Starscream never needed much of a reason to act as he saw fit. So, entering Thundercracker's quarters without permission was not an entirely odd thing. Immediately irked when he found his actions producing no result, he continued on his quest to find his wingmate. Starscream noticed before the doors slid shut on his trinemate's quarters that they appeared to not have been used for some time.

He opened his link and made an inquiry. "Warp, where the slag is Thundercracker?"

By the untimely response rate, the overly articulated words, and the feel of Warp's exasperation, Starscream knew he had interrupted a charging cycle.

"I don't know. Why ask me when you can find out exactly yourself, we aren't trinemate's for nothing," he said sarcastically.

"He turned his location signal off."

"So I now feel. Well, just don't ask me to help you..."

Starscream interrupted, "I don't require your assistance."

"Good, then don't hold it against me when I filter this link."

Typical Skywarp.

He rounded a corner and passed a couple of mechs. Starscream momentarily considered recruiting them for his task, but quickly dismissed the idea; they would only get in the way. He could have gone to Warp's quarters and forced him up and gotten pleasure out of disturbing him, but he wasn't in the mood, neither for the complaining that surely would have followed, nor the buoyant manner in which Skywarp would have tackled the job. Starscream didn't need the added frustration right now.

Doing a visual scan of the base, he eliminated one room and then another, rounding his way to the southern compound as he made his way to the storage areas. Starscream didn't know why, when one of the storage unit doors slid open, he felt the need to shoot past a corner as he hid himself, but he did. Peering around the wall, he saw Thundercracker walking out, a sharp snap following that indicated a locking mechanism was activated.

Storage compartments didn't have locks. There was no need. Nothing of any vital importance was contained within them.

Starscream waited where he was for some time, several hours passing until finally and with due certainty, he felt Thundercracker slip into recharge. He hadn't sought this and didn't need it. All he wanted was an updated report about the west quadrant. Yes, it wasn't due until the following cycle, but he knew with the way TC was that he had probably finished it some time ago. And Starscream needed the information because Megatron was visiting soon. Deep-rooted anger spilled into his mainframe, uneasiness there as well as Starscream thought of his Master's arrival. While he was anticipating the event, he most certainly was not looking forward to it.

And now here he was distracted and trying to break into a storage room. Yes, he could have let it go. After all, he supposed, or perhaps vaguely considered, that everyone deserved some kind of privacy. That thought was quickly dispelled and washed away. Starscream did not have room for secrets, not when he had so much he wanted to accomplish and obtain. And nothing, not secrets, nor oddities, nor locked rooms were going to stop him from reaching his ultimate goal. The only one that dominated his matrix not long after he had entered Megatron's service.

It took some time for the Supreme Air Commander to break into the room, especially when he was forced to keep the locking subroutines intact. He did not believe anyone needed to know he had been there.

He expected what he found to be more interesting than wall after wall of supplies and equipment. However, he was disappointed, at least at first.

It only took Starscream ten paces before his sensors picked up the anomalous energy reading. The hum of the powerful equipment gained his attention, as did, after scanning more deeply, the field that surrounded the room that blocked the emissions from escaping outside the walls he was within.

When the Seeker walked into the back room, figuring out what he was now looking at took all of twelve nano-clicks. Understanding its function was something that took a more personal examination.

What in the name of Primus did Thundercracker need a holo-generator for? However, not just any holo-generator, one that was built to be accessed remotely, and obviously possessing the ability of being away from its host across great distances.

Sitting down before the console, a monitor flickered on before the Seeker, immediately asking for an access code.

He inputted the most logical choice, but it was rejected. That was all it took for Starscream to be locked out of the system. Acting quickly, he reached underneath and pulled off a panel before ripping out the yellow cabling as he halted the alarm that would have alerted his wingmate.

Satisfied that he stopped it in time, he employed more devious methods to open up the console to him. Using an approach that he had not used since his Academy days. Doing such an inane, rather insignificant thing such as breaking into another's terminal was never on his list of things to do that day.

Finally, security firewalls bypassed, he began working on the encryption. Starscream found out that TC was as excessive as ever, the layers that had been applied rather severe even for him. Which meant, whatever was underneath it all was something he most certainly didn't want seen.

Exasperated and nearly fed up, the screen blinked out and faded away. Cursing, he slammed his fist down. The screen came back on-line with necessary files decrypted and secrets revealed.

First, all Starscream felt was the betrayal. Then he felt defiled by association and disgusted by the obvious deception that was used to even do such a thing. It was an abomination, unnatural for his wingmate to go to such extremes.

Despite the disgust and him knowing how perverse and twisted it was; his curiosity would not be sated until he activated the device for himself. To create such a thing for Intel was one thing; however, to do it for personal interaction was another. Starscream needed to know why Thundercracker felt inclined to be human, and why he felt the need to interact directly with any of them.

Tubules released from his wrist guards, he connected with the machine. His consciousness jumped into a burst of life before settling in a warm, solid body.

