Title: All Hail Starscream

Title: All Hail Starscream (2/2)



Author: dreamerchaos



Fandom: IDW’s comic-based Official Movie Sequel ‘The Reign of Starscream’.



Rating: R. Warning. Dubious consent and gore thrown into several parts.



Pairing: StarscreamxPerceptor.



Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are owned by Hasbro.



Characters: Perceptor. Starscream. Hoist. Grapple. Payload. Thundercracker. Original characters.



Summary: Starscream has returned to Cybertron, dealing with the small group of Decepticons who had threatened to overthrow the Seeker upon his return. Now that the immediate threat is over, Starscream, as the current Lord of the Decepticons, must deal with the small refugee groups and neutrals who continue to evade the grasp of him and his soldiers.











Author Note: The Reign of Starscream paperback copy that I now own has an awesome glossary on the various characters in the comic edition. Was a tremendous help for me when writing these sections. I had been stuck several times trying to remember names and faces.





Time Units, following nova_myth’s references from recent drabbles:



Kilk- 1.2 minutes

Breem- 8 min

Joor- 1 hour

Orn- 1 day

Meta-cycle- 13 months-1 year- 400 orns

Vorn- 83 years



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‘…please. Please hurry!’ Perceptor’s vents taxed beyond measure, the microscope tripping over a hidden pile of metal as he ran headlong through the maze of crumpled buildings of the small mining town outside Trypticon’s city limits. He stumbled onto his knees and onto the ground, coughing as a puff of dirt rose to kiss his face and tickle down his throat.



‘I have to warn everyone before it is too late!’ Already the orn was quickly drawing to a close, the closest sun to Cybertron winking out along the horizon. One of the planet’s moons began to tease its way through the heavens, marking the time that has passed since Perceptor’s escape from the Decepticon Lord’s estate.



The entrance was not too far now. Perceptor could just make out the hidden seam of the double doors up ahead against the towering hill of crumpled metal buildings.



Wheezing to a stop, and bending over, Perceptor took a few precious seconds to cool down, chassis heaving from being overworked. Gulping to relieve the dryness of his esophageal tubing, he pushed his hands off from his knees, standing up straight and approaching the sealed doors masking the concealed entrance.



‘Hide the entrance in plain sight.’ He recalled Grapple boasting about the hidden entrance hall, the crane grinning at the perplexed look on the microscope’s face. ‘The Decepticons will be expecting the camp to be somewhere in a larger urban sector. Even if they are tempted to explore these abandoned tunnels, they won’t breach the doors if there are no traces of anyone who has come or gone.’



‘You were correct, Grapple.’ Perceptor admitted in respect to his friend’s wisdom. All of the refugees promptly learned to eliminate the traces of footprints leading towards the entrance, as well as check to ascertain that the tiny holographic projectors remaining hidden and functioning. Providing only a tiny pulse to lay out a low-beam holographic image to disguise the entrance, but not using so much power that it would attract the drones’ radar, nor would there be a helpful flash of polished metal to draw the aerial bots down to explore for the tiny gadgets.



Perceptor was exceptionally pleased that it was his idea to administer a minute amount of acid to the entire face coating of the projectors. The application worked extremely well in scarring the metal polishing, thus removing the risk of the sun flashing across the shiny steel plating.



Rushing to the sealed doors, Perceptor thrust both hands into the tight seam. Grunting with exertion, the microscope ground his pedes into the ground and he pushed with all of his might. Slow and steady the doors began to endeavor to open wide, the microscope’s arms quaking with the strain of forcing the heavy metal doors to push apart wide enough to allow him access to slip past.



Just when he was sliding through, Perceptor paused at a loud clang of metal against metal. From not too far at the rear. Turning to peer over his shoulder, he glanced back at the path where he had tripped.



Not too far beyond the pile of metal he had stumbled upon, a drone ducked behind a large pile of metal and garbage.



Perceptor’s vocals shuddered out a gasp. Shocked by how closely a drone was tailing him. ‘Primus! Has the raid already begun?!’



He did not have any time to waste. Not losing any valuable astroseconds to struggle and reseal the doors, Perceptor dove through, thankful that the drone would at least need to struggle with the doors for a moment or two, its bulk far greater than the microscope’s.



