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-Of all the fragging...we deserve BETTER! ShadowWing, that slagger...when we get back to Cybertron, I swear...-
Sometimes, being Starscream's partner was a chore. Thankfully for him, Skyfire had the gift of near-endless patience. Which he now relied heavily upon in order to endure yet another of Starscream's rants about their latest assignment.
-...thrown out in the middle of slagging NOWHERE...-
-Think of it as an opportunity,- Skyfire replied through their internal comms. It was one of the many rote phrases he would pull out whenever Starscream started going on like this.
-Opportunity for what? To get our afterburners frozen?-
-To explore.-
Starscream's infamous high-pitched cackle came over the comm. -You and your damn aspirations.-
-Come on, you know you want to too, deep down inside that tiny spark of yours.-
-Oh, sure I do. Exploring sounds fun and exciting and all that. But not when it's on some forgotten moon that seasonally goes from cold to colder!- He made a disgusted sound. -I'm through with this. Patrol's over.- The smaller tetrajet that led Skyfire through the icy winds suddenly banked to the right. -Starscream to base.-
Skyfire's comm crackled as the base responded. -We read you.-
-Skywarp? Who the slag left you in charge of communications?-
-I did,- came the Seeker's pleased reply.
Starscream groaned softly. -Dare I ask why?-
-Well, 'Blade had an accident, you see...- Skywarp sounded way too cheerful about this.
-Nevermind,- Starscream grumbled. -Skyfire and I are coming in. Better tell Updraft and Speeder to get their afts in gear for another exhilarating round of patrol duty.-
-Sure thing, boss.- The comm clicked off.
-That little slagger...- Starscream muttered.
-Aw, don't hold it against him,- Skyfire chided. -He just wants to liven up the place a bit.-
-Don't we all.-
The rest of the flight was mostly spent in silence, thanks to Starscream's anger, which had cooled from its endless ranting and screeching and cursing stage into its silent wrath stage. If someone looked at him wrong or said the wrong thing now, it would swing right back to ranting and screeching.
Skyfire had endured many, many repetitions of this over the past several orns, as Starscream's ire at their current situation had not lessened in all that time. Their wing, their glorious wing, ordered to act as sentries on a far-flung moon mining base, watching for the xenos or rogue mechs that had caused trouble there every so often? It may have sounded mildly exciting at first. The reality was that the four Seekers spent their cycles patrolling a perpetually frozen wasteland with no sign of dangerous xenos or mechs to be found anywhere, only mindless wildlife that gave the Cybertronians wide berth.
The ceaseless cold served only to make Starscream's chronic temper worse. He was outraged that a Seeker wing of their caliber would be posted at a place like this, a completely unnatural environment for their race, where they had to spend their days half-frozen and half-bored to death. And he enjoyed letting everyone know his feelings on the matter.
Skyfire knew it was Starscream's fault they were in this place to begin with, that their wing leader had shouted at their superiors just one too many times. Exacting punishment for such outbursts on the thick-helmed Starscream was difficult, as any consequences tossed his way only bounced off him without leaving so much as a dent in his caustic and often insubordinate mindset. But if there was one good thing about Starscream, it was that he did take care of his wingmates and looked out for their well-being, even if it wasn't readily apparent through his tendency to berate them more often than openly praise them. Clearly their superiors had finally decided to take advantage of that fact in order to get a lesson pounded into Starscream's head.
'Well, whatever happened, it's not like we can do anything about it now. I just hope that whatever Starscream did to upset them, he'll have learned not to do it again.' Skyfire doubted it, and he was soon imagining the kinds of punishments he would have to endure in the future thanks to his partner. Not that he would ever complain about it to Starscream. He was far too polite to do that. Skywarp, on the other hand...
The mining center had come into view, low and gray and nearly hidden in the icy landscape. Starscream sped up, the backwash from his engines melting the ice that was slowly accumulating on Skyfire's metal skin. That was a trick the pair had picked up very quickly here: don't fly patrols side-by-side the way it was done on Cybertron. Fly one behind the other, so the one in the rear could stay warm in the engine exhaust of the other. They switched off the responsibility of being the snow plow every forty breems or so, or whenever the frontrunner was too frozen to effectively lead any more. That was, truthfully, the most excitement they got on their patrols.
