Grain of Flight [[Starscream+Firefly]]

[Firefly]

((Someplace in Arizona, Novemeber 15, 2027))

Sand. That's all. Sand. Out of all the different landscapes she could have flown over, all the different terrain she could have landed on, she chose to fly over sand, some of the most abrasive stuff she's run across in her couple of days here. Mud was too squishy, and a pain to clean off, but it didn't scratch, at least. Then there was grass. Living plants, that she had to step on. Those poor, poor little life-forms. Trees caught her wings. Birds... she didn't even want to think about that. Snow, on top of the mountains... Cold, but soft. Concrete was like hard sand. Faintly abrasive, but almost as great as rock, which itself was smooth, flat, and absorbed temperature from the surrounding areas. Comfortable. Almost familiar.

Sand, though, was extremely abrasive. And annoying. And picked up in wind. Fortunately, there was little wind as she flew through the air, and few birds. Great place to fly. Horrible place to land. Arizona. Constantly changing landscape, sure. She just happened to be over the sand. And obsessing over it. Silly femme.

Her black form shifted in the cloudless sky as she faintly leaned, air brushing over her form gently. She did like the air pressure here. Not too much, not too little, just enough to give a very, very, very faint little hug against her highly-sensitive plates. The air was warmer here, the hug slightly lighter, the sun glowing on the black, the red accents shining in the light. She didn't know the difference between now and any other season, of course. She'd have to work on the alt form a bit more, also. She didn't want to be too stand-out ish, but she wanted to be... Well, herself. It was faintly unfair.

A quick, nearly-impossible flip and a twist, and she was facing the opposite direction. Not flying back, but she didn't want to run out of desert. She also didn't want to land. Why end the flight, anyway? No, this would do fine.

She wasn't paying attention to her scanner. Not much past immediate collision. A habit she'd have to build, for sure. But for now, too late.

[Starscream]

Starscream was out for a leisurely flight, alone with his brooding thoughts as he traveled from state to state, exploring previous battle locations and considering and re-considering possible new hide outs. Eventually he entered Arizona. The F22 with Cybertronian markings flew at a semi low altitude for a jet so he could get a good look at the landscape, a similar level as Firefly. Unlike Firefly, he didn't fancy ANYTHING about Earth really. The weather was annoying, and humans and technology still seemed very primitive to him, well other than things like the AI vehicle K.A.R.R he had ordered be revived for their usage some several years ago.

He let out a soft Cybertronian grumble as he flew on, alone as always. No one ever willingly gave him company nor did he care much, but then again flying alone got boring. He knew humans appreciated the romance of flying, but he never cared about it in that sense, it wsa just another way to get around. Still, it would be nice to have some company occasionally. At least Allomus had offered something of a friendship about a month ago, and he was glad that so far the rotorcraft hadn't given him many problems.

As he reflected on this and how desolate it was out here away from the cities, Starscream detected Firefly's unique signal. Another neutral. Definitely Cybertronian. He didn't see that much. Intrigued, he leveled himself with her current altitude and approached steadily, though not at an alarming rate. When he was curious, he didn't attack recklessly, especially if this femme could be of use to him should she not have loyalty to either faction yet. He wondered what she was like, it was rare to see a female flier, especially a jet. There was Mindwarp but he didn't speak to her much, as her sheer size was a biiiit daunting and annoying at the same time (not that it stopped him from giving orders or anything). Then there was just one other he could immediately think of.

He hailed to her with a 'ping' over the radio. Starscream would be barely in sight from the rear at about Firefly's five o'clock. But he did not speak since she was likely aware of his Decepticon signal. What would she do? Starscream was genuinely curious, for the moment, because it had been ages since he had tried interacting with a femme without some other objective/motive in mind already.

[Firefly]

The mech, which she had not noticed in her obliviousness, had floated to a spot behind her, where normally he would be just out of vision. However, her sensitive plating wasn't a design flaw - all around vision was one of the advantages, and she could see him fine. She didn't tell him that, though. Besides, she had to actually focus to see all around her at once - all this helped was save her from having to maneuver to see what was around her.

Anyway. He'd pinged her. That's what made her notice him in the first place. And he was a Seeker, and a Decepticon. Exactly the type that had given Seekers such a horrible reputation, and forced her trine to work harder for everything they did. However, she didn't want to impose the same stereotypes that everybody she'd ever met had imposed on her. Stereotypes may exist for a reason, but the reason didn't always apply to all. He was probably fine. She wouldn't know. He hadn't attacked, at least. That was a good sign, right?

