"So, Shockwave?"
". . ."
"The two of you, locked in the same room, together."
". . ."
"In the dark."
". . ."
"Frames pressed against each other."
"Shut up, Knockout."
Starscream and Knockout were sitting at a corner booth in the galley, only one of them enjoying the pleasant dawn of a new day.
The day after the Daytrader was ambushed by a storm.
The same storm that had a cosmic hand in placing Starscream and Shockwave in a locked lab.
Fortunately, they were rescued and treated for injury in med-bay.
Unfortunately, the fact that the mechs were seen as they were – and someone had decided to spread the news of the whole thing for the entire ship to take as they will – was a horrifying realization.
"Hey, I'm just telling it like I hear it," Knockout defends, wearing his signature smirk.
"I am going to kill whoever opened their mouth first and started this whole thing," Starscream growled, his claws tightening around a cube of Energon. His tone scared the present Vehicons.
"You're scaring the workers, Starscream," Bumblebee stated as he approached the two mechs.
"Considering you killed oh-so many of them during the War, I don't see why you all of a sudden care."
Bumblebee looked like he was about to blow a gasket, but quickly thought better of it. Instead, taking a deep vent, grabbing a cube of Energon for himself, and settling down beside Knockout.
"Well, from what I've seen so far, the Vehicons are treated like any other Cybertronian. Nothing more, nothing less. They do their jobs without much complaint, and, unlike what I'm sure was the case with Megatron, aren't killed because of a little mishap. Just a stern talking-to, some extra work, and they're good to go," Bumblebee explained.
Knockout and Starscream were silent. They looked at each other, then back at Bumblebee.
"Also, I don't think Slipstream will allow you to get away with harming even a single member of the crew."
Starscream scoffed and took a sip of Energon.
"That's true," he replied. "Thanks for reminding me."
"Aw, Bee, why'd you have to tell him that?" Knockout whined, dramatically draping his frame across their table. "Now there's one less thing for me to be entertained by!"
Starscream gaped in indignation. Bumblebee just shook his helm and rolled his optics. A servo hit Knockout's helm, shocking him up to a sitting position.
"Hey! What…"
"Get your aft off the table and behave yourself for once," a femme retorted.
Knockout instantly shut up, having recognized the voice. Without a word, he returned to his seat.
"Sorry, Moonracer," the red medic mumbled, raising his red optics to meet with blue ones.
"Uh-huh," the femme said, servos on hips, not at all convinced. "Just, dial back on the troublemaking, please?"
Knockout brightened and put on an award winning smile.
"Of course, Moonracer, but you know me. No guarantees."
The turquoise medic vented and shook her helm. She knew her former mentor was right. No matter what Moonracer or anyone else did or said, Knockout would always be himself. He rarely if ever changed his ways.
"So long as you try," Moonracer said. The femme collected herself and scanned the mechs. "Anyway, have any of you seen Steeljaw recently?"
Knockout and the other two stilled. Steeljaw's been spending so much time away from everyone else that they almost forgot he even existed.
Moonracer took note of their reactions.
"I'm guessing that's a 'no'."
She sighed when the others shook their helms.
"Why are you so worried about him, anyway?" Knockout asked, genuinely curious, and even a little concerned for his friend's well-being.
It wasn't just him, either; both Starscream and Bumblebee felt the same way. The femme seemed conflicted, confused, like she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, and wanted to talk to someone about what was bothering her, but couldn't.
Weird, she's acting almost like Steeljaw was that one time, Knockout thought, a memory file getting ready to be played…
"GUYS! GUYS! GUYS!"
But, that will have to wait till later. Sunstorm ran into the room, even more giddy than usual, bouncing from one ped to the other and squealing in barely contained excitement.
"How does he have so much energy?" Knockout whispered, leaning closer to Starscream. The silver Seeker groaned and hid his faceplate in embarrassment.
"I don't know," he replied, then lifted his helm to look at his brother. "What is it, Sunny?"
The warm and fiery Seeker calmed down for about a nanoklik before erupting into more squeals and throwing himself at his brother. Starscream, optics wide, was nearly knocked out of his seat, but he quickly recovered.
"I'm so happy you're calling me by my nickname, Scream!" Sunstorm chirped. Surprisingly, Starscream didn't try to push his twin off.
"Yeah, sure, whatever," Starscream huffed, indifferent. He wrapped an arm around his twin and held him close. "Besides, I am not in the mood."
"Is it because everyone knows you slept with Shockwave on the laboratory floor?"
The other bots struggled to hold their laughter. Starscream rolled his optics and rested his helm in the palm of his free servo.
"Yes, that. Thank you, Sunny. Now, why are you here?"
"Mmm… oh, right!"
Sunstorm jumped out of Starscream's hold and dashed back to the doorway.
"We're just about to pick up the Rainmakers! Come on!"
Without waiting for a response, Sunstorm left. The Vehicons soon followed, excitedly talking amongst themselves.
"The Rainmakers?" Bumblebee repeated, rubbing his chin. "Why do they sound so familiar?"
"Ask Shockwave," Starscream said, downing the remainder of his Energon. "He knows them better than anyone else."
"How do you know?" Moonracer inquired, moving out of the way so that Starscream could dispose of his empty cube.