Hardly slowing when he reached the entrance, Starscream transformed, dropping out of the air and entering the open hangar doors at a quick trot. Skyfire took a more cautious approach, landing softly and shaking loose the ice on his armor. Updraft and Speeder, two flight-capable mechs who had been at the base longer than the Seekers, took to the air to begin their patrol as soon as he touched down.
"Good riddance," Starscream muttered as he stalked inside, his mood as foul as it could possibly be. Skyfire silently followed him. He knew exactly where the wing leader was headed: down the hallways to the room across from the meager medbay. The Seekers simply called it 'the Heater'; the permanent residents of the mining base laughed at them for their fondness of it. It housed the power generators for the building, which chugged away every breem of the cycle, and because of that it was wonderfully warm in there. There was one specific power coil that had a series of vents all the way around its outer casing that constantly blew out hot air, which had quickly become a favorite of the Seekers. It was this machine that Starscream had plunked himself down in front of, huddling as close to the vents as he could get. Ice fell off him in chunks, cold water ran down his body in tiny rivulets. Every so often, he gave a compulsive shiver as his systems worked to raise his body temperature.
Skyfire sat down behind him, pressing himself against his wingmate, effectively sandwiching him between the warm power coil and his own massive, and heat-producing, body. Slowly, Starscream's shivering stopped, but he made no move to get away from his warm spot.
"Primus..." Starscream's anger had evaporated along with the water that had beaded on his armor only breems before. "We're not built for this."
"I know," Skyfire said soothingly.
"I don't know how much more I can take before my circuits freeze up for good."
"I won't let that happen."
Starscream turned slightly, smiling wistfully up at Skyfire. "Don't bother. It's my fault we're here to begin with. I deserve this."
"You're still my wingmate, and my beloved."
"Nobody deserves a friend as good as you." The Seeker faced the power coil once more, letting the hot air blow onto his head.
"What do you mean?" he said, feeling dumb as he spoke it.
"That's why you're so big, see," Starscream mumbled, sounding tired. "Had to be, to contain your spark."
Skyfire smiled, scooting himself closer to his wingmate. "Don't flatter me, Starscream. It doesn't sound right, coming from you."
"But it's true..."
A new voice entered the conversation. "Well, should I lock the door and give you two some time alone or what?"
Skyfire twisted around so he could see who had spoken. Skywarp had walked into the room--or maybe he had simply teleported there, one could never tell--and had a goofy grin plastered on his face.
"Starscream's frozen," the giant Seeker explained.
"Uh-huh.
"Don't give me that look. I know you do the same for Thundercracker. Don't think I haven't seen you." Skyfire leveled his own playful glare at Skywarp.
"Pft. Thundercracker needs it because he's an old codger and his gears would freeze and break off if I didn't. Starscream just likes to complain."
"And I'd rather stop that complaining than listen to him go on for the rest of his time off, wouldn't you?"
Skywarp's face fell as he considered that.
Skyfire rubbed Starscream's shoulders, trying to bring some heat to his joints. "So what brings you here?"
The black Seeker's optics lit up as he remembered that he had actually come to the Heater with a purpose. "Thundercracker's got a data dump from Cybertron. Thought you might want to see it. 'Cause, well, you don't have much of a choice in the matter, oh beloved wing leader Starscream."
The mining base was far from Cybertron indeed, enough that data dumps from their home world were infrequent, often leaving them without the slightest idea of what was going on back home for many joors at a stretch. Any news that reached them was cause for excitement.
"Is there an order to return?" Starscream growled.
Skywarp shrugged. "Dunno. Didn't read it."
"Because you can't or you won't?"
"Neither. Thundercracker's been hogging it."
Starscream sighed. "I'll be there in a few breems."
Starscream stepped briskly into his wing's cramped quarters, his spirits returned, for better or worse, by the Heater. "What's all the news about, Thundercracker?"
The older Seeker handed Starscream a data pad. "Nothing good. The war's getting bad."
Starscream glanced over the information, paging down a few times.
"I don't think it's going to end well."
"Wars usually don't."
"No, for us, I mean."
"What's going on?"
Thundercracker walked to where Starscream stood, pushing down at the top of the datapad so he could see its display as well. "The other Seekers. All over Cybertron. They've sided with Lord Megatron."
Starscream's optics went wide. "All of them?" It made sense, as the Lord High Protector was in charge of the defense of Cybertron, and therefore of its army. That didn't make the news good. Seekers were, for all intents and purposes, the Cybertronian army. They were created for it, they lived for it, and they often died for it. Sure, there were those non-Seeker mechs who took it upon themselves to train for an art that had not been needed in countless vorns, but whoever held control of the Seekers would, eventually, hold control of Cybertron.