So, she would reply. In her native language, because he was a Decepticon, and they likely preferred Cybertronian - and her Cybertronian wasn't far differed from theirs, despite the planet difference. It wasn't like there were a hundred life spans in the middle. Just one. So, if anything, only the melodious tone she'd adapted on her planet would indicate anything of her origin. But yeah. <~"Hello there."~> Okay, so, maybe she didn't say much, but it was Cybertronian. Perhaps she was over thinking this? But then, she didn't know anything, so perhaps over thinking something was good. Maybe she was too friendly? Maybe she should have demanded a name? Or something like that? That wouldn't exactly be friendly, though. She didn't want him on bad terms. Neutral was fine. Combat was not her goal. While technically she was an Autobot, she still felt like a neutral, and still gave off that signal. Hopefully her Neutral behavior didn't tick off the Autobots. They didn't exactly trust her.

Turning sideways in the air, she slowed down, clearing the other Seeker's wingspan and, hopefully, ending up behind him - so that she could at least pretend she was trying to look at her potential enemy. If a fight started, she would want him where she could see him - and she didn't want him to know of her abilities yet, as every advantage counted. She didn't know what he'd do, so she'd have to play the curious puppy for now.

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[Starscream]

<~"This is Decepticon Second in Command Starscream. What is your designation? I do not recognize you from either faction."~> Starscream watched Firefly make a wide turn but did not move from his current flight path. He would make peace with her unless the tides changed.

He surveyed the sandy terrain and flew lower, beginning to descend. Much lower, and lower still. He made wide turns, scanning for life signs and any potential Energon traces. Few Energon traces were here, and life signs as well. Pretty desolate out here beyond the cities and towns. Nice and warm though. Perhaps he should pay a visit. But he wouldn't stay long, sand was bad for circuitry.

Well, she had a pretty voice, that was for sure. Her alternate mode was nice too. Was she a Seeker? Most Cybertronian jets had the reputation of being such, save for the Aerialbots.

[Firefly]

Starscream. Everything that she'd ever heard of the evil of Seekers - which, surprisingly, wasn't as much as she'd hoped to learn - had pointed almost directly at him. But he didn't seem as bad as "urban legend" dictated.

As a side note, she was trying to get used to earth language and colloquialisms. Odd, they were.

Besides. His greeting was already slighty... 'warmer'... than Prowl's had been. Most of them were. She should start a list. As such, she chose to respond. <~"I go by designation Firefly. And yes, I am currently a neutral entity to your war."~> She wasn't sure how much she'd share with the seeker, but this he... Basically already knew. So yeah.

She had followed him in the air after flipping behind him, but when he descended, she decided... Not to. She didn't need to get too close to the sand. Nasty little grains of torturous foot abuse. So instead she looped in the air largely, enjoying the pull of the air over the jet. This was, supposedly, about as aerodynamic as humans got, these jets. Most any of their higher level jets, really. She was fortunate to have gotten one such jet on her incoming, really. Starscream's alt form was also one of said higher level jets, but designed by an entirely different human branch.

They were so fragmented it was ridiculous. But still. She was certain they'd survived somehow. She'd have to find how, if she were to stay here. Besides, worst comes to worst, she may have to blend into this society at some point. The thought of walking on their surfaces, even in her holoform, made her shudder. Hopefully she'd get used to it eventually.

[Starscream]

Starscream acknowledged her response as he on the flat sandy area void of population in Arizona. It was so dead here, and Primus it was hot. He could feel the heat rising off his armor. His wings bristled a bit as he completed his transformation and looked around with his beady optics. Nothing, absolutely nothing. <~"Neutral. Noted."~> he assumed the Firefly knew about both factions well. He glanced up towards her general position in the air. <~"If you want to land at some point, I won't bite. I have no reason to go after a neutral for now. There is nothing here."~>

Like always, he was just glad to be out on his own, and if an opportunity came to prove himself, he certainly would take it. If the female turned out to be a threat, he would take her down without remorse - he would show domination if he could get it.

((btw you're up in Logic.))

[Firefly]

In response to his... Invitation? She pulled around, heading toward him, but not straight at him, transforming swiftly and switching her flight thrust from her alt mode the her bipedal flight systems, slowing and gradually falling toward the ground. <~"Only problem with landing, is that the terrain on the planet has yet to impress me."~> Her transformation looked vaguely like a minor explosion of thousands of tiny plates fitted together to allow the greatest possible flexibility - in the end shaping to a tall, slender humanoid figure, as she carefully lowered herself to a point where her feet were about two feet above the sand at a minimum, as she hovered there, a good fifteen to twenty feet away.

Starscream's bipedal form was unique of the Cybertronian ones she'd seen so far. Not ugly, just not... Graceful. Sharp edges spoke of power, and the wider surface area in the torso indicated a slight hint of overconfidence, seeing as it created a larger target. Of course, she was putting Paradronian ideals on a Cybertronian form. She wasn't sure what typical Cybertronian ideals were. Probably mostly the same, but she was certain that there were differences. Every culture has differences, even if the cultures aren't far separated.

