[closed]

[starscheme]

Who: Knock Out and Starscream
Where: A secluded viewpoint around the San Francisco Bay area
When: Forward dated a tad, not to long after Starscream makes contact with the Signless.
What: Starscream (with Knock Out in tow) successfully manages to do something right. So of course things are going to suddenly get even worse.
Warnings: None right now? Knockout is inappropriately sensual 100% of the time and Starscream is a turd. There's your warning.

It was a flawlessly executed plan, if he did say so himself. 

For the first time since landing on this pitiful rock, something was finally going Starscream's way. Being trapped on an alien planet with barely any resources doesn't leave a guy with much to do other than skim the internet relentlessly for the hours between bouts of scrounging for Energon, but all that time on the 'net had actually paid off this time. 

He'd located an energon harvester. Or at least, what he assumed to be an energon harvester, under lock and key in a museum in San Francisco, guarded by humans who had no notion of the nature of the tool they possessed. It had been a simple matter of taking Knock Out with him on a little side trip up north, and between the two of them human security was no issue. They were in and out with their prize before the humans even knew what had hit them.

So yes, Starscream was ecstatic. Not only was the harvester itself a grand prize to bring back to Megatron (once he got around to getting in touch with him), but he could also harvest and present the limitless bounty of energon hidden within this planet along with it.

Outside the limits of the city, he finally transformed and landed atop a secluded cliff overlooking the San Francisco bay. It was a "scenic viewpoint" for human tourists, but it was late at night and blessedly abandoned right now. He turned in time to see Knock Out drive up, and grinned triumphantly. 

"Oh I love when a plan comes together so perfectly," he laughed, practically trembling with excitement. 

Comments

[buffthis]

All right, so transforming hadn't done him much good after all. Knock Out lets out a choked sound of panic, clawing at Starscream's hand. He's good in a fight himself, but Starscream is faster and, in some ways, stronger -- and more than that, Starscream has leverage on his side.

He cringes visibly at those remarks, trying to flinch away from Starscream. "Commander Starscream -- hrrgh -- I promise, I'll -- I'll find something else! Some other discovery to keep Lord Megatron's wrath at bay!"

Right now, Knock Out would promise away half his spark if it'd get him free of Starscream's grasp. He is not liking how this day is going.

[starscheme]

Megatron. In his butt fury over being disrespected, he'd almost forgotten the actual reason for the whole fiasco in the first place.

It's not too difficult for him to keep a good grip on Knockout, and for a moment he just leers, his gaze boring into Knockout's.

It wasn't even worth scrapping him over. Or rather... it was, and in his spark he truly wished to act on that, but such an act would be ultimately pointless. Whether Knockout lived or died or was beaten within an inch of his life didn't make a damn difference in the end. They were both utterly doomed without that harvester or something equivalent to replace it, and it wasn't in Starscream's best interest to be working with an injured partner in that case.

Considering all that, he suddenly throws Knockout with a disgusted swing of an arm, and then looks desperate and conflicted.

"We're scrap, Knockout."

[buffthis]

Knock Out makes an undignified noise as he hits the ground more or less face-first, lifting his head with a wince. Ugh. Not his most dignified day ever. At least Starscream seems to be off his angry bent for the time being.

He gingerly picks himself up off the ground, dusting bits of dirt off his finish and reaching up to touch his neck. He swears, if Starscream pinched a cable...

"I -- I'm sure we can find something to appease Lord Megatron," he says, though he has doubts about that himself. "And it's not like he ever need know about this...little mishap."

[starscheme]

Starscream huffs haughtily and transforms once more. "An excellent point Knockout... And if either of us have any sense of self preservation, he won't. I'll make damn sure of that. But our outlook is grim... The longer we wait to contact him, the angrier he will be..." And the longer they'd be stuck on this horrendous planet.

"And if you have any interest in getting out of this unscathed, you'll start focusing full time on finding a different option, or at the very least gathering energon. You've spent enough time here street racing."

[buffthis]

Knock Out bristles slightly at that, but he's not so stupid so as to retort when he's still counting all the fresh scratches Starscream's just left on his chassis. This is going to take hours to buff out.

"Of -- of course, Commander Starscream," Knock Out says hastily, still keeping what he considers to be a safe distance from the other Decepticon. "If you'd just send me the data you have on energon deposits, I can get...right on that."

He isn't terribly keen on doing a bunch of legwork, let alone by himself, but it's not like his energon reserves are at an all-time high, either. That, at least, is something he has a vested interest in.

I got so distracted by decepticon jamboree I forgot we need to wrap this up

[starscheme]

"Already done," he snaps. Then he continues, his tone a bit softer now, though the meaning behind his words was still one of stern authority. "And don't act so put upon, Knock Out. Everything I order you to do is with the keen hope that both of us will get out of this situation unscathed."

HAHA no worries bb

[buffthis]

As if Starscream wouldn't throw him under the bus the first chance he sees, if it'd save his own finish -- right. But reluctant as he is, Knock Out can agree that right now, they have to work together. For the time being. Until they get out of this mess.

"Of course, Commander Starscream," he says, a good deal more smoothly -- and convincingly. His smile still has a nervous edge to it, and he doesn't get any closer to Starscream. "Just leave this to me."

Re: HAHA no worries bb

[starscheme]

"Good. Now.... I'm going to go back and see if there is ANYTHING we can do to fish that damn Harvester out of the water." he says with all the venom he can muster. One hard bank in the opposite direction and a roar of jets later and he's gone, zipping back towards the coastline.