No matter his thoughts on the politics and actions that had lead to this civil war, Starscream found himself pitying those on Cybertron. 'If Optimus continues to insist on resisting Megatron...the Prime's followers are going to get slaughtered.'
"More or less," Thundercracker was saying, as if reciting something unimportant. "The ones who 'showed Autobot sympathies,' which I'm assuming is any who didn't immediately swear loyalty to Megatron, were killed outright. Some managed to escape and are in hiding now. But they're being hunted down."
The wing leader stumbled into a nearby chair, sinking down into it and dropping the datapad on the nearby table. "Killed?"
Thundercracker frowned. "Apparently it was quite a big battle among the Seekers on Cybertron. Lots of collateral damage. I can't even imagine what that would have been like."
Pitting wings of highly-trained war machines against one another...Starscream didn't want to think about the carnage that would have resulted. It took him a few moments to respond. "How many were killed?"
"There's no tally in the data we were sent. It does say that the older ones were the first ones to be tracked down and destroyed." Thundercracker hesitated. "The ones who were old enough to have been under Alpha Trion's command when he was Prime..."
'And Alpha Trion trained Optimus.' Starscream silently watched his wingmate. 'Thundercracker was on active duty back when Alpha Trion was Prime. Had we still been on Cybertron...he'd be dead.'
Thundercracker was obviously having the same thoughts, a distant look covering his face as he stared at the floor. "You still want to go back to Cybertron so badly?"
"No," the wing leader said slowly. "I don't want any part in this war."
"Sooner or later, we'll be hunted down as well. Probably later, seeing as we're so damn isolated here, but it will happen."
"I know." Starscream rubbed at one of his helm-crests in agitation. "If we stay here, and we're found, we could be accused of trying to hide from the other Seekers, and by extension, Megatron," he said softly, thinking out loud. "Even if we're here because of direct orders. If we go back to Cybertron, we don't get much choice in what we have to do in order to stay alive. And that's if they don't just kill us anyway when we arrive. Slagged if we do, slagged if we don't."
Thundercracker nodded once, indicating he had already considered these options.
After a few moments, Starscream sighed. "Thundercracker..."
The older Seeker waited patiently.
"If...if you and Skywarp want to leave, I understand. You have my permission to go and hide yourselves somewhere before the Decepticon Seekers get here. Skyfire and I will stay until we have no other choice. It's far too easy to track someone of his size. He'll be less visible if he's not out planet-hopping across the galaxy."
Thundercracker simply stared at him for a while. A wing leader allowing his team to be broken like this was unheard-of. "Starscream..."
"I know you like the idea of this war even less than I do."
"Starscream..." Thundercracker began again. "You're right. I don't like this war. But...I can't. I'm not willing to split up the wing like that. We'd stand a better chance together. You're our leader. If you are going to stay, then Skywarp and I will stay also."
Starscream smiled tiredly. After a while, he asked, "So how long do you think we have before we have to make like protoform-comets and blast away from here?"
"I give it two orns. Tops. I'll bet my ration of high-grade on it."
"You're on."
Thundercracker gave Skyfire a severe look as the blue Seeker landed from his patrol, followed by an equally frozen Skywarp. "Just where do you think you're going?"
Skyfire grinned. "Exploring."
"...Why?"
"Because. Most of this moon is unexplored."
"There's probably a good reason for that. Like the fact that it's fragging cold."
Skyfire shrugged. "I have nothing better to do with what little time I have left as a free mech."
"Well I do!" Starscream snapped, his voice dangerously screechy. "Like staying nice and warm on my recharge berth."
"Oh come on. Where's your sense of adventure?" Skyfire jumped into the frigid air, his engines roaring to life before he had even finished transforming. He shot off over the white landscape.
Starscream was, unsurprisingly, right behind him. -My sense of adventure is right here, as usual. But my sense of personal comfort yells louder!- He spoke over the comm, as the whistling wind made it impossible to communicate via normal speech.
-Yet you still follow me.- Skyfire teased. -The snow just makes it more exciting.-
-I think we need to work on your definition of 'exciting,' Skyfire.-
-And I think we need to get you out of your moping about Cybertron for a bit.-
-Be careful,- Thundercracker commed. -It's really getting bad out there. Updraft and Speeder canceled their patrol. Get back here by the end of the cycle, otherwise you'll be too frozen to make the return trip.-
-Aw, youngling-master Thundercracker is worried about his little sparklings!- Starscream cooed back.
