she could land on one of those towers and rest.
The roar of multiple jet engines sounded from below and quickly grew louder as they neared. They weren't Seeker engines. They were too weak. Too quiet. A soft purr compared to the thunderous roar of her people's strength.
Three Cybertronian jets were suddenly around her, all different and not one a Seeker or any flyer she knew. Then, she saw it. The red insignia on those not very impressive wings.
Autobots.
Fear. She was scared of that sight. She had always been told to be wary of Autobots. to not trust them, to not speak to them, to avoid them at any and all costs. They were the ones who had shot down her carrier, the ones her sire fought, the ones her people hated. And now she was in their territory.
They closed in, flying so close to her that if she tried to make a move they could easily transform, grab her, and do horrible things to her. If she had been in root mode she would have swallowed.
"Follow us, Seeker. And nothing funny." One of them ordered in a harsh vocalizer.
Having no other option, she obeyed. They descended and she with them. She was trembling slightly as they neared a large building, flying between the ruined towers, more and more Autobots visible below. They touched down on a landing platform, the Autobots immediately transformed and aimed their guns at her. Dawnstar was too afraid to move.
"Transform. Now." One of them ordered.
She hesitated, but did so. The Autobots' optics widened when they saw the femme in her root mode.
"Hot damn." Air Raid muttered in Slingshot's audio receptor.
"State your designation." Silverbolt continued.
Dawnstar swallowed. She remembered her sire's words concerning her relationship to him. If they knew she was his daughter they would undoubtedly execute her immediately. They probably would execute her for being a Seeker period.
"S-Seeker Dawnstar." She said uncertainly.
"Are you a Decepticon?"
"N-no. I am not." Well, not officially. She added in her processor.
"What are you doing flying over Iacon?"
"I was-" She swallowed again. "I was just traveling. I did not intend to trespass over your protectorate. I apologize for the inconvenience it may have begotten in your busy schedules. I'll leave immediately and will not-"
"No, you are coming with us." Skydive interrupted. "You may be lying and we will find out."
"I am not lying."
"You're a Seeker. I bet you're lying." Slingshot put in.
Her wings twitched just as her sire's did when irritated. "Seekers are fully capable of being honest. You're just quick to believe everything is a lie since you obviously have to lie to yourself to keep your self esteem above average."
Air Raid chuckled while Slingshot's optics narrowed. Dawnstar placed her servos on her hips, shifted her weight to one leg, and slightly leaned forward just as her sire did when he was feeling cocky. She smirked his smirk, looking so much like him.
"Alright, enough." Silverbolt said while raising his servo. "Dawnstar, follow me. We'll going to find out a little more about you."
Dawnstar's optics narrowed, her wings twitching again, but she obeyed. Slingshot and Air Raid walked on either side of her while Fireflight and Skydive took the rear.
"Is it just me or does she look oddly familiar?" Fireflight whispered in Skydive's audio receptor.
"No, she does look familiar." He muttered back.
"I just know this will be keeping me up at night."
"It better not. I deeply enjoy my recharge."
The Seeker femme was led deeper into the Autobot base, stares following her from everyone they passed. Her thruster heels clipping loudly, wings raised high, and looking as proud as her sire, she strutted with all the arrogance she had been taught to show. She was better than these Autobots, and they needed to see it.
"Hey, we caught something." Silverbolt said as he stopped just behind a black and white 'bot.
"Better not be another virus. Las' one ya brought home had me berthridden for five orbital cycles!" He said as he kept his focus on some weapon he was cleaning.
"No, at least, there shouldn't be any viruses involved. And, that incident was, like, twenty stellar cycles ago. Let it go."
"Easy for ya ta say! Ya weren't the one-" He stopped when he had finally turned around. "What ah say about bringing girls home?"
"Jazz, she came to us. She was flying over sector 67-5362 and we went to investigate." Silverbolt explained.
"I see. What's ya designation, femme?"
"Dawnstar." She answered.
"Dawnstar?" Jazz paused, his visor momentarily brightening. "Where have ah heard of dat before?"
Dawnstar swallowed. Jazz studied her, her thin frame, much thinner than any Seeker, femme or mech. Her skinny limbs, coloration, and those faceplates. They were dark. There was only one Seeker he had ever seen that had dark faceplates like that. And the unusual color of her optics. Undoubtedly from a red opticed 'bot mating with a blue opticed 'bot.
"Sir?" Silverbolt inquired when his superior had been quiet for too long.
"Take her to Ratchet. Have him take in detailed scans of her. I will be there shortly." Jazz ordered, not looking away from the Seeker.
"Alright. Come on." Silverbolt said as he gestured for the femme to follow.
Jazz watched the gestalt and Seeker leave. Once they were out of audio range he pressed two digits to his temple and activated his comm. link.
"Hey, Prowler, ah think there's something you'd like ta have a look-see at."
::Such as?:: The unemotional vocalizer sounded over the line.
Jazz smirked. "Remember all those stellar cycles ago when Hound an' Trailbreaker found Starscream's creation in da woods back on Earth?"
Silence on the other end before, ::Continue.::
"Well, ah think we found 'er again."
Starscream onlined with a start. He felt stiff, unresponsive, and… weird. Then he realized why: He was still in alt. mode. His optical sensors easily discerned the medbay, but why was he on the floor as a jet?
"You're online. Good, because than I can hit you." Hook grunted as he walked over.
"Why am I-"
"Still in your alt. mode? Because you have not had enough fuel to transform. You should be fine now, though, but everything might be stiff. You've been out for a few joors."
"Ugh… I feel like I was - Dawnstar! Primus, where is she?!"
"Calm yourself, Commander. I need you-"
Starscream suddenly started to transform, although all his gears and hydraulics sounds like they were grinding against each other.
"Argh! Ah! Why is it so-"
"So uncomfortable? Because you have been so low on fuel your systems can't even maintain your basic health functions like repairing worn gears or keeping everything well lubricated. Stop, Commander, slow down. Primus, you're a slagging idiot! When will you heed your doctor's orders?! No, go ahead. Ignore me and deactivate yourself. It will certainly save me incalculable amounts of time." He paused as he watched Starscream finish his transformation. "Stubborn glitchhead. I doubt you would deactivate if you never received medical care."
"Where's Dawnstar?" Starscream demanded.
Hook hesitated. "I will leave that to be answered by Thundercracker. Dammit, Starscream! Sit down!" He ordered as the Air Commander started to walk away.
"Not until I find out the location of my daughter." He grunted.
"Commander, I need to finish fixing-aw, forget it. Go ahead. Go fall apart and turn into a pile of rust. I don't care. Give me more time to frag my gestalt. But don't you dare come dragging your sorry aft back when you lose your limbs all because you refused to listen to me!" He stopped when the door shut leaving him alone. "Slagging Seekers. All they do is interface, cause drama, and ignore me."
Starscream made his way to where he just knew his trinemates would be. If they weren't in the medbay waiting for him to online they would either be out on patrols or doing his work. Starscream stormed into the Control Room and marched straight to the blue Seeker.
"Where is she?" He demanded.
Thundercracker swiveled in his chair to face him. "I'm working on that." He grunted, his optics narrowed, more than just tired of dealing with Dawnstar's slag.
"What happened after I… What happened?" Starscream inquired, his vocalizer softer now.
"After you fell into stasis lock? Well, I went after your sorry aft to rescue you. A few of the other Seekers chased after the brat, but they couldn't keep up and lost her. By the way, you're welcome."
"Don't speak to me in such a tone." Starscream almost growled, his wings raised high.
"You need to refuel, Starscream. You also need to realize that your brat is only going to do as you say if you lock her in the brig and keep her there until she's a few hundred vorns old." Thundercracker stated firmly, his arms crossed.
"I will handle her. I am her sire, not you."
"I'm your trinemate. I will not stand by while you slowly deactivate yourself and let that ungrateful, little, whoring br-"
"Say another word." Starscream growled dangerously, his faceplates suddenly in his trinemate's.
