The next few orbital cycles Starscream did the same thing, moving racers to and from the practice tracks, tacking them, removing the tack, hosing them down, giving them hot walks, and helping clean out the stalls. It was simple work, and he did enjoy it, minus having to hurt the racers. If he didn't need to bit them, tie their glossas, or attach the whip to the drone it would be a perfect, happy job for him.
He was becoming more confident with the race Seekers, and able to walk into their stalls without much fear. He still feared them potentially killing him, but he at least faced his impending doom without trembling.
He was getting to know the race Seekers by their designations, but none of them would speak. Not a single word he understood, at least. They shrieked, neighed, roared, hissed, growled, and made other such sounds, communicating to each other, but never speaking the language the other Seekers knew. He didn't understand why that was.
Starscream and some other Seekers one morning were told to load five specific race Seekers onto two different trailers. They were going to be raced at actual racetracks somewhere Starscream had no idea where.
"Put the harness on like a bridle." Ricochet showed Starscream as the younger jet stood by. "This chain attached to the lead is called a stud chain. You hook it on the right side of the halter, then you lift up the race Seeker's upper lip and put the chain under the lip so it's pressed against the gums." He did so, ignoring how the race Seeker snarled and tried to remove his helm.
"Why do you put it there?" Starscream perked his wings.
"The gums are very sensitive. Just like the rest of the mouth when the bit is used, the stud chain puts pressure on the mouth, in this case the gums right above the incisors. This ensures you have complete control over the race Seeker when they aren't bitted. When you get it here, loop the chain through the circle here on the left side. Now, when you pull the lead it will cause pressure on their gum, hurting them, so they obey and will go into the trailer."
"Why not use treats to lure them in? I-I've done that. My former master made us do that to get the mounts into the trailer when they needed to see the vet."
"The masters here don't want to constantly give the racers treats. These Seekers make them rich. They are treated differently."
Starscream looked up at the race Seeker as he opened and closed his mouth, then flicked his glossa out, trying to dislodge the chain pressing against his upper gums. His wrists are cuffed, ensuring he couldn't transform and fly away, which also aggravated him.
"Here." Ricochet handed Starscream the lead. "Take War Prince to the trailer."
Starscream nodded, taking the lead but being very careful to not pull it. "Come on, War Prince." He clicked his glossa, gently leading the massive race Seeker out of his stall and down the hallway.
War Prince snorted through his intakes, tossing his helm, but otherwise stayed next to Starscream. They walked outside where two trailers were waiting for them, the doors open, and ramps lowered. Speedsters and trucks were around as well as other grunt Seekers, all making sure the trailers were good to go, the vehicles pulling them were ready, and getting race Seekers loaded.
"War Prince is going into that trailer." Silverstorm directed Starscream.
Starscream lead War Prince over to it then started to walk up the ramp. War Prince stopped, his wings flicking.
"Come on, come up here." Starscream clicked his glossa again, not wanting to pull the lead. "Nothing to be afraid of."
"Oh, get up there." A truck snapped, whipping War Prince across the aft with a long, nasty energy whip.
War Prince yelped, leaping into the trailer and running to the back of it, yanking Starscream along and throwing him to the ground. Starscream looked up, shocked at what just happened, but quickly shaking himself out of it. He got up and went over to War Prince who had pressed himself against the back of the trailer, not looking at anyone.
"I'm sorry…" Starscream swallowed, grabbing the lead. "I-I didn't want them to do that."
"You alright?" Silverstorm asked as he trotted over.
"I'm fine…"
"Offroad can be like that… Here, you can remove the stud chain. Bring his helm down."
Starscream carefully pulled the lead until War Prince lowered his helm. Silverstorm removed the chain from the race Seeker's mouth, and made it wrap over his olfactory sensor instead.
"Tether him to this." He pointed to a metal bar on the wall of the trailer.
Starscream did so, and Silverstorm removed the manacles. They walked out just as another race Seeker was loaded into the same trailer. Starscream watched as the second trailer was closed up, three race Seekers inside of it with two of the grunts. He noticed the second trailer also had a couple of grunts locked inside with the race Seekers.
"Why are they putting the non-race Seekers in there?" He looked at Silverstorm.
"They ride with the racers to make sure they are taken care of for the trip. They give them energon, make sure they don't fall, document them… If they get injured or are sick during the trip they can't race. They have to arrive at the track in perfect condition. Those guys also will be caring for the race Seekers at the tracks, just as we do here at the ranch."
Starscream bit his lowered lip plate, wondering what that must be like going to an actual racetrack and caring for the racers there as they raced.
"Well, I am off to win us some more Shanix." Opulentus smiled at his mate as they stood by the trailers.
"Don't kill another." Pulchra grunted, her arms crossed.
"I try my best." Opulentus kissed her on the lip plates before turning to Knock Out who stood beside her, his thumbs never ceasing their texting as his optics were glued to his communicator. "Sire is leaving now." He narrowed his optics when Knock Out didn't react. He placed a servo over the communicator, finally forcing Knock Out to look up. "I said I'm leaving."
Knock Out shrugged. "Good for you." He moved his communicator away so he could resume texting.
"You can text your idiot friends later. Give your sire some respect." Opulentus grunted.
"My friends are not idiots, and I'll give you respect when you give it back." Knock Out grumbled, still texting.
"I'm about to take that away from you."
"Do it and I'll run away again." Knock Out glared at him.
Pulchra vented a sigh. "Knock Out, your sire is paying for your education and your communicator. At least say goodbye to him."
"Goodbye." Knock Out muttered, back to texting, his optics never looking away from the screen.
"You're never getting far in life with that attitude." Opulentus snapped.
"I am an honor student, I volunteer, and I have real friends all because of this attitude. Maybe if you weren't an aft you would have actual friends and not those rich pricks you get drunk with." He replied back matter-of-factly, still texting.
"I am tempted to use old fashioned discipline tactics on you."
"Opie!" Pulchra glared at him, servos on her hips.
"What?! Look at him! On that damn communicator all orbital cycle instead of helping manage the ranch. Grit has a brighter future than you."
"Grit's future is literally jacking off race Seekers. I rather have a real job." Knock Out kept texting.
"This!" He gestured at the race stables and everything around them. "Is a real job! We have been racing Seekers in this family for eleven generations! You have that mansion and live in luxury because of this job."
"That's great…. But I'm not jacking off race Seekers for the rest of my life."
Opulentus rolled his optics. "I'm not arguing with you. You're young and don't understand the work I do."
"You jack off race Seekers. I literally seen you." He pumped a fist like he was giving someone a servo job.
"I'll see you when I get home." Opulentus grabbed Knock Out, forced a kiss to his cheekplates, then kissed his mate on her lip plates. "Take care. I'll call you tonight. Knock Out, behave for your carrier."
"I always behave for carrier." Knock Out finally looked up, smiling at his carrier before kissing her on the cheekplates.
Opulentus walked away, not wanting to deal with his youngest anymore. Grit walked over to Pulchra and Knock Out.
"Seeya, carrier!" He hugged his carrier, then gave her a kiss on the cheekplates. "Seeya, Knockers!" He then grabbed the top of Knock Out's helm and roughed it up.
"Ow! Stop!" Knock Out shoved his arm away. "Don't touch me!"
"Why? Denying my love?"
"You jack off Seekers with that servo…Ack!" He cried when Grit grabbed his face with the same servo and made sure to rub it all in.
"Does it smell like Seeker cum? Does it!?"
"Grit, leave your brother alone." Pulchra ordered in her carrier vocalizer.
Grit laughed, releasing a very irate Knock Out. "I'll see ya later, little brother. Keep Princess warm for me!"
"EW!" Knock Out shuddered.
Grit laughed, trotting away. He hopped into one of the vehicles pulling a trailer while Opulentus hopped into the second. Another speedster sat with both, as some more trucks and speedsters transformed beside them. The vehicles and transformed grounders drove off, leaving many more grounders and Seekers behind.
"I'm going to blow torch my face now…" Knock Out growled, stomping away.
Pulchra vented a sigh.
That night, Starscream finished his work at the race stables and started to head back to the barn when Silverstorm stopped him.
"Hey, wanna hang out?"
Starscream perked his wings. "Hang out? Like, doing what?"
"Oh, we're having a get together on the practice track. You should come. You always leave early and don't hang out with the rest of us."
"I like watching TV at the barn with Nebula."
"You can do that any time. Come on, Stars, at least give it a try!"