“Ace!” Perceptor cried out for the femme as he raced down the tunnel. Stiffening at the loud clanging bellow from the entrance, the drone now arriving and heaving its bulk against the barrier. “Ace? Ace! Hoist! Grapple! Anyone!”



He reached the main bunker, slamming into the sealed doors. Pounding both fists into the metal, Perceptor called out for his companions. “Open the door! It is I! Perceptor!!”



“Perceptor!” The doors fell open, the microscope collapsing into Hoist’s arms. The mech laughed, swinging the mech into the room. “Perceptor! I thought that I would never see you again! When you and Hardline didn’t return, we feared the worst!”



“Hoist!” Perceptor wiggled, trying to break free. “Hoist, please! Release me! We have to warn everyone-”



“What is going on?! Hoist, are you making that racket!” A slim silver and black femme stomped over to them, blue optics narrowed in disapproval.



“Ace…” Perceptor wheezed past the tight pressure of his friend squeezing around his middle. “Listen to me. You have to tell everyone to evacuate-”



“What’s going on?” Grapple strode up behind Ace. Peering at the spectacle in confusion until he saw whom Hoist was assaulting. “Perceptor! You’ve returned! But…where’s Hardline?”



“What do you mean, evacuate?” Another voice rang out from within the bunker. Within the depths of the dimly lit bunker, many pairs of bright blue optics turned to peer at the microscope, turning away from the soft burn of the tiny lamps dotting the camp floor. Various mechs and fewer femmes turned towards the entrance, looking at Perceptor in confusion and consternation.



“Everyone calm down.” Their designated ‘leader’, Velocity, a tall black and green ground mech, held his hands in the air, trying to enforce silence as the refugees’ voices rose up.



Their voices rose even higher.



“What’s going on!”



“Where’s Hardline?”



“Hoist! For Primus’ sake, you’re squeezing the Spark out of him!”



“Listen to me!” Perceptor shouted. “Everyone listen!”



“Everyone…SHUT…UP!!” Velocity bellowed, his roar echoing across the metal walls.



Everyone froze, rarely having heard the mech lose his patience and raise his voice.



“Perceptor.” Velocity strode over. “What is going on?”



“We have to get out of here!!” Perceptor’s voice instilled with sky rocketing panic. “Decepticons! The Decepticons are launching a raid! Right NOW!”



The refugees began to shout and argue.



“That’s impossible!”



“How did they find us?!”



“What do we do? How many of them are there?”



“You!” Ace bore down on Perceptor, face snarling in close proximity to his. “You led them right to us. Didn’t you!”



“No!” Perceptor insists. “I overheard Starscream-”



The utterance of the dreaded Lord’s name caused panic to rise throughout the bunker. Refugees screaming in fright.



“Ace, shut down your vocal processor!” Velocity growled at the hot-tempered femme. He swept around the address the restless crowd of twenty or so refugees milling around opposite of the small group of Perceptor’s close friends at the bunker’s entrance. “Everyone calm down! Perceptor is right. We need to move! Take only what you can carry! Hoist! Grapple! You know the tunnels. We need to start moving everyone out as quickly as possible--”



A sharp scream rang out from a nearby tunnel. A mech acting as sentry fell through the entrance, fingers scrabbling at the floor.



“DECEPTICONS!” A drone appeared from the tunnel’s dark depths, catching the fallen mech by his ankles, jerking him back into the corridor’s recesses. Never halting even when the mech desperately grabbed the doorframe to try to halt his capture, but easily snapping the prisoner up like a fish on a lure.



Several refugees screamed the mech’s name as he was ripped away from their sight.



“Frag.” Velocity stumbled back. “Slaggit! Everyone! Abandon the bunker right now!”



Someone else had time to scream, “It’s an ambush!” when the ceiling above literally exploded.



Perceptor’s scream echoed with the others, Hoist and Grapple falling beside him as they ducked down and covered their helms against the raining debris.



From above the few remaining shreds of metal beams and boulders sag along the perimeter of the gaping maw in the ceiling, steadily shorn away at the hands of too many drones clustered together in one spot. Singular optics focused upon the endeavor to reveal the prey trapped underground. The massive wound in the ceiling opening up to the sky, aerial borne Decepticon and drones appearing by the handfuls.