Thundercracker's optics narrowed, glowering at his wingmate, never breaking optic contact. Starscream's wings twitched in that way of his to show off his irritation, his optics glowing brighter from his unholy wrath. The tension in the room was so heavy it was suffocating. Skywarp was standing nearby, nervously holding his servos together to his chest plates, his wings lowered, and optics wide. Soundwave was also watching with his cassettes.
Finally, Starscream spoke, his vocalizer only loud enough for Thundercracker to hear, but still just as dangerous. "You may be my trinemate, but I'm still your commanding officer. And I have not forgotten how you disobeyed my orders and struck my daughter. You will be punished for that."
Thundercracker didn't react, didn't move, just kept glaring daggers at the Air Commander. Starscream straightened himself out and walked by his trinemate to be by Soundwave's side. Thundercracker took the chance to flick an offensive Vosian hand gesture at Starscream's back. Skywarp swallowed.
"What are the locations of my Seekers?" Starscream inquired of the Communications Officer.
Soundwave pulled up the information on the vid screen. A map of Cybertron with red dots and designations by them were scattered all around. Starscream's optics narrowed. This was going to be a long orbital cycle.
Dawnstar followed the Aerialbots to the medbay door where muffled shouting was audible. Her wings lowered slightly, anxious about seeing this Autobot medic. Silverbolt palmed the door open and the arguing vocalizers were understandable.
"What the slag is wrong with you?! You do not use your jetpack inside!"
"I thought it was turned off!"
"Slag! That is complete slag!"
"YOU THINK I WANTED TO LOSE AN ARM?!"
"I THINK YOU DON'T THINK! SIT BACK DOWN! YOU PRIMUS FORSAKEN, CREATION-OF-A-"
"I love you, too. AH!" The cry sounded after a loud metallic clang.
"Hey!" Silverbolt called when there was an astrosecond of silence. "Got someone here for you, Ratch!"
The Autobot medic stepped out of the operating room and stomped over, a wrench in his one servo. He stopped when he saw the Seeker.
"She better not be sparked." He grunted.
"Primus, no!" Silverbolt exclaimed. "We found her and Jazz said to bring her here. He wants you to take detailed scans of her and just a general checkup."
"Hmm, sit down." He grumbled as he jabbed a digit at an empty medberth.
Dawnstar swallowed, but did as ordered. She patiently waited as the red and white Autobot plucked up a nearby scanner from a countertop and approached. Without being told, she lied down, knowing the drill for such things. Unlike her sire, she actually didn't give the medic a hard time about everything.
"Hmm, systems are in good working order, albeit low on fuel. When was the last time you refueled?"
"Um, sometime yesterday morning." She said slowly.
"That's dangerous for a Seeker model to go so long without refueling. Fireflight, go get some energon cubes." Ratchet ordered the Aerialbot.
"Okieday!" Fireflight replied with a smile before skipping away. Slingshot rolled his optics.
"So, what's your designation?" Ratchet inquired as he continued taking detailed scans of her, uploading all the info to a vid screen beside him.
"Dawnstar." She answered.
Ratchet eyed her for a moment. "You look familiar, Dawnstar. Have we met before?"
She swallowed before shaking her helm. "No, I haven't met an Autobot medic before."
"Hey, Hatchet, can I go home?" Sideswipe inquired as he poked his helm from around the corner.
"You better return your aft to that medberth before I weld you to it." Ratchet growled.
"But I feel-" He stopped when he stepped out and noticed the femme. He just watched her for a moment before smirking. "Fine. Just fine." He finished.
"Did you not hear me the first time?" Ratchet started.
"Psst, Sunny." Sideswipe whispered as he gestured with his servo. "I'm not the only one seeing it, am I?"
"Seeing what?" Sunstreaker grunted as he stepped out from the other side of the wall and noticed the femme. "Is that?"
"I know. She does, doesn't she?" Sideswipe whispered back.
"Just different colors." Sunstreaker continued, his arms crossed and optics never leaving the Seeker femme.
"Has to be."
"No way."
"Yeah, huh."
"Maybe all along?"
"Or a clone?"
"Ridiculous."
"Plausible."
"Offspring?"
"He has something there to do that?"
Sunstreaker sniggered at that. "I thought I heard something about his creation being found by Hound and Trailbreaker, like, twenty-five stellar cycles ago or something."
"Yeah, with that femme Moonstar."
"Will you two idiots go back and wait for me." Ratchet grumbled.
"Definitely looks like him." Sideswipe commented again as he and his twin quietly did as the doctor ordered, too busy thinking the matter over to argue.
"Who were they?" Dawnstar inquired once the twins were gone.
"My curse." He muttered.
"Primus, they are hot."
Ratchet just looked at her for a moment. "No, stay away from them. Last thing I need is those two-"
Prowl and Jazz entered at that moment. Ratchet ceased what he was doing to look up at them. Prowl gestured the medic over and the three began to quietly deliberate about the Seeker femme. They kept glancing at her, studying her, and commenting on something. Dawnstar swallowed as she watched them, now propped up on her elbows. The Lambo Twins were peeping their helms around the corner, trying to listen in. Fireflight returned and handed the femme an energon cube before placing the rest on the counter next to her medberth. He then went back to his gestaltmates who were still present.
After a bit, Ratchet approached Dawnstar and took her arm. "I'm not going to hurt you. I need to check your fuel for contamination to ensure you aren't carrying any type of viruses that could infect us."
She swallowed. "But, you don't take fuel for that. Hook always checks my-" She stopped, her optics widening. "I mean, my doctor always-"
"What's your designation again, Seeker?" Prowl inquired in that cold voice of his.
"Dawnstar."
"Where are you from?"
"Vos."
"Where are you from?" He said a little harsher.
"Vos." She said a little weaker, her optics darting from the device Ratchet was placing on her arm and the hard optics of the Autobot SIC.
Prowl approached and stood by her, his blue optics boring into her. "Where are you from? Where did you emerge?"
She remained silent. Ratchet removed the device, the little tube holding some of her energon that he had removed from her fuel line. He took it and walked deeper into the medbay. Dawnstar was trembling now, trying to look anywhere but at the tactician. It didn't take long for Ratchet to return with First Aid in tow. The Chief Medical Officer stopped at the console beside the medberth and selected a few commands. First Aid stood by him, watching as he worked.
Images of Starscream appeared along with the Autobot's records of him. Dawnstar's optics widened when she saw her sire's visage. Prowl noticed her reaction. Then, Moonstar's information appeared. Dawnstar sat up, quaking now.
"I did take a CNA sample from Moonstar when she was with us for that brief stay. And a sample of Starscream's CNA was acquired several thousands of vorns ago when he was captured during the early parts of the war." Ratchet explained as he worked.
Everyone was looking from the image of Starscream to Dawnstar. They looked almost identical. The twins were nodding their helms as if they were proud of their earlier assumption.
Ratchet stepped back as the vid screen showed the CNA similarities between the creators and the creation. Dawnstar's wings lowered.
"She is Starscream's creation alright." Ratchet announced matter-of-factly.
Everyone looked at her. Dawnstar was shaking so hard, her magenta optics darting to the ground. Her optics began to turn white with static.
"Please, please don't execute me." She begged softly. "I-I'm not a killer. I never killed anyone! Please, don't hurt me! I'm never fought in a battle, or-or did anything against the Autobots!"
"We're not going to hurt you." Ratchet said firmly.
"Daddy says that you would never take in a Seeker and would execute me because I'm a Decepticon. Well, I'm not actually a Decepticon. I never took the oath! I never deactivated anyone! I-I-"
"Whoa, calm down, man." Jazz said as he raised his servos to placate her. "No one's gonna hurt ya, femme."
"I ask again." Prowl said firmly. "Where did you emerge?"