Thundercracker, true to form, did not rise to Starscream's bait and simply shut off his link with them. Starscream snickered.
-How about fourteen degrees north?- Skyfire asked. It was intended more to inform Starscream of where he was going than to be an actual question. -Haven't done much in that sector.-
-Whatever,- was the wing leader's reply. -You're the one leading this grand expedition. I'm just here to make sure you don't get yourself into trouble.-
They had just passed beyond their normal patrol range when Starscream started complaining about ice collecting on his wings, despite trailing a little too closely behind Skyfire's enormous engines in an attempt to prevent that exact thing from happening. Skyfire was loathe to admit that the weather was indeed taking a turn for the worse. 'I don't want to go back there and just sit around and wait for our doom.' He forged ahead through the thickly-falling snow, more or less ignoring Starscream's whining.
-Augh...Skyfire...let's go back. It's so cold! And we're out of comm range with the base now. And the snow's coming down harder! Are you listening to me?-
Skyfire was busy scanning the landscape below. His scans were coming back distorted or half-complete as usual, thanks to the thick snow and ice that made accurate scans difficult. With a sigh, he started a slow arc that would turn him back towards the base. -Fine. But next time, we...-
-We what? Skyfire?-
The giant Seeker played back his latest scan, checking to make sure the cold wasn't getting to his processor. No, there was something odd showing up. -Are you getting this?- he asked Starscream.
-Getting what?-
-About two megamiles ahead, slightly northwest.-
A few moments of silence followed as Starscream consulted his own scans. -What is that?- he said in a hushed voice.
Without saying a word, the two Seekers turned in tandem, making a low approach to the mysterious object. Both of them had all their sensors on full power, weapons ready to be activated at a moment's notice.
It was a base of some sort, similar in structure to the mining center. Silently, they banked starboard to start a wide circle around it.
-I didn't think there was anyone else on this moon,- Starscream said softly.
-There's not supposed to be.-
-Xenos?-
Skyfire quivered, the equivalent of shaking his head while in tetrajet form. -Don't think so. That's definitely Cybertronian design.-
-Maybe it's an old mine.-
-Have to ask once we get back.-
They angled their flight to approach the structure again, moving a slower pace.
Skyfire's scans suddenly showed that the place was definitely inhabited. By Cybertronians.
Cybertronians with a rather specific identification signal that even Seekers who were out of touch with Cybertron would recognize.
Starscream named it first. -Autobots? Here? How'd they get here already? How long has the Prime been preparing for this war anyway?- He sounded both incredulous and angry.
-I didn't think they'd actually broadcast that fact so freely.-
-I don't think they were expecting anyone else here, either. The mine's really far away, no one in their right mind would come this far.- Any other time, Starscream would have said this in a frustrated tone. Now though, it was stated as a simple fact. -They've probably turned all their sensors offworld. That's where the Decepticons would be coming from.-
Skyfire didn't have an argument to that. -What should we do?-
-Leave.-
-Report them to the base?-
-No. The more who know that the Autobots are here, the more likely that someone we don't like will find out, and then the war will come here and we'll be done for.-
A snow mound ahead suddenly heaved, standing and shaking until clumps of snow fell away. Soon, a heavily-built black mech glared up at them, raising his arms...
...which bore heavy-duty cannons that were both online and aimed directly at the Seekers.
Skyfire barely had time to react, swinging suddenly to the left to avoid the first blast. -WHOA!-
-Go go go!- Starscream did a tight flip, fully engaging his engines and taking off, streaking through the snowy sky and away from the Autobot base.
Skyfire wasn't built to complete such a quick, agile maneuver, but he tried anyway. His whole body shook from the strain, wings creaking dangerously as he turned about on a tighter axis than was safe for someone of his size. He was, however, faster than Starscream, and once he had leveled out his flight he soon caught up with his fleeing wingmate.
The black mech had dropped into a vehicular mode and was chasing them, speeding over the snow with almost reckless abandon.
The Seekers swerved wildly to avoid another round of cannon fire. -Primus, stop shooting!- Starscream shouted to the mech in a broad range of frequencies. -We're not Decepticons!-
The Autobot either didn't hear or didn't care. Volley after volley was sent their way, forcing the Seekers to perform impressive evasive moves as they strained to escape the black mech.