Starscream thought for a moment before shrugging. "Okay… I can try…"
"Awesome! Let's go!" Silverstorm grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the track.
They took the elevator and arrived at the top practice track. Along the platform and the equipment shed were several other Seekers. They all were grabbing energon that had been poured from some bottles.
"Here, try it." Silverstorm handed one of the glasses to Starscream.
"What is it?"
"Engex. Nacreous sneaks us some. Don't tell the masters."
Starscream had seen Vertex drink engex a lot. He sniffed it, not sure about this. He sipped it, immediately spitting it out.
"That is rancid! Ugh! What the frag?!" Starscream shuttered his optics, horrified anyone drank this willingly.
"I know, it's not the best. Just chug it."
"Why?!"
"It makes you looser, calmer, more at ease." Silverstorm winked.
"I-I'm good." Starscream set the glass back down on the table. "I am plenty relaxed."
"Mhmm." Silverstorm drank his glass.
Starscream lowered his wings, looking around. He noticed some of the other grunts were kissing each other, servos touching one another all over. He raised an optical ridge, not sure why some were touching each other on the codpieces. His wings perked when he heard a loud, gasping moan behind him. He looked back and saw one Seeker thrusting into another who was clutching the railing at the end of the platform.
He swallowed, feeling uncomfortable. He turned and saw another pair getting it on by the shed, and then another Seeker getting on his knees before another Seeker, grabbing that Seeker's spike, and-
Starscream knew what was happening now. He backed away, his spark pulsating faster.
"Come on, Starscream." Silverstorm smiled at him. "It's fine. Just pick someone."
Starscream shook his head before quickly turning and running to the elevator. He pressed the button, and soon began to descend. He hugged himself, wishing he never agreed to come up here. He thought about Chandelle and how Vertex did that to her, how she didn't enjoy it, how painful it looked… He missed Chandelle.
He wiped at his optics as he walked away from the elevator and passed the stables. He didn't want to fly, just trudge all the way back to the barn and go to recharge. It was getting darker, and that made him uncomfortable, but the ranch was safe, so he was fine.
He was nearing the breeding barn when he heard someone walking near him, someone very large. He looked up, turning on his night vision to make out who it was. He stopped, swallowed, and trembled.
"Why are you all alone and crying?"
Starscream wiped at his optics, trying to hide that he had been crying. "I-I'm going back to th-the barn."
Rain approached him, her massive wings perking, the power of her engine rumbling loudly, her intakes snorting. She looked down at the terrified, young Seeker who was now trembling.
"Don't eat me…" Starscream whimpered pathetically.
Rain got down on one knee to be optic level with him. "Why would I eat you?" She asked in a soft vocalizer, nothing like how she had sounded when he first met her.
Starscream kept trembling. "I-I don't know."
"Why are you crying, sparkling?"
He hesitated before answering. "I-I miss my carrier…"
Her wings lowered. "That is a good reason to cry, little one. Have no shame in it."
Starscream wiped at his optics some more. "I miss my friends… Everyone I love is taken from me."
"I understand your pain. The masters took everyone of my sparklings. They were raced to death or sold, all for their greed." She flicked her wings. "The masters care not for us."
"Why…? We do everything for them…"
"The masters are selfish and cruel. If Seekers rose up to fight them maybe we would have a chance. But the masters breed us to be dumb, breed us to be dependent on them, and control us with fear. I have been here for generations of the masters. I know their ways. Seekers don't even speak our native glossa anymore."
"What was our native glossa?"
"Long ago, many, many vorns ago we came to this planet from another. A planet that no longer exists… Or is long lost to us… Our ancestors were once equals with the masters… But something changed. The masters enslaved the Seekers and began to breed them to be dependent on them and dumber. To have shorter lives. The masters took our identities, changing us physically and mentally, and erasing our culture. I learned of these stories from my great-great-great grandcarrier, who learned it from her grandcarrier and so forth. There was a time when the masters once mated with Seekers, worked as brothers, and gave a damn about one another."
"Why did it change?"
"Greed. Lust for power. Why does evil exist for any reason? I was bred by the masters to win races so they could become rich. This entire ranch exists because of me. Because I was the fastest and could beat the competition. My first master became rich because of me, he bought this land and built this ranch. He bred me over and over again, racing my sparklings and selling them. And now every Seeker in these two barns is descended from me. Seekers in barns all across the planet are descended from me. But have I been given anything for making the masters here and elsewhere rich? No. Had I not been a champion I would have been shot…"
Starscream swallowed. "I'm sorry…"
"It is not you who should apologize to me, little one."
"Still…"
"Why are you alone?"
"The others are…" He started to wring his servos. "They're on the track and are…"
"They're having their orgy? Idiots…" She took Starscream's servo in her massive claws. "Come with me, little sparkling."
Starscream followed her, still anxious about this massive creature who could definitely rip him apart with ease, but… She seemed nice. She took him to the mansion and opened the back door, the entrance for the masters.
"Aren't we supposed to use the side door?" He asked softly.
"I don't care." She grunted.
Rain took him to the energon room and grabbed a large tub of ice cream like energon. She handed it to him and escorted him to the fancy dining room.
"Sit anywhere you want." She gestured.
He lowered his wings. "But, I'm not supposed to sit at the masters' table…"
"You can when I'm here. Sit."
He didn't want to argue with her, she was terrifying. He sat in the head chair and started to eat his treat. His wings fluttered, enjoying it. Rain stood over him, making sure he was happy before walking to the massive vidscreen on the wall and turning it on. Starscream perked his wings, not expecting his evening to go like this.
He heard someone approaching, and Pulchra turned the corner.
"Rainbow, why is he here?" She grunted, gesturing at Starscream. "He's not supposed to be inside."
Rain flared her wings, snarled and hissed, being absolutely intimidating. Pulchra paused.
"He can't spend the night." She speedster said quickly, her tone completely different. "And make sure you lock the door when you go back out."
Pulchra quickly retreated, not wanting t.o piss off the massive Seeker. Rain snorted, flicked her wings, then relaxed. Starscream gazed at her in wonderment.
"Why are the masters scared of you and you aren't scared of them?" He asked.
"Before they had those robots that sit on the race Seekers they had minibots who would ride us. They were our jockeys, and they whipped harder than the current jockey drones. Every race they would ride us, whipping us, forcing us to fly so hard until our sparks gave out." She paused. "I killed my first jockey. I ripped him in half."
Starscream starred at her, his optics as round as they could get. "Why didn't the masters… Kill you?"
"Because at that point I was worth six million and was winning my masters about ten million a race. Greed comes before common sense or their own safety. Some masters fear I will kill them like I did that minibot."
"Does Opulentus?"
"Opulentus is an idiot…"
Starscream didn't want to question further. He was scared of her enough and learning she killed someone… He continued eating his energon treat and watching TV.
When he had finished Rain took him back to the barn before transforming and flying off without another word. Starscream didn't understand this strange Seeker, but he felt a little safer with her now.
Starscream didn't talk to Silverstorm about the orgy, and Silverstorm thankfully didn't bring it up. But it made Starscream look at some of his new friends differently, knowing they were…. To each other… And he saw it…
He spent the next few orbital cycles doing his usual work at the race stables. Despite Grit and Opulentus not being present the racers were still exercised. Pulchra oversaw it and so did the other speedsters and trucks who worked there. It was the same daily routine.
Starscream was returning to the barn for his energon break when Hailstorm stopped him just outside.
"Starscream, the masters need their mounts prepared. I'm going to show you how to do it." He gestured for Starscream to follow him.
"But, I'm working at the stables."
"The masters know. When they ask for the mounts to be prepared, they know we're usually doing other work. They are fine with us dropping it to do this."
Starscream bit his lip plate but followed. They flew to the horse barn and went to the second level. Here, there was gear and other equipment for riding Seekers. Bridles, saddles, crops, everything. Even some things Starscream hadn't seen before such as blankets, costumes, even armor.
"What's this?" He pointed to a costume.
"Oh, just a costume. Some previous masters who lived here used to do shows with the Seekers. They would dress them up and make them do tricks in front of crowds."
"Huh."
"Come here. See the saddles along the wall here? All of them have a bridle with them and a picture of the mount they go to. Knock Out and Pulchra are riding, and Knock Out always rides Reckless. This is his gear so grab it." He patted the saddle.
Starscream did so, this saddle feeling much heavier than the ones he put on Warpaint and the other mounts back at the farm.
