Frozen Brain
TITLE: Avenge!
RATING: K+
CHARACTER: Starscream
T-SERIES: Generation 1 (Any)
AUTHOR: Rose0mary
WORD COUNT: 1666
SUMMARY: One mech can make the difference between a city's survival and a city's destruction
PROMPT #2 NaNoWriMo Challenge: write a one-shot with exactly 1666 words!
Conflicts between Autobots and Decepticons had grown so common, they weren't worth commenting on - least, not by the majority of Cybertrons who only wanted to remain neutral.
Oh sure, those who had family in either army (The government Council insisted only the AUTOBOTS were an army, while the Decepticions were a bunch of illegally armed rabble-rousers), kept an optic and audio out for lists of confirmed dead, praying to primus that they didn't recognize any designations.
Not all cities were so lucky. While the largest city-states could ignore the war, paying no attention to the battles, except when the fighting disrupted their lives, smaller cities had no such luxury. They didn't have the backing of the Senate or the power of the gladiators to cover-up any skirmishes.
Vos's inhabitants had to take part in the war. Vos was a conquered city, controlled by the Decepticons, overrun when the Autobot Council refused to send reinforcements to the 'hotly-disputed territory'. Vos's sister city, Praxis, remained safe and secure from any intrusion.
Or so it was widely believed.
Starscream, ranked lower than the Seeker conscripts, knew how ground-pounders worked and lived. He had arrived home after Megatron took over Kaon, creating a system that rivaled the old tradition rankings of the Senate. Kaon, the spark of Decepticion control, had already spread its influence to several neighboring cities and forcefully taken over those the Autobot Council had decided to abandon to its fate.
Starscream had been allowed to land, but could not take off - not before swearing allegiance to the new Supreme Leader. Tired and exhausted from his flight from the doomed space exploration, Starscream had not realized the significance of the changes in safe-flight approaches as he glide towards Vos, his old home.
The Decepticion medics realized the significance of Starscream's deep-space surveys, and traded enough fuel to keep the new-arrival alive, for the space-maps held in his processor. The need to feed, overrode common sense, and Starscream gave the maps away for a pittance - had he known how strapped the Decepticions were for untapped resources, he might have held out longer for complete repairs, instead of just receiving enough medical care to keep him from falling into stasis.
Thus, Starscream became the latest conscript - abit, one who hadn't survived the bombing of Vos, or vorns of scrabbling for any available energon the soldiers wasted on those who could not fight and further the Decepticion cause against the oppressive enemies.
Yet, as with all conquered cities and their inhabitations, he had to earn recognition before gaining any rank. That was fine with Starscream - he had no love lost for the Autobots, not after they refused to send help to rescue Skyfire. Even before that final dismissal of a 'winged hysterical' menace's concerns, Starscream had started wondering if earning recognition through Iacon's Science Acadamy was worth it.
Before the final flight, Starscream brushed aside his worries because he was so close to getting the acknowledgement he sought. Starscream reasoned he could handle one more nightmarish semester, if it meant he graduated with honors - the First Seeker to attend the full course load, and the first to graduate.
The deep-space exploration had been reserved for the top students and the most promising pioneers - this all the students knew. Every study-course had their own project that only the best could participate in, and Starscream refused to settle for his second choice: paid medical intern under the top instructors.
That began the first conflict between Autobots and outsiders - always, there had been minor scuffles between those who could afford to send their offspring to the best academies, and those who were resigned to the public, free options. Starscream, refused to accept the same role most fliers preferred.
It had been a long journey - from Vos to Iaon, infighting between the students, sabotaged projects, from an outsider with wings, to a tolerated student who could do amazing tricks in mid-air, from a wide-eyed Seeker wanting to learn everything, to a weary-optic Seeker who just wanted to avenge his dead.
The Decepticons gave him the opportunity to avenge the dead.
It had been suggested that the same-fly over that so devastated Vos, be used against Praxis. Starscream disagreed. The plan had been to soften the target, by sending living bombs into the secure centers and destroying the shield generators that way. Starscream scoffed. "Ground-pounders aren't that stupid. They have redundancies. Being better fueled, and a tourist trap, Praxis has the option to use the auxiliary generators if the primaries fail."
Every suggestion spoken, Starscream had an example at how it could fail spectacularly. Maybe it was his contrariness that meant he'd been given the suicide task.
Leaving Vos, Starscream did not look back. He spared no glance to the sides, where starving younglings begged for just one cube, one rust-stick. He had optics only for the goal: to turn Praxis into the same wasteland his home had become.