She hesitated. "My designation is Seeker Dawnstar. I emerged on planet Earth within the Decepticon capitol ship the Nemesis. My carrier is Decepticon Moonstar of Kalis and my sire is Decepticon Seeker Starscream of Vos. Air Commander and Second in Command of the Decepticon forces, ruler of the Seekers, and trineleader of the Elite Trine." She swallowed. "I-I ran away from my sire and became lost. I never intended to enter Autobot territory."
"Why did you run away from him? Did he hurt you?" Ratchet asked, concern in his vocalizer.
"No, no, not physically. He's never hit me. He just…" She began to tremble, remembering those terrified faces of the mechs waiting their turn to die. The coolant tears leaking from their optics, some of them trying to escape while others just accepted their fate. Her screaming for him to stop, but his knife never ceasing in its cruel task.
Dawnstar placed her faceplates in her servos and cried. He had scared her. He had murdered in front of her. He wasn't who she had thought he was. He had raped her carrier, abused her, and treated her like slag. He almost destroyed Dawnstar before she even could live, before she could see the world and love. She was just an accident that he ended up dealing with because Thundercracker convinced him to. Not because he had wanted her.
And he had allowed her carrier to be deactivated when it was his job to protect her. He always had said that as long as he was around they would be safe. That nothing bad would ever happen. That he would keep the war and evil away. He was their protector, their guardian, and he had failed. And she hated him for that failure.
"It's alright." Ratchet said gently as he sat beside her on the medberth and stroked her back. "You're safe now. He can't get you."
"Where is your carrier?" Prowl continued on as if she wasn't crying.
"She-she's dead." Dawnstar managed to choke out between sobs.
"Did he kill her?"
"What? No, he didn't. He allowed it."
"Explain."
"Autobots killed her." She said a little firmer. "Her ship was shot down and she was stabbed through the spark chamber by a metal rod. He was supposed to protect her, but he didn't, he allowed her to die!" She started to cry harder, the memory of her carrier's death too much for her to handle. It took her nearly a klik before she could speak again. "I just miss my mom. Why did she have to die? Why did he have to let her die? Why is he a monster?" She looked up then. "I never knew he was a murderer. He lied to me my entire life. I thought he was the coolest guy ever. I loved him and then I find out what he did to my mom. He hurt her and I was just an accident. He almost killed me before I emerged! I just-Primus, why did she have to die?!"
Everyone was silent as they listened to the sparkbroken Seeker cry. Her faceplates were covered in her coolant, her frame trembling slightly, and wings lowered. Prowl was the only one who didn't seem affected by the sad scene.
"Finish checking her, Ratchet and place a inhibitor chip in her to ensure she can't escape." He said.
"What?!" She suddenly shrieked. "No! You can't do that!"
"I don't believe in using those things, Prowl." Ratchet said firmly.
"I couldn't care less what you believe in using, Ratchet. We can't risk her escaping. She is far too valuable a bargaining chip to lose."
"You are not putting a chip in me! I'm a Seeker! I-"
"You will shut up and submit. You are our prisoner. Ratchet, put one in her. It need only to ensure she can't fly. Silverbolt, I want you to then escort her to the brig."
"WHAT?!" She exclaimed.
"Nah, man, she's just a youngling." Jazz said quickly.
"She's Starscream's creation." Prowl reminded him.
Jazz just looked at him for a moment. "Silverbolt, when Ratch's done ah want ya ta keep an optic on 'er."
"Sir, we still have patrols to get to." Silverbolt pointed out. "We can't watch her when we have to guard the air."
A sly smirk spread over Sideswipe's visage. "I volunteer as tribute!"
Everyone turned to looked at him. His smile only broadened in innocence. Sunstreaker had that small smirk of his, knowing what his brother was up to.
"Pardon?" Jazz said slowly.
"'Bolt is too busy to watch her. Sunny and I aren't doing anything this orbital cycle. We can watch her."
"No. A thousand times no." Ratchet abruptly said with a firm gesture of his servo.
"Of how much I hate to admit it, Sideswipe has a point." Prowl said slowly, as if saying such a thing hurt him. Sideswipe beamed, his lopsided grin much too large for his faceplates as he girlishly clasped his servos together and swung them in front of his abdominal plating. "We have too few flyers as it is and require them to be constantly patrolling the skies. Silverbolt, you and your gestalt return to your posts. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, you are to watch Starscream's creation until we can find someone more trustworthy for the task."
"That hit me right here. In the spark." Sideswipe feigned being hurt as he placed a servo over his spark chamber.
"Come, Jazz. We need to meet with Prime."
"Right-o." Jazz replied as he followed his superior out of the medbay.
The Aerialbots left next, leaving only the medics and twins with the Seeker. Sideswipe quickly approached and held a servo out to her.
"Sideswipe. And this is my twin, Sunstreaker." He said with a large smile.
"Dawnstar." She replied as she took his servo and shook it.
"Sideswipe, go sit down." Ratchet ordered with a snap of his digits.
Sideswipe raised his servos in a peaceful gesture as he slowly backed away and sat down on a nearby chair. Sunstreaker sat on the chair next to him and they whispered to each other as they watched.
"You're not going to put an inhibitor chip in me, are you?" She asked softly.
"No. I would never do that. Prowl is right about making sure you don't fly away, though. I am going to disconnect a few wires that allow your wings to receive transformation feedback. It won't hurt and you will still be able to move your wings, but you will be unable to fully transform. And it is easy to repair, so don't be worried about it being permanent." He explained as he selected the tools he would need from the nearby counter.
"So, you're still grounding me?" She swallowed.
"Just for a little while."
"You'll be fine." First Aid assured her. "It may only be for a few orbital cycles. Better than being in a prison cell."
Her wings twitched. "I don't want to be grounded."
"I need you to lie on your front for me." Ratchet instructed.
Dawnstar eyed him for a moment before doing so. She lied on her front and allowed the medic to gently remove some plates from her back, right between her wings. Sideswipe nudged his brother and nodded towards the aft facing them. Sunstreaker smirked.
Ratchet took a couple of kliks before he finished disconnecting the necessary wires, every so often having to check a datapad concerning Seeker builds. Dawnstar wasn't so sure she liked a medic who didn't know so much about her frame. Hook never had trouble with Seekers. He seemed to know their frame-type better than any other. He even boasted that he could take a Seeker apart and put them back together in perfect working order blindfolded. And her sire always said that he believed it, especially if it was his frame.
"There we are." Ratchet said as he replaced the plating on her back. "You are free to go with my nemeses."
Dawnstar twisted herself back up and slid off the berth. She fluttered her wings, feeling for any difference but couldn't detect any. Her wings lowered as she approached the frontliners.
"Hey," She said slowly. "So, what do Autobots do for fun?"
Sideswipe smiled. Dawnstar was pretty sure she knew the answer. Autobots were mostly ground pounders and all the grounder mechs she met only wanted to interface with Seekers. He would definitely try to make a move now and next thing she would know she would be on his berth with him thrusting into her. Not that she minded it. Those two were pretty hot. She smiled at the thought. Oh, she definitely was going to get those two to do her. Maybe even some of the other hot Autobots that she could find.
She was going to get laid tonight. Definitely. Those two cute grounders would be making her moan all night long and she wouldn't have to worry about her sire ruining it. She eagerly waited for him to say something seductive.
"Videogames of course!" Sideswipe replied with much enthusiasm.
Her optics widened slightly.
Optimus Prime was in his office working when his Second and Third entered. He set aside his work and looked up at them.
"Yes, Prowl?" He asked slowly.
"I apologize if I am bothering you, sir." Prowl said in that unemotional tone of his as he stopped before the Prime's desk.
"Not at all. What is it?"
"We have captured Starscream's creation. She is in the medbay with Ratchet right now."
The Prime paused, studying his Second before he spoke. "No. Absolutely not. We are not using a youngling." He stated firmly, knowing exactly what Prowl was thinking.
"Sir, if I may explain: If Starscream cares for his creation - which I believe he does since she is still functioning - we could obtain invaluable information by ransoming her. Or, better yet, trick Starscream to come get her and then capture him. With his capture we could end this war with the intel he would provide."