Starscream opened his fleshy eyes.

He was in pain. It wasn't exactly acute, nonetheless; he felt it. Especially when trying to open the lids that were over his visual oculars, he found only one would budge. But it was all that he needed, all that he required to see the depths of Thundercracker's betrayal and the very reason for it.

For it, no she was sleeping only five feet away.

The human Alexis.

Even before Starscream adjusted to the muted way of seeing things, he knew it was the girl. She shifted awake when sensing his movement. She came to him and hovered. With her as close as she was there was no room for doubt in his mind.

"Are you okay, Timothy?"

His head ached. His body was sore while other strange pangs shifted under his eyes. The realistic sensations took a moment to process and order. Finding a subroutine he realized he could turn the harsh sensations off. But he decided to leave it on. Pain or not, it would make sure he acted as he needed to while he tried to adjust to the situation and the borrowed human form.

"Timothy? Do you need more ibuprofen? Some water perhaps?"

Timothy? How would Thundercracker have even thought of such a designation? Starscream bypassed those questions, satisfied for now that he wasn't the only one being deceived.

"I... I am fine."

How low and awkward his voice was, a vocalization that was entirely ineffective and devoid of strength. Before he could think of any further criticism, the human was touching his head before several fingers drifted carefully down his face.

He caught her hand stiffly in his own, not expecting someone to touch him so boldly. However, he wasn't Supreme Air Commander Starscream anymore was he? Wasn't even a Con. He was just an insignificant human replicant that... by Primus, inhaling, Starscream caught her scent. The beguiling smell drifted up his nostrils. The shadows shifted and moved from her face as the moon overhead glided away from the clouds.

Alexis' mouth was set in a frown with concern in her eyes that boasted of acquired familiarity between the two. She was luminescent, entirely exotic and so very close. Her hair was loose and flowing past her shoulders, stray follicles brushing against his arm.

Once more, light twisted and fell away before dropping them in the shadows. And yet he felt her more than ever. Her knee was pushing against his outer thigh, those breaths of hers making Alexis' chest rise and fall, forcing his attention along the soft curved lines of her body. And he felt her hand still inside his own, the beating of her heart thumping strongly through her wrist.

Starscream was so entirely aware.

He dropped her hand, flinching at the sudden action as he shut his eye. His own heart was beating within, strumming inside its cavity and quickening as he realized her body was still lingering against his own. The disguised Seeker felt like a sparkling, not like the experienced Con that he was that had more than a few conquests. The flesh he was inside was weak and vulnerable and making him feel the same.

"Are you still in pain?"

That voice of hers crawled against his flesh, hair rising along his arms from the soft murmur of the tone.

He shook his head, unwilling to communicate any further than he needed to, unwilling to make any slip that would reveal him for who he was.

"And there is nothing I can do?" Alexis asked.

Starscream shook his head yet again, a smirk trying to form that he barely withdrew. Her frown deepened. When she got up, the warmth left the side of his body. He watched as she rolled up some material before picking it up along with other items. Alexis then unrolled it closer to him before sitting on it. She pushed a leg forward, head lowering down to her left knee.

"I am so sorry about this," she breathed out.

Sorry? Why was she sorry? Unless the pain he was feeling along with the bruising and gashes that he felt were her doing. Just what was Thundercracker playing at, just what was he...

She lifted her head, smiling at him as she bit her lip. Her attention was focused on him, yet thoughts far away, a strange look in her eyes that faded away too quickly.

"Alexis..." Starscream didn't know he said her name until the simple word was out of his mouth. He pushed his luck and continued, "Come here."

Brows rising, she came to him and settled once more by his side. He was astounded by how easy it was and how willing she was to do as he commanded.

She touched his shoulder while her mouth moved, and yet he didn't hear the words, barely felt the contact as the connection he made started to break up as he tumbled away. He fought against it, but it did no good as latent security measures activated, shutting the program down and him out.

Starscream found himself back in his real body with wings tensed high. He knew he had some more work to do. One of the functions of the programming was to fill in and adapt when Thundercracker himself wasn't inside it. Recordings were also taken during those times so that Thundercracker was prepared for his next encounter. Starscream needed to know exactly what kind of relationship TC achieved with the human. Had to know what the two of them had done and where she was. If only he had paid more attention to the surroundings, although he vaguely remembered seeing some sort of building in the background that was surrounded by overgrown patches of grass and a sign high above with an illegible name on it half faded. The holo-generator's matrix scrambled the location, another security preventative by his always perspicacious wingmate.

Of course though, when it came down to it, what the two were doing hardly mattered. For he had discovered something about his trinemate, something that could be stored away and kept and then one day used. In what manner or for what purpose Starscream was not sure of yet, even if the result could only lead to one thing: an outcome that benefited him. One he would also make sure led him to the acquiring of the femme.

For he wanted her even more than he did before.