Chapter Text
There was no sign of the trine as Megatron scanned the horizon. The planet they landed on was composed of a fine organic material that got stuck everywhere. No matter how much a mech wiped and scrubbed its plating, the material seemed to get stuck further, and no one wanted to leave the ship's safety. Everyone only needed to tolerate it for a few more sun cycles as the nemesis fueled and used the nearby resources. The only ones brave enough to leave were the seekers, taking off in their altforms to race through the atmosphere. Megatron couldn’t hide away as easily as others and needed to oversee the progress alongside Soundwave.
“Any sign of them?” Megatron spoke aloud. He saw Soundwave shake his head, datapad in hand. They had sent Starscream and his trine out to look for other fuel sources, as the ones in close range were becoming slim. It had nearly been a full sun cycle and they hadn’t returned. It wasn’t that he was worried, far from it. Soundwave had set a tight schedule and he wanted it followed to the second.
Megatron was just about to comm them when he heard the familiar roar of engines as the three appeared, coming in at full speed. Soundwave took a few steps aside, letting the three race and transform into the landing bay.
“Send someone else next time!” Starscream snapped, wings vibrating at a high frequency and knocking off some of the planet's material that had gotten stuck. “The air currents got strong and sent that fragging stuff everywhere!”
“Language,” Soundwave spoke, tapping his datapad impatiently. He only got a very rude gesture back from the seeker.
“Did you find anything,” Megatron demanded, not really caring about the state of the trine. Thundercracker pinged coordinates to them, flicking a wing to dislodge some of the material in obvious discomfort. Starscream’s attention zeroed in on the action, talons extending and reaching to dig into the blue seeker’s wings without hesitation. Megatron stared momentarily, opening his mouth to ask but Skywarp was in front of him in a vop.
“So can you like, send a different search party?” The seeker in front of him grinned, “Cause we totally deserve a break until we get off this planet.”
“Request denied,” Soundwave spoke up, once again tapping the datapad.
Megatron looked to Starscream, “We’ll hold a meeting in a few hours to discuss the next step.” He could sense the beginnings of an argument a mile away so he looked to Skywarp. “All three of you,” he added. Skywarp did not look happy but didn’t argue, warping a short distance to be next to the two seekers. Starscream looked agitated but seemed preoccupied with whatever he was doing to the blue wing.
The two grounders left the trine in the hangar, and when far enough away Megatron spoke up.
“Did Thundercracker’s wing seem injured?” he asked Soundwave, only getting a shake of his head.
The meeting was supposed to be short and only cover their next steps of refueling, but Shockwave had decided since everyone was now present he’d go over his latest project and had been talking for nearly an hour. Soundwave was listening in earnest, taking notes when it wasn’t necessary. Megatron was listening but was noticing the several other mechs in the room losing interest, some even halfway into recharge. Usually, Starscream would sit by him, but for today he was by his trine some seats away.
Skywarp seemed to have lost all concentration, choosing to focus on his servo, scratching at something. It was common knowledge that seekers had talons, but they weren’t always present. They stayed retracted back into their digits until needed for a fight. Starscream’s looked longer than his trine’s, and Megatron had caught him once sharpening them against scraps of metal to a deadly point. Skywarp did this for a few moments before Starscream was pulling the servo to him, talons out and digging into a seam. It was just like before with Thundercracker, and Megatron watched with interest as Skywarp went back to focusing on Shockwave, letting Starscream root around his servo. The purple seeker didn’t seem injured earlier, so the actions seemed unusual. The act of Soundwave standing got Megatron to focus back on the meeting.
“Why is Starscream making repairs on you?”
“Repairs?” Thundercracker echoed, confused. Starscream had gone off to argue with Soundwave about the planned missions, allowing Megatron to approach the two after the meeting.
“He was fixing your wing,” Megatron pointed, “and Skywarp’s servo in the meeting.”
“He wasn’t- There is nothing-,” Thundercracker tried to begin but was fumbling, “I don’t know-”
“He was getting that stuff out,” Skywarp chimed in from behind, referring to the material covering the planet. “It’s such a fragging mess.”
“You seem more than capable of handling it on your own,” Megatron said, ignoring the later comment.
“It’s a trust thing,” Thundercracker finally got the words out, but sounded unsure.
“You’re still learning to trust him?” Megatron asked. He had a feeling that wasn’t what Thundercracker meant, but it was somewhat amusing watching Thundercracker get more flustered and look to Skywarp for help.
“It’s a seeker thing,” Skywarp said as if it was common knowledge, “we can’t really reach the base of our wings to clean them so we trust our trine enough to help. I just enjoy being pampered.”
Thundercracker mumbled something under his breath, making Skywarp laugh. Megatron watched puzzled as their wings moved through different angles, as if communicating silently. Both looked at Megatron suddenly, gazes focusing in.
“You know,” Skywarp came closer, voice nearly purring. One of his servos reached up, one talon extended to tap against Megatron’s chassis, “if you ever need help cleaning.”
“There you are!” Starscream was back, beelining for them. Speechless, Megatron moved away to let the agitated seeker come closer, and it was clear that the three began conversing through their bond so that he couldn’t hear. Starscream led the two away, throwing a glare over his shoulder.
They were so close to take off when the Ark was spotted landing on the planet. Out of the entire solar system it had to be this planet. Of course, no one wanted to disembark besides the seekers who were happy to dive-bomb the Autobots and shoot before fleeing. It was a quick skirmish, and Megatron felt victorious when the Ark took off. The pride was short-lived when the seekers began returning and Starscream wasn’t with them. Megatron felt slight concern when Skywarp and Thundercracker did return, transforming and rushing to him.
“He crashed!” Skywarp sounded panicked, “I couldn’t see where!”
“He was hit,” Thundercracker added, beginning to pace.
“You two stay here,” Megatron commanded, before swiftly turning and leaving the Nemesis and stepping foot onto the planet. The fight had kicked up the organic material into the air, but Megatron ignored it as he walked, swatting away the flora to clear a path. He wasn’t worried, far from it. He just needed Starscream around to keep the other seekers in line.
It took longer than previously thought, even though the skirmish wasn’t that far, but Megatron soon found Starscream. The seeker was awake, but his optics kept dimming before brightening. He was struggling to stand, one of his legs giving out from under him and his arm was bleeding at the shoulder. His right wing was bent at an odd angle and looked painful, and the organic material covered his frame. It made Megatron wince internally. He wasn’t worried.
“Come here,” Megatron spoke softly as if he was approaching a scared animal, taking Starscream’s good arm and helping him stand. He absentmindedly brushed some of the more clumped material off of the seeker’s chassis.
“I’m fine,” Starscream weakly argued, but let his full weight drop onto the bigger mech. Seeker frames were light, but it was still a struggle with moving toward the Nemesis. It took them an hour to get back, Megatron pausing a few times to let Starscream rest and to knock more of that annoying debris off his frame. The seeker didn’t complain but would give Megatron a look each time they paused.
When they got back Skywarp and Thundercracker were waiting, nearly knocking Megatron over as they took their trine leader. Thundercracker also gave him a look when Megatron reached out one more time to wipe some of the debris off Starscream’s wing.
“Take him straight to medbay. No teleporting,” Megatron ordered. Skywarp nodded.
“I’m fine!” Starscream gave one last protest before being taken away. Megatron watched until they were gone, looking down and grimacing at the amount of debris on his own frame. He couldn’t wait to be off this planet.