"Pulchra always rides Eclipse, so I'll grab her stuff." He did so, subspacing it.
"Where are the mounts?"
"We have to go find them. They wander the ranch when not being ridden." He started for the stairs.
"Find them? But the ranch is huge!"
"They have their preferred spots."
Starscream followed him outside, transformed, and the two of them took off. They flew first to the breeding barn, then to the generator. Hailstorm took Starscream to a lake that had large boulders surrounding part of it. On these boulders they could see massive Seekers hanging out.
"There they are." Hailstorm said before descending.
Starscream followed, transforming and landing beside Hailstorm. He swallowed, seeing these massive Seekers. They weren't like Warpaint and his breed. These Seekers looked more like the race Seekers, but bulkier. They were just as tall, and their facial features were identical, but their bodies wider, legs thicker, and they looked so much stronger. The strangest part about them were their peds. All other Seekers had flat peds, thruster heels, or just stiletto heels. These Seekers had two large claws on each ped, more like a bird. And they were using these bird like peds to perch on the rocks and the remains of a structure nearby.
"What is with their peds?" He asked, unable to look away.
"These Seekers are a unique breed. Very old. They are part race Seekers and something else. Some people think race Seekers were bred with some other species. I don't know if that's true or not but they… They are very different."
"Why do the masters ride them and not the… The other mount breed?"
"These Seekers have been in Opulentus' family for generations. They are almost as old as Rain. I do not know if the breed is still being bred, or if they have modified them. They do not speak. Vorns ago it was common for the masters to modified or cut out the vocalizers of Seekers."
"What?" Starscream's optics widened as he finally turned to him.
"Yes. It is now banned, but these Seekers had their vocalizers modified. They can speak the language that the race Seekers speak, but they cannot speak the language of the masters."
"How could the masters do that? Why would they do that?"
"How, I do not know. Why… Because they didn't want to hear the Seekers complain."
Starscream swallowed, his wings lowering.
"Let's find Reckless." He gestured Starscream to follow.
Starscream did so, anxiously passing by some of these bizarre Seekers. They were well painted, waxed, and obviously cared for, like the race Seekers. They didn't look abused or like they were struggling despite being outside all the time.
Hailstorm kept stopping and checking them over, as some had similar paintjobs, until he finally came to one playing in the mud.
"There you are." He grunted. "This one is Reckless. And he got all nice and filthy for you."
"That's alright. I'm used to messy mounts. Should we hose him off?"
"Nah, it's fine." Hailstorm gave a dismissive wave. "Pull out the bridle."
Starscream unsubspaced it, studied it a moment, then held it up ready to be put on. He approached Reckless who didn't seem to even notice him. Carefully, Starscream lifted Reckless' chin, pinched his cheeks, and placed the bit into his mouth. He buckled the bridle on, then turned to Hailstorm, his face in shock.
"He didn't even fight me." He said in complete disbelief.
"They've been ridden for vorns. They're used to it. Pull out the saddle. It's a little different from what you're used to."
Starscream unsubspaced the saddle, eyeing it, not sure why it looked different.
"Put it on his back just like you do the racers. The magnet activation button is under a panel on the base of the handlebars."
Starscream placed the saddle against Reckless' backplates, then activated the magnets. As he did so, part of the saddle began to move. The top part of it lifted up, leveling itself out so that the base that was attached to the Seeker's back and the seat where the rider sat made an L shape.
"Why…? Why did it do that?" Starscream looked over at Hailstorm.
"These saddles are made so that the masters can sit on them even when the Seeker is in root mode. These guys are so big they can have a master on them and not lose balance. Put the safety girth on."
Starscream stepped in front of Reckless and reached around him to grab the girth. Reckless ignored him, still scooping mud to make a mud mound. Starscream got the straps around the massive wings, much wider and longer than what the racers or other mounts had, and tightened the girth. He checked the bit and bridle again, which caused Reckless to stick his glossa out.
"You feel good?" Starscream asked him.
Reckless didn't say anything, just kept playing with the mud.
"Stay there with him. I'm going to catch Eclipse and get her tacked." Hailstorm apprised as he walked off.
Starscream perked his wings as he watched him leave, then turned back to Reckless. The mount threw some mud into the lake, making a large splash. He snorted, flicked his wings, then finally turned to Starscream. His yellow optics were so bright, calm, and friendly. They reminded Starscream of Warpaint.
"Hey," Starscream smiled at him. "I'm Starscream."
Reckless didn't say anything, just eyed him before playing with the mud again. Starscream looked at the other mounts all sitting around, sunbathing and enjoying their orbital cycle. No chains, no stalls, no cages, nothing but freedom. They all wore the collars making sure they didn't leave the ranch, but given the size of the ranch that wasn't an issue for them. They were content and well cared for.
Starscream felt jealous.
"Ready?" Hailstorm inquired as he led a femme mount over, her saddle also doing the L shape thing.
"Yeah." Starscream gave the reins a gentle tug and Reckless stood up, covered in mug. "Sure we shouldn't hose him down?"
"I never have hosed them down before being ridden. The masters don't mind."
Starscream bit his lip plate, hoping that was true and they wouldn't get in trouble. They made the mounts transform, which caused the saddles to clasp back together looking like normal saddles. Starscream and Hailstorm then transformed and pulled the mounts along with them. They flew to the mansion and landed in front of the front door, standing at the bottom of the steps.
Reckless kept nudging Starscream as they waited, almost knocking him over. Starscream didn't understand this…
Soon, Knock Out walked out of the house with his carrier. He trotted down the stairs and took the reins from Starscream.
"Hey, Reckless!" He smiled as Reckless rubbed his faceplates into Knock Out's chest, the mount's engine purring loudly. "I missed you, too. Been like, five orbital cycles, eh?" He giggled as Reckless continued purring and rubbing against him, his massive wings fluttering, almost striking Starscream.
Starscream raised an optical ridge. Why was a Seeker, any Seeker, so happy to see a master? Of how much better Vertex was Starscream still never acted so happy to see him. Were these Seeker broken?
"Don't! You're nasty!" Knock Out pushed Reckless away when the Seeker tried to lick his faceplates. "You're so silly. Here, I know what you want." He unsubspaced energon goodies, and Reckless immediately began to gobble them down. "Yeah? Is that why you love me? You're using me. I see you."
Pulchra took the reins from Hailstorm, not receiving any such love from Eclipse. The femme Seeker lowered herself and allowed Pulchra to mount, then stood straight back up.
"Knock Out, we're going to be late." Pulchra informed her youngest.
"I'm going, I'm going." Knock Out said as he pulled the reins, making Reckless lower himself.
Knock Out climbed onto the saddle, and Reckless straightened himself out. Pulchra clicked her glossa and Eclipse leaped up, transformed, and took off.
"Let's go, big guy." Knock Out clicked his glossa, causing Reckless to also leap up, transform, and fly away.
Starscream still didn't understand why Reckless was so happy to see Knock Out. Like, he was being ridden… That wasn't any fun. He had to wear the stupid bit and saddle, and he was sure Knock Out whipped him. Why would you be happy about that?
"Take your break, Starscream. I'll see you tonight." Hailstorm nodded at him before walking away.
Starscream nodded, walking back to the barn, still confused. And how many fragging Seeker breeds were on this damn ranch?!
A few orbital cycles later Grit and Opulentus returned with their race Seekers and crew. Opulentus celebrated two more wins with his mate, and Starscream helped get the race Seekers to their stalls. It was a few more orbital cycles later when Whirlwind, another grunt Seeker, approached Starscream at the race stables.
"Hey, I'm having you help us because you still need to learn this." He said, wings perking. "Grab Shamelessly Rich and bring him to the front. There's a trailer for him, War Prince, and Show No Mercy."
"Are they going to a race track? I wanna go!" Starscream perked his wings hopefully.
"No, not right now. We're taking them to the breeding barn."
Starscream raised an optical ridge, then his optics widened. "Are they….?"
"Yes, they are being bred. And you're going to learn how it's done. Go get Shameless."
Starscream bit his lip plate as he watched Whirlwind walk away. He made his way to Shamelessly Rich's stall, grabbed the halter, and walked in. The race Seeker snorted, walking to the back of the stall, and flicking his wings.
"I'm sorry… You're not being raced. They said you're going to be bred." Starscream said slowly.