-Split up!- Skyfire shouted. -He can't chase us both!- He turned east; Starscream took a southwestern path.
As he had predicted, the black mech chose to chase him instead of Starscream. He was, after all, the more intimidating-looking of the two. He raced through the sky, trying to ignore the freezing, stabbing pain that was spreading into his air intakes. He concentrated on ignoring it so much, in fact, that he failed to pay attention to the attacking mech below. One of his stabilizing wings got scorched by a shot the Autobot's cannons. Unconsciously, he sent a wave of pain over his bond to Starscream.
-Skyfire!- He could sense his wingmate turning around to come to his aid.
-No! Keep going! Get to the base and get help!- Then their connection dissolved into static. Starscream was too far out of range now, and the winter storm was getting worse.
'All I have to do is stay out of his way and keep going. Starscream will be back with Thundercracker and Skywarp.' Skyfire rolled to one side to avoid getting shot, his injured wing sending pangs of discomfort through him.
How soon Starscream would be back was another matter entirely. They had strayed far from the base, and the snowstorm was now dense, whipping ice and frigid air against him. Skyfire did his best to shake the black mech, but he was followed as if the mech had attached himself to the giant Seeker with an electromagnet. It could have been mere breems or entire cycles that they continued their chase across the icy moon, there was no way for Skyfire to tell. His systems were slowly freezing up, becoming unresponsive, slowing him down and making him feel groggy.
All he knew was that some time later, one of the shots from the Autobot's cannon took off a chunk of his left wing, several more pelted his frozen body, and he was spinning through the air, unable to stop himself. Then a crunch and white and...
Though their comm link had long ago been terminated, their sparkbond remained through the distance and weather. That was how Starscream knew that something had gone horribly wrong.
He could no longer sense Skyfire.
In a terror, he reached out, trying to locate his bondmate, but there was nothing. It was like grasping at darkness.
Skyfire was gone.
Shrieking an infamous Seeker screech to the winter sky, Starscream flipped himself around, rushing to where he had last sensed Skyfire. The trip took much longer than he had anticipated as the thickly-falling snow and ice rendered most of his scans useless, and the wind kept blowing him off course. As he finally neared the area, he transformed, hovering, trying to get a visual on something, anything, that could lead him in the right direction. A hopeless cause in the blizzard that surrounded him, but in his distressed state it was all he could think of to do.
"SKYFIRE!"
The only reply was the howling wind and slicing cold.
"SKYFIRE!"
He was not the only one on a search. The black mech was hurtling toward him, his low-slung alternate form giving him a distinct advantage over the airborne wing leader in the raging weather. His cannons were lining up with Starscream's position.
Starscream roared his wrath, bringing every last weapon he possessed online as he dove for the mech.
Thundercracker was pacing again. He only did that when he was really worried about something.
It annoyed Skywarp.
The black Seeker growled, drumming his claws against the tabletop. "Stoppit."
"They should have been back by now."
"They're big mechs. They can take care of themselves."
Thundercracker stopped, glaring down at his wingmate. "They are very late."
Skywarp scowled back, not the least bit intimidated by his older partner's rare bad mood. "This is Starscream we're talking about."
"And Skyfire. Skyfire wouldn't do something like this."
Skywarp had to admit that Thundercracker was right. Skyfire was almost frustratingly punctual.
After a few more breems of that irritating pacing, Thundercracker suddenly walked out of their room.
"Hey! Where you going?" Skywarp jumped up, not about to be left behind.
"I'm going to find them."
"What? Are you insane? It's freezing out there."
"I know. That's why I need to find them."
"But...but..."
"Come on, Skywarp. I need you."
Skywarp whined a bit, scuffing his feet against the floor. He couldn't resist when Thundercracker said things like that. "Oh alright."
"Reroute as much power as you can spare into scanning and propulsion. We need to be fast."
"I can just teleport out to their last known coordinates..."
"No!" Thundercracker snapped, whirling on him. "It's too risky. We have to stick together. I...we...if three of you are lost..."
"All right, all right." Skywarp waved his hands, trying to appease his partner. "I won't leave you alone."
Their first search was unsuccessful, and they were forced to return to the base before their air intakes became dangerously clogged with ice. The second try seemed to be following in its predecessor's footsteps. Just when they were about to turn back, Thundercracker caught something on his peripheral scans.