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[Starscream]

"You get used to it after a while." Starscream replied with a light shrug, watching her land. Primus there was nothing to do out here! He hoped that would soon change but who knew for sure, Decepticon and Autobot activity had been at a low point for years now. "You are welcome to join our cause, we would always welcome another flier." It seemed like Firefly had potential as a flier with a fighter jet alternate mode. He'd like to test that at some point, but for now he knew it was better to just get to know her. "Unless of course, you already know about us and declined to remain a neutral party. But really, what is a Cybertronian with out loyalty? They seldom serve good purpose if they are not sided with one of the factions." Of course he didn't know that she was from Paradron, that would certainly take him by surprise if he did find out at some point during this meet.

[Firefly]

Heh. Get used to it. Maybe if he had billions of extra high-sensitivity sensors dotted through his armor, he'd understand her dilemma. Despite that, she allowed herself to fall to the sand, flipping off flight systems abruptly. She nearly immediately cringed as hundreds of thousands of tiny little pings of sand hit her system at the same time. She tried her best to ignore the constant grating feeling on each of the sensors, but it was... Difficult. Turning them off, however... She didn't really want to.

Forcing herself back to the situation - and not the foot one - she attempted to look at the shorter seeker squarely, while thinking carefully about a response, still trying to push the sandy distraction out of her mind. "I... admittedly know very little about the Decepticons themselves. All I know is that they are the reason the people on my planet are... Well, on my planet. I also know the people back home are not particularly fond of the word, be it the thought, mentioning, idea, or telling of. So... Yeah, I'm pretty in the dark. About a lot." Probably not something to go telling everybody, but... Hey, she kinda liked the mech so far. Didn't seem too bad. Maybe, even if she did find a home amongst the Autobots, they could find some way to be friends... Though, from what she'd heard, that was very highly unlikely. "However, my trine will probably already be upset at me for running away to war... Especially if I were to join the Decepticons. I must decline, Commander, if only for preservation from my own trine."

A slight gust of wind chose that moment to sweep across the desert, picking up more sand and, unfortunately, peppering sensors over her form with it, and distracting her once again. She definitely liked the air more.

[Starscream]

Well, slag. He was out of luck there. "Why did you leave them, may I ask? Wait, you come from a different planet?!" Starscream was surprised at that, no wonder she seemed out of the flight pattern! "Oh, that explains everything then. Well, if you want to be effective AND helpful in this war, you best choose a side before long, else you won't have much power in the action. If you want to be on the sidelines and hop in whenever you think its necessary, suit yourself. It would be a shame to fight such a powerful looking figure as yourself, however."

He didn't have to look up that much at her, and he wasn't intimidated obviusly - he had met bigger femmes before. "But do know there isn't much left fighting for on either faction as far as we know, things have been very quiet since most of the fleshlings here have accepted up. More and more Cybertronians make home here everyday. Some of them fear we are invading their planet, which in a way it would seem we are." of course Starscream wouldn't tell her that such rumors had been a goal of Megatron's at some point, but there weren't enough Decepticons to act on it now, and many humans were increasing their possessions of weaponry.

[Firefly]

This... Wasn't the direction she'd wanted the conversation to go. But she took it in stride, only hesitating a moment before responding, her accented voice lilting only slightly as she put up a defensive facade. "I left because I didn't belong there. That is all you need to know. My home was a peaceful planet, Paradron. We were some of the last Seekers there." She left out certain things. For example, the location of Paradron. She wasn't gonna give him that freedom, to ruin her home. No, that would remain unknown. As would the fact that it was primarily an Autobot planet.

So the war was at a standstill. Could she believe what he said? She doubted it. It was Starscream, after all. But she had to admit, she kinda liked him. He was... Charming, in an odd kinda way. Of course, his attempt at flattery was appreciated. Not that she was vain or anything; of course not. But every girl loves a little flattery. Or, in this case, femme. It was a sweet thing, even if it came from a Decepticon.

There was no way she could like a Decepticon... Was there?

Of course, the train of though was very quickly interrupted as Starscream continued, and Firefly laughed a bit. "I can imagine such small, helpless little creatures would be a bit intimidated by us, wouldn't they? Even smaller members of our kind are enough to cause faintness from fright." It wasn't condescension in her tone - she kind of admired the human race, even if their physical stature wasn't all that great. She didn't let her admiration show, either. She attempt to appear... Well, neutral on the matter. Neutrality made a good survival tactic, after all. And the commander was still a threat, even if he didn't appear as such right now.

He was shockingly personable, though.

Maybe, when they parted, they could meet up again somewhere.

That wasn't so impossible... Was it?