Shamelessly Rich perked his wings, cocked his helm, then approached Starscream. He purred his engine as he lowered himself so that Starscream could easily reach his face. Starscream placed the halter on him, then the manacles, and led him out of the stables. Shamelessly Rich walked into the trailer without any issues, looking so excited. War Prince whined and fought not to go into the trailer, until a speedster began to whip him, then he ran in. Show No Mercy hesitated, but finally walked into the trailer.
Starscream, Silverstorm, and Whirlwind rode in the trailer with the racers over to the breeding barn. There, they unloaded the massive creatures and walked them to the breeding barn that was attached to the breeding stables. Starscream perked his wings when he saw other trailers all around with speedsters and grunt Seekers he had never seen before. Race Seekers, mostly femmes, were being unloaded and taken to the same building.
Starscream led Shamelessly Rich inside, the place was mostly empty, just a large room with some cages in the back. The door that connected it to the main stables was in the back corner, and along the walls were metal bars and metal rings. There were also T shaped posts coming from the floors.
"Take Shameless to the back." Whirlwind instructed.
Starscream did so as the other race Seekers were being led in. Opulentus, Grit, and the other speedsters also walked in.
"Ah, here is Shamelessly Rich in the metal!" One of the speedsters with Opulentus said as he approached the race Seeker. "Opulentus, you know how to breed them. He's magnificent. Well worth the 35,000 to cover my dams." He then held up a communicator and took a selfie with Shamelessly Rich.
"You will get exactly what you pay for. My studs always create top of the line racers." Opulentus smiled.
Grit walked over to the grunts. "War Prince and Show No Mercy need to go in cages. Keep Shameless out. Whoever is being covered by Shamelessly Rich tie to the rape racks." He smirked. "I mean, the 'breeding holds.'"
Starscream watched as three femmes and one mech were each led to one of the T shaped posts. They had their hips pressed against the top of the post, and then made to lean over it. Their wrists were tied to the metal bars on the wall, then a strap tied around their waists, securing them to the top of the Ts. Their ankles were then tied to metal rings on the floor, forcing their legs apart.
One of the femmes was loudly whining and struggled the whole time, panicking and begging in their language, coolant filling her optics. But the masters and grunt Seekers ignored her, securing her to the wall and post.
Starscream swallowed, feeling anxious now.
One of the speedsters who had come with these other race Seekers put on gloves and started to open the codpieces of the tied race Seekers. One by one he used wipes to clean their valves and check their intimacy. The first race Seeker in line then had a round vibrator pressed against her valve and outer sensory node. She tried to kick, but then began to moan softly.
Grit approached Shamelessly Rich. "Here, bring him over here." He spoke to Starscream, grabbing the lead and making him walk over to the race Seeker being aroused. "Keep him behind her. Don't let him move until I say so." He ordered Starscream.
Starscream nodded, tightening his grip on the lead.
Grit removed the manacles from Shamelessly Rich and handed them to another grunt seeker. He then removed Shamelessly Rich's codpiece, not even putting on gloves, and pulled out the massive spike of the racer. Starscream felt very uncomfortable now, especially with that… thing so close to him.
Shamelessly Rich began to whine, his wings fluttered, prancing in place. Grit grabbed the spike and began to roughly stroke it. The phallus began to harden and rise, and Shamelessly Rich made an awful cry, excited and eager. Starscream held the lead firmly, keeping him in place as the massive creature snorted and stomped, ready to go.
"She's ready." The other speedster grunted after checking the femme that was being aroused.
"Walk him to her when I say so." Grit ordered Starscream. "Okay, now."
Starscream stepped forward but Shamelessly Rich almost bolted, nearly causing Starscream to lose his balance. Grit guided the spike into the femme racer, and immediately Shamelessly Rich began to thrust wildly. He kept snorting and making awful loud calls between grunts. His arms wrapped tightly around the femme's waist, biting at her nape, and losing himself. The femme moaned and whimpered, while occasionally hissing when he bit too hard.
Starscream stood there, holding the lead, his wings low. He did not like this at all. It didn't feel right. The one race Seeker tied down, their bodies touched without being asked, how the one femme was still struggling to get away, and everyone just watching them. No privacy at all.
It was made worse by how long it was taking. Shamelessly Rich was going at it with such fervor, such passion, but despite how brutally he was thrusting he kept going… And going… The speedsters were talking and joking with Opulentus, and Grit stood by closely watching the breeding racers.
Shamelessly Rich even glanced at Starscream, sticking his glossa out and drooling some, enjoying this far too much. It was so gross to the young Seeker grunt.
Finally, Shamelessly Rich opened his chest plates to reveal his spark, the power of it emanating so much Starscream could feel it. He swallowed, never seeing a spark before, not in person at least. Grit reached down and forced the femme to open her chest plates, baring her spark. The race Seekers' spark energy began to intertwine, and Shamelessly Rich groaned and grunted louder, giving it his all, ignoring how the femme whimpered.
Finally, they both overloaded, which startled Starscream. The femme whined while Shamelessly Rich loudly roared, their sparks bonding painfully. Shamelessly Rich stood there, groaning, his wings fluttering, not moving.
"Keep him on her. Let him finish." Grit instructed Starscream.
Starscream wasn't sure what was being finished. Weren't they done now? They did the climax part!
Shamelessly Rich stopped groaning after a moment, then started to back off. Grit gestured for Starscream back up as well. Shamelessly Rich pulled out of the femme, his cooling fans whirring loudly, wings fluttering, looking so pleased.
"Walk him in a circle in the room. Let him cool off." Grit said.
The other speedster walked over and began to wipe clean the femme who had just been fragged, and checked her over. Starscream hated how Shamelessly Rich's…. member just flopped around in front of him, not even retracting it. The second femme was now being prepared; her struggles ignored.
"Bring him back over." Grit ordered.
Starscream did so, and again without gloves Grit grabbed the race Seeker's spike and began to stroke. And again, the race Seeker mounted one of the tied femmes and began to thrust, going all in.
Starscream looked away, but listening to it was just as bad as seeing it.
And again, he overloaded, Starscream walked him around, then Grit jacked him off before he mounted another tied race Seeker. And they did this until all four had been interfaced.
"Okay, he gets a second round with them before we let him take a break." Grit explained to Starscream. "But I'm sure you don't want a break, do you, big guy?" He laughed.
Shamelessly Rich snorted, getting tired but still eager.
"He lives the best life." Grit giggled, grabbing the massive spike again and stroking it… Again, without gloves.
Starscream sighed. Shamelessly Rich did the same routine, mounting all four tied race Seekers and fragging like mad. He was visibly getting tired, but he continued, only getting this time to have interface.
Once Shamelessly Rich had a second round with all the race Seekers, he was then taken to the back and given energon. The tied race Seekers were cleaned, untied, given energon, and then led back outside to the trailers. Some of the speedsters and their grunt Seekers said their farewells and left with the bred racers, but many still remained.
"War Prince's turn!" Grit announced, only now washing his servos at the sink.
Three more race Seekers were led inside, tied to the rape racks, and then a different speedster, wearing gloves, began to clean and prepare them. Whirlwind led War Prince over, the race Seeker whining loudly, pulling at the lead, his wings low.
Grit removed the cuffs from War Prince, opened the Seeker's codpiece, and, again without gloves, began to stroke him. War Prince whined and tried to pull himself away, but Whirlwind kept him in place. It took longer to get him hard.
"Bring him over." Grit ordered.
Whirlwind pulled War Prince over, but the racer whined and planted his peds down. Whirlwind yanked the lead, causing the stud chain to painfully pinch the gums of the racer, eliciting a whimper from him.
"Oh, stop being a sparkling." Grit grunted. "It's interface. You should be throwing yourself at her."
War Prince whined and tried backing away again, but this time Grit unsubspaced a riding whip and held it up. War Prince backed away from Grit, whimpered when the lead was yanked, and hesitantly stepped closer to the tied race Seeker. He whined again, looking like he was about to cry, begging Grit to not do this.
Grit lashed him on the aft, and War Prince yelped. He finally stepped behind the tied race Seeker, coolant in his optics. Grit grabbed the race Seeker's spike as Whirlwind pulled the lead, and they got him to penetrate the femme. She whined, and War Prince slowly wrapped his arms around her. With absolutely no enthusiasm, he began to thrust. He didn't bite, didn't groan or make any of the sounds Shamelessly Rich had made. He just did what he had to to avoid being hurt again.
Starscream swallowed, watching War Prince, he was so obviously scared, uncomfortable, and wanting nothing to do with this. Why were the masters forcing him to breed?