"Did Shockwave tell you about it when… OW!" Knockout was promptly shut up, again, by a pair of well-placed strikes to the back of the helm, courtesy of Bumblebee and Moonracer.
"No, I already knew," Starscream clarified, disposing of the others' empty cubes as well and leading the way out to the bridge.
"Okay, but how?" Knockout repeated, rubbing his sore helm.
"Did you know them before the War?" Moonracer inquired.
"Not exactly," Starscream replied, only half paying attention as he searched through old memory banks. He remembered meeting them a couple times, but he certainly didn't know them as well as most other flight-frames.
"Wait, I think I remember reading about them during the War, in case other Decepticons came to Earth," Bumblebee started. "They're a trine of weather specialists, right?"
"Yes. They stayed behind on Cybertron with Shockwave."
"I thought Shockwave was all alone on Cybertron, save for Predaking?" Knockout brought up.
"He might have sent them off on a mission of some sorts, I don't know. Like I said, ask Shockwave."
Knockout muttered something under his breath, but Starscream didn't hear what he said.
"What I don't get is how Shockwave knows more about them than you do, Starscream," Bumblebee expressed his confusion. "I mean, weren't you in charge of the Decepticons aerial force?"
"I was, yes, but that particular trine was different. Unlike the Energon seekers and scientists of Vos, the Rainmakers are originally from Tarn."
"Shockwave's home turf," Knockout interrupted, picking up the pace to be beside Starscream.
"Mhm. They never said anything, but I always knew they were never big fans of us high caste flight-frames. When the time came, instead of becoming Energon Seekers under my command, the Rainmakers opted to stay by Shockwave's side as guardians. Our force at home, if you will."
The group fell silent as they reached the bridge, which was populated by what appears to be the entire crew.
Wow, popular group the Rainmakers must be, Knockout thought, amazed by the turn out.
Aside from hushed conversation among the Vehicons, everyone was quiet. Wreck-Gar guided his ship down to the planet's surface, landing carefully with skill and accuracy on a flat plot of vibrant green. The surrounding area is covered in hills and dips, so finding the perfect spot to make a safe landing is quite the lucky find.
Hm. Pretty. Reminds me of a place back on Earth.
SLIPSTREAM: {This is the Daytrader calling for Acid Storm, Ion Storm, and Nova Storm! Rainmakers, come in! Do you copy?}
No response.
SLIPSTREAM: {Rainmakers, this is Slipstream. Please respond!}
Still no response. Everyone was starting to worry, especially Shockwave. Knockout wouldn't have believed that Shockwave, of all mechs, would be worried about others, had it not been for what Starscream revealed just a little while ago.
SLIPSTREAM: {Acid, Ion, Nova, pick up, dammit!}
And then the Emergency Lock to the ship's hangar went off, startling the very tense bots.
"I don't have time to deal with this scrap right now," Slipstream growled, slowly but surely losing her calm. "Someone, access the security cameras and tell me who just entered."
The bots turned to a bit of mob mentality in order to adhere to Slipstream's command. Not that it mattered, since they all fell silent to the sound of jets flying into the bridge. The pair found a free space and transformed: a neon green mech with black and silver detailing, and a bulky, bright yellow femme, also with black and silver detailing. The duo's red optics were clouded with exhaustion and worry.
"Sorry about that, but we couldn't wait any longer," the yellow femme vented.
"It's alright, Nova, I'm just glad you're safe," Slipstream reassured.
"Where is Ion Storm?" Shockwave demanded, forcing his way through the crowd of bots to reach his… friends?
Co-patriots?
Hometown buddies?
Knockout wasn't sure what to call them.
"That's the problem, we don't know," the green mech responded with remorse. "We looked for him everywhere, but it's like he just up and vanished into thin air or something."
"We have been searching non-stop for cycles now, so I'm sure some of our problem is due to lack of proper recharge… and fuel," Nova Storm admitted, shuffling her pedes as she spared the green mech a concerned look.
Slipstream and Shockwave were not happy about this.
"Acid Storm, it was illogical of you to continue on your mission without caring for yourself properly," Shockwave reprimanded.
"My apologies, Shockwave, but I was a bit preoccupied with making sure that my brother's still online!" Acid Storm snapped.
Most of the bots reeled from Acid's outburst. If Knockout and his group had to guess, Acid Storm rarely if ever lost his temper with anyone, let alone Shockwave.
"Acid Storm, calm down! You and Nova are too far from functional sanity for my liking, and losing your helm like this isn't helping matters!" Slipstream argued in a firm, steady tone. "So, you two are going to med-bay with Dead End to heal and rest, while we search for Ion. I don't want you up and about until our medics say otherwise. Understand?"
.
. .
. . .
"I… understand," Acid Storm vented, leaning back against Nova Storm's chassis. "And I'm sorry for losing myself like that. You're right. We've pushed ourselves too far, and that hasn't helped anyone. I'm just really worried about Ion. I'm worried for my brother, Slipstream. Please, find him, and bring him back home."
Knockout felt a sympathetic tug at his spark. Looking at the green mech, he understood how he felt. It was like Breakdown all over again. He remembered how frustrating, how worrying it was waiting around for him to come back after he disappeared, only for him to never return.
"We will, Acid. I promise."
At least here, there is a chance that Ion Storm is still alive. If that's the case, then I'll do for him what I could never do for Breakdown.
Save him.