"She is what? Thirty stellar cycles old? That is far too young to be used as a bargaining chip." He paused. "You threw her in the brig, didn't you?"
"I stopped 'im!" Jazz proclaimed with a smile. "She's with Sides and Sunny."
"So, she's with the worst possible mechs you could find." The Prime said incredulously.
"Sir, we cannot let an opportunity like this go." Prowl pressed on. "This war needs to end, and if one must die for the rest of our kind to prosper, so be it."
Optimus pinched the bridge of his olfactory sensor as he vented a tired sigh. "I will think about it." He replied tiredly.
"Thank you, sir." Prowl said as he inclined his helm.
Optimus waved them away, his optics looking down. Once they had left he leaned back in his chair and tapped two digits against his desktop.
"Sometimes I hate my job." He grumbled before turning back to his computer monitor and resuming his game of solitaire.
"Ha! Backstabbed you again!"
"Slagger! Hold still!"
"I drive circles around you in the real world and in the virtual world!"
"I have a grenade launcher now."
"I have… I have a tree to hide behind!"
"Seriously?"
"It worked last time."
Dawnstar silently watched the two playing videogames. They were in the twins' quarters and hadn't done much since Ratchet had released her. She vented an annoyed sigh. She had hoped that they would be fragging her or something. She was sitting on the bottom bunk, her optics lazily studying the room. It was smaller than her room, and while one corner had the vid screen and gaming console, another corner had painting material and a pile of artworks on the desk. The couch in front of the vid screen was worn, and the placed looked like fights broke out often between the two. It was a mess. But then again, it was occupied by two bachelor brothers whose entire lives were dedicated to war. Their frames, reconstructed to be deadly warriors, fast and flexible for close quarters battles.
It just made them hotter.
"Hey, Dawn, wanna play?" Sideswipe inquired as he looked back at her.
"Hmm? Nah, I'm fine." She muttered.
"She's a femme. I doubt she would want to." Sunstreaker grumbled.
"Excuse me? I can play videogames. That's all I used to do with my uncles. Uncle TC is big on real time strategies and MMORGs, while Uncle 'Warp likes first-person-shooters and the like. I've been playing them since about the time I learned how to shoot a gun." She explained.
"Which was like what? A few orbital cycles ago?" Sunstreaker said sardonically.
"When I was about two or three stellar cycles old." She snapped.
The twins' smiles vanished. Dawnstar rolled her optics and approached them.
"Move over, Sunshine. Let me show you how Seekers play."
Sunstreaker's optics narrowed while Sideswipe just sniggered. They did as she said and scooted enough for her to sit between them. It took a moment for her to adjust her wings so that they were behind the mechs and she was comfortable. Sideswipe handed her a third controller and she took it. The red Autobot set up the game for three players and the loading screen displayed itself.
"I expect an apology when I drag your skid plates through the dirt." She smiled.
"If you drag our skid plates through the dirt." Sunstreaker grunted.
"Hmm." She smirked just as her sire did, her wings hiking.
The loading screen finished and the countdown began. Like an epic duel, the trio tensed, leaning forward in preparation for the battle of the ages. They were free to move and immediately had their virtual characters hunt down each other. Sideswipe found her first, the two engaging in an epic firefight before Dawnstar managed to shoot Sideswipe's character.
"Tee hee!" She giggled.
"Bro, avenge me!" Sideswipe exclaimed as he waited to respawn.
"Working on it."
They continued like this, she killing them and they killing her. They finished the game and started another, and another, and another, playing for joors without break. They laughed, yelled, and mocked each other throughout, factions and frame-types forgotten.
"Dammit! Get her Sunny!" Sideswipe exclaimed.
"What you think I'm doing!"
"She's behind you!"
"Stop looking at my screen!" She ordered.
"Fragging creation-of-a-!" Sunstreaker growled.
"Primus, run Sunny! I'm coming to you! Just hold on!"
"I don't need to run!"
"I have a bomb! Just wait until I get there! Oh, you are so going down, femme!"
"Shut your whore mouth!" She shouted, a smile on faceplates.
"W-what you call me?" Sideswipe chuckled.
"Sorry, my dad says it a lot. Mostly to Skywarp."
"Starscream seriously says that? Wow."
"Yeah, he says a lot of weird things." She shrugged.
"Like?" Sunstreaker prodded.
"Like, I don't know, he gets weird when it's just us and his trine. You should have heard him when he was with mom. Primus, they never shut up with saying how much they loved each other. Mom kept calling him things like 'handsome hunk' and 'cootie patootie' and 'sexy aft,' and dad called her things like 'sexy femme,' 'sweet thang,' 'hot legs.'" She shrugged. "They had a lot of weird nicknames for each other."
"Did he give you any weird nicknames?" Sideswipe inquired, his optics never leaving the vid screen.
"Precious, sweetspark, princess."
"Princess?"
"Yeah, that's what he calls me the most. When I was a sparkling I would always claim to be a princess so he learned to call me that and just never stopped. I kind of like it, but maybe I'm just so use to it."
"So, what is he like when he's not murdering people?"
"He's alright. I mean, he's changed since mom died. We used to do everything together. He taught me how to use a gun, swords, and how to do servo-to-servo combat. Although I'm still learning that. He taught me about science, and mathematics, and history, and how to write, read, and just all of my education along with downloading data. He taught me how to fly and be good at it, and we used to always wrestle. I mean, like, every orbital cycle we would wrestle. Sometimes more than once. We wrestled in the hab suite, in the Rec Room, in the Control Room, everywhere. He would put me in helmlocks and I would get mom." She paused. "He always listened to mom. If she told him to stop he would. She was like the boss. All the Seekers listened to her, especially dad and my uncles. Everyone seemed to like her."
"I'm surprised he listened to her." Sunstreaker grunted. "I thought he attacked her."
Dawnstar was silent for a moment. "Yeah, I just found out about that. Him and mom never told me about their rough past. I never suspected anything. They were always so happy and loving to each other. I still remember the orbital cycle they became Conjuges Endurae."
"He joined with her?" Sideswipe asked surprised.
"Yeah, they were pretty crazy over each other. And even though dad had raped her, she always seemed like she wanted to interface with him. I mean, they always were getting all touchy and romantic all the time. And always kissing. It got pretty annoying pretty fast. Saddest part is I walked in on them. Twice."
Sideswipe snickered. "Wow, that must have been horrifying."
"It was." She grumbled. "But it's not as bad as walking in on him bonding with his trinemates."
"I had heard that Seeker trines interface regularly." Sideswipe commented.
"Yeah, its to build stronger relationships, bonds, whatever, with each other. I know dad allows his trinemates to beat his aft with a paddle. I saw it myself."
Both the Lamborghinis laughed at that.
"He what?" Sideswipe asked stilled giggling.
"He lets them tie him down, beat his aft with a paddle or servos, and they even act out weird slag. The one time I walked in dad was role playing as a 'student' getting bad grades and 'Warp and TC were the 'professors' and they were allowing him to get 'extra credit' by shaking his aft at them and letting them paddle him if they did not find his performance 'satisfying.'"
Sideswipe almost fell off the couch he was laughing so hard. Sunstreaker paused the game and covered his mouth, trying to contain his own laughter.
"Another time I walked in on them dad was pretending to be an Autobot while 'Warp and TC were 'interrogating' him. 'Warp kept demanding to know where some 'large breast-plated femme' with the 'secret files' was and dad was laughing too hard to answer so 'Warp just kept swatting his aft. And another time I walked in on them they were actually in the Control Room using Megatron's throne. Dad was pretending to be like the leader of the Decepticons and 'Warp and TC were kissing up to him begging him to forgive some transgressions of theirs. And he made them kiss his peds before making them kiss his…" She paused. "I ran out of there very fast."
"Wow, they sound 'interesting.'" Sideswipe chuckled.
