Untold Adventures on the Nemesis

Cockpit Sighting - Chapter 2

Summary: There have been some strange reports of a human travelling with Starscream.

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Notes:

Part 1 of my alternate scenes for the "Catching Up With The Autobots" chapter from my "Haunting The Nemesis" Series.

If you didn't get the spiel from the original chapter, here you go:

I had a very different plan when I was originally going into that chapter. But I ended up changing it to what is now currently in canon-continuity because of reasons and plot...(all that dumb stuff)

Aka, if the Autobots knew about Danny before the June incident, they would have fought tooth and nail to get Danny out of Decepticon custody. And I decided that wouldn't work for my plot. But I had already made so much content for this that I'm going to post the few scenes I made for it here!

This chapter is not canon 
(much like most of the chapters in this fic)

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~5 months earlier~

Ratchet was in the middle of recalibrating the GroundBridge when the Autobot comm line flared to life, accompanied by a familiar, exasperated voice.

"PRIME!" Fowler yelled through the comlink, and Ratchet winced at the sound, nearly dropping the wrench he was holding. He then down his audial receptors to continue what is bound to be a very loud conversation.

Groaning, Ratchet headed over to the old monitor with as much of an annoyed scowl as he could muster, pressing the button connecting his side of the comm. "Optimus is out on a mission, Agent Fowler. What is it that you want?" Ratchet put as much exasperation into his voice as he could. Agent Fowler was always a difficult human to deal with.

"Great. Just what I needed," Fowler grumbled. There was a brief sound of rustling papers before his voice came back again. "Well, Doc Bot, maybe you can explain this one. We've got reports—get this—of one of your Decepticon friends flying around with a human in the cockpit!"

Ratchet paused, tinkering with another piece of tech that happened to be within his reach, his optics narrowing up at Fowler's icon on the screen. " Flying around with a human ? That's preposterous. Which Decepticon are we talking about here?"

"Starscream." Fowler practically spat the name, likely still upset over the instance when the Con had kidnapped him for information. "And before you ask, I've already triple-checked the reports. There's even a photo."

A moment later, Ratchet's console pinged with an incoming file. He pulled it up, squinting at the grainy image that materialized on the screen. It showed Starscream mid-flight, and Inside his cockpit was a blurry shadow—just indistinct enough to leave Ratchet uncertain.

"This is... hardly conclusive," Ratchet said, gesturing dismissively at the photo, even if Fowler couldn't see the action. "It could be anything: an optical illusion, debris, or simply poor resolution. Humans are notorious for overactive imaginations." He scoffed.

"Oh, give me a break," Fowler shot back. "My intel team doesn't report on optical illusions. And the eyewitness who got this shot? Said the figure moved like a person!"

Ratchet resisted the urge to sigh. "Were there any scans taken? Any life signs? Starscream is not a Decepticon known for caring around humans in his cockpit. He despises them."

Agent Fowler flipped a few more papers and got quiet all of a sudden. Ratchet raised an optic ridge at the monitor. "The scans revealed zero life signs." The agent relented

Ratchet nodded. "Well then, unless Starscream is taking to carry around human corpses in his cockpit. I assure you, Agent Fowler, this is nothing more than a coincidence."

"Coincidence my—" Fowler cut himself off, clearly trying to rein in his temper.

"You know what, Agent Fowler. Fine, I'll alert the team when they return. If there is anything to investigate, I'm sure Optimus will see to it. But, for the record, I still believe this is a misunderstanding."

"Sure, sure," Fowler replied dryly. "You keep telling yourself that. But I want any information you guys come across."

Ratchet nodded, just wanting this conversation to be done. "Understood."

"Good. Fowler out."

The line clicked off, and Ratchet allowed himself a moment of peace before muttering, "Humans. Always jumping to the most absurd conclusions..." He turned back to his work before glancing back up at the blurry shadow in the cockpit. There was no way that Starscream would ever let an organic fly with him... Would he?