The Decepticon officers referred to the task as a suicide mission. Starscream privately thought otherwise: he had vorns of experience in Iacon, alongside mobs of ground-bound mechs. He had watched the students and learned from their failed attempts to avoid the Enforcers. High Grade was as valuable as energon stimulants and medical grade - the same locks and security measures that stopped most of the trade of illicit fuel on campus, were used everywhere ground-bound mechs ruled.
Skyfire had been the first to pick a lock and the first to get away with much-needed fuel that other students would trade their old research papers and quizzes or favors. Skyfire only broke into the office once. That once, had been enough for Starscream to pick up the trick and he continued the late-night visits just to keep himself and Skyfire fueled, and prepared for any surprise tests.
Those memories, painful as they were, allowed Starscream to avoid the patrols as he walked, not flew, from Vos to Praxis. Praxis and the other cities were on the lookout for mechs on the run. Every mech escaping Decepticon controlled territory claimed they were only seeking amnesty. Most of those fleeing had been seen and rounded up long before they got close to the city.
That's why the officers referred to the current mission as a suicide task: the enforcers and soldiers were on the lookout for weapons, explosive devices, and tools clearly of Decpeticon origin. Mechs caught carrying one, were assumed to be enemies of the state and taken away for interrogation. Most of these prisoners were never seen again.
Ground-pounders had not spent vorns of their youngling hood flying over the road, soaring between the cities, mentally cataloging old relay stations, and current watchdog outposts. Seekers had. Most of them had limited interest in the world outside their own culture, content in living where fliers and winged mechs were the norm.
Their ignorance to the outside world, still hampered them, even as they scrambled to adapt to the Lord Protectorate's new rule. Starscream's time at Iacon gave him a servo up, and he refused to remain a nameless foot-soldier for the rest of his existence.
Starscream's progress was being watched and his every step analyzed.
Soundwave, Megatron's second-in-command, knew this stranger, would be a potential threat - if he survived and managed to bring Praxis to its knees. Soundwave also knew the Seeker could be a great asset - if he could recognize the authority a mere Gladiator Champion demanded.
Either way, while this newest soldier lived, he could be both an inspiration and a teaching aid for the ranks of conscripted mechs who only wanted to survive. Thus, Soundwave had Laserbeak and Buzzsaw overshadow Starscream, tracking and following for future reference.
Starscream, in turn, noticed the flying cassettes. He recognized them as two of the six cassettes belonging to the one mech Megatron asked questions of and listened to. All other officers, their advice might be acknowledged, but more likely, ignored. Starscream didn't like his privacy being a thing of the past, but he understood that his life was no longer his to live.
Praxis was in sight. It was close. Time to show those ground-pounders who was superior.
Starscream deliberetly stepped into view. For a moment, nothing happened - the soldiers guarding the gates, protecting the civilians from marauding bands of robbers, thieves, and pirates posing as Decepticon rebels, did not react to the sight of a lone single mech appearing out of nowhere.
Then, the army responded. They surrounded Starscream and searched him for any unauthorized equipment. For this, and only this, Starscream realized his untreated wounds would work in his favor - being so low on energon, having long-term damage, would mean he could bypass part of the quarantine all strangers and unauthorized visitors had to submit to.
"I have knowledge of Decepticion troop movement" Starscream told the first officer he saw. He ignored the unranked foot soldiers - they were nothing. They had no skills, and were a threat only in great number.
The officer, acknowledged Starscream's offer - a runaway soldier they could use. After making sure he wasn't booby-trapped. For that, a medic was brought in.
"Starscream?" Medic Surgeon asked. "Where's Skyfire?"
"Skyfire's dead." Starscream cursed mentally. A medic from Iacon - one he respected. "Lost to a planet that eats its inhabitants." Starscream shuddered theatrically. "I almost didn't get away in time - the only saving grace is that the metal-eating creatures can't survive in a vacuum."
"Not Scraplets then?" Surgeon asked. "Did your survey take you to any failed colonies?"
"No, not scraplets. I wouldn't have gotten away if it had been that unstoppable plague. And no, we didn't locate any colonial outposts - alive, abandoned, or destroyed."
Surgeon fixed Starscream up, repairing all the damage he found. Starscream waited until he was healed, then, when Surgeon's back was turned, activated the Electro-Magnetic Pulse bomb that destroyed all of Praxis long ranged sensors. It was time for the invasion to begin.