"Yeah, they are interesting."
"So, do you love your sire?" Sunstreaker asked.
She chewed her lower lip plate as she thought the question over. "Before mom died, yes, I loved him a lot. He was my hero, my idol. I never wanted to be separated from him. I used to cry as a sparkling whenever he would leave to go to work and couldn't take me. I would sit on his lap when he did desk work just to be with him no matter how boring it was. He let me paint his plates and always played with me. He was just… He was the best dad ever. He was my best friend. Him and mom both were my best friends. But, when mom died…" She swallowed. "I don't know. I want to love him, but he let her die. He was supposed to protect her. And then I find out that he had met her just because she was his interface slave. He raped her, used an energon whip on her, and abused her horribly. He murdered innocent mechs in front of me yesterday, and I find out that he had always murdered innocents, raped femmes, and just did a lot of horrible slag."
"If he became Conjuges Endurae with your carrier, maybe he changed his ways towards her." Sideswipe shrugged.
"He said that mom had forgiven him, but, I don't know. It's just so much to process." She quickly wiped away a coolant tear. "I just miss my mom and wish things were the way they used to be. I want to love dad again. I don't like being angry with him. I want my best friend back and-and to do things together, but, I just feel betrayed. He was supposed to protect mom, but he let her die. He hurt her. How can I forgive him when he did such things to my mom? To my other best friend?"
"Have you tried talking to him?"
"I don't want to talk to him. I don't want to hear what he has to say. I'm just so… I'm just so mad at him."
"Maybe you should try talking with him." Sunstreaker grunted.
"Maybe." She shrugged. "But he's so different now. I barely know him anymore."
"How's that? What's different about him?" Sideswipe asked.
"He is so quiet now. He no longer smiles, he cries a lot, and just doesn't act like my dad. He is either pissed off or sobbing. It gets annoying to deal with."
"Crying? I heard rumors that he was incapable of crying."
"Thundercracker says it's because he misses mom. But, after reading how he hurt mom… I don't know how much I believe that. He never use to cry. He was always just so… cool. He always told me stories of things he did and he sounded like he could do anything. I never saw him do anything and didn't really believe any of it. But then I saw him kill before me."
"Who did he kill?"
"He killed my mech-friend. Dad got pretty pissed when he saw us together."
Sideswipe raised an optical ridge. "He doesn't like his daughter getting close to anyone?"
"I was interfacing with him. Dad didn't like that."
"Ooooh." Sideswipe said now getting it.
"Yeah. Dad said I wasn't supposed to lose my virginity until I found my trinemates, but I didn't want to wait that long. He cut up my mech-friend with an energon knife in front of me. That was the first time I saw him for he really was. I never thought he was capable of deactivating anyone. He was just my nerdy dad who sat at a desk working or going on business trips. Now I think I know what those 'trips' were."
"You think he's worried about you being gone?" Sunstreaker inquired as he inspected the paintwork on his arm.
She was silent for a few astroseconds. "Yeah, I think he is. He worries pretty easily."
"You think he loves you?" Sunstreaker continued.
"Yeah." She answered without hesitating. "He used to at least. I don't know about now. He was pretty slagging mad at me before I left." She paused to wipe away more coolant tears. "I hope he still does. I don't want him to hate me. I just want him to love me and things be normal, but I don't think I could ever love him after finding out what he did to mom."
"It may sound corny, but people can change. If he joined with her maybe he did change and just wanted everything to be different between them." Sideswipe suggested.
"If you go back to him you should try talking with him. It sounds like you don't know much about him and he has a lot of explaining to do." Sunstreaker pointed out.
"I suppose. I would like to learn more of what transpired between them. I suppose he did change if he went from hurting my mom to allowing her to slap his aft in public. I know he allowed her to chain him to the berth and top him when interfacing."
"Yeah, that sounds like someone who no longer views your carrier as a slave. He probably was trying to make up for it. I honestly have a hard time seeing Starscream as caring towards anyone, but I suppose he could have a spark."
"He loves his trinemates. They are always telling each other how much they love each other. Always interfacing, always hugging, always kissing, always snuggling. They are crazy over each other. It probably would be cute if they weren't related to me. Well, dad at least."
"So, are we gonna talk all night or finish this game?" Sideswipe smirked as he held up his controller.
"Finish it of course!" Dawnstar smiled as she leaned forward with her controller.
Sunstreaker resumed the game and they went back to trying to viciously destroy one another.
"By the way," Sunstreaker said as he kept his optics on the vid screen. "You look just like your sire."
Dawnstar was silent a moment before speaking. "Yeah, that's what mom kept telling me." She said softly.
Thundercracker and Skywarp sat on either side of their trineleader as he cried, his servos covering his faceplates as coolant poured out. It was the middle of the night and Starscream couldn't recharge, so sick with worry for his daughter.
"We'll find her, Star. She may come home like she did last time." Thundercracker tried to reassure his trinemate.
"She was fragging high last time!" Starscream exclaimed. "She didn't know what she was doing! And now she knows what I did to Moonstar! Who was she even talking to? Who told her that!? When I find out they're dead."
"Star, she's upset about slag, but she'll come back. She'll realize that she can't live on her own and will return."
"But what if something happens? What if she is raped? More so than she has been! What if she is beaten and damaged? What if she is deactivated? Why won't she just talk with me? We could have settled things, just avoided all of this. Why did Moonstar have to die?"
"Scree, we'll get her back and then we can fix this." Skywarp said gently. "We'll make her sit down and talk everything out. All of us." He glanced at Thundercracker when he said the last part.
Thundercracker's wings raised and his optics narrowed slightly, but he remained silent.
"She's never leaving my sights again." Starscream said more to himself than to his trinemates. "She will always be guarded by a Seeker. I-I'll have to lock her in her berthroom at night. I'll have to put energon bars over her window, and-and change out the door so she can't hack it. I'll have to change shifts for my Seekers just so someone can always be with her. Primus, I don't want to have to restrict her flying with a wing inhibitor. Why can't she just stay? Why can't I have my old femmling back?"
"A wing inhibitor won't deactivate her. Embarrass her, yes, but nothing else." Thundercracker grunted. "I also think we should be a little stricter with discipline."
"Let me handle her, TC. Please, I am figuring out what I'll do with her."
"Yeah, so am I."
"I'm not going to argue with you. I don't feel well enough to."
"Have you refueled?"
"No."
"Star."
"When you lose two of the most important, special, and perfect femmes in your life you tell me how easily you managed to keep your slag together." Starscream said suddenly harsh, his optics narrowing as he glared at his blue trinemate.
Thundercracker looked back at him for a moment before venting a sigh. "I'm sorry, Starscream. I won't bother you about it again. I just worry about you."
"I know." He said softly. "I put you guys through so much dealing with me."
"Don't feel bad, Star." Skywarp said as he cuddled a little closer. "We'll do anything for you, no matter what. We're trine."
"You need to stop beating yourself up about everything." Thundercracker said firmly. "We will find her and bring her home. We'll get through this."
Starscream just cycled air heavily for a few astroseconds to calm his systems before speaking. "I hope your right. Primus, I can't imagine things getting worse."
"Things won't get worse, Star. I thing we've already reached the bottom of the slag pit. Just gotta climb now."
Starscream nodded his helm slowly. "I suppose so." He said so softly.
"We better try and get some recharge." Thundercracker said gently.
"You won't leave me, right?" Starscream asked quickly, his optics darting from one trinemate to the other.
Thundercracker bit his lower lip plate, knowing what Starscream now meant by that question. "Never, Star. Not even if you stabbed me in the back, literary."
"Yeah, Scree, I'll be with you even after death. I'll haunt you as a ghost." Skywarp managed a faint smile.
Starscream wrapped his arms around his trinemates' shoulders and pull them closer. "I love you guys."
"Love you too, Star." Thundercracker said quietly.