-It's Starscream!- He dove at a steep angle, down into the snowy ravine where he had spotted their wing leader. He transformed and landed heavily, sending a veritable wave of snow into the air. Skywarp did likewise, not to be outdone by his wingmate.
Starscream was laying on the ground, half buried by snow, his armor scorched and burned through in several places to expose delicate machinery and circuits beneath. Every so often, one of his claws or wing flaps would twitch, the only sign that he was not completely offline.
Skywarp whistled. "What in Primus' name happened?"
Thundercracker knelt next to Starscream and prodded him gently. "Hey, Starscream. It's us. We're here." When there was no response, the older Seeker slid his hands under Starscream's arms and lifted him out of the snow. The action stirred Starscream into something resembling a wakeful state. He staggered, leaning heavily on Thundercracker.
"What...what..."
"Calm down. You've been injured. And you're just about frozen solid."
Starscream's optics suddenly snapped into focus. "Skyfire...where..."
"We haven't found him yet. We need to--"
"Skyfire!" With a sudden burst of strength, Starscream pushed Thundercracker aside, stumbling up the snowy hill.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Skywarp called after him.
"Skyfire...!"
"Oh no you don't!" Thundercracker lunged for him in an attempt to pin him down.
But Starscream had already transformed into his tetrajet mode and was quickly disappearing into the sky.
-Starscream!- Thundercracker shouted as he too took to the air. -Get back here! You're too low on power!-
-Skyfire...Skyfire...- Starscream was muttering through the comm system.
Thundercracker pulled up close beside him so that their wingtips were nearly touching; Skywarp positioned himself on Starscream's other side, and together they tried to guide him back to base. It was difficult, as his flight path was erratic at best, and they were constantly having to pull away from him to avoid incurring their own injuries. Thundercracker continued to try talking him down. -Starscream, we'll look for him as soon as we can. Right now we have to get you back to the base. You're not well.-
Starscream snarled at them. -I have to find Skyfire!- He put on a burst of speed, breaking free of his wingmates' guidance.
He led them on a merry chase for a few breems before finally spiraling out of control, changing back into his mech form halfway down, and crashing into a snow drift. Before he had a chance to run off again, Thundercracker and Skywarp pounced on him, holding him down in the snow.
Starscream flailed as best he could, his movements growing progressively weaker, and fresh rivulets of energon snaked from under his armor, only to freeze in the cold. "I have to find Skyfire!"
"I know," Thundercracker assured him. "But we can't right now. It's too cold. We need to get back before we're all frozen. What good would it be to Skyfire if none of us can help him?"
Starscream looked like he was finally understanding. "Skyfire..." He allowed his wingmates to pick him up. "Skyfire...have you seen him?"
Thundercracker glanced at Skywarp, who shrugged helplessly. The blue Seeker grimaced in response. "He hasn't appeared on any of our scans, Starscream. He must have been injured by whoever did this to you, and...."
A low, deranged growl came from Starscream as he said that.
"Starscream...we'll look for him again after we've gotten you back to the base. But...please don't get your hopes up too much. If he's hurt bad enough that he hasn't made it back yet...in this weather..."
The wave of anger and pain and sadness that Starscream sent over their wing-bond made Thundercracker flinch. Skywarp staggered backwards a few steps, as if physically struck, almost falling into a snow drift. The black Seeker gave Thundercracker a frightened look. -Hey Thundercracker...-
-Yeah?-
-If...if that's what it feels like to lose someone you're close to...-
-No...I'd imagine it's much worse. A pair-bond is much stronger than a wing-bond.-
-You're not helping here. I was trying to actually say something serious, for once.-
-Go on then.-
-Moment's lost now.- Skywarp gave him a furious scowl.
Their conversation was cut short when Starscream whimpered, then suddenly screamed, a loud, processor-piercing Seeker shriek with the uniquely eerie keening sound that had given him his name. When he had finished, he slumped down, no longer resisting his wingmates' hold on him. "Skyfire..." He lifted his head, red optics dangerously narrow and glowing brightly. "I swear..." he growled in a frighteningly dark tone of voice Thundercracker had never heard him use before. "I swear on my spark...that I will not rest...until every Autobot has paid for this. Every. Last. Fragging. One." Then he went limp, systems finally succumbing to his injuries and the elements.
Thundercracker and Skywarp could only stare at each other, blinking in confusion. "Autobots? What do the Autobots have to do with this?" the black Seeker said.
"No idea." Thundercracker looked down at their offline wing leader. "But I think he's changed his mind about the war."