RATING: K+
CHARACTER: Starscream
T-SERIES: Generation 1 (Any)
AUTHOR: Rose0mary
WORD COUNT: 1666
SUMMARY: One mech can make the difference between a city's survival and a city's destruction
PROMPT #2 NaNoWriMo Challenge: write a one-shot with exactly 1666 words!
Conflicts between Autobots and Decepticons had grown so common, they weren't worth commenting on - least, not by the majority of Cybertrons who only wanted to remain neutral.
Oh sure, those who had family in either army (The government Council insisted only the AUTOBOTS were an army, while the Decepticions were a bunch of illegally armed rabble-rousers), kept an optic and audio out for lists of confirmed dead, praying to primus that they didn't recognize any designations.
Not all cities were so lucky. While the largest city-states could ignore the war, paying no attention to the battles, except when the fighting disrupted their lives, smaller cities had no such luxury. They didn't have the backing of the Senate or the power of the gladiators to cover-up any skirmishes.
Vos's inhabitants had to take part in the war. Vos was a conquered city, controlled by the Decepticons, overrun when the Autobot Council refused to send reinforcements to the 'hotly-disputed territory'. Vos's sister city, Praxis, remained safe and secure from any intrusion.
Or so it was widely believed.
Starscream, ranked lower than the Seeker conscripts, knew how ground-pounders worked and lived. He had arrived home after Megatron took over Kaon, creating a system that rivaled the old tradition rankings of the Senate. Kaon, the spark of Decepticion control, had already spread its influence to several neighboring cities and forcefully taken over those the Autobot Council had decided to abandon to its fate.
Starscream had been allowed to land, but could not take off - not before swearing allegiance to the new Supreme Leader. Tired and exhausted from his flight from the doomed space exploration, Starscream had not realized the significance of the changes in safe-flight approaches as he glide towards Vos, his old home.
The Decepticion medics realized the significance of Starscream's deep-space surveys, and traded enough fuel to keep the new-arrival alive, for the space-maps held in his processor. The need to feed, overrode common sense, and Starscream gave the maps away for a pittance - had he known how strapped the Decepticions were for untapped resources, he might have held out longer for complete repairs, instead of just receiving enough medical care to keep him from falling into stasis.
Thus, Starscream became the latest conscript - abit, one who hadn't survived the bombing of Vos, or vorns of scrabbling for any available energon the soldiers wasted on those who could not fight and further the Decepticion cause against the oppressive enemies.
Yet, as with all conquered cities and their inhabitations, he had to earn recognition before gaining any rank. That was fine with Starscream - he had no love lost for the Autobots, not after they refused to send help to rescue Skyfire. Even before that final dismissal of a 'winged hysterical' menace's concerns, Starscream had started wondering if earning recognition through Iacon's Science Acadamy was worth it.
Before the final flight, Starscream brushed aside his worries because he was so close to getting the acknowledgement he sought. Starscream reasoned he could handle one more nightmarish semester, if it meant he graduated with honors - the First Seeker to attend the full course load, and the first to graduate.
The deep-space exploration had been reserved for the top students and the most promising pioneers - this all the students knew. Every study-course had their own project that only the best could participate in, and Starscream refused to settle for his second choice: paid medical intern under the top instructors.
That began the first conflict between Autobots and outsiders - always, there had been minor scuffles between those who could afford to send their offspring to the best academies, and those who were resigned to the public, free options. Starscream, refused to accept the same role most fliers preferred.
It had been a long journey - from Vos to Iaon, infighting between the students, sabotaged projects, from an outsider with wings, to a tolerated student who could do amazing tricks in mid-air, from a wide-eyed Seeker wanting to learn everything, to a weary-optic Seeker who just wanted to avenge his dead.
The Decepticons gave him the opportunity to avenge the dead.
It had been suggested that the same-fly over that so devastated Vos, be used against Praxis. Starscream disagreed. The plan had been to soften the target, by sending living bombs into the secure centers and destroying the shield generators that way. Starscream scoffed. "Ground-pounders aren't that stupid. They have redundancies. Being better fueled, and a tourist trap, Praxis has the option to use the auxiliary generators if the primaries fail."
Every suggestion spoken, Starscream had an example at how it could fail spectacularly. Maybe it was his contrariness that meant he'd been given the suicide task.
Leaving Vos, Starscream did not look back. He spared no glance to the sides, where starving younglings begged for just one cube, one rust-stick. He had optics only for the goal: to turn Praxis into the same wasteland his home had become.
