Skywarp wasn't the only one that had a wicked sense of humor.

Starscream didn't know when the idea entered his processor, but when he saw the girl being pulled along and away by Thundercracker's version of humanity when they found the Autobots and their humans, he suddenly had the most interesting notion.

He waited before acting on the riveting inclination. Playing with Thundercracker wasn't usually fun, as there wasn't much that got to him, but now, yes now, Starscream had something to work with.

After capturing some of the escaping humans and delivering them to the nearest work camp, he flew off on his own. He wasn't looking for anyone in particular, not yet, just trying to stir up TC's curiosity and paranoia. Making the suggestion, he saw the confusion spark in Thundercracker's optics.

"Now, you want to leave the planet now?"

Starscream smiled, a mischievous affecting gesture that made Thundercracker's optics dim. "We've been working harder than usual. We deserve a break."

"But to the Telifna dome? Even with warp gates and Skywarp's teleportation ability that is a good distance away."

The Supreme Air Commander's smile grew into a grin. He expected Thundercracker to argue and come up with excuses. He was pleased to see he wasn't disappointed.

Skywarp bounded toward TC, throwing his arm around TC, he pushed and tugged playfully. "Slag, TC. Don't ask why, ask when!"

"When is now," Starscream informed. With calculated perfection, his wings lifted with his seemingly innocent inquiry, "Unless you have more work here that is keeping you?"

Suspicious optics landed on Starscream's. He could almost see the questions running through TC's processor and the realization of what them leaving would mean.

Thundercracker's holo-form was advanced, but even upgraded and reformatted for remote access; it would not be capable of broadcasting at such a distance. In effect, the link would be terminated completely, left to run on automated programming.

Starscream found it hard not to smirk. Noticing Starscream's gaze, TC slowly nodded his head in the affirmative. Giving him no time or opportunity for preparations, he led the two off planet to the opulent pleasure dome on an equally magnificent planet Revlzz.

"Is something wrong, Thundercracker?"

Something was wrong with TC, and Starscream knew exactly what. It had been many a cycle since he had seen Thundercracker so fidgety and wound tight. The more unease Thundercracker displayed, the better Starscream felt. He was enjoying himself immensely.

The first day passed rather quickly on the pleasure dome. Thundercracker drank the provided Energon and played some of the games. But when the femmes came into the picture, the highly detailed and beautifully rendered diversions, Thundercracker showed no interest. Not even when the best put together of them approached TC, her amply curved chassis illuminated by the golden hue of her paint job. She made an effort to get his attention, obviously interested and excited by his fellow Seeker. Eventually, when she figured out she was getting nowhere, she settled toward Skywarp until she wandered off in a huff. Skywarp never did anything small, and the femme didn't appreciate getting lost in his crowd of female attendants.

That didn't stop Starscream from throwing off his female entourage, or inducing and luring the femme into his clutches. He had an optic for beauty and felt no need to see her go to waste. After her vocals went off mid-scream the second time from the pleasure, he gripped firm to her thin neck piece and squeezed tight.

"Turn your vocals off or I will disable them."

She did as she was told, and the next time he found his pleasure from her, he only heard the whirls of his own systems speeding up and winding, his vents heating until pressure was released. Her body work now scratched and imperfect, her paint chipped and peeling; he saw her as she probably was before her ample preparations, far from perfect, far from beautiful. When she reached for him again, Starscream kicked her servo away and left her as a crumpled mess on the floor. Maybe if he slowed his stride when he exited, he would have heard the curses that followed after him.

The femme wasn't the first he had taken since he arrived and wouldn't be the last. The three Seekers were tucked away in private finely furnished rooms where they were served and provided for, everything they wanted brought and given with speed. Another day spent of gambling and drinking, another group of femmes wandered into their quarters. Their reputation of arrival was spreading fast. There were never any repeats. It was clearly understood between them and the establishment that they expected a variety and the best.

One would have never known there was a rarity of femmes with the amount they attracted. However, with their reputation, both in battle and prowess in the berth, the females quickly flocked to them, practically pleading to be touched by one or all.

"I asked you a question, TC," Starscream repeated while pushing an approaching femme away, and then another that dared block his view. He stretched lazily.

"How long are we staying here?"

So that was it. Grabbing the first femme that came in range, he got up and threw her in Thundercracker's lap.

"Just long enough for us all to have some fun." Starscream pointed toward Skywarp with a finely polished talon. "Skywarp knows how to enjoy himself," he groused. The two turned and looked at their wingmate. At the moment, he only had three femmes surrounding him, all were laughing at whatever he was saying. One of them was boldly tracing her dainty digits along the curves of Skywarp's wings, openly pleasuring their trinemate as he bent into the touch. The laughter stopped abruptly, the other females joining in as they bent over and pushed closer to Skywarp, all fighting and pushing at each other to be the next to touch him.

"Skywarp knows how to enjoy himself with an open fuse," Thundercracker replied dryly. "So that isn't saying much." He pushed the femme off his lap and shook his head no. She scuttled off.

"What is it? The femmes not up to your taste?" Starscream spotted a female Tarvarian. Not much was known about the species except that they were a reclusive lot, but since the destruction of their planet's ecosystem by raiders and interlopers, they had been forced to find other sources for their survival. But it wasn't the rarity of the female that caught his attention, but her size. She was nearly the same size that humans were.

Seeing an opportunity to further provoke his wingmate, he addressed TC again, "How about that small one over there? She's been looking your way all evening."

Thundercracker at least looked over at the female Tarvarian, but that was the end of his attentions. Getting up, Starscream strode over to his wingmate. He plopped down next to Thundercracker.

Leaning over, his vocals took on an intimate tone. "If you think she's too small, let me tell you that I have had someone even smaller than she is. Her touch was not only exotic but soft and heated..." Starscream scooted a little backwards, wanting to catch Thundercracker's response to what he was about to say. "The human was defiant and inexperienced, but she did have the most riveting pair of green eyes, and her mouth..."

Starscream never finished. Thundercracker peeled off the seat and his fist curled and bent before connecting with the air commander's jaw plate. Keeping Starscream down with his weight and well-placed servos, Thundercracker stretched above him.

"What did you say?" His vocals were fierce and oppressive and his optics were clouded by rage.

"What the slag is wrong with you?" Starscream asked in contrived anger, internally, even as his chin hurt and his optics malfunctioned before clearing, even then he was enjoying everything. Thundercracker knew exactly whom he was speaking of. And Starscream knew he knew.

"Thundercracker," Skywarp came up behind him, trying to pull his wingmate off, but failing. "Just how much Energon did you drink? Frag, get up before someone calls security. You know how hard it is to get in this place, and how long it took for them to allow us back, after that you know, missile incident." He tried to pull him off again, continuing to speak as he did so. "Come on, you just need a couple of rounds with a femme."

TC's optics cleared and begrudgingly he got off Starscream. Getting back on his pediforms, the two stared at one another. There was something in Thundercracker's gaze, something far too serious behind his optics. The humor Starscream had felt since their arrival died. Everything became tense and heated, the anger he had tried to replace with manipulation and sport suddenly felt inadequate and pointless.

The fun was over.

Or had just begun.

He was still trying to figure out what he saw in that stare of Thundercracker's. It was a vulnerable, yet threatening look, one of a trapped Autobot, one of a vengeful, raging Con. But the trip had more than served its purpose. Starscream know understood certain things. And it gave him the opportunity to plant a very particular type of tracking device on his trinemate that he would have never been able to place when the holo-generater was monitored by Thundercracker.

The tracker led him straight to the human that TC took such pains to hide. But even if he hadn't placed the device on Thundercracker, he would have found them eventually. For humans had obvious flaws. Humans needed food and with it getting colder, shelter.

After finding them, he observed the pair. The familiarity between the two since his last personal observation when he had borrowed TC's human body, had grown. Affection was more apparent in the female. And while he couldn't discern if there was any form of attraction in the girl, his humanized wingmate blatantly broadcasted his desire for the female. He had never seen Thundercracker touch anyone as much as he did the femme. However, even as they lay down next to one another during their rest periods, Thundercracker did not touch her in the manner he obviously wanted to, did not find the release that would have only come from bending his body against hers.

Starscream knew of human sexual practices, had even seen the disgusting, revolting, entirely too involved actions personally at some of the camps. Humans were promiscuous, lusty creatures. Even caged and confined, they mated indiscriminately. It was no wonder that there had once been billions of them. And there would be again if they got the chance. But they wouldn't, not with what Megatron had planned for them.

After all the time the two spent together, Thundercracker hadn't even managed to couple with her. Starscream knew it wasn't because TC wasn't capable of convincing the femme, but because he hadn't tried. But why not? What made the human female so interesting that he was willing to put off his needs? But then Starscream understood. There was something about the hunt. No matter how exciting a hunt could start, once it was over, it was done. The mystery gone, the enigma washed away. He was just savoring it before he pounced on his prey.

Starscream was never so patient. And it didn't take long after observing them, no matter how interesting, disgusting and infuriating it was that he wanted to move forward to his next plan of action.

He waited until Thundercracker left the female alone and vulnerable. Landing, he pushed through the trees as he moved toward his objective.

Yes, the fun wasn't over. It was just starting.