Dawnstar onlined the next orbital cycle in the small room that the Autobots had put her in. It was smaller than the hab suit she had back on the Nemesis, and only had a berth, a desk, and vid screen. They had locked the door behind them and left her alone in the windowless room. She had been scared, but managed to calm herself enough to recharge. Surprisingly, she kept thinking about her dad. She didn't like being separated from him even now. It just didn't feel right. She could handle it before when she knew she could go back anytime, but now it just felt unnerving.
She still wasn't sure what to think of him since she had learned the truth. since he had murdered so many innocents in front of her like that. She wanted her old sire back. She wanted her carrier back and just everything be normal again. She was scared of him now. He had never hurt her before and always said that he never would, but after seeing him kill… After reading about his war crimes and what he had done to her carrier. And how he had lied to her all her life. She wasn't sure if she could trust him anymore. What was keeping him from turning and hurting her? She knew she couldn't fight him off. He was larger, stronger, and a much better fighter than her. If he wanted to hurt her there was nothing she could do about it, and that thought scared her the most.
The door opened and the smiling visage of Sideswipe greeted her. She sat up in berth and fluttered her wings as she stretched her arms out.
"'Sup." Sideswipe said cheerily. "The brass wanna see you."
She raised on optical ridge. "Why?"
He shrugged. "Questions. It's usually what we do to newcomers. Don't worry, Prime doesn't bite. Prowl is the one you gotta watch. He seems all cool and calm on the outside, but if you piss him off enough he reaches a level of pissed off-ness that might get you deactivated if you can't outrun him. I should now." He smiled a lopsided grin, as if proud that he had angered Prowl to such an extent. "Those were some of my best pranks."
"You do pranks?"
"Cha!"
"My Uncle 'Warp is big on pranks, too. He taught me how to do some." She smiled as she slid off the berth.
"We should do some together. Cliffjumper has been an aft the last few orbital cycles so I think he's begging to be pranked."
She snorted a chuckle, just as her sire did. "If you're okay with pranks involving dumping goo or paint on your victims."
"Those are the best ones!" He stated as they left the room and started to walk away, her thruster heels' clacking drawing attention to the mechs who were not use to such a sound.
"So, recharge well?" The Lamborghini inquired.
"I suppose so. The berth was a bit too small for my wings, and my claustrophobia started to act up without a window. It wasn't bad, just present." She said softly.
"I'll mention it to Optimus. We could probably find something with more of a view for you."
She smiled. "Thank you."
"No prob."
The two made their way to the Conference Room, Sunstreaker meeting up with them halfway there with three cubes of energon. Dawnstar drank hers quickly, not having refueled properly in a couple of orbital cycles.
"Whoa, she does look like him!" Bluestreak exclaimed when he saw them walking down the hallway. "And she does also look kinda like Moonstar, but mostly like Starscream, especially in the faceplates with how much darker they are since all Seekers have that light color, except for Starscream of course who has the dark ones. Which makes you wonder why he does have the darker faceplates and is the only one? Why don't other Seekers have that? Is it some type-"
"Blue, cycle air. It's a good habit." Sideswipe interrupted him with a grin.
"Oh, sorry, got carried away." The Praxian smiled sheepishly.
"Dawnstar, this is Bluestreak. Blue, Dawnstar." Sideswipe introduced them.
"An honor." She said the greeting she had been taught to say.
"Wow, never met a Seeker femme before. Especially not a Seeker femme who happens to be the creation of one of the meanest mhmhm-" He was muffled when Sideswipe covered his mouth.
Dawnstar's wings twitched, but she didn't show any other reaction. Sideswipe whispered something in Bluestreak's audio receptor and the smaller mech's optics widened. He looked up at her, his doorwings lowering.
"I'm sorry you're having sire issues. If it helps I had some of my own with my sire because he wanted me to become a doctor or a lawyer, but I always aspired to be mhmhmmm-"
She smirked. "You're kinda cute. Maybe we can hang out later." She finished with a wink before walking onward.
Bluestreak just watched her for a moment. "Did she just say I'm 'cute?'"
"Yeah, I also think she may have hit on you." Sideswipe whispered back.
"I think it's a Seeker thing. They're interface crazed, remember?" Sunstreaker added.
"You know, we could probably find out if the rumors concerning Starscream fragging half the Decepticon army are true. Especially the ones about him and Megatron." Sideswipe said.
"After last night, I just hope there was no role playing going on."
The brothers exchanged wide optics glances before making disgusted faces. Bluestreak raised an optical ridge.
"What?"
"We'll tell you later, Blue." Sideswipe said quickly as the frontliners left to catch up with their watch.
Sunstreaker palmed open the door and gestured for the Seeker to enter. She did so, finding herself in a room with only a large table surrounded by chairs, and vid screens on the far wall. At the head of the table was Optimus Prime with Prowl to his right and Jazz to his left. Next to Prowl was Ironhide, and next to Jazz was an orange and gold mech.
Dawnstar stepped forward and sat on the seat opposite of the Prime. The twins stayed back and stood on either side of the door, guarding it in case she tried to escape.
"Dawnstar, I am Optimus Prime." He began. "This is my strategist and Second in Command, Prowl. My head of Special Ops and Third in Command, Jazz. My weapons specialist and bodyguard, Ironhide. And my second lieutenant, Rodimus." He gestured to each mech as he introduced them.
"An honor to be in your presence." She said trying to not sound as scared as she really was.
"There's no need to be so formal. We are your friends, not enemies."
"Apologies. My dad taught me that first impressions are the most crucial factor when meeting knew 'bots. He said that if you can earn their trust with the initial meeting it is easier to manipulate them and use them as you need." She paused. "But that's just dad. I don't know if he meant it or not."
"Figures." Rodimus grunted quietly to Jazz.
"Dawnstar, we would like to ask you a few questions." Optimus continued as if she hadn't said anything.
"Fire away." She shrugged.
"Were you close to your sire?"
"Yes, well, before mom died. Well, maybe… He kept a lot of secrets from me. Still does. I found out some major ones yesterday."
"Such as?"
"I found out that he had hurt my carrier. He had made her his interface slave, abused her, raped her, and I was an accident. We was going to deactivate me before I even emerged, but Uncle TC convince him otherwise. I also found out that he has always raped femmes and killed a lot of innocent people."
"Were you unaware that he was a soldier?"
"No, I always knew. He told me stories about how he would defeat bad guys and how he helped to overthrow a corrupt government, but I never saw him fight or kill. He would leave a lot and just tell me he was going on a 'business trip.' They may be only a couple of orbital cycles long or up to a stellar cycle or two. When he was home he would mostly just work at his desk or in the Control Room, or be doing something with mom or his Trine. Or even just getting over energized with the crewmechs." She shrugged. "He was pretty slagging boring."
"So he never shared information with you about his work?"
"No." She shook her helm. "He never told me anything, and if he did he didn't go into detail. He was just my boring daddy who let me do whatever I wanted."
"Did he ever harm you?"
"What? No. He never hit me or yelled at me, or anything. Well, he yelled at me recently, but that was the first time."
"What did he do if you misbehaved?" Rodimus inquired this time as he leaned back in his seat.
"Well, if I did anything he didn't like we would just go to the hab suite and talk. He would explain to me what it was that I was doing wrong, why I shouldn't do that or act like that, the negative effects it would have on my life, and I would promise him I would never do it again. And I wouldn't. I never wanted to disappoint him. I wanted to be just like him up until he let mom get deactivated. If he did something, I did it. If he said not to do something, I didn't do it. He was my idol, my hero, my best friend." She swallowed. "I loved him and just wanted to be around him all the time, but after mom's deactivation…" She inhaled deeply before letting it out slowly. "And now finding out what he did to her and so many others… I don't know what to think."
"Explain what happened to your carrier, Moonstar. How was she deactivated." Optimus asked gently.
Dawnstar twitched her wings. "She was on a ship travelling from Earth to Cybertron to live at our new home. When her ship entered the atmosphere it was attacked by Autobots. My dad was supposed to have been there to protect her, but he wasn't. He got there too late and she was gone. A metal rod pierced through her spark chamber and deactivated her." She momentarily offlined her optics as static filled them. "Her and my brother both died."