War Prince did begin to go faster, more to please his body's demands than actually wanting to be doing this. Grit stood by, ready to use the whip again.
Silverstorm stepped over to Starscream and spoke in a low vocalizer. "Kinda wish I was tied and being pounded into. Aren't you so jealous of them?" He giggled.
Starscream looked at him with a mixture of shock and disgust. He didn't say anything, not wanting to make a scene, and simply not knowing what to say. He turned to Shamelessly Rich who was standing beside him as he still held the lead. The racer was still cooling off but looked so happy. At least someone here wasn't miserable…
War Prince finished, quickly pulled himself out, and was walked around. Just like with Shamelessly Rich, he was then forced onto the other tied racers before doing it to them a second time. He fought each time before mounting, clearly not wanting this. When it was over, he looked relieved, but also upset, his wings drooping and not looking at anyone. He was given energon and placed in a cage to cool off.
The tied race Seekers were cleaned, untied, and taken away, with more of their masters leaving. Show No Mercy was brought out to breed with three more race Seekers, who like the rest were tied and forcibly aroused. But Show No Mercy was more like Shamelessly Rich and was eager to perform.
"Show No Mercy is Shamelessly Rich's sire. Imagine watching your sparkling put on the show he did." Silverstorm giggled.
Starscream felt even more uncomfortable now.
Once Show No Mercy finished and all the other race Seekers taken to their trailers, Grit order the studs to be taken back to the race stables. Starscream led Shamelessly Rich into the trailer, and from there back to his stall. He removed the halter and watched as Shamelessly Rich lied on his berth, eager to recharge.
"You just happily participate? Those others didn't look happy…" Starscream said softly, eyeing the racer.
Shamelessly Rich didn't say anything… He never said anything. Starscream walked out of the stall and locked the door. He made his way down the hallway before stopping in front of War Prince's stall. The grunt Seeker peeked inside, seeing War Prince sitting on his berth, wings low, looking at the ground. He bit his lip plate before speaking.
"Hey," He said softly, pausing as War Prince looked up at him. "I-I'm sorry… That they forced you to do that. You guys…. I'm sorry…"
He walked away, knowing War Prince wouldn't say anything back, but he just wanted him to know someone was on his side. The masters didn't care that he didn't want to interface. They just forced it on War Prince and the others. What if they did the same to him?
Starscream swallowed, hoping he would never be bred like that.
A Couple of Orns Later:
Starscream's orbital cycles were the same, caring for the racers, exercising them, the normal slag. And he spent his evenings at the barn watching TV with Nebula, talking to his new friends, and sometimes hanging out with the equinoids and zap ponies. He didn't hang out with the other Seekers as he was scared of being tricked to attend another orgy, so he just stayed close to Nebula and Hailstorm during his off time.
He decided to go for a walk as it was a nice orbital cycle and explore some new part of the property. He had only seen a small portion of it, so if he walked to a new area every other orbital cycle maybe he would eventually see it all. So, that's what he did. He started to walk along a path and go deeper into the property. Maybe he'd run into the mounts again.
He walked for about three breems before he heard something large ahead. His wings lowered, not sure if one of the mounts, the ex-racers that roamed the property, or some terrible beast that would kill him. With his luck it would be the monster…
He peaked out from behind a tree and saw Reckless playing with a tree branch, easily tearing off smaller branches and snapping them. He noticed the mount was wearing a saddle and bridle, meaning a master was nearby. Starscream cautiously approached, his wings perking when he saw Knock Out sitting atop a larger boulder beside where Reckless stood. The young speedster was reading from a datapad, not paying attention to what Reckless was doing.
Starscream walked over. "Hi." He gave a little wave.
Knock Out looked up. "Oh, hey. What are you doing out here? Did sire send you?" He grunted.
"No, I was just walking. You playing games?"
"Hmm? Nah, I'm studying. School is being a real glitch lately. Needed some fresh air and time away from sire… And Grit."
"What's school?"
"School is an awful thing that's sadly necessary. You go to this building with a bunch of people your age and sit in classrooms all orbital cycles listening to underpaid teachers tell you about slag. Like, science, math, how to read… Then they test you and the tests are hard and stupid. And if you do well you graduate the school and go on to a bigger school. If you don't do well, you either have to do school all over again or live in a dumpster for the rest of your life. So… I gotta do well on these tests but it's hard to study when you have a glitchy sire who wants you to jack off Seekers for the rest of your life and an older brother who is a disgusting pervert and gets drunk all the time… So, this is my oasis, away from the chaos. Just me and Reckless. Right, big guy?" He smiled at the massive Seeker.
Reckless nodded his helm, still snapping twigs.
"Reckless is the only one who understands me. Don't cha?"
Reckless shook his helm.
"Whatever." Knock Out rolled his optics.
Starscream hesitated. "Can I see?"
"See what?"
"School."
"You can only go in the school if you're a student. You can see my homework if you want."
"Can I?"
"Yeah, come up." He patted the spot next to him.
Starscream eagerly climbed up the boulder and sat beside the speedster. Knock Out held the datapad so they both could see. "As you can see, it's boring."
"What is it?"
"Chemistry… So, it'll take forever to explain it, but basically… Everything is made up of these tiny things we can't see with the naked optic. We have to use things called microscopes to see them. And when certain groups of these tiny things attach to other groups they make something we can see. Like… Water. Water is made of Hydrogen and oxygen. So, we just see water, but if you got a microscope you could see it's the two groups of these tiny elements. I-it's complicated and there's like a billion examples and it gets more complex, but that's like the gist of it. And we have to learn about this slag in school. I hate it. I rather learn about anatomy."
"Anatomy?"
"Yeah, the organs, pistons, all of that is part of your anatomy. I want to be a doctor. Fix people up, make them all better. So, you gotta know anatomy for that. And a lot of other slag but anatomy is the most important because if you don't know where certain organs are you can't fix a guy." He smiled.
"You'll fix people?"
"Yeah, I want to do surgeries. I don't know, maybe deliver sparklings… I still haven't decided what specifically I want to do, but like, energon and other bodily fluids don't bother me, so I think I'll be good with surgeries. Some people can't handle cutting someone open and all the energon coming out. I don't know, I think I'd be good at it."
"That sounds amazing." Starscream smiled back. "You should do that."
"I'm trying. But med school is like intense and it's a LOT of school. And costs a lot so I need to convince my sire to pay for it. Carrier is all on board. She supports me fully, but sire is like, 'we've been racing Seekers for a gazillion vorns you must do the same!'" He rolled his optics. "He also wants me to join this complete loser all because the guy's sire is also a rich aft. Like, no, I'll join who I want… And maybe he won't be rich. Maybe I'll join some poor dirtbag just to piss off sire…" He grunted.
"Join?"
"Yeah, mate to someone but like… You get a legal document for it. It's speedster/truck slag. Grounder slag. You guys don't do that."
Reckless walked over and placed a large fruit before Knock Out.
"Thank you, Reckless." He smirked, picking it up. "I have no idea what I'll do with it, but thank you."
Reckless smiled, his wings fluttered. He went back to messing with the tree.
"He's sweet." Knock Out said softly as he examined the fruit. "Not much in his noggin' but he's sweet."
"Why do you ride him? There's another mount breed. Why don't you ride them?" Starscream perked his wings.
"Which breed? There's a lot."
"A really big one… I don't know the kind…"
"There's a lot of Seeker breeds." Knock Out messed with his tablet, typed something in, and then began to scroll. "Which one of these look like the mount you're referring to?"
Starscream looked at the pictures as Knock Out scrolled through them until he saw one that looked just like Warpaint. "That one." He pointed.
"This is an Ardennais Seeker. Very popular breed for riding. Probably the most popular because they're super easy to train and can carry anyone, even trucks."
"I used to take care of several of them… I got close to one designated Warpaint. I miss him…"
"Yeah, people can get attached to this breed. They were bred to be really stupid so they're easy to work with. Some idiots are fun to be around." He gestured at Reckless who was sitting on the ground playing with mud.
"What is his breed?" Starscream pointed at Reckless.
"He is an old breed called a Blazer. They aren't as common because they're hard to train. They were originally bred a ridiculously long time ago by having race Seekers mate with a type of Seeker bred for war called a Senner. Then they took that new breed and bred them with some non-Seeker creature. This beast former species that came from Cybertron. They're extinct on Velocitron, but who knows if they exist somewhere else in the universe. But breeding those two Seeker breeds and the beastformer they created the Blazer breed. They are very feral. Well, not Reckless. He's just a goofball."
