Tough Love

INTERLUDE 1

Trigger Warning: non-con in the sense of unwanted sexual attention; nothing graphic!

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– starship Fool's Fortune –

"How long will it take to reach the rendezvous?"

"About a chord, possibly a chord and a half."

"I suggest we take a brief reprieve at one of the Stations. We're in need of some supplies."

"And fuel!"

Doubledealer leans back in his chair, tapping his chin. While he doesn't want to waste more time than necessary delivering his current employer's package, he can't very well deny his crew or his ship of their own necessities. He shrugs and replies...

"Fine. The mech's been waiting for millenia, he can wait a little while longer."

They plot a course for the closest Station, approximately sixty-five space miles away from their current location. When they arrive, they park their starship at one of the refueling stations, and all but Doubledealer deboard. A couple mechs remain by the ship, manually checking the exterior systems and tending to any damages, while the rest of the crew wander off to grab supplies and do whatever else they want.

Honestly, Doubledealer doesn't care what his crew gets up to, so long as it doesn't impede a job, or worse, draw attention from the Autobots.

Doubledealer sighs and shakes his helm. Thinking of that faction just rubs him the wrong way, seeing them as nothing more than goody-goody hypocrites. At least work wouldn't have become such a hassle if anyone else was in charge. Speaking of which...

"Might as well see how our precious cargo is holding up. Can't deliver damaged goods."

The mercenary rises from his seat and ventures into the depths of his ship. A hallway here, a corridor there, some twists and turns, a short lift down...

Eventually, Doubledealer finds the door to the room he's looking for, opens it, and steps inside.

"The crew decided to set up shop on a Station for a bit. Would any of you like anything while we're here?"

He then chuckles.

"Oh, right, I forgot..."

Doubledealer turns on his heel and faces a pair of stasis pods secured to the left wall, holding the unconscious forms of Steeljaw and Ramulus.

"You can't hear me."

A clattering of metal-against-metal from behind redirects the mercenary's attention. Smirking, Doubledealer turns back around.

"It's not very becoming of a spy to cause such a ruckus, you know."

"Keep your damn input to yourself!" Phantomjaw snarled, struggling against his restraints.

Doubledealer just laughs, not at all concerned by any threat the black and white Lupicon makes towards him. He walks over, saying...

"I can't believe how temperamental you are right now! The old Phantomjaw I knew would never!"

"I'm still the same as I was before," Phantomjaw argued. "Just because parts of my life are different doesn't mean that I have changed."

"If that's the case, then you wouldn't be here."

Phantomjaw takes an unintentional step back when Doubledealer gets too close. The mercenary notices this and surges forward, his speed and heavy armor providing ample conditions to pin his captive against the wall. Phantomjaw flinches as his bound servos dig into his lower back.