"I did not realize that Starscream had a second creation." Optimus said a little surprised.
"He hadn't emerged yet. I think dad said that they had been trying for a second for several stellar cycles." She paused. "That one they wanted. I was just the accident."
"Dawnstar, explain the events leading up to your departure from the Decepticon base." Prowl said in that monotone vocalizer of his.
Dawnstar was quiet for a moment. She looked down for a moment, just studying her wringing servos before her. Wringing them just as her carrier did. Her optics began to turn white with static while her wings lowered as low as they could go.
"I made him mad." She said so softly, her vocalizer brittle. "He was so upset with me that he murdered innocent mechs in front of me. I ran away from him and confronted someone who told me all about my sire's past and what he did to mom. I talked to dad and he confirmed it and I just… I had to get away. I fled and he chased after me, but…" She swallowed. "I don't know what happened. He fell. I think it was because he had low fuel again. Hook said that he had stopped refueling properly because of depression. I was able to escape the other Seekers. I'm faster than them. I am slightly faster than dad, so no one can catch me."
"Firstly, why is your sire depressed?" Optimus asked.
"Hook said because mom died. I don't know how much of that is true."
"Why was he mad at you?"
She opened her mouth to speak but shut it. She rested her elbows on the tabletop and placed her faceplates into her servos and cried. Everyone just silently watched her, not sure of what to do. After a few kliks she managed to calm herself to speak.
"I disa-disappointed him." She said between sobs. "He said so himself. I never wanted to disappoint him. He was my hero, my idol, and I wanted him to be proud of me. I don't know why I did it. I just don't know what came over me!"
She started to cry hard again. When she quieted down some Rodimus spoke.
"What did you do that disappointed him? Couldn't have been that bad."
She was about to answer, but stopped. The Autobots didn't need to know about her whoring herself out. They didn't need to know what she did in her free time. That was her business and her business alone. Not even her sire's business.
"I did something that he didn't like. I rather not talk about it. It had nothing to do with Autobots. He just got really pissed off. I've never seen him so mad before. He's never looked at me with those optics before."
The brass all leaned towards each other and began to whisper.
"She doesn't know anything." Prowl stated.
"Agreed. Ah think she jus' needs some alone time." Jazz said.
"We prob'ly should 'ave nabbed 'er back when she wuz a sparklin'." Ironhide grunted.
"Yeah, you should have." Rodimus nodded his helm sagely.
"I think we should send her on her way and discuss our next move." Optimus suggested.
They all nodded their helms in agreement.
"Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, escort Dawnstar to wherever you want to." Optimus said to them. "You have today off to keep an optic on her."
"Gotcha, bossbot." Sideswipe smiled that lopsided grin of his.
Dawnstar rose from her seat slowly and walked to the door. The brass watched the three leave before turning to each other.
"We will need to increase security. The likelihood of Starscream trying to retrieve her by force is high." Prowl intoned.
"Agreed. Hopefully he is unaware of her current location." Optimus replied.
"She looks a lot like him. If not for the different paintjob she probably would have been shot by someone by now." Rodimus commented as he idly rocked in his seat, his optics watching the door.
"We will also have to make an announcement regarding her stay with us." Prowl added.
"She kinda even sounds like him." Rodimus continued almost to himself.
"We prob'ly should also find someone who ain't Sideswipe er Sunstreaker ta watch 'er." Ironhide grunted. "Those two idiots would only corrup' 'er more so."
"She even walks like him." Rodimus kept going.
"We will set up a schedule for who shall watch her." Optimus said.
"She should be locked in the brig." Prowl commented.
"She is not a Decepticon and clearly knows nothing about this war. I doubt she will be any kind of threat to us."
"I bet if you frag her it would be like fragging Starscream."
Everyone stopped and slowly turn to stare wide opticed at Rodimus. Rodimus' own optics widened.
"Did I just say that out loud?" He said mortified.
"Wow, man, what goes on in your processor?" Jazz said as he scooted his chair away from the youngest officer.
"I don't know! I think it hates me." He made a sound as if to clear his vocalizer. "I'm going to go shoot myself before I do anything else that I will regret."
The other officers just watched him silently go. They didn't speak even after the door shut.
"You know," Jazz finally broke the silence. "He does raise an interesting point."
Prowl leaned over the desk and smacked Jazz upside the helm, eliciting a startled squawk. Optimus pinched the bridge of his olfactory and sighed tiredly.
Almost an Orn Later:
"Come on, Star. Just a sip?" Skywarp said gently a he held an energon cube in front of his trineleader.
Starscream just looked down at his servos resting in his lap, his wings lowered and optics dull from lack of fuel. Skywarp vented a sad sigh and lowered the cube.
"TC, nothing again." He called from where he sat on the couch in Starscream's berthroom.
Thundercracker was at Starscream desk, his elbows resting on the top as his servos held his helm. He looked up when Skywarp had called, and stood. Skywarp watched as the blue Seeker approached and sat down next to Starscream. As if he had done it far too many times, he grabbed Starscream's wrists and held them down. Starscream was awakened from his miserable reverie and started to fight back when Skywarp grasped his chin and forced his helm back. In one fluent motion, he held the cube to his trineleader's lip plates while making the thumb of his other servo open the tri colored Seeker's mouth. He poured the energon in, ignoring Starscream's gurgled protests. Once he had emptied the cube of it's contents he then quickly tossed it aside and closed Starscream's mouth, holding it so until he was certain Starscream had swallowed everything.
"Let go of me!" The Air Commander snapped as he shoved them away.
"If you refueled on your own we wouldn't have to do this." Thundercracker grunted.
Starscream narrowed his optics, but did not look at his trinemate or react in any other way. Skywarp quickly snuggled up against his trineleader, holding him close.
"We love you, Screamer." The black and purple Seeker said softly.
"We really do, Star." Thundercracker said quietly.
Starscream's optics ceased being narrowed and resumed their sad stare into space. Thundercracker exhaled slowly. Starscream was just growing more and more distant from them with his depression and worry for Dawnstar. He wasn't the same mech he had known for all those thousands of vorns. Not the one he had trined, not the one who had led Decepticon forces into battle, and certainly not the one who had joined with Moonstar. This new Starscream scared him. He just wanted to keep the trine together and protect them. Starscream claimed it was his job as trineleader to care for them, but recently it had become Thundercracker's job.
Thundercracker studied his trineleader for a moment before gently grabbing his mandible and kissing him on the lip plates. No reaction. Thundercracker deepened the kiss, forcing Starscream's lip plates apart and slipping his glossa inside. Starscream still did not do anything. Thundercracker began to massage him frame, pleasuring it with small electrical shocks between transformation seams. He pulled Starscream closer, trying to make him react, to kiss back, to moan, to do something.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Thundercracker pulled his face away and rested his brow against Starscream's. He just looked at his trineleader for a few astroseconds before standing up. Starscream watched him, not doing anything else.
"Come on." Thundercracker said as he grabbed Starscream by the wrist and pulled him up.
He led Starscream to the berth and forced him on. Starscream offered no resistance as he was made to lie on his back and Thundercracker crawled on top of him. The blue Seeker kissed his trineleader on the lip plates while pleasuring his frame. His servos ran over the sensitive wings and managed to get Starscream to twitch his frame in response. Thundercracker kept working him for nearly a breem before he placed a servo over Starscream's codpiece. It was warm, not hot, but enough to show that his systems were reacting to the touches. He rubbed over the red plating until it finally folded away. He removed his own codpiece and prepared to enter his trineleader. Starscream's optics weren't even looking at his trinemate, just staring into space off to the side.
