Fandom: Transformers IDW AU with a dose of Bayverse and G1
Author: gatekat and starsheild on LJ
Pairing: Drift/Windswept
Rating: PG-13
Codes: AU, Slash
Summary: Drift saves a life. He has no idea what he's just set off.
Disclaimer: The authors are only playing with their own twisted muses. Transformers belong to Hasbro. Fandom-side, check the a href="."inspirations page/a We draw from a ton of amazing stories and authors you should read.
Notes: nanoklik = 1/8 second; klik = 496 nanokliks/62 seconds; breem = 8 kliks/8.27 minutes; groon = 9 breem/1.24 hours; joor = 6 groon/7.44 hours; orn = 42 joor/13.02 days; decaorn = 32 orns/1.14 years; metacycle = 8 decaorn/9.22 years; vorn = 9 metacycles/72 decaorn/83 years; century = 96 vorns/7968 years; millennia = 1056 centuries/101,376 vorns/7,944,096 years (7.944 million years)
::text:: comm chatter
~text~ hardline/bond chatter

Honor's Demands 01: Waking with Purpose

Awareness came slowly, the integration and realization of each new system coming online for the first time registering as fact. If the individual experiencing it had anything to compare it to he might have labeled it as odd. Possibly even disconcerting.

But there was nothing to compare it to yet, so it was simply allowed to continue unimpeded.

Before anything else it was aware of its purpose. It's function, as its processor supplied the proper term.

It -he- was created to serve. And not just to serve, but to serve completely. To meet every need, want, and desire of the mech - mech? - he had been created for.

Other components of his programming came online, integrating and linking with the rest of his systems. Readings that really meant nothing to the mech who was receiving them continued to come back to him, only falling into what his programming told him was acceptable levels.

Something more- the terms for what he was experiencing being supplied by base files and coding.

Touch.

Sound.

Sight.

Blue optics came online to a very new world.

A tall, slender creature - a mech - of deep red with golden glyphs stood to one side. His face was calm.

"Welcome to the functioning. Do you know your designation?"

The one in question paused, already instinctively wanting to please and knowing that a correct answer would fulfill that need. Base coding provided the meaning of the question, and the answer as well.

"Windswept."

"Welcome to Cybertron, Windswept," the Priest smiled down at him and offered a slender hand to assist Windswept to stand for the first time. "Your custodian is ready to take you to your new home."

Windswept took the offered hand, rising smoothly to his feet and pausing to look around once he was steady. Programming told him that he was safe for the moment, safe with this mech and safe in this room.

He wasn't entirely sure where he was, only that it was good. Accessing files, a new exercise for him, he looked. His purpose was to serve. He wanted to serve. And that meant leaving this safety.

"I am ready."

The priest smiled and guided him from the room, not once trying to remove his hand from the newly sparked mech's. In the chamber outside the first one an elegant white and green mech stood with an aura of infinite patience and cool professionalism.

"Windswept, this is Trajectory. He will be your custodian until you reach your new home," the priest explained and gently encouraged Windswept to go to the new mech.

Windswept moved obediently to stand before the new mech, head tilted at a slight angle as he studied his keeper openly and without fear. A head taller than Windswept in height, but lighter in mass, Trajectory was of very high quality construction.

No one had done anything to discourage him from learning, and this was just another new thing to be inspected and integrated into his function. Programming told him that this mech was safe enough as well.

When the new mech's medium blue optics focused on him that same programming pushed his frame into the proper response, presenting himself for inspection, his head bowing respectfully as he stood straight and silent. The light tingle of a scan washed over him as Trajectory walked purposefully around him in a slow circuit.

"Good, it seems your spark has integrated properly," Trajectory said, content with the newly sparked mech. He turned and bowed to the priest before placing a hand on Windswept's shoulder. "Come, Windswept. Drift has traveled far while you were constructed and approved of."

Content with the fact that he had pleased the mech he was answering to in the moment, Windswept allowed himself to be led long peacefully. His processor was working the whole time though, and finally he dared a quiet question. "Drift?"

"The mech you were commissioned to serve, and I was tasked with finding and delivering you to," Trajectory answered easily as they left the temple and entered the brightly lit streets of a rebuilt Iacon. "Datafile 45732.906723 and its linked files should contain what we know of him."

Windswept immediately accessed the files, curious to know who it was that his programming was already urging him to seek and serve as he was created to. The image files made his spark pulse quicken and many parts of his frame tingle with an extra charge.

"Arousal," Trajectory told him before transforming. "A good thing as you will serve him in the berth."

Windswept paused, studying what the mech had just done, and quickly finding the appropriate file that allowed him to do the same, concentrating very hard as he transformed for the first time.

It was not unpleasant, as it was something he was clearly meant to do, parts of himself folding and rearranging into his alt mode. Smaller than his companion, and sturdy. A grounder design clearly intended to cover any sort of terrain it encountered, and to do so swiftly.