... Moonbeam would ground her for such thoughts...

[Starscream]

Paradron, how interesting...He'd heard stories of the planet before, but those stories dissappeared into a forgotten void of darkness once War started on Cybertronian. Some Cybertronians, of the later Generations anyway, didn't believe such a planet existed, that it was all rumor and fluff. Starscream didn't doubt it, but of course like many he had been unable to prove the stories he'd heard nor yield its location.

"Indeed, they all appear inferior, but these organics are smarter than I thought. Some welcome our precense, others don't - and we've seen more of that lately. We all felt a sense of belonging on Cybertron, but times have changed and thusly Earth has become much more valuable to us because of organics and what the planet has to offer. Maybe Earth will feel more homey to you, maybe not, but it all depends on what you choose to do during your time here. And really, this is it. Cybertron is a mess, there would be no point in living there."

He studied Firefly further, interest growing. Oh how he could use another jet at his side (particularly female!), rather than those slaggin' rotorcraft, noisy, sometimes unreliable, and certainly on the temperamental side. The other Seekers were out hunting for Energon supplies in locations other than Earth and he had not heard from them for a while. So all in all, he was a bit lonely, and felt like he truly deserved a chance to work with his 'kind', as in the fixed wing group....

[Firefly]

This wasn't it. Not really. There were plenty of other potential planets, if the bots decided to colonize, and, of course, there was her home. She couldn't go back, but certainly others could... She still wasn't going to give the location, though. She wasn't ready to forsake the planet to war, even if her home was ready to strip her, stake her, claim her as corrupted, and throw her to the scrap heap. That might be a bit over dramatic, but it was, seemingly, her fate.

However, she grinned a moment, shaking her head shortly before offering an amused response. "Earth... I dunno, I'd need a couple of minor... Modifications... if I'm going to stay here long. I've got sensitive feet, and this ground is not all that sensitive." She forced weight onto the less-sensitive outer toes for a moment, wiggling the inner support structures as emphasis, before quickly easing herself back onto the weight-bearing structure in her foot. That got a bit of sand that she hadn't even noticed was there out. She was gonna have to clean that up... Ugh.

She glanced at the other Seeker as he looked her over, almost appraisingly. With an amused twitch of her split-wings, top and bottom sets twitching in opposite directions, she resisted he urge to pose. She'd had mechs eying her from two different categories, primarily. Either they hated her, seeing as she was both a seeker, and moderately successful as an entertainer, or because they found her and/or her trine interesting. Not necessarily in a good way, but it made her WANT to be obnoxious about it, merely because... Well, it was annoying. But she didn't. She was actually faintly amused, even if annoyed.

She couldn't figure out whether he was measuring her up as a battle opponent, a potential ally, or both.

This could turn interesting. She liked that.

[Starscream]

"Our base is more comfortable." Starscream replied with a brief smile that looked more like a smirk. "The weather takes some getting used to, but after a while you get used to it, same with the delicate ground. Since we are both gifted with flight and possess ground bridges at the base, I can show you around. We are currently blessed with lots of downtime. My fellow Seekers are out and about in Space searching for Energon, while I search for more here. We have located traces of it here and there, but I have not searched much beyond this particular continent, the Middle East, and Canada, up North." he explained. "In due time we are likely to have a secondary base, or at least, my Seekers will once I decide on a location, and anything goes for the Autobots." Starscream shrugged at that note. "They have a couple locations, one on the East Coast, one in another country. We kept ourselves well apart for obvious reasons, given our long history as a race torn two ways."

[Firefly]

He was inviting her to their base. Should she accept? Should she say 'Maybe Later'? Was this a trap? She wasn't sure what to say to the invite. She wasn't sure if she was nervous because of the risk to her life, or nervous because he was one of the friendliest bots she'd met so far, and likely the only that wouldn't judge her for being a killer. She smiled, hesitantly.

"That sounds... Interesting. I mean, did you want to go now, or...? I'm just not sure I'm really comfortable, quite yet... I do appreciate the invitation, and I do find it interesting, but... I have my reservations. I'm sure you can understand that... Right?" As a side note, though, if the ground there was actually decent, she'd be glad to go if only to rest her poor foot sensors. But then, she also wasn't sure.

Was he trying to convince her to join them? Or was he just trying to convince her to join him?

He wasn't arguing the Decepticon cause... So far, just aerial superiority and living space. He didn't say anything about the Decepticon leader, didn't even suggest her serving under him. So far, he just seemed to indicate that he wanted her.

But maybe she was reading too deeply into it? Maybe he was trying to get her to join them, just not in a direct route. It would be the best tactic, anyway, seeing as she had already said no to the direct route. To continue advertising the direct route would be silly. He was a smart mech.

He was a seeker.

This could get interesting.

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