Starscream made the smallest gasp when he was penetrated, but did nothing else. Didn't move, didn't moan, nothing. Thundercracker gently began to thrust, desperate to get a reaction from him. He increased his speed, soon pounding into his trineleader. Starscream didn't make a sound, didn't move. His internal fans kicked on, but were at a low setting. Thundercracker kept kissing Starscream on the lip plates, the cheekplates, the neck cables, even licked his faceplates to get a reaction. Nothing.
Thundercracker lowered his wings as low as they could go before he slid out of Starscream. He folded his codpiece back and lifted Starscream up so he sat upright. He hugged his trineleader tightly, lovingly stroking his back.
"We'll get her back, sweetspark. We will. I promise." He said in almost a whisper.
Skywarp climbed onto the berth and hugged Starscream as well. Starscream didn't hug back, didn't react. He just looked down, his optics unfocused. Skywarp wiped away coolant tears, scared for his trine.
"We'll find her, Star. We will. Trust me. We'll find her." Thundercracker kept reassuring him. "I'm sure she's out there and is doing just fine. She'll probably come back soon. You'll see. I doubt she is having fun wherever she is."
Dawnstar sat on Sideswipe's berth reading a datapad. It was the twins' turn to watch her again, which they seemed to be getting a lot of. Dawnstar didn't mind. She much preferred them over some of the other mechs.
Sideswipe was at his desk working on something or other. Most likely another prank. Sunstreaker had left for the washracks, something he did almost three times an orbital cycle. Dawnstar was bored, frustrated that she hadn't flown in so long, and getting close to going insane from her claustrophobia trying to creep in. She needed a distraction, and a damn good one.
She smiled to herself. There was one distraction that might work.
The black and red Seeker set aside her datapad and stood. She approached the red mech and sat on his desk.
"Um, hello." Sideswipe drawled a little confused as he looked up at her.
"Mmm, hello." She smirked at him, her backstrut arched just so, her vocalizer erotic.
Sideswipe reset his optics. "So, um, you need to refuel?" He said cautiously.
"The only fuel I need is what you can give me." She said as she leaned forward, her faceplates in his.
"Oooooookay. Dawnstar, I think you need to-"
Dawnstar slipped off the desk and onto his lap, her legs on either side of his, and her wings fluttering. "You know, you are really cute." Her one servo lowered until it cupped his codpiece.
If he had been human his face would have turned red. "Um, Dawnstar, I don't think we should-"
"Shhhh," She shushed him as she pressed the digit of her other servo against his lip plates. "You know you want it." She whispered seductively, her faceplates so close to his. "No one has to know. You're not betraying your people, anyway. I'm not a Decepticon." She paused to broaden her smile. "Besides, haven't you ever wondered if the rumors concerning Seeker valves are true?"
He swallowed, debating the matter in his processor. True, no one would ever know, except for maybe Sunstreaker. And true that Seekers were said to have the most amazing valves ever, and he may never get another chance to test that. And she was pretty hot even if she was the daughter of someone he absolutely hated and tried to deactivated many a time.
His optics widened when his codpiece slid aside, his frame treacherously warm. Dawnstar just smiled as her one servo touched him and began to stroke. It took a moment, but he soon smiled back. Dawnstar's lip plates captured his in a hungry kiss, his servos reaching up to pleasure her. She moaned so beautifully into his mouth, her servo never ceasing in working on his spike. Sideswipe forced her up and onto the desk. She lied on her back, her legs wrapping around his waist, and codpiece sliding away.
"Come on, Autobot. Put a Seeker in her place." She said provocatively.
He entered her and she hummed her approval. Oh, her dad would so deactivate her if he found out. He gently held her by the hips and began to thrust, far gentler than any mech she had been with.
"You can be rougher, Sides. I don't break easily."
"You sure?"
"Positive. Make me scream."
He gripped a littler tighter and thrust harder. She moaned, enjoying it more than she had before with anyone else. She bucked into him, encouraging him to go harder. She lolled her helm back when he did, her servos holding his shoulders.
"Mmm, keep going! Oh, oh, Primus, don't stop! Hah, hah, harder! Oh, mmm, yes!" She moaned, arching her backstrut and pulling him closer.
He panted and grunted as he continued to thrust hard and fast into her, enjoying it as much as she was. The rumors were certainly true: Her valve felt amazing.
Their overload came, surplus energy coursing through their systems as they reached their climax. He grunted as he filled her with his fluids, and she hummed her approval. He panted over her, his warm breath caressing her faceplates as their inner fans worked to cool them off.
"Wow, that was…" He stopped, not sure what to say to explain how he was feeling.
"Wanna go again?" She smiled.
"Why not?"
Sunstreaker strolled back to his quarters, his footfalls the only sound in the empty hallway. He stopped in front of his door and put in his code. The door hissed open and he entered, stopping immediately.
"You're home early."
Sunstreaker's optics narrowed. "You just can't keep from sticking tiny things into holes, can you?" He grunted as he approached, the door shutting behind him.
Dawnstar was lying on the bottom berth now with Sideswipe over her, her legs wrapped over his hips.
"Tiny? I don't know what you're talking about." Sideswipe replied quickly.
"You are overloading me next, Sunstreaker!" Dawnstar proclaimed with a large smile as she pointed at him.
He raised an optical ridge as he leaned against the back of the couch, his arms crossed. Sideswipe watched him for a moment before giving his brother an annoyed look.
"Privacy?" He said as if his twin should know better.
"We're twins. That doesn't exist between us." Sunstreaker said in the same tone.
"Fine, whatever." Sideswipe said as he returned to his thrusting.
Sunstreaker silently watched the Seeker's expression as she moaned and urged his brother on. They soon overloaded and Sunstreaker pushed his twin aside.
"My turn." He said simply as he positioned himself over her.
"Your brother isn't half bad. Can you do better?" Dawnstar smiled.
"Much."
She gasped when he quickly entered her and set up a fast, steady pace. She bucked into him, urging him to thrust harder, which he did so. He was rougher than his red twin, making her gasp and moan louder. His servos caressed over her frame, pleasuring her with electrical shocks, but better than his twin. Dawnstar assumed because he was an artist and therefore had more finesse with his servos. He leaned forward and kissed her on the lip plates, and she kissed back. His glossa slipped into her mouth and she eagerly played back with hers. His servos touched her sensitive wings and she jerked from the sudden jolt of pleasure it sent through her systems. He thrust even harder, and her arms wrapped around his neck, holding him close.
Without their consent, their chest pieces folded away exposing their pulsing sparks. Raw tendrils of energy wrapped together before surplus energy flowed rapidly through their systems. She moaned loudly, this being the first time she ever spark bonded before. No one else had ever pleasured her so.
He pulled his helm away to grunt through his climax as he relieved himself into her. She gasped, her servos digging into his shoulder plates as she rode her epic overload. They just looked at each other, panting heavily. After several astroseconds he smirked.
"Better than my brother?" He managed between pants.
She smiled. "Maybe we should go again before I make my final decision."
"You sure your sire would approve?" He grunted jokingly.
"Oh, if he found out he would deactivate me. But I don't care. Come on, Autobot. I'm being a naughty femme. You should put me in my place."
"That I can do."
Their lip plates locked again in a kiss as he resumed his humping. She grinned to herself. Two of who knows how many. And if they all interfaced like this… She had a lot of work ahead of her to lay them all.
Her sire was so going to kill her. If he ever found out, that is.
Yeah, Starscream is gonna kill her. :P
I hope all you Dawnstar haters are reconsidering what you think of her after reading some of her thoughts. Also, recall what I said in my note for the previous chapter and read one of the reviews for Chapter 8 as well. That guy made some good points that I forgot to mention. Dawnstar is not a bad girl, she is just scared, confused, and needs an outlet. She has only been with adults and so will do what adults do: Interfacing, drugs, and drinking.
She is going through a hard time and just isn't handling it very well.
Starscream depression is getting worse. :/ Depression can get worse really fast, and bad depression keeps you from wanting to do anything and really be happy about anything. He just wants his baby girl home. :(
Major game changer in next chapter! Please, don't kill me!