Curious, Windswept pushed his engine, feeling the vibration rumble through his frame as he held his place.

A ping came to a new system, quickly identified as his comm. He fumbled a bit as he found the correct protocols, then opened the requested channel.

::Good. You are learning quickly. We are going to the spaceport where my ship is ready to depart. There will be time to explore your frame and files fully once as launch.::

::Apologies,:: Windswept offered instantly, his entire frame sinking in submission momentarily. ::I will follow.::

A small databurst worked through his processors as they pulled into traffic, but his attention was drawn first to why his lights were all blinking.

::You are new to the road. It is a visual warning to more experienced mecha that they should give you extra leeway. Your transponder tells them the same. The lights will no longer be automatic when you have driven one hundred and twenty four joors. The transponder after one thousand and ninety six.::

Windswept found himself very thankful for that fact. He rather felt like he was on display, even after being informed that this was something that everyone experienced when they were new to functioning.

After a little while, when he was more comfortable, he turned some of his attention to the information he had been sent. ::So I was wrong in apologizing?:: He finally asked.

::It was unnecessary,:: Trajectory confirmed as well as shaded the level of the mistake. ::Drift values strength and competency above all else. While he will expect you to submit to his wishes, he will not be pleased by an apology he has not demanded. It is a distinction we will spend time working to accustom you to.::

::Thank you.:: The thanks was made from the deepest parts of Windswept's spark, driven by his coding and his own personal nature.

Conversation stopped then, as the newly onlined mech's complete attention was demanded by the increasing traffic around the spaceport. Even with other travelers being careful to give him extra consideration and his keeper leading the way, giving him plenty of notice of turns and exits, it was difficult to navigate. Trajectory led them into a lighter traffic area with many small ships docked in towers before transforming to walk inside of one.

They passed smoothly between mecha and a few organics of various sizes and shapes to pause at a desk where Trajectory spoke quietly with the mech on duty there.

Windswept watched with open interest as the mech behind the desk cross-referenced the information he was being given with what was stored in his terminal. After a very short time he nodded at Trajectory, informing him of slot in the departure queue and wishing him safe travel to his destination.

Their business complete, Windswept made sure stayed on his keepers heels as he was led into the dock proper. It absolutely bustled with activity, but of a very different kind from before. Here were mecha and robots doing their function; repairing ships, fueling and supplying them, checking for damage and all manner of activities that had them move with purpose and precision.

Through it all Trajectory moved with similar purpose, but never so fast for his charge to be rushed in experiencing his first orn of existence. Despite his ship being halfway across the complex, they never transformed to drive there. It gave Windswept plenty of time to get used to reading and matching transponders to mecha, robots, vehicles and organics.

It was even enough time to begin to match the additional data of intended movement and action with some of the transponders, particularly of the robots.

"If you continue to enjoy learning, a mecha can spend their entire existence, even one as long as Alpha Trion or Kup's, learning by observing the universe around them," Trajectory spoke as his own transponder, tuned to send extra data to Windswept, indicated the vessel they were going to. "Drift is not a scholar, but that does not mean you will ever need to stop learning by observation. He does value practical knowledge and the skill of noticing the environment."

Windswept nodded in understanding, filing that away to contemplate once they were on the ship, the initial connections, thoughts, and conclusions it was leading him to proving to be very interesting and far too distracting in the moment.

He was enjoying integrating the world around him, and being encouraged to do so just fueled the flames. If his new master would let him function as this, looking-seeing-serving, he was sure he would always be content.

A short falter in his step as he observed two mecha with raised voices, one of the waving expressively at something on a shuttle that they were not agreeing on. He glanced at Trajectory, curious to see what his keeper would make of their actions.

::A minor disagreement,:: he explained. ::You will find that, and much more aggressive versions of it, to be a common site around Drift. He is a warrior. Violence is his first language, though he has been socialized to an extent.::

::He will inform me of how I should act when something does happen?:: Windswept inquired as they reached Trajectory's ship. Even with only a rudimentary understanding of such things it seemed large enough for dozens of mecha to be comfortable inside.

::Yes,:: Trajectory answered easily as he pinged the ship to open and drop it's passenger ramp for them. "In general, you will want to stay out of the way in any fighting. In a situation like that, simply watch and learn. If you see someone come up to attack him from behind, alert him. This is my ship, the Enquirer. Crew of six with passenger space for four more."

Windswept straightened slightly, attention focused on his surroundings once more as they walked up the ramp. He could feel the faint hum of the ship around him, letting that settle in with ease.

It seemed that he had a great deal to learn just about learning.

"It will become easier with time," Trajectory offered him a faint smile as the hatch closed and locked behind them. "Would you like to watch the launch from the cockpit?"

Eager light appeared in Windswept's soft blue optics. "I would like that very much, of you will allow it." There was something about the idea of flying that he found exciting.

