For crystal_phoenix
Seeing as I seam to have spent the last month flying about trying to organize my life it's only appropriate that I have a couple of high fliers for you this month!
Title: Birds of prey
Rating: PG
Setting: G1
Summary: It started out as a simple game of tag....
Solarflare narrowed her optics in concentration. This was going to take all her flying skills to pull off, ahead the tail fin of her target vibrated slightly with the g force of their dive. The sharp jagged peaks of the mountains that rose out of the patchwork plains came closer and closer with each passing second, the air thickened and the turbulence increased. She was constantly adjusting her flight to keep on the seekers tail, full marks for skill and stupidity she thought as the tops of the highest mountains flashed past her wing tips.
Suddenly with a deafening sonic bang the jet pulled out of his suicidal dive just a few hundred feet from the ground, she Solarflared her wings open throwing her feet forward to pull up and loose speed as the jet wobbled crazily from the transition to level flight. Both of them stable in the air the seeker accelerated away down the narrow twisting canyons flirting with deactivation at every turn, Solarflare followed her avian alt mode giving her the edge here, she was more manoeuvrable and her lighter frame permitted her to make tighter turns without risking smashing into the wall. She lined up a shot on that vulnerable and tempting tail rudder, when in an act of madness the seeker shut down his engines and dropped like a stone towards the ground. Startled by the suddenness of the act Solarflare passed over the falling jet who reignited his engines and rose up directly on her six.
She scanned behind her trying to judge the jets attitude and distance, and came up blank. A quick look down at their shadows tearing across the landscape assured her that the seeker was still there but as far as her sensors were concerned, she was the only thing flying in fifty miles. Taking the mental equivalent of a deep breath, she pulled a crazy stunt of her own, dropping a wing tip to the earth she rolled over catching a look at the nosecone of the jet that was rather too close for comfort. Pointing her beak to ground, she folded back her wings, let gravity take over for a few seconds, as the jet passed over her she barrel rolled, threw her leg up claws out, and locked onto the jets’ undercarriage. Unfolding her wings again the pair struggled for dominance as the ground came closer.
The seeker hissed “Crazy bird! You’ll have us both onto the deck.”
Proximity alarms blared across two HUDs and Solarflare let go shifting into root mode to drop the 20 feet to the ground as the jet fired his engines at full throttle and pulled up sharply.
“My kill!” she called out as the grey jet transformed mid air.
“Nearly your death as well,” Boom retorted a glimmer of respect in his voice “I like your style.”
Solarflare grinned at the compliment; she’d worked hard to get along with one of the few other flyers on the base even if he was as prickly as porcupine and only a temporary resident. His team leader had tossed him out by his wing early in the day and she’d taken the chance and almost goaded him into the game of tag as a way of trying to make some sort of connection, they were about level on points now and neither side was about to give in and admit defeat.
He was looking at her closely, head on one side that disturbing copper optic band almost looked like it might see right through her body, thoughts and into her soul.
“Is it just being a bird or an ex human that makes you so single minded in the chase?” Boom asked without any preamble.
Solarflare grinned to hide the flinch as he mentioned her origins and replied enigmatically “Both?”
Boom snorted “Typical femme, never a simple answer. Up for another” he trailed off looking skywards.
Solarflare caught the un shield Decepticon transmissions at the same time, “Sloppy really sloppy.” She muttered
“Can you scramble that?” Boom asked a wicked glint in his optics and an evil smile on his face.
“Yes, they’re not even trying to shield it.” Solarflare told him “But the second I do or we transmit to base they’ll know someone’s out here with them.”
“I’m headed for the roof,” the stealth fighter said “once I get a look at whom and what’s out there we might just have some fun hunting for real.”
He disappeared skywards silently and Solarflare lost all touch with him once he was out of sight, all her scans came up blank, “Talk about blink and you’ll miss him.” she muttered to herself.
She perched on a rock waiting for any kind of signal from Boom or sight of the seeker trine that was circling overhead, relaxing in the warmth the rocks radiated in the cooling late afternoon. The small sound of rocks sliding made her spin round weapons coming online to find Boom straightening from a root mode landing crouch.
“Idiot seeker! You nearly gave me pump failure I thought you were a ‘con.” Solarflare hissed
“I was” Came the smug reply, a spike thumb jerked upwards as Boom continued “Screampuff and his cronies are having a little bitch session. Fancy showing them how to really fly?”
Solarflare grinned back “One with the most hits wins?” she challenged.
“You’re on!” Boom replied before leaping into the air and floating silently up into the sky.
Solarflare leapt high and fast transforming at the top of her jump to give her enough space for the first down stroke of her wings and headed after him.
---
“‘Warps gonna think twice about trying that drop in so close to his target that she don’t have time to react trick again on you.” Boom enthused as they walked back into the Ark later that evening.
Solarflare sniggered patting the pair of purple arm guns slung casually over her shoulder “Uh-huh, and Thundercracker’s going to have a job explaining just how he took that type of explosives damage just there.”
The pair of them giggled at the memory of the explosion of a myriad of tiny human made firecrackers in the black seekers engines that had sent him plunging to the ground trailing smoke and curses.
“I’m going to remember that trick.” Solarflare said “Sideswipes always hiding fireworks on the base and now I know that dropped like chaff over a seeker they do such damage I’ve got more reason to help him hide them.”
Boom nodded “Best to use the small ones in a large cloud, harder to escape and easier to suck into your intakes.”
“What have you done and how much trouble am I going to find myself in with Prime and Prowl?” Sync asked as they walked through the door to the meeting room the Riders had commandeered.
Boom looked utterly innocent and outraged that his commander would think he’d got into any kind of trouble. “Me? Nothing,” a telling pause “much. Just been playing tag haven’t we Solarflare?”
Solarflare smiled and nodded wordlessly.
“Right,” Sync raised an optic ridge is disbelief, “You’re grinning like a sparkling with a room full of energon goodies, she’s sporting what look suspiciously like Skywarp’s arm guns, and you expect me to believe you’ve just been playing tag. Spill. Now.”
“We were just playing tag, honest” Solarflare replied “Then, well we um”
“Found some new playmates.” Boom finished off, his grin widening “We brought one home for tea.”
Sync clapped a hand over his optics and groaned “Were did you live him?”
“Outside, he’s uh still dripping” Solarflare said struggling to control here laughter “we didn’t want Hoist to shout at us for ruining his newly painted floor and walls.”
Sync stalked past them heading for the entrance a grim look on his face, Boom jerked his head sideways after the retreating back of his commander and he and Solarflare jogged after the green mech.
They got as far as the main entrance before Sync took one look at the offline jet in the dirt and began to laugh. The sound soon attracted other mechs who also started giggling at the sight of the Decepticon Air Commander who was covered nosecone to tail fin in pink and yellow paint.
“So, honest judgment,” Boom said to the crowd “my shots are pink Solarflare’s are yellow, one point a hit. Who won?”
I hope I didn't mangle her to badly!