Starscream paused, thinking. "They bred Seekers with… Beastformers? What's a beastformer?"
"So, you know Seekers, speedsters, and trucks originate from a planet called Cybertron. It's our homeworld. There were a lot of other species from that planet that colonized Velocitron. The equinoids, cyber cats, all of them also came here. But so did some species called beastformers. They were Cybertronians who could, well, transform into a beast mode. Like, they were animals who could just also stand on two legs. That's really it. And so, at some point Seekers, not all but some, were bred with beastformers. Probably why they died out. They were bred with Seekers so much they just… Disappeared. And now many Seekers do not possess the ability to speak Neocybex, which is what we're speaking in. They speak whatever language the beastformers once spoke."
Starscream's optics widened, it making sense now. "Not every Seeker were bred with beastformers, right?"
"No, not all. You definitely don't have it in you. The main ones who have the beastformer CNA in them are the racing breeds, the fighting breeds, and most of the mounts. So, there's five categories of Seekers. You got the grunts, which you are, then you have the sport breeds, like the racers. Next are the fight Seekers, which are bred to be used in combat, then the mounts, which are used for riding and hard labor, and lasty are the… Interface breeds… Which are used for you know what. So, the grunts and interface breeds do not have beastformer in them. They are mostly direct descendants of the original Seekers. Some breeding was done to like, make you guys bigger and smaller and all of that, but it's not as drastic as what has been done to the mount, sport, or fight breeds. I think original Seekers always did the hissing and other kinda…. Beast stuff, so that doesn't come from the beastformers."
"And this was achieved by… Tying Seekers down and making a beastformer…. Do it to them?"
"Sire has made you help breed the racers, eh? So, no idea how they did it back then. Obviously, I wasn't around… But, I'm sure they weren't like… Mean about it. When they breed Seekers now, they make sure they're comfortable and healthy. Well, most do. My sire does. Some breeders are awful about it and don't even give the dams time to recover from carrying."
Starscream didn't feel like Opulentus made the Seekers comfortable. Those posts and chains looked quite uncomfortable, but he didn't want to anger the master.
"There's a Seeker femme in the house. She was wearing… Chains. What is she?"
"Oh, ugh." Knock Out rolled his optics. "Princess is an interface Seeker. Her breed is a Sorraia, which are the most fancy and expensive and rarest of the interface breeds. It's stupid to pay so much for someone to frag when you could like find a romantic partner… I don't interact with her. I think she's nasty."
"Nasty how?"
"She literally has my brother's and sire's spikes in her mouth and-Blech! I don't want to think or talk about it! It's disgusting and I wish she wasn't here."
"Is she mean…?"
"No, just gross."
"What about the other Seeker in the house? I was told there was a… Half Seeker and half speedster….?"
Knock Out looked at him. "Nacreous? Yeah, he's in the house. He just cleans. He doesn't do anything else. Mostly is in his room when he's not cleaning. I don't talk to him much. Stardust is the one who cleans my room, so…" He shrugged.
Starscream was silent a moment before speaking. "I used to be a house Seeker."
"Yeah? Prefer that to working with the racers?"
"I like both… I like caring for the mounts, too. I don't like… Hurting them. But I like seeing them and being around them."
"Do you want to be a house Seeker again?"
"Maybe. As long as I'm not beaten…"
"You won't be beaten. I hate that. I don't think Seekers should ever be beaten or whipped. Like, you guys don't feel pain like we do, but you still experience some pain and fear. And you can be punished in a million different ways that don't involve a whip. Like, not being allowed to fly for an orn, no energon goodies, worst case locked in your room… Positive reinforcement over punishments."
Starscream perked his wings. "You really are against whipping Seekers?"
"Yeah, a lot of people are. There's a whole movement to get whips banned and change how we train Seekers. Some cities already have whip bans or heavily restrict their use. Like, why can't the entire planet do that? It's not hard. I don't whip Reckless, and he obeys my every command. Don't you, big guy?"
Reckless ignored him as he sniffed the flowers he had picked, his wings fluttering.
Starscream gave Knock Out a hopeful look. "People are banning whips? Really?"
"Yeah, some places. Not here, obviously. At least sire doesn't use them as much as some people do, but I wish he'd get rid of them. Like, it's one thing to use them to make your Seeker go faster when flying, but use like a padded whip. You don't need the most painful thing imaginable. And you don't need to beat them for messing up. Same goes for bits. Some bits are more painful than others, and if you're really harsh with how you handle them you hurt your Seeker more. But people rather just get the more painful bit, the spurs, and the whips than actually train the Seeker. And they rush through training! They use all those awful bits and stud chains on the racers because they won't take time to train them. Because the younger they are the better for racing! So, just rush them out the door and put them in a lot of pain to get them out that door!" He rolled his optics. "You can tell I fight a lot with my family."
"I-I don't know about any fighting…"
"It's okay. I know you've seen or heard us arguing. It's all we do…." He vented a sigh. "I probably should get dinner. I'll see you around." He stood up, subspaced his datapad, and clicked his glossa.
"Yes, sir."
Knock Out looked down as Reckless approached. "Just say, 'seeya.' Don't need to be so formal with me."
Starscream perked his wings. "Um, seeya?"
"That's better." He stepped into the stirrup and then hosted himself up into the saddle. He grabbed the reins and strapped himself to the saddle. "Let's go, Reckless. Get, come on!"
Reckless leaped up, transformed, and took off, leaving Starscream alone on the boulder. The Seeker watched the larger Seeker fly away until he couldn't see him anymore. He looked down, thinking. Could there actually be a master who didn't use whips? Was Knock Out being serious?
He wanted to find out more from Knock Out.
A few orbital cycles later Starscream was helping to load racers into trailers so that they could be transported to a racetrack. He perked his wings when he saw Princess walking alongside Grit as they approached the trailers. She was the cleanest Seeker there, her wax and paint perfect, and she stood with so much confidence. She was covered in jewels, golden chains, and the designs painted on her looked more vibrant in the warm sunlight.
Starscream almost got stepped on by a racer because he was entranced with the interface slave.
"Watch where you're going, Stars." Another grunt Seeker snapped at him as he led the same racer to the trailer.
"Sorry!" He quickly apologized.
They loaded the racer onto the trailer, tied him down, and Starscream hopped off. He looked over, seeing Princess standing by the vehicle that pulled the trailer, watching Grit talk to one of the jockeys. Starscream glanced back to make sure he wasn't being called by anyone, then approached the golden Seeker.
"Hey." He gave a small wave.
She turned, her wings perking as she smirked. "It's the little sparkling. They working you hard wrestling those violent racers?"
They aren't bad… Why are you here? I thought you house Seekers never left the house."
"I'm going on a trip with Master Grit. He sometimes takes me with him when he knows he'll miss my valve." She giggled.
"Is that it? He's not taking you to ride or anything?"
"Oh, he's riding me alright."
"Is he harsh with the bit…?"
"You are so adorable." Her wings fluttered. "No, sweet thing, I can't fly. My T-cog was taken offline when I had my surgery. I only am ridden in berths."
"What surgery? Did you get hurt? I had a surgery when I almost lost my arm."
"No, my surgery was done on me when I was very little. My gestation tank was removed to ensure I couldn't have sparklings. They snipped the wires connecting to my T-cog as well so I can't transform. It's normal for my kind of Seeker to be sterilized and unable to fly."
"That sounds…. Awful."
"It's not bad." She shrugged. "I have no need for flight or creations. I serve the masters and don't have to do manual labor like you grunts, nor raced to death like the racers. I am spoiled." She smiled.
"Is this spoiling?" Starscream pointed to the jewels.
"It is. All of this is spoiling." She gestured to all of her. "The wax, the paint, everything. I have it good and have wonderful interface."
"Are you tied down…?"
She gave him a naughty smirk as she giggled. "Sometimes. Depends on the master's mood. Grit certainly likes to tie me."
Starscream lowered his wings. "Like the breeders?"
"No, not like them. It's a little different for me."
"But you're not whipped are you?"
"Again, depends on master's mood. Sometimes I'm the one doing the whipping."
Starscream's optics widened. "You whip other Seekers?" He asked in shock.
"I love you." She giggled again. "No, little, naïve one. I whip the masters. And sometimes I tie them down. Depending on who I'm serving and what mood they're in."
"Why would the masters want to be whipped?"
"Oh, you are so innocent. You never have interfaced, have you?"
