Chapter Text
Chapter One- Earthquakes, Storms, and Old Hangars
Late Afternoon, Nevada- Somewhere in the middle of the desert
The first thing the Seeker had noticed after his departure from the Decepticon faction was the state of the planet he was unfortunately stuck on.
Lately, there had been multiple raptures—or earthquakes, as the fleshies called them—that had frequently occurred over a short span of time. It was surprising at first, but quickly turned into an annoyance after the third occurrence. And it only got worse from there, as harsh winds and other types of weather followed after the irksome movements. It brought no comfort to him as his current hiding place (if you could even call it that) was…less than ideal for someone of his status.
He was taking shelter in an abandoned Airport hangar. To say it was in good condition would be a joke. You could tell it had been rotting in the middle of nowhere for a good amount of time, as rust could be seen from every corner, covering the entirety of the metal building. Parts of the roof had fallen off or caved into the hangar. Panels had given up trying to stick to the roof when the earthquakes happened, littering the floor in piles. Then the wind came.
Speaking of which—Most windows were shattered, the few remaining ones barely clinging to their frames as the wind fought against the unstable structure. Not to mention the amount of dirt that was being brought in!
Starscream internally scoffed at his situation, at least the massive amounts of air were ridding the hangar of the pungent smell of stale oil and other organic filth. He could feel it touching his landing gear, dust covering him as it made its way through the windows. He was currently in his Jet form, as the roof wasn’t stable enough for him to be in his regular stature. ‘ Why exactly did I leave the Nemesis again?... Oh wait. That’s right, it was because of that—THAT NO GOOD— TREACHEROUS—LYING—BACKSTABBING—FRAGGING SPIDER!’ , Starscream seethed at the recollection of the events…though, the description of the Femme was rather rich coming from him.
Whatever.
She was the main reason why he had to flee that blasted warship—among other things. Clearly, his “Master” was already so keen on the notion to replace him. Starscream had only sped up the process by never returning after his escape from the Autobots. None of which would have happened if it weren’t for Airachnid.
Oh, how she irked him, Airachnid that aft kisser, going and trying to take his rightful position of Second-in-Command! How he wanted to shred her disgusting alt mode with his claws, energon dripping out as she bled slowly to death…the thought was going to become a reality sooner or later, Starscream would make sure of it.
…But for now, he was stuck in the middle of the desert, in an old Military Hangar that might as well have been destroyed by the elements. It wasn’t too bad, at least it hadn’t collapsed on him, like that energon mine…Starscream had almost been crushed to death by the amount of rocks and boulders that had been stacked on him. If is wasn’t for his Master Megatron, he would have been offlined.
…
Right, best not to dwell on that. Starscream already had a bad phobia of closed-in spaces; something that was wired into him. The fear only had worsened after that particular event. Nightmares and all.
Shifting his focus, he checked his energon levels. Starscream had been monitoring his levels since his escape, and the numbers were…pretty low, but that was why he was caught in the storm in the first place! Finding energon was a hard task to do, for most Mechs at least. He had been relying on his built-in Energon Seeking Abilities™ (one of the perks of being a Seeker) to find small fragments of energon. The process was still difficult, as his current frame didn’t really match the coding that was necessary for him to locate the fragments. So his locator would glitch out, or make the location of the energon off by a few miles, which would then make him have to transform into root mode to find the energon himself. Talk about a waste of energy.
The Seeker shook in anger, if only he hadn’t done that fragging frame change! But noooooo, it was “necessary”, just because his old frame was too bright and eyecatching—Which was a rather good point—but still a load of slag!
“If it weren’t for Megatron’s RIDICULOUS order, I could have found all the energon I needed and more!” Starscream growled, “ I could’ve been in root mode, and probably fit in a much better shelter.” The Hangar creaked loudly, as if to prove his point. “Anything would be better than this deteriorating load of rubble.”
Starscream practically mourned his old frame. Sure, it wasn’t as sleek as his current one, but it had style , color, speed, and—most importantly—It had been HIM. His original self. The self that had been apart of Cybertron’s golden age, of days during his more scientific occupation. Of wonderful memeories not yet tainted by war. He had lost that, all so he could then adapt to the war. He couldn’t stand out in the sky anymore, if he did, he would be spotted and shot down. So his frame turned silver. He needed more weapons to defend himself. So he upgraded his frame to hone missiles, arm cannons, and claws sharp enough to pierce through thick armor. And in those upgrades, he had changed, Starscream became sharper, sleeker, lighter, and dull.