Thundercracker’s thrusters held him aloft, the Seeker grinning triumphantly from the air down at the stunned refugees milling around within the exposed camp.



“Take them.” He uttered in proud triumph.





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Pandemonium cracked like lightning through the refugees. Immediately mechs and femmes were fleeing in every direction.



Drones and aerial mechs dropped through the destroyed ceiling, beta drones falling through while carrying portable cages. The cages were soon beginning to acquire occupants. One aerial Decepticon easily scooped up two mechs before they could evade him, casually dropping the prisoners into their small cells, the smaller drones shutting and sealing the cages before they could attempt an escape.



“GO!” Velocity snapped at Perceptor and the others hunkered down, jabbing once with his hand in the small group’s direction, before catching the blaster that popped out of subspace from his chest. “Run! I’ll hold them off!”



“I’m not going to leave you!” Ace shouted in refusal.



“Ace! Listen to me for fragging once! Just go!”



“Ace. We have to go!” Grapple pleaded, catching her by the shoulder, trying to tug her back away from Velocity.



“No!” She screamed.



“You stupid youngling!” Velocity shouted frustrated beyond measure, before diving into the crazed fray of refugees and shoulders, the leader hoping to help and save a few of them from the Decepticon forces.



“Come on!” Hoist levered Perceptor onto his pedes. “We need to get out of here!”



Ace tore her optics away from the direction that Velocity had disappeared. “The mines.” She stated voice oddly flat and calm. Watching the pandemonium occurring right in front of them, dissociative, watching as if the spectacle was merely a revolving reel of film from an old movie. “We’ll head down through the old mines.”



“No!” Perceptor gasped, horrified by the mere suggestion.



“It’s the only way!” She growled.



“Not a chance.” Grapple refused sharply. “I’d rather face Megatron in person before risking the collapse of the mines or enduring starvation down there!”



“He’s right.” Hoist insisted, catching Ace’s hand, stalling a furious swing at the crane. “Calm down and think for a moment, Ace! We checked the mines already. They are too unstable. We will not make it!”



“There has to be a way!” Ace heatedly insists.



“Maybe…” Grapple looked left and right, pushing his companions to stay low and avoid two nearby Decepticons concentrating on sweeping up another group of refugees. “Our only option is the other tunnel.”



“There isn’t one!” Perceptor said. “You know this! We’re cut off.”



“There is one.” The crane insisted. “It’s a hidden escape tunnel that Hoist and I found not that long after we set up camp here.” He quickly defended himself at the betrayed look on his friends’ faces. “I didn’t mention it because I don’t know where it leads! We didn’t have the time or the mechs to spare in exploring.”



“He’s right. It’s the only way.” Hoist agreed. “There is no other option.”



“Then lead the way.” Perceptor encouraged, cutting off a rebuke from Ace.



“This way!” Grapple grabbed Hoist by the hand, who grasped Perceptor’s, who tugged Ace along, grabbing her by the wrist when she looked ready to argue once more.



The chain of interlocked hands connected them as they ran along the periphery of the mass hysteria of refugees and Decepticons intermingled together. Too many bodies clustered together in the bunker, its available space quickly diminished by the numerous soldiers.



It was shockingly easy to avoid any drones or mechs as Grapple led them to safety. The crane seemingly possessing a secondary sensory network to navigate when and where it was necessary to duck and hide, or run and not risk detection.



“Here…” Grapple slapped a hand upon a hidden panel at the far corner of the bunker. A concealed door opening, only widening enough for one of them to slip through at a time. From within the jagged opening, a cold and seemingly endless tunnel stretched before them. The entrance and tunnel would be too small for far larger mechs to conceive of using as an escape route. “Hoist! Go!”



“What about you-” Hoist started.



Grapple shoved him into the escape tunnel. “You lead, I’ll cover our back!”



“Perceptor!” Grapple squeezed a hand on Perceptor’s shoulder before the microscope ducked down, crawling into the tight corridor. “Ace!” Perceptor shouted the femme’s name.



No way to mistaken the sound of her cursing as she scuttled on her hands and knees through the tunnel’s small entrance. “This better work, Grapple!” She warned.



“Hurry, Grapple!” Hoist shouted from up ahead, the mech disappearing in the gloom, no more than a few inches from Perceptor, but the darkness too thick for his optics to discern the proximity of his friend.



“AAAhh!”



The crane’s scream drew the microscope to turn and lunge toward the entrance. “Grapple!” Perceptor twists around, Ace shouting explicitly as he fell atop her. At the entranceway, Grapple kicked and fought within the headlock of a large Decepticon, the crane twisting powerlessly within the purple mech’s arms.



“You’re not getting away, little crane.” Payload reared onto his pedes, holding his prisoner tight against his chassis.



“GRAPPLE!” Hoist threw himself forward, squashing Perceptor as he desperately scrabbled to reach the tunnel’s entrance. “GRAPPLE!”



“It’s too late!” Ace wrapped herself around his waist, and Perceptor caught Hoist by his legs before the mech could get too close.



“No, Hoist! No! I’m sorry. I’m so sorry! But it’s too late!” Perceptor pleaded. “We have to go!”



“Get out of here!” Grapple screamed at his friend, catching sight of Hoist close to the entrance. “Hoist! Go!”



Together Perceptor and Ace fervently dragged Hoist back, away from the entrance. Not too soon, either, because a drone lunged towards them, but found it was too big to fit in after them. Its talons raked inches from Hoist’s face as it thrust its arm into the tunnel in an attempt to snag at least one of the refugees.



“Move, move, move!” Ace shoved Perceptor and Hoist ahead of her. “Move your afts!”



“Hoist!” Perceptor slung an arm around the mech’s shoulder, murmuring soft words of encouragement as he dragged the bereft mech alongside.



“Grapple…no...” Hoist shook with anguish.



“It’s okay. Grapple’s tough.” He used his hands to trace the path of the tunnel. It was so dark…It felt as if the tunnels were closing in on them. The darkness echoing every breath, amplifying the sounds of their vents to mimic a gust of wind, every scuff and scrape of hands and knees upon the pitted metal floor screeching like nails across a chalkboard. Perceptor and Hoist reached an intersection in the tunnel. Making a random choice, he took the left fork. “Knowing him, he will hand that Decepticon his aft. Just you wait. We will find him. Later. I promise.” Perceptor swore to him.



“Less talking, more moving!” Ace complained. “The view isn’t that great from back here.”



“Y-yeah.” Hoist agreed after a moment of hesitation.



“It’s somewhere up ahead.” Perceptor encouraged his companions. “I can feel a draft of air. We must be close by.”



“Not too soon for my tastes.” Ace huffed in relief.



“There!” Hoist gestured up ahead, not too far a small square of moonlight illuminating the end of the tunnel.



“Almost there.” Perceptor stated; feeling victorious, whispering praise and further words of encouragement to his friend.



Hoist was the first to tumble out of the exit. He yelped in surprise as he rolled down the hill of smooth metal and dirt, the tunnel’s entrance spilling out from the face of another mountain of buildings.



Perceptor followed no less acrobatically, landing on his aft beside his friend.



“That…” Hoist winced as he pushed upon onto his knees. “Let’s not do that again.” He pleaded.



Ace dropped gracefully as an acrobat landing beside them, nonchalant about the rough terrain while her companions winced at the sore state of both their aft-ends hitting the cold hard ground. “Get up. We need to get out of sight.” She commanded her small unit of reluctant soldiers.



“Lead the way.” Perceptor bowed out of her path.



All of a sudden Ace froze, raising her hand to halt the other two mechs. “Wait.” She warned. Head tilted. Listening…



“Incoming!” Perceptor shouted in warning, diving for the ground as the Seeker roared above.



“AAAH!”



“AARRgh!”



Hoist and Ace collapsed upon their knees, cradling their audios. Thundercracker’s sonic blast strong enough to cause their receptors to bleed, helms ringing in agony.



Perceptor did not manage to escape unscathed but he had been more prepared, anticipating the attack when he recognizing the Seeker swooping down upon them. He wrapped a hand around both the mech and femme’s upper arms, dragging them onto their pedes. “Run!” Their equilibrium was off balance, and audios still ringing, but they understood the gesture rather than the command; stirring to follow the microscope’s lead.



“We can’t outrun him!” Hoist panted, running at his left flank.



“Frag this!” Ace snapped from the right. Perceptor turned, gob smacked as the femme halted and spun, pulling a small blaster from a sheath in her long leg. “I’m done with running!”



“You can’t!” Hoist entreated her to listen to reason. “He’s right behind us!”



“That blaster can’t possibly damage him!” Ace must have lost her CPU if she believed that the tiny weapon would do anything other than greatly irritate the large Seeker.



“Just stay out of my way!” Ace let out a loud scream of battle rage, swinging the weapon around and firing directly into Thundercracker’s face as the Seeker assumed his bipedal form meters away from their position.



The shots pinged harmlessly off his skin. His red optics blinked, face twisted in surprise at the bounce of the shells off his chassis. Talons scratched absentmindedly at the minor scuffs upon his paint.



“That tickled.” The Seeker murmured in afterthought.



“Oh Primus…” Hoist and Perceptor huddled away from the Seeker, cowering at Ace’s back. “It’s the scrap heap for us. Or worse…the auction block.”



“Ace! Stand down!” Perceptor beseeched the young femme. “This is only a suicide run!”



“I’ll show him otherwise!” Ace growled, racing towards the towering mech.



“No!”



“Ace!!” Hoist screamed.



Thundercracker swung his right arm around, battle-axe snapping forward from his wrist. The long blade neatly severed the femme’s blaster as she hovered – almost moving in slow motion in midair – Ace caught in mid-leap.



The Seeker roared in berserker fury, left arm speeding forward, wrapping around Ace’s chassis. He twisted around, smashing the femme into the ground flat upon her back, burying the fighter and half of his fist into the dirt. The implosion at the abrupt impact created a small crater, dust hissing around the victorious Seeker crouched over the femme, battle-axe sliding dangerously close to her face.



“…ggkk*..ktt*…!” A wet slap of energon erupted from Ace’s mouth, arms snapping up and down brokenly near her head.



“Poor thing.” Thundercracker clucked in displeasure, feigning concern at her damaged exterior. “I damaged your vocal processor.” He squeezed his fist, eliciting another wet gurgle and harsh spill of energon from between her lips.



“…Ace.” Hoist whispered in horror. Perceptor shivered. Both mechs scared stiff, limbs locked as the Seeker rose to stand above the loser of their short, rather dismal standoff.



“As for you…” Thundercracker negligently stepped away from Ace’s form, walking towards the other two refugees. Lowering down onto one knee, Thundercracker grinning with pleasure as the two mechs cowered. Battle-axe withdrawn, the Seeker reached forward, hooking the fingers of his right hand under Perceptor’s chin, tugging the microscope closer.



“You have an unnerving habit for making the chase far too long…” Thundercracker’s lips spread in a jagged grin. “…And yet so very enjoyable.”



He smiled toothily, sharp denta menacing the microscope as he and his friend wilting in front of his optics, shoulders slumped and helms lowered in defeat.







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Thundercracker joined the rest of the squads, the last of the drones setting down the remaining cages housing prisoners; creating a long caravan among the ruined buildings. Captives whimpered and quaked within the iron cages, shivering in the center of the cells, jolting away from the bars whenever a Decepticon wandered too close.



The Seeker deposited his three prisoners into the care of his small drone squad, the two mechs and femme immediately separated from another. The femme taken to a medic for repairs, and the other two placed under guard to ensure that they would not attempt to run away again.



Thundercracker turned, hailed by a familiar voice, the purple mech striding to meet him.



“An outstanding capture!” Payload spread his arms in greeting to the tall Seeker. Somehow, his single yellow optic managed to portray his pleasure and animation. “Twenty five prisoners in one raid. This is the largest retrieval we have had in many orns!”



“Lord Starscream will be pleased by the results.” Thundercracker grinned.



“Yes.” Payload agreed. “This is an excellent stock. Many are apprentices, teachers, engineers, or scientists. Some of the tools and small projects that we discovered inside the camp are very promising, if they are what to go by.”



“You’re certainly enjoying yourself.” Thundercracker could not help but to chuckle at the Decepticon’s enthusiasm.



“Indeed.” Payload turned his optic towards a particular cage, where a drone hefted Hoist into a cage, placing him with Grapple. The crane embracing his friend as Hoist buckled into his arms, hiding his face against Grapple’s shoulder. “Those two especially interest me. They would do wonders with assisting with my work.”



“Well…” Thundercracker laid a hand on Payload’s shoulder in good company. He bent down, holding a private huddle with the mech. “Your assistance was invaluable. In addition, as promised, you will have first choice when they are up for auction. I don’t think there will be any problems with you obtaining both of them.”



Payload bobbed his head, hands clapping together as he expressed his gratitude with a formal bow. “My humble thanks, to you and Lord Starscream, Thundercracker.” He turned towards the Seeker’s entourage of drones, lens narrowing upon the microscope held firmly prisoner. “Lord Starscream’s pet is also safely returned. That will please him even more so.”



The microscope was literally spitting mad, releasing a howl of anger as he faced Thundercracker. “You!” Perceptor struggled to tear his arms free of the drones. “You used me! You vile…cretin! Animal! Bastard! You wanted me to lead you straight to them!”



“And you performed beautifully.” Thundercracker applauded Perceptor’s actions. “Look at how well the operation turned out.” He motioned towards all of the cages currently prepped for travel back to Trypticon.



“Hardline didn’t give in to you.” Perceptor stated matter-of-factly. Furious with himself for believing that his companion would betray his friends, and equally furious that he had fallen for Starscream’s bait. “If I had never played the fool for your trick, then you and the rest of these soldiers would never have found our camp.”



“You truly believe that to be true?” Thundercracker asked, crouching down in front of Perceptor, to better to meet his optics.



Perceptor sneered up at him. “You would be left to paw in the dirt. Never to find hide or trace of anyone.”



The Seeker smiled. Genuinely amused by the microscope’s stern face and the curt commentary. “Oh, I do not believe so.” Thundercracker kindly informed the microscope. He leaned closer, as if to partake in revealing a terrible secret.



“You see, my tiny friend. Even without your assistance, between you and your other friend that we captured, we collected enough information to find your camp. Within a fortnight. At the latest.”



“Impossible.” Perceptor disagreed, shaking his head left and right in heated disagreement. “That’s not true!” He refuses to accept the Seeker’s lies!



“Yes, it is.” Thundercracker insisted. He reached forth, scraping his talons along the grit caked upon Perceptor’s face and scope, rubbing the soil between his fingers, holding the sample in from of the microscope’s optics. “You and your companion…Hardline, was it?...were covered in a layer of dirt. That soil that you took for granted every orn…” Thundercracker amused himself with the incredulous look upon the mech’s face. “We would only need to run a few tests upon the samples of dirt we obtained from your persons, and the analysis would yield very useful information about your camp’s whereabouts.”



He delighted in the shift of expression. The dawning realization steadily cinching tighter and tighter like a noose. “Yesss…” The Seeker hissed. He moved even closer, Perceptor unable to fall back, arms held firm and tight between two drones. “That soil is concentrated only in specific sectors. It would rule out other sections outside the city, leaving our squads with the precious time and resources to concentrate in areas that are more suitable; better and easier to find your camp when we are converged upon a single or perhaps two sectors.”



“But…” Perceptor could not find the words to interconnect. “I…but I…this can’t be…”



“Oh, but it is.” Thundercracker rose, slicing his hand in the drone unit’s direction. “Make sure that our Lord’s pet is swiftly and safely returned to his master!” He commanded. The drones hastening to comply, pointedly tugging to microscope towards a large aerial carrier sitting among its much smaller brethren, the proud gleaming vessel that would deliver him to Starscream’s estate.



Thundercracker observed the craft take off, grinning at the thought of Perceptor’s arrival and the welcoming he would receive from the Decepticon Lord. “I’m sure that Lord Starscream will enjoy rewarding his pet for his assistance.” He trembled in gratification and longing at the very notion.







Continued in Epilogue

Epilogue with contain mature content. Be forewarned.