Title: Trine Obligations
Author: cmdrtekk
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 749
Series: Transformers G1, pre-earth
Character(s): Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, unnamed Decepticon ground soldiers
Warnings: off-screen death and torture hinted at and or mentioned
Disclaimer The characters portrayed do not belong to me. (Duh!) They belong to Hasbro
Summary: Being in a seeker trine is more than just flying together in combat and the Decepticon lead trine didn't become lead, nor Starscream Air Commander, by being sweet and cuddly.

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This short was written for the first part of The Literary Illustration Challenge in the communityrelations group on Deviant Art

Challenge Parameters: The theme was fan fiction Bromance, rating PG-13 or lower and 750 words max.

My initial draft for this piece came in at 1395 words. That was over 600 words to many. I essentially hacked the storyline in half to meet the parameters of the challenge..

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The ground mech did not recognize the blue seeker that landed fast and hard on the near side of the training ground spike pit where Hook and a couple more Constructicons were trying to extract the wounded black seeker. However, the white, red and blue seeker that landed fast and hard on the far side? Everyone knew who that was. This allowed for full, if belated, ID of their victim. The grounder realized he and his mechs had a huge problem. Standard operating procedure in the Decepticon Army was you either had the ability to defend yourself, you had the protection of someone who could, or you kept your head down and followed orders. Unfair? Perhaps…If you were Autobots.

With several mostly black seekers on base the grounder and his unit hadn't stopped to consider that the Warp messing with them was Skywarp. It was now quite obvious that not only was the black seeker trined, he was the lead trine's third member. Trine mate of the Air Commander himself. And it was common knowledge throughout the Decepticon army that while Starscream's third didn't have more than a handful of processing chips in his head, Starscream and Thundercracker had plenty to spare. And like all trines they protected each other viciously. As lead trine this was even more true.

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Starscream dumped the last of the parts over the edge of the canyon and watched them tumble to the acidic river far below. Once they had hit he looked up and off toward the horizon; a mellow, satisfied smile on his lips as his rage was finely sated. Dawn was coming after a long night where he and his second had enjoyed slowly and methodically taking the trine's enemies apart. They were now coated in energon and other fluids of those deactivated mechs. He glanced at Thundercracker as his blue trine mate stepped up next to him also looking toward the horizon. No word was spoken. None needed to be. The talking had been done before and body language now spoke of calm satisfaction.

As soon as Hook had stabilized Skywarp and explained the damages, the pair had looked into the situation. It hadn't taken much work to discover the details and even less effort to get the ID's of the culprits. Mechs, especially low ranked ground mechs were very happy to cooperate with irate seekers and quickly pointed them in the right direction.

The aerial obstacle in the training area that had exploded on Skywarp was nothing that should have fully taken their third out of the air. They all had carried far worse damage in battle. Had that been all, nothing more would have been done. Sometimes a mech did actually manage to get Skywarp back for a prank and that was tolerable to Skywarp's trine mates. But these grounders had nearly killed Skywarp. That was unacceptable. The devastating blow had been the E.M.P. blast that hit Skywarp as he cleared the smoke and debris cloud from the explosion. Normally a Seeker's systems were shielded from E., even when damaged; but lucky hits by the shrapnel had taken out to much of Skywarp's shielding, and he'd been knocked off line as a result of the double edged attack. Momentum and gravity had then smashed his off lined body into the training arena below, plowing into several ground pounder obstacles before coming to an abrupt stop in a spike pit.

Now, with retribution served, Starscream acknowledged Skywarp's near deactivation had probably been unintentional. The spike pit into which Skywarp had fallen probably hadn't been planned. Nor the one particular spike that had grazed Warp's spark chamber cracking it to the open atmosphere. But…well…revenge prank it may have been, the result was unacceptable. Skywarp was theirs. Their third wing, their comrade, theirs to support and theirs to avenge. They were trine. And being trine meant more than just flying in combat together. A unique unquestioned loyalty, it came with certain obligations. Now all would be reminded of that truth.

The disappearance of the ground pounders responsible for the failed prank and the soon to be very obvious and deliberate return to base in the condition he and Thundercracker currently were would carry the lesson. Starscream laughed reveling in his power and the power of his trine. Then he stepped off the edge; activating his thrusters and transforming as he shot skyward into the dawn, Thundercracker beside him. It was good to be Air Commander, even better to be trine.

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