"I would not have offered if I was not going to permit it," Trajectory told him with a trill that mixed amusement and tolerance as he guided the new mech forward in the ship. "Others may not be so kind," he admitted as they passed through a narrow corridor with several doors leading off to each side. He databurst Windswept the floor plan of the ship, including notes as to which rooms to not go into and why.

It was then that the newly sparked mech realized why the crew was so much smaller than he'd expected. Nearly half the ship was dedicated to its engines, and more than half the remaining space was dedicated to stores of energon and supplies.

Curious, and with the time to devote to such things at the moment, Windswept started searching through his files for reasons as to the ships design and it's function.

"How long will the trip be?" He asked as they entered the cockpit, the blue mech automatically scanning for a place where he would be out of the way but still be able to see everything. The ID auto-pings identified the white and gold mech as the pilot, designation Slipwarp, while the deep blue one was the co-pilot/navigator, designation Starswept.

"If Drift does not depart from his current location we will be there within two decacycles," Slipwarp answered without looking up from his physical check of the systems he was also hardlined into by several cables. "If he does leave, it'll take longer."

"The Enquirer is notably faster than his vessel," Trajectory added as he guided Windswept to a spot where he could see what was going on and what would be a grand view out of the cockpit window without disturbing anyone. "Still, it could take upwards of six decacycles if he makes few stops and travels at near his top speed. You will have plenty of time to learn all you need to before being presented to him. There are two specialists on board to assist you with integrating the datafiles and protocols into your functioning."

Attention centered on Trajectory, Windswept's surprise clear. Two specialists? Even with his limited understanding that seemed excessive.

He knew that he had been created as a gift. A servant. All of his programming, his coding, his very spark was content with that idea.

The white and green mech chuckled as the preparation for launch continued. "It was more economical to have two this time. Since you will be out of civilized contact once you are presented to Drift it was deemed necessary for you to be more prepared than most. Most servants spend their early vorns, if not all their vorns, on Cybertron or one of the colonies where it is easy to acquire training if needed. Drift is unlikely to give you many such opportunities. He seems to rarely stay in one place long."

"I understand." He would do his best to learn all that they could teach him in the time he was with them then, that he might best please his new master.

A change in the sound of the engines caught and held his attention one more, the motion that came with the sound explaining the difference. Without understanding why Windswept found his excitement growing as they started to move upwards, stopping a couple mech-heights over the floor before gliding forward.

Windswept's vents stalled as the glittering expanse of rebuilt Iacon at dusk spread out before them.

Files supplied him with information, how it came to the way it was now, what had happened in the past. Important landmarks glowed in his vision, including the temple that he knew he had emerged from earlier that orn. The temple where his very functioning had begun; where every mech sparked in Iacon came from.

Something in the history files nagged him and he risked that Trajectory would not mind answering, even with others present. "If all mechs are sparked, why were they all not taken care of before the Great War?"

The tension in the cockpit shot up. Slipwarp and Starswept's engines both growled and their fields erupted with negative energy before they controlled themselves.

A soft vent escaped Trajectory before he responded. "Sparks were cheap. The Prime did not control his priests well and wealthy mecha took advantage of it. For a fee and the cost of a frame, you could get any frame sparked, no questions asked. Many sparks were called that were ill-suited to their function. Many mecha were discarded to fend for themselves when it became cheaper to get a new worker sparked than to repair or maintain the existing one."

Windswept cringed, the hostility something else new to his systems and not pleasant in the least. A brief flash of fear, another new feeling that he did not like at all, that he could be discarded as easily if he did not please. Still..."They grew angry?"

"We functioned through that, though being discarded," Slipwarp explained, his tone gentling as he calmed down. "There are a lot of bad memories associated with before the war and the war itself."

"Things have changed though." Windswept said quietly, feeling a little more equal with the pilots than he did with Trajectory. And wanting to be sure that this was a different time than what the limited history files he had access to at the moment spoke of.

"Yes, they have changed greatly," Starswept confirmed. "Optimus Prime cracked down on the priesthood and the production managers after he was revived. The war ended enough lives that there is work for everyone who wants it. Like the war, it's still very much part of living memory."

"I...think I understand." Windswept murmured, the unpleasant side of the world he had been brought into coming into focus as he looked over Iacon, watching as the city began to fall away beneath them. Suddenly the dark areas took on new meaning; sparks lost, entire trades destroyed, priceless history and culture obliterated.

"It's difficult to understand for most," Trajectory reassured him as space enveloped the ship. "Politics on an imperial level are treacherous even for those sparked for it."

Windswept hummed, not yet knowledgeable enough to find an answer to that statement, even if one existed. He comforted himself with the though that from what little he knew of his new master, politics if that nature were something that he would not be called upon to face often.

When the blackness of space was broken only by stars streaking by Trajectory turned to leave and motioned his charge to follow. "It's time to meet your tutors and begin your education."