The ship held a quiet hum, so 'normal' and uninterrupted it was like nothing had happened at all.
Not that a non-sentient machine would really be affected by the events of its occupants but it just felt remarkably… fine.
Gavin had clung to the bat he'd picked up, mindlessly staring at the room around him but none of it registered, he was vaguely aware of something leaving but that was it.
Everything else was a blur with zero focus.
He'd barely heard the small whimper that escaped him when his position on the seat changed, his body stiffly sliding down in the chair until he was just curled up, over the arms and into the seat.
He must've fallen asleep again, or blacked out.
Cyclonus on the other hand had gone straight to bed after all that.
Blobs, weird people who were fluent in the ancient tongue of his people.
Big-horned boss.
It weighed heavily on his chest as he lay flat and quiet in his bed, staring at the ceiling.
Just like Gavin time left him and he eventually fell asleep.
Gavin awoke quickly.
He recognised the ship and finally understood generally the last few memories he had before collapsing on the chair.
He was probably unwelcome here too, not that he was welcome anywhere, he never was, he should jus- No, no more of that, not right now.
Gavin's hands tightened around the bat, his knuckles going white with effort.
It was something tangible.
It was strong.
It could protect him.
It made him feel safer more importantly.
And it quelled intrusive thoughts.
The pilot's room was empty and Gavin straightened out his clothes and the awkwardly placed backpack until they were resting on him properly.
The door was open, so he left.
Somewhere deep in his chest, he knew he didn't really want to face Cyclonus again.
Not right now anyway.
It was an inevitable encounter, but he could attempt to waylay it.
He knew the direction he wanted, he could remember enough of this ship to move through it.
At least to two places.
But now it was to the bedroom.
The four doors welcomed him ominously like looming figures.
Curiosity and some pang of worry lead him to glance at the door opposite his.
Still well-used, seemingly the only one of the four that had been opened much at all.
The other three held a neat, pristine quality as if not a soul had touched them.
At least the other occupied door didn't open when Gavin opened his, the door still reacting to him. No doubt the only place here that would react to him.
It was just as he left it, empty but with a hint of a mess.
The backpack was rolled off his shoulders and another orange consumed.
It was hard.
He didn't know what to do, not that he did much in the first place.
But here, here he was really at a loss.
It wasn't like he could just fiddle with things until he found something to do.
Nothing here was written in a way he understood, and he understood nothing of the ship.
He didn't want to go pressing just any button, they'd either not respond to him or cause something bad to happen.
Gavin already had a lingering knot in the gut telling him he was in for it the moment he caused more trouble than he was no doubt in.
He really was lost on ideas here.
"Uh, Computer! Time?" It worked on TV maybe it would work here.
…
It was worth a shot.
Outside nothing but stars sailed past like a permanent night-sky, offering no help whatsoever.
Well, a planet in the distance was an intense shade of magenta and for the time it lazily passed them by its oddness provided a few moments of interest before the quiet embrace of the room came back in.
It didn't help, Gavin twiddled with his fingers.
He felt like something HAD to happen, it just HAD to, right?
It couldn't be hours of nothing happening, that would be boring.
He pulled off his sweater, back down to his t-shirt.
It didn't last long his arms felt itchy and bad so he had to put it back on.
One day he'd be better with his body, but not today.
Once more, stood in the strange empty room.
He was in space now.
That was something, right?
It should be, yet it felt like he was in a familiar void of just… no idea.
That was it, it seemed.
A day of literally doing nothing.
Well, there was a bathroom, a day of nothing but cleaning, probably.
It was better than nothing.
In the other room, similar thoughts were happening but through a different mind and other experiences.
Cyclonus scrubbed as his arm one last time.
There was nothing left on it but he felt better to wash and scrub at the slightly smoother areas left by the blobs touch.
Normally his exo-plates were rough but now there were unfamiliar patches of smooth like the blob had been gradually eating away at him.
He exhaled a sharp breath through his teeth.
Back to sleep.
Outside he heard a soft thump.
Another door.
That bloody alien, the human.
No, that was a problem for later, he could just deal with it when he went to go get something to eat.
Which he could do later as well.
He could just do everything later, there wasn't anything for him to do either.
He had no water filter to replace, he'd lost the damn thing and that's beside the point.
He didn't WANT to do anything.
His bed suffered a quick, irate kick and a mumbled word of anger.
He perched on the side of it and looked to his bedside table.
Without a second thought he grabbed the photo on it and turned it towards the wall, he'd already felt bad enough over the past day he didn't want another pang of guilt looking at that.
Though he immediately felt guilty for turning it around, like the action was of supreme disrespect and he swivelled the image around again.
Maybe he should just avoid the picture's gaze.
He hadn't spoken to his family for so long.
Refusing to look anywhere other than the picture frame Cyclonus grabbed a datapad and looked through it for potential things to do.
The info bar at the top of the screen flashed out to him with an alluring call of activity and things to do.
Thumbing at the device he was only briefly confused when it brought up a calendar rather than a to-do note.
It was still something to do.
Yet it made him glance to the photo of his parents, it was a communal event his calendar was alerting him to.
There came that guilty pang again.
It wasn't like he meant to put it off for so long…
With a bite to his lip, he looked at the calendar again, the festival was starting tomorrow.
While not his exact thoughts Cyclonus knew exactly what he was feeling when he had an idea of what to do next.
Call Swindle, ask about the big-horned-boss thing and pretend he wasn't so lonely at the same time.
Mentally apologising to the photograph of his family once more, Cyclonus got up and left for the control room.
A few strides and he was swinging his chair around and sitting in it, pulling up his communication screen.
He'd sat down quite hard and pulled up a screen in one motion, the noise drowned out anything else in the room but he could still hear.
The screen was already flashing as it rang but it was not enough to drown out the sound of hard breaths as the alien breathed heavily through its odd nasal cavity.
Cyclonus quietly peered over his shoulder, it really was the damn human.
Still here, like a hard to treat case of Rust Mites.
It refused to look at him though, across its lap it held onto a wooden bat tightly as if the object was its lifeline. Certainly seemed like it acted as his lifeline to reality as the human's eyes were wide and clearly glazed with a layer of panic.
The screen hummed and brought Cyclonus's attention away as Swindle somehow managed to fill the screen with his shit-eating grin.
"Well hooooowdy there pal!" For some reason, he was still speaking in the Earthen tongue, "What do I owe this call to?"
Cyclonus found himself silently staring at the other Decepticon like a sudden block had materialised in his brain as it tