She never checked in. The female did for the first week, but this week, she didn't contact him, didn't leave a message, didn't bother showing up at all. Sunstreaker had won a match too early because of the disdain he felt for the girl that somehow manifested itself on his opponent, leaving him the victor earlier than he wanted with less creds than he would have earned if he made the fight last like he usually did.

Cleaning off in the racks and waving of the femmes that were waiting for him outside, he briskly went to where he knew Alexis would be. She was busy with a customer. Hanging back, he kept a low profile and watched the female. Alexis was sitting at her table, the barrier she always managed to keep between her and everyone else. When she got up and rounded about the workstation and made her way to the customer, the Autobot felt something troublesome flicker inside his chassis, especially when he noticed whom she was speaking to.

It was the Vildan that he had seen before, the one who had been there the last time he was. Sunstreaker knew about their species, enough that he could see at least three different improprieties that were occurring between the pair. One, Alexis was making eye contact, something that wasn't done between the sexes of the species unless mating was being initiated. Two, the Vildan was speaking to Alexis, lingering and openly watching her. And when he motioned for Alexis to watch him, swinging some small rod as it extended into a staff, he continued to watch Alexis, his bright yellow eyes flickering on the female. She nodded her head. After retracting the staff, the Vildan handed it to her. Matching the male's stance, Alexis flicked her wrist like the Vildan had done, but for her nothing happened.

The male stepped up behind her, close enough, but not touching her at all. Placing his hand around and on the staff, he swung it out in front of both of them. This time the staff extended.

Alexis shook her head and retracted it, trying it on her own. It took her four flicks of her wrist until the staff weapon extended. She did it again and then once more, actually laughing every time she did. The Vildan tilted his head and looked long enough at Alexis that she managed a flush of flesh. Something was said that had the male bow his head slightly forward before he left. The Vildan shouldn't have, but he noticed Sunstreaker on his way out, his sharp eyes examining the Autobot with a flicker of hostility and stiffening muscles until he noticed the Autobot symbol and dismissed Sunstreaker with disinterest.

Sunny knew what the Decepticons had done to Vildan home planet Renth, knew how long it took them to recover. Since then, the warrior race had advanced, honing their already formidable skills as intellectuals, becoming a species of buried emotions and instincts. They had customs and strict expectations, a code of conduct. They had even once been thought of as Autobot allies until they declared neutrality and enforced their stance with weaponry that lined and protected their restored planet.

That had never sat well with the Autobot, and he had never forgotten. Big on carrying grudges, Sunstreaker decided to follow the male, knowing he was going to uncover something, knowing he would enjoy the confrontation.

As soon as the Vildan exited the shop, two more of his kind came up alongside him. They bowed their heads and took the weapon. Their master took off the cloak he was wearing, revealing more formal clothing and allowing Sunstreaker to see the family crest that lined his shoulders in small subtle shadows of the fine woven material of his well-fitted jacket. Able to identify the Vildan, Sunstreaker knew that the male wasn't a worker, but a fighter, which made less sense than ever. He shouldn't have been the one going to Alexis to get work done. He should have had one of his attendants seeing to his weapon, or had an in-house servant perform such a task.

"Why are you following my master?" a Vildan approached him from below, his eyes washing over the Autobot, performing tactical calculations and with the way his hand was hovering over the weapon that rested on his hip burrowed below a cloak, ready to engage if necessary. "State your intentions, Autobot, or move along."

Sunstreaker huffed at that. "I have no reason to follow any of your kind." Eyes flashed upwards and flickered. Sunny sneered with contempt at the personal guard. "And next time you decide to show someone such a lack of respect, you might acquaint yourself with their rank in the arena and their reputation outside it. I am not one to be trifled with, ever. Now, I suggest that you move along."

"My apologies," the Vildan said, his voice detached. "I was doing my duty." He left Sunstreaker, but not before one more appraising look, with that he disappeared into the crowd.

He returned to the repair shop and found it closed and dark. The shop never closed, not since he had arrived on board the barge, or at least, not since Alexis had become employed there.

It was locked and if he had been anyone else, which he most certainly wasn't, Sunstreaker would have given up. A small precision tool folding out of his middle digit, the Autobot had the lock picked and was inside the shop before anyone else passed him by.

Once he made his processor up about something that was it. And since he decided on waiting for the female, he wasn't going to leave until she returned. He could have tracked her, could have followed after. But he felt that would have been needlessly wasted energy. When one hour turned into another and then one more, the agitation that had kept him company flatlined into a manageable indifference that made him question himself as to what the slag he was doing waiting for any female.

The agitation came back and erupted into an indignity that was worse than the frustration. By the time she showed up, all the females laughing and chattering happily, he approached Alexis with hardly contained hostility. She had to persuade them, especially the Rhiflo, who was huffing through her large nostrils and obviously disliking him that she was okay being left alone with the Autobot.

She led them away, off to the side and in a well-illuminated area. Alexis was uncomfortable with him, overly mindful.

"What are you doing here?" Alexis' smile that she had been wearing disappeared and died away. "You said that you wouldn't bother me anymore."

"You didn't show up today, you were supposed to check in," he accused her, his optics piercing her eyes with heavy blame.

She frowned, brows lifting. "Seriously? It couldn't wait a day? I got held up. I got..."

"Not held up enough to go out and get intoxicated," he said, interrupting with intolerance and righteous justification.

She shook her head, strongly disagreeing. "I am not drunk. I only drank livened water and..."

"You idiot," he sharply cut her off, watching as her eyes narrowed and her stance became stiff, "Livened water is a liquid that has been spiked with peptides that are known to alter moods and influence cognitive reasoning in organics."

"That explains it."

"Explains what?"

Alexis managed a small mischievous uplifting of her mouth that appealed to him more than it should have. "It feels like I have had a lot of caffeine. I feel so good, so free. I feel like I can say anything to anyone, even you." She pointed up at him before hugging her chest. And then to his astonishment, Alexis twirled around with a melody of laughter. "I feel so good."

"You already said that," he sternly pointed out, his voice filled with rising frustration.

She looked up at him with her head tilted over to the left. Alexis' hair came loose and fell along her shoulders. "And you shouldn't be here. How did you get in?"

"I used your key code," he lied.

"That wasn't nice of you, considering I never shared it with you."

"I am not nice. I have been waiting for you since..."

Alexis boldly interrupted him, "Waiting for me? That explains your gruff tone of voice, you must not have liked that at all," she said, another wry smile appearing as she peered up at him with barely controlled humor.

"No. I did not."

At his even stricter tone of voice, Alexis guffawed with a rude sounding, guttural pitched ejection from her throat that immediately discomposed him.

"Look here, human..." he said, unsettled further when the female mindlessly interrupted him again.

"Alexis, my name is Alexis." She frowned, the gesture sparking into a somber smile. "Either call me by my name, or I am going to start calling you Autobot..."

"I am an Autobot, and you are a human."

"Doesn't mean I want to be addressed by what I am."

"Ashamed?"

"Are you, Autobot?" she quipped back.

He shifted on his peds, his optics dimming with disdain. "Only when I am surrounded by inferiors."

Alexis frowned at that, unaffected by his words even when they were a direct insult. "Must be a lonely world for you."

"And why is that?"

Her tone softened. "Because you think everyone is inferior. Because you look down on everyone. I've watched you. I've seen how you treat people, how you even treat your own. The way you treat Bluestreak makes me sick." She wrinkled her nose, bit her mouth and shook her head sadly. "You're not so important that..." She suddenly stopped, now mindful of her words. "I think... yes. I can't shut up. I mean, I want to, and I even want to apologize, but I can't, because you are a bully, and I can't stand you. And just standing here with you looking and talking at me the way you do makes me want to... scream." She threw her arms up in the air, palms out before dropping them back firmly by her sides. "I didn't check in. As my brother says: Get. Over. It. I'm not your property, and I'm only human, and if you don't stop..." Alexis threw her hand over her mouth, covering up whatever she had wanted to say.

Sunny chuckled at the absurdity of her words. "Yes, you are only human. Did I mention that livening water engenders truthfulness in organics? A side effect that I must admit is most... diverting and worth the unnecessary wait."

He hunched down, and Alexis stepped back. A grin shifted on his face as he recognized an opportunity for further humiliation. "Tell me, Alexis. You are captivated by me, are you not? You want me so badly that you are willing to cross my authority and do anything to get my attention. Having my brother licentious for you isn't enough?"

Alexis' body flushed, from the slender curve of her neck to the small patch of flesh on her upper chest and below the large shirt that she wore. His optics followed the teasing flesh before he shut down the growing imagery. Alexis' cheek's reddened at his sudden scrutiny, and she took another step back, forcing him to take another step closer.

With a flicker of his hand, he swiped her down, making her drop on the ground as he dragged her hands away. Holding her flat with a digit pressed firmly on her belly, Sunstreaker dared the female to speak further.

"Your brother says you like submissive women. I may not be familiar with my own sexuality yet, but I can tell you that I'm sure I would never be that accommodating to you. Nor would I just lie down and allow you to rut me just so you could further cement your..." Her eyes flickered up and down his body as she audaciously sneered with distaste... "authority."

His digit trailed a path down her stomach, following the curve of her hip and then winding back up to feel the strangeness of her unexpectedly silken follicles. He ignored the chill that winded through his sensitive circuitry, the stirring up of his spark that rustled along with the line of his finger; they were inconsequential, meaningless.

"You want me to rut you?"

Her flesh whitened, causing her widened eyes to appear vivid with color. She unconsciously crossed her ankles, pushed him away and sat up.

"I can't believe I just said that. That was disgusting." Alexis said, ignoring his question. "God, I sounded so..." She swallowed hard, her eyes shifting away from his, trying to hide her embarrassment. With a quick flip of her body, she got up and bolted.

Diverting her escape, Sunstreaker made sure she stayed in the open. He found her sitting on a stack of boxes, staring up and through a portal and out into space. She had her legs pressed tight against her chest. As the Autobot advanced, he noticed the tension drift up her fingers, through her arms and lift her shoulders.

"You lie about me, try to cause me problems, suck away all my creds and now you want to humiliate me," Alexis said. She turned around, her legs dangling over the edge of the crate. She wiped something shimmering off her cheeks. "Go ahead. Do your worst. Ask whatever you want about me."

"I have nothing I want to know about you."

She eyed him suspiciously. "Then why did you follow me and not let me leave?"

"I wanted to see how far you would go in trying to frag me. I find your attempts..."

Alexis screamed out loud, jumped off the crate and kicked him hard. Hard enough that her small booted heel made a mark on his pediform. Her flesh turned ashen as he stared down at her with extreme vexation, but that didn't stop her from walking away from him again.

Picking up one of the boxes she had sat on, he threw it in front of her, forcing her to stop when the box exploded in front of her. Tools flew outwards and collided against her, one striking her head hard enough that she almost tripped and fell backwards, her feet awkwardly crunching down on the strewn instruments. Her hand went to her forehead, a bruise already boldly sprouting. What she said next as Alexis caught his optics and held on tight sent a tremor of a thrill down the Autobot's backpanel.

"Are we even now?"

"Not quite," he easily responded.

Her brows furrowed and escalated into a grimace as her bruised flesh pinched. She took a shaky step and made a motion to steady herself and then led him away to her quarters. He smirked.

Stopping in front of her door, Alexis turned with deeply suppressed outrage.

"Stop following me. Go away."

"No."

"Fine, have fun here then, because you aren't coming into my quarters."

"I am."

She was confused at how confident he was but refuted it with a firm shake of her head. "No, you most certainly are not. I have too many memories from last time."

"Would you rather things escalate out here? Where everyone can hear?"

She huffed at that and disappeared inside her small living compartment. Hardly deterred, he activated his holo-form and made an attempt to pass through the walls. Something repelled him. Sunstreaker tried again. He was pushed back by what his scanners told him was a holo-disruptor that was now being used to block his human form.

A text came to him.

Your creds well spent, I assure you. Consider myself checked in. Have a nice night.

As if that wasn't annoying enough, the small smiley face that accompanied the words was.