The only thing he had appreciated from his frame change, was the newfound height.
Though Starscream loved his old frame, it had downsides. His old frame lacked what his new one had—the towering presence that made him seem imposing. He could threaten and insult others by standing over them, emphazing his status and power. Except for a few, who still dwarfed him. Megatron, Prime, Breakdown…’ that wretched Autobot Wrecker’, he thought with a sneer. Okay, more than a few. But in defence, no one’s perfect!
Now that Starscream thought about it, his old frame was probably the same size—no shorter—than his current on by three or four feet? Still taller than most, like the Autobots Medic. What was his name again?....Nevermind, doesn’t matter right now. Starscream's old frame was only that short because of it’s intended purpose, what it was formatted for. An Energon Seeker. A sub-class of the main three Seeker types: Military, Guarding, and Energon.
Military seekers were the largest and tallest by far, as they mainly operated in combat and suffered more external injuries. Which is why they also had thicker armor and were heavier. Their frames also contained more weapon choices. A great number of them had joined the Decepticons in the beginning, but over time, even they got tired of the constant fight.
Guarding seekers were similar in a way, they still had thick armor and a long range of weapon choice, but weighed less, their main function was to guard high officers and officials. In some cases, certain Guarding seekers were chosen to join the Elite Guard; They were known to protect and defend until they offlined. In short, they had more opportunities to work their way up, especially when the caste system was put into place. A few of them had also joined the Decepticons, but had either left or offlined through the course of the war.
Then there was Energon seekers, created to locate or “seek” large amounts of Energon. They would be sent to secure the sites/mines and then protect the energon as it was transported. Their frames were shorter and had less armor, but their aerial combat made up for it. Energon seekers were faster, more nimble, and able to take down large forces in their groups. Which is why they had been a crucle part of the Decepticons during the war, but unlike the others, they had been targeted frequently. Leading the majority of Energon seekers to offline. More fled after that, leaving Starscream as the only Seeker in the Decepticons.
In a way, each type had their own advantages and disadvantages. But one advantage that every frame seemed to have was the ability to fly.
‘Ahh yes, flight, the one thing that gives me an advantage to which those Autobots can’t ever expect to have. Such a shame really, they would’ve had a better fighting chance against the Decepticons…HAH! As if.’
Starscream’s thoughts, however, were suddenly interrupted by a blip on his HUD. ‘Dark Energon?’ , His processors stuttered for a moment. The signal was large—far larger than he’d ever expected to find on Earth—and he had never thought to locate such a concentration. It was a rarity, even for the Decepticons. The only known Dark energon being of the one Megatron had secured from his travels. ‘What is this?’ He rechecked the signal, more carefully this time.
Starscream’s system buzzed, the signal now clearer. ‘ Wait’— His spark skipped a beat. The signals were unmistakable: Autobot frequencies. Primus , the Autobots were involved. The Autobots were collecting dark energon. The Autobots , the righteous mechs they claimed to be, were collecting DARK ENERGON.
And with them, was a Decepticon.
Those soft-sparked Bots had collected a Decepticon, and planned on using the traitorous mech to help locate Dark energon and add a new member to their ever-decreasing faction. Now, if only someone caught the traitor and—Ohhhhhhhh—This could do him well. Starscream could spy on whatever the traitor was aiding the Autobots with and then turn them in to Megatron, re-gaining his Masters trust! Securing his rightful position once again, and he wouldn’t be scrapped for running off like the… alleged …coward he was…It was perfect!
The signals were now moving, “Going to rendezvous sometime later? Hmm”, he muttered, as the Decepticon went another way. He locked in the signal's last location. Then, without hesitation, Starscream blasted through the Hangar's old wall. It crumbled easily and left a gaping hole where the rusted doors used to be. The wind raged outside. Starting his engines, Starscream pulled out of the building quickly and took off soaring into the air, careful to navigate the harsh winds. The Hangar caved in behind him, leaving a pile of old sheet metal and dust.
The skies were orange in color, as the Sun was setting soon, clouds were gone, and in their place took dust and debris. Despite this, Starscream excitedly laughed to himself and twirled in the air. He was going to get back into the Decepticons' warship, turn in a traitor, and win back Megatron's favor. Things would be returned back to normal.
“Well, looks like it’s time for me to make an appearance!”, Starscream preened, spinning in the air once more. Then, straightening out, he cackled, “I hope those Autobots are ready.” He continued to shoot through the sky, Starscream had a traitor to catch.