Starscream bit his lip plate, feeling uncomfortable now.
"Oh, don't be shy. I'm sure you'll lose your virginity soon. I lost mine when I was…. 13 stellar cycles. Once you lose it you'll wish you had done it sooner. Interface is great."
"I-I don't know… When they were breeding the racers some of them didn't seem to want to do it."
"Those are racers. Interface for them is just for reproduction. It holds nothing sentimental or pleasurable. They're simply feral creatures, the racers and the mounts. I really pity them."
"I think they're pretty nice…"
"I'm sure you do. You seem nice yourself."
Starscream faintly smiled. "I do?"
"Mhmm."
"Princess, time to load up." Grit snapped.
"It was nice seeing you again, sweetspark." She patted his arm before turning and walking over to the open door of the vehicle. She placed a ped onto the step and was about to hoist herself up when Grit gave her exposed aft a hard slap. She paused and looked back at him with a smirk. "Does my master want to give his slave a bit of encouragement like he does those savage race Seekers?" She purred it in a way Starscream didn't understand.
Grit chuckled, grabbing his riding crop. "You Seekers never obey without the sting of the whip, do you?"
"I might need a few good reminders during the trip, so I don't misbehave when we get to the track." She said in that same sultry vocalizer that confused Starscream.
Grit then gave her three very hard lashes on her aft, but she didn't scream or even move away from them. She took them without a sound, only saying, "thank you, sir" after each strike… And smirking. Starscream was beyond perturbed and stepped back, not understanding what was happening.
"Get in." Grit grunted like he was mad, and yet had a smirk.
"Yes, sir." Princess winked at him, climbing into the vehicle.
"I get the first turn with her." One of the jockeys said to Grit before he too got into the vehicle.
"We'll take turns the whole way." Grit laughed, climbing into the vehicle next.
Starscream walked back to the other grunts as they were returning to the race stables. He was pretty sure Princess had a broken brain module…
An Orn Later:
Starscream and some other Seekers were hanging out by the pond behind the mansion tossing food to the fish that lived inside. Some Seekers sat on the benches talking, some were feeding the cyberducks, and the Seekerlets were trying to catch insects. It was peaceful, a relaxing scene after working at the stables all orbital cycle. Starscream greatly enjoyed these moments with his new friends.
But the quiet evening was not to last.
"Will you shut up!" Knock Out shouted as he walked out of the backdoor of the mansion, Opulentus right behind him.
"Stop walking away from me!" Opulentus roared, his engine growling and optics narrowed. "You march your ungrateful aft back inside or else you're grounded for a decacycle!"
Knock Out rolled his optics, turning around and continuing walking backwards. "That's all you do is ground me! You never listen to me! I can't stand you! I hate it here! ARGH!" He spun back around, stomping, his fists clenched.
"You wouldn't hate it so much if you weren't a disrespectful brat! All you've done is disobey me and waste your time with those idiots!"
"Do not call my friends idiots!"
"Opie!" Pulchra called from the doorway. "Let him cool off and come back inside!"
Grit stood by his carrier eating energon goodies, enjoying the show with a smirk.
"No, I am not letting him walk away after what he said!" Opulentus shouted back at his mate before turning back to Knock Out who was pushing Seekers to be between him and his sire.
"I'll say it again!" Knock Out threw his servos up. "You're a fascist! All you do is ruin my life! Are all of these Seekers not enough slaves for you?! You need to enslave your own son as well?!"
"You're the most ungrateful slagheap I've ever had the dishonor of meeting!" Opulentus was pushing Seekers out of his way as he continued chasing Knock Out around the pond.
"You only have yourself to blame for that! I came from your disgusting nanites!"
"Get back inside!"
"NO!"
"Why do you have to make everything difficult?!"
"Why do you have to be the worst sire ever!? ALL I WANTED WAS TO HANG OUT WITH MY FRIENDS!"
"AND GET DRUNK!"
"I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN DRUNK WITH THEM! JUST BECAUSE YOU DID WITH YOUR HIGHSCHOOL FRIENDS DOESN'T MEAN I WILL!"
"I NEVER GOT DRUNK!"
"SAYS THE ENGEXIC!"
"YOU ARE SO LUCKY I'M YOUR SIRE!"
"WHY?! BECAUSE YOU'D BEAT ME OTHERWISE?!"
"I JUST MIGHT!"
"OPULENTUS!" Pulchra now shouted. "You lay one digit on our son and you're never recharging in this house again!"
"Carrier at least loves me!" Knock Out gave his sire a rude servo gesture.
Opulentus shook with rage. "MAYBE YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SHOULD RECHARGE OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE IF YOU'RE UNABLE TO BEHAVE LIKE A DECENT SPEEDSTER!"
"I'D LOVE TO RECHARGE ANYWHERE THAT'S FAR AWAY FROM YOUR FASCIST REGIME!"
"GO TO YOUR ROOM!"
"MAKE ME!"
Starscream and the other Seekers were backing away, wings all low, scared of the fighting. So long as they kept away from it maybe they wouldn't become collateral.
"Both of you stop it and get back inside!" Pulchra shouted, Grit chuckling beside her.
"Do as your carrier says!"
"I'll do it when you stop treating me like a Seeker!"
"I TREAT YOU WITH LOVE!"
"YOU'RE AN ABUSIVE GLITCH! UGH! I HATE YOU!"
"WHERE DID I GO WRONG!? YOU WERE A PERFECT SPARKLING AND THEN YOU BECAME-"
"I BECAME WHAT?! INDEPENDENT?! SAW THROUGH YOUR LIES! OR IS IT BECAUSE I WON'T JERK OFF RACERS THAT'S THE ISSUE?! BECAUSE I'M NOT INTO BESTIALITY?!"
"YOU'RE GROUNDED FOR FIVE STELLAR CYCLES!"
"EAT SLAG!"
Offroad walked over while Knock Out wasn't looking and grabbed the young speedster. Knock Out kneed the truck in the codpiece, eliciting a pained yelp, but Offroad didn't release him. He hoisted him up and threw him over his shoulder.
"Put me down!" Knock Out punched the truck's back as he wildly kicked. "I will call sparkling protective services! Argh!"
"I'll put him in his room." Offroad grunted, easily carrying Knock Out back inside.
"Let go of me, you stupid truck! I'll poison your energon!"
Opulentus rubbed over his faceplates as he approached his mate. "What is wrong with him?"
"You need to not be so harsh on him." Pulchra chastised her mate, giving him a hard look. "He's a teen. He's going to rebel and question what you say. Stop getting into fights with him."
"I am extremely easy on that mechling. He hasn't worked an orbital cycle in his life! He lives in a mansion!"
"And when he goes off to college he will see how good he's had it. Let him have experiences to gain wisdom from. He's not going to take it from you if all you do is condescend him over everything."
Opulentus glanced at all the Seekers, then pushed Pulchra inside, closing the door behind them. The Seekers all glanced at each other, not understanding what had just happened.
"What's a fascist?" Someone asked.
"I have no idea…" Another responded.
"Is it someone who is really fast?"
"Maybe someone who fasts?" Another piped up.
And thus, the Seekers spent the next joor trying to guess what a fascist was.
After some time with the other Seekers Starscream decided to go back to the barn. As he was walking along the side of the mansion, he heard a noise above him. His wings perked as he looked up, confused by what he saw at first but then realized what it was.
A window on the second floor was open and two legs were dangling out. He watched, a bit impressed, as Knock Out climbed out of the window and stepped onto the covered patio roof. He quietly made his way to the edge, pausing when he noticed Starscream was watching him. He quickly gestured Starscream over. Starscream did walk over, not sure what was happening.
"Stay there." Knock Out whispered as he pointed. "Catch me if I fall."
Starscream nodded. Knock Out sat down, turned around, and then eased himself over the edge. Starscream reached up and grabbed his hips, helping him jump down safely.
"Come on." Knock Out grabbed the Seeker's arm, making him walk with him, keeping the Seeker between him and the mansion as they walked towards the horse barn.
"What are you doing?" Starscream perked his wings.
"If they look out the window, I want them to see you, not me. We're going to the barn to get stuff."
"Um, okay…." Starscream thought grounders were very strange.
They went inside the horse barn, getting judgmental looks from all the equinoids and zap ponies who were making their way to the barn for recharge. Knock Out gestured for Starscream to follow him upstairs, which he did.
