Chapter Text
August 1985. 9pm. Colorado.
The reissued school bus brought the twenty-five men to the site. Their secondary home, they joked. Smoke filled the air from the cigarettes hanging loosely between their lips. Some of the men read to pass the time. Others closed their eyes to avoid needless conversation, using their backpacks as a makeshift pillow. For the next ten days, they'll work in the mountains mining for uranium thirty minutes away from their home. At night, they could see the streetlights below, and that gave them a source of comfort as they dug through the maze-like tunnels.
As the miners piled out of the bus and into the rain for the accommodation cabin, no one noticed the silent figure hiding between the trees, with one large yellow optic watching...
He heard a name. A distant name. It echoed through his mind. He stood in a blurred landscape of the planet he once called home. It was dawn. He felt light. It was peaceful. It made him happy. A figure stood in the distance. The sun exposed their silhouette. They waved to him with a joyus laugh.
'...Ulchtar...'
'...Ulchtar...'
'...Ulchtar...'
'Ch...tar...'
'Star...'
'...Starscream...'
'Starscream.'
Red optics shot open, only to close when energon poured over his face and into his mouth. Starscream coughed and momentarily turned away, raising his arm to fire a missile at whoever dared to disturb his nap, only to stop when he saw Soundwave. Ravage, like the loyal pet he was, sat beside him. How annoying.
'You better have a good reason for that,' the seeker groaned, not moving from his spot.
'Lord Megatron will not approve of your status if he saw you like this,' Soundwave answered in his usual stoic manner. But, he did have a point. Starscream, for whatever reason, laid on his back in a random corridor of the Nemesis, with his legs propped up against a column break between two large windows.
'That is not a good reason, Soundwave. Do you have anything to report?'
'Shockwave has finally returned-'
'Isn't that a shame.'
'He's debriefing with Lord Megatron, who expects you to begin patrol shortly.'
'Ah, yes,' Starscream sarcastically chuckled. He placed his servos on the metal floor and used his body to flip himself over and back onto his pedals to slowly stand up straight. 'Let me guess, for the Autobots? The Autobots that no one's seen in, how long? Four stellar cycles? Eight? I lost track after two.'
'You will join me to the cockpit.' Soundwave went to turn, ignoring the seeker's annoying pitch, but quickly stopped himself to look back at his fellow lieutenant. 'And it's been ten stellar cycles.'
'And how many of those years have we spent on this planet searching for them?'
Soundwave didn't answer. He walked away with Ravage by the side. With a huff through his vents, Starscream begrudgingly followed. Of course, he knew the answer to his question. The Decepticons have only been scouting Earth and silently consuming its energy for several months. And Starscream knew when they would predictably find nothing, they'll just hop to the next planet and start over again. For ten stellar cycles that's been their lives, and all for a group of Autobots, Starscream couldn't put a face to a name anymore.
Megatron sat on his throne, concealed by shadows of the rising sun. Shockwave stood proud as he recounted his latest outing. Starscream and Soundwave arrived and stood quietly beside the entrance. Tarn leaned against the window. Either Megatron didn't notice his disrespectful stance, or Tarn knew he could get away with it. As usual, he had a small smile across his face. In comparison, Nickel awkwardly rang her servos behind her back, unable to look anyone in the optic, trying to stand to attention. Whether it was out of anxiety or genuine fear was anyone's guess. Maybe both. Yet, she somehow found comfort standing besides her superior.
'I have scouted the regions and discovered a small human community nearby,' Shockwave began. 'From what I have gathered, mining is their main field of work. They could lead us to any discoveries of Autobot activity.'
'Yes, yes. Autobot this. Autobot that,' Starscream scoffed. He approached with a spring in his step to ease his boredom. 'But what about Barricade? I thought your little quest was to retrieve him.'
'I have been unable to locate him.'
'So, this was a failure?'
'That's not for you to decide.'
'Enough,' Megatron's low voice echoed through the cold room. Everyone fell silent. 'Continue, Shockwave.'
'Thank you, my Lord. But, as some of us need reminding, Barricade willingly went into hiding for us. His alt form provides much better cover than our own.' Starscream rolled his optics. 'The best course of action would be to leave him to continue his work. As for us, we should-'
A beeping echoed through the Nemesis. Everyone halted and turned. Megatron stood and walked to the control panel. He towered over his fleet. A giant who made them look like sparklings. A push of the button brought a large screen to the forefront, where a foreign signal called to them. The energy reading was massive. Bigger than a Prime. For a moment, a look of annoyance crossed Megatron's face. It wasn't Prime, but it was something. Something they couldn't ignore. 'Starscream,' he hummed.
'Yes, my Lord?'
'You seem to be getting bored cooped up in here, like a bird in a cage. Go and fetch me this signal.'
'Of course.' That was something they could agree on. The longer Starscream was kept inside or grounded, the more he wanted to rip his own spark out. 'But, if it is an Autobot, what should I do?'
'Only bring Prime to me. What you do with the others is none of my concern.'
Perfect. With a small bow and a smirk, memorising the signal's location, Starscream moved for the ship's docking bay. He felt the spring in his step travel and grow across his frame. His spark pulsed in excitement. It was about time for the seeker to stretch his wings. The door slowly opened, allowing the cool August breeze to hit his face. It felt nice to finally feel the crisp air in his vent. Out of all the planets he's been forced to search, this one wasn't as bad as he thought. It just wasn't home.
Starscream lifted a pedal, hovering it over the edge, before allowing himself to drop through the sky in a swan-dive. The T-Cog activated, shifting and transforming his body into the F-15 jet he took as his disguise. Engines roared. Starscream levelled out and soared across the trees and into the sky above the Nemesis, following the signal into the unknown.
Finally, free from that prison as he flew above the little town tucked away between the mountains. Ashington Creek.