The Decepticon officers referred to the task as a suicide mission. Starscream privately thought otherwise: he had vorns of experience in Iacon, alongside mobs of ground-bound mechs. He had watched the students and learned from their failed attempts to avoid the Enforcers. High Grade was as valuable as energon stimulants and medical grade - the same locks and security measures that stopped most of the trade of illicit fuel on campus, were used everywhere ground-bound mechs ruled.
Skyfire had been the first to pick a lock and the first to get away with much-needed fuel that other students would trade their old research papers and quizzes or favors. Skyfire only broke into the office once. That once, had been enough for Starscream to pick up the trick and he continued the late-night visits just to keep himself and Skyfire fueled, and prepared for any surprise tests.
Those memories, painful as they were, allowed Starscream to avoid the patrols as he walked, not flew, from Vos to Praxis. Praxis and the other cities were on the lookout for mechs on the run. Every mech escaping Decepticon controlled territory claimed they were only seeking amnesty. Most of those fleeing had been seen and rounded up long before they got close to the city.
That's why the officers referred to the current mission as a suicide task: the enforcers and soldiers were on the lookout for weapons, explosive devices, and tools clearly of Decpeticon origin. Mechs caught carrying one, were assumed to be enemies of the state and taken away for interrogation. Most of these prisoners were never seen again.
Ground-pounders had not spent vorns of their youngling hood flying over the road, soaring between the cities, mentally cataloging old relay stations, and current watchdog outposts. Seekers had. Most of them had limited interest in the world outside their own culture, content in living where fliers and winged mechs were the norm.
Their ignorance to the outside world, still hampered them, even as they scrambled to adapt to the Lord Protectorate's new rule. Starscream's time at Iacon gave him a servo up, and he refused to remain a nameless foot-soldier for the rest of his existence.
Starscream's progress was being watched and his every step analyzed.
Soundwave, Megatron's second-in-command, knew this stranger, would be a potential threat - if he survived and managed to bring Praxis to its knees. Soundwave also knew the Seeker could be a great asset - if he could recognize the authority a mere Gladiator Champion demanded.
Either way, while this newest soldier lived, he could be both an inspiration and a teaching aid for the ranks of conscripted mechs who only wanted to survive. Thus, Soundwave had Laserbeak and Buzzsaw overshadow Starscream, tracking and following for future reference.
Starscream, in turn, noticed the flying cassettes. He recognized them as two of the six cassettes belonging to the one mech Megatron asked questions of and listened to. All other officers, their advice might be acknowledged, but more likely, ignored. Starscream didn't like his privacy being a thing of the past, but he understood that his life was no longer his to live.
Praxis was in sight. It was close. Time to show those ground-pounders who was superior.
Starscream deliberetly stepped into view. For a moment, nothing happened - the soldiers guarding the gates, protecting the civilians from marauding bands of robbers, thieves, and pirates posing as Decepticon rebels, did not react to the sight of a lone single mech appearing out of nowhere.
Then, the army responded. They surrounded Starscream and searched him for any unauthorized equipment. For this, and only this, Starscream realized his untreated wounds would work in his favor - being so low on energon, having long-term damage, would mean he could bypass part of the quarantine all strangers and unauthorized visitors had to submit to.
"I have knowledge of Decepticion troop movement" Starscream told the first officer he saw. He ignored the unranked foot soldiers - they were nothing. They had no skills, and were a threat only in great number.
The officer, acknowledged Starscream's offer - a runaway soldier they could use. After making sure he wasn't booby-trapped. For that, a medic was brought in.
"Starscream?" Medic Surgeon asked. "Where's Skyfire?"
"Skyfire's dead." Starscream cursed mentally. A medic from Iacon - one he respected. "Lost to a planet that eats its inhabitants." Starscream shuddered theatrically. "I almost didn't get away in time - the only saving grace is that the metal-eating creatures can't survive in a vacuum."
"Not Scraplets then?" Surgeon asked. "Did your survey take you to any failed colonies?"
"No, not scraplets. I wouldn't have gotten away if it had been that unstoppable plague. And no, we didn't locate any colonial outposts - alive, abandoned, or destroyed."
Surgeon fixed Starscream up, repairing all the damage he found. Starscream waited until he was healed, then, when Surgeon's back was turned, activated the Electro-Magnetic Pulse bomb that destroyed all of Praxis long ranged sensors. It was time for the invasion to begin.