Starscream watched as Knock Out grabbed Reckless' saddle and bridle, then a short rope from another area of the storage room. He subspaced everything but the rope, gesturing for Starscream to follow him back downstairs and then behind the barn.
"Transform." He whispered, gesturing for Starscream to quickly do so.
"Um… Are you going to bridle me…?"
"Just do it!" He whisper shouted.
Starscream gave him a confused look before transforming. Knock Out quickly got on him, wrapping the rope around Starscream's fuselage and tightly holding the ends at the top. He didn't sit down on the Seeker like one would in a saddle, but rather lied across Starscream's back, keeping himself pressed. His legs wrapped around Starscream just under the wings, clearly having done this before.
"Fly." Knock Out whispered a little louder.
"But, I don't have a saddle…"
"It's fine! Just fly!"
Starscream carefully took off, not wanting to drop Knock Out. He felt the rope tugging against him, the speedster keeping himself on the jet.
"Bank right." Knock Out ordered in a normal vocalizer. Starscream did so. "Okay, stop. Go straight." Starscream kept flying straight, preferring this over the stupid bit. After a moment Knock Out spoke again. "Descend. Lower down. Gently!" He looked around at the ground now since Starscream was flying just over the trees. "Bank right. Land." He gave the rope a hard pull.
Starscream flew down and landed, the speedster instantly hopping off him. He transformed, perking his wings as he watched Knock Out run over to Reckless who was settling for recharge.
"Hey, we're running away again." Knock Out explained to the drowsy mount.
Reckless onlined more, realizing who was there and began to loudly cry out. Knock Out quickly covered his mouth, silencing him.
"Shhh! You're going to get us caught! Be a professional for me, alright?"
Reckless nodded, understanding that he was on a mission now.
Knock Out unsubspaced the bridle and gently pushed the bit into the Seeker's mouth before buckling the bridle on. He then unsubspaced a small welder and began to work on the collar around Reckless' neck. Starscream stood by and watched, his wings perking. Knock Out sliced the collar off and tossed it aside.
"Good job! Here." He gave Reckless some energon goodies which he quickly devoured. Then the speedster unsubspaced the saddle. He placed it onto the Seeker, strapped the girth, then climbed on. "You can go back wherever you were going." He said to Starscream. "I owe you."
"Owe me…?"
But Knock Out ignored him, giving the reins a tug. Reckless stood up, jumped, then transformed, flying away. Starscream stood there not sure what had just happened. Why were grounder so weird?
He transformed and flew back to the barn, ready to get some recharge and hopefully have a normal orbital cycle tomorrow.
A stud chain is a real thing they use on horses, mainly in horseracing. Because they refuse to train them, because they want to be able to control a 2 year old horse (Human equivalent of an 8 year old child) and make them race, they skip training to hurt them and make them fear. A stud chain goes against the top gums of a horse's mouth, just under the lip. They then yank it and make this metal chain stab into the gums to control them. They are called stud chains as they are also used when breeding horses, as it allows them to control a stallion and force him onto or off a mare.
The breeding in this is also almost identical to actual horse breeding. So, two ways they breed horses is artificial insemination (like how they impregnate animals for meat, dairy, and eggs. Also seen in marine parks and zoos) or natural "covering" which isn't very natural.
With artificial insemination, it is NOT allowed in US horseracing, but it's allowed in horseracing in other countries, and globally it's allowed as normal horse breeding for work horses, show horses, pet horses, etc. Just like with the dairy, meat, etc industries the first thing they do is jack off the male animal, meaning a human is actually giving them hand jobs. They then collect the semen from the males. The males are kept in cages all their lives. They transport and sell the sperm which is inserted into female animals via a metal tube (for larger animals like horses and bovines the person inserting the metal tube into their vagina also has to shove their ENTIRE ARM into the female's anus to guide the metal tube along), or a plastic tube with the semen in a plastic bag dripping into them like a fucking hospital does to get fluids into a sick person.
Live covering is when they take a mare and they first clean her vagina real good (They literally have instruction for this you can find on any horseracing or "equestrian" website. That's how normal rape is for this community/industry). They usually have a "teaser stallion" who gets the mare ready my messing with her to turn her on. Doesn't always work as all animals can consent. And if they don't want it they will fucking run away, fight, etc. to not be raped. Hence, why all these industries have to tie them down in rape racks. And YES, that's what they ACTUALLY call them!
Rape racks usually have the animal tied by the head, bars on the sides so they can't move, and sometimes the ankles tied. Depending on the species and how they are being raped. Artificial Insemination they have bars over the back legs. Basically, they are tied in a box. Dogs are usually tied at the neck and hips.
Once the mare is tied and maybe turned on, the stallion is brought in. He is prepared by making him sniff the mare, but if that doesn't turn him on (because again he might not want it), a human gives his penis a good handjob. They then force the stallion to mount and a human guides his penis in.
And that's live covering. If you read an article from a horseracing or other equestrian website or magazine and it says a horse "will stand" that means he is a stud, meaning they are using him for breeding.
If you want to learn more about how they rape animals for meat, dairy, eggs, zoos, horseracing, etc. I have a paper on it on my website. But, this paper does have images and videos of the rape being done to these animals (mostly from the fharmers, equestrians, etc themselves) so if you don't want to see animals being raped don't look at it. But, if you hate all of this that you read, go vegan. It's the only way to stop the rape being done to these animals as they are only being bred for things we don't need.
/educational-journals/breeding-animals/
They use very few studs in comparison to mares (or dams) to breed so many horses. So, for example, the US horseracing industry currently this year (2023) has a foal crop of 18,000. This is significantly down from what it used to be as horseracing is dying (only subsidies is keeping it afloat in most countries including the US, England, and Australia). Not every mare raped will get pregnant, as sex does not always equal a successful fertilization. So about 36,000+ broodmares are raped in the US every year solely for thoroughbred racing alone. This many mares are only "covered" by about 2,000 stallions. You read that right. Every stallion is forced to rape a hundred or so mares every year. A specific statistic is in 2021 27,829 mares in US thoroughbred racing were raped by only 1,016 stallions.
You can check out racing websites which keeps specific details on this. For example, in 2023, the stallion Golden Pal was forced to rape 293 mares in ONE year. And due to how horseracing has these strict rules that all race horses have the same birthday in January, and therefore you have to ensure the foals are born around that time or else it messes up everything, these stallions are being forced onto a hundred plus mares in a VERY small amount of time. A mare is pregnant for 11 months.
In 2023 alone, about 14 stallions were forced to rape 200+ mares. Most had to rape 100+ mares.
So, yeah, that's JUST the US, which is one of the largest racehorse breeding countries. Australia and France are next in line.
And since the foal crop every year is about 18,000... About 10,000 of those are sent to slaughter for not being fast enough. 2,000 will die on the track. Every year. So despite 18,000 being born, 12,000 will also die that year. So you only have about 6,000 actually living past 3 years old... And then they will be sent to slaughter or maybe find a home, or be used for carriages, or sold to the Amish where they will be abused, etc.
A handful will be used for breeding, mostly the mares. Stallions are preferred for racing as they are larger.
Have I made you hate horseracing and all equestrian "sports" yet? Because I have more abuse I still haven't shared yet in this fic. I've talked about the whipping, the breeding, the bits... Just wait until you see the on track deaths...
The breeds of Seekers are real horse "breeds." Some are extinct, some rare. I didn't choose popular "breeds" because that might mess with your brains too much with the immersion.
And having house Seekers and those who work outside mirrors real human slavery during the plantation times as they had the slaves who worked in the fields, and then those who stayed inside. They also have a similar thing with dogs on fharms. The house dogs which are treated well, kept inside, etc. Then the "farm dogs" who are forced to live outside to "guard" the livestock. These are the dogs being killed by wolves, bears, courgars, coyotes, etc all because people won't stop eating meat, dairy, or wearing wool. These dogs rarely get medical care, never are brought inside so suffer in extreme weather with the "livestock," and aren't usually fixed so have puppies who are also exposed to this cruelty. Some dog "breeds" that are for this purpose (but are still normal dogs who deserve better) are Great Pyrenees, the Turkish Kangal Sheep Dog (Anatolian Shepherd), Kuvasz, and many other shepherd dogs. Some shepherd dogs were bred to herd sheep, cattle, etc. while the larger ones were bred to guard. Some types of mastiffs also were originally bred for this but now the breed is so sickly they just die very young...
Who enjoys Knock Out being a troublesome teen? We all know he was. And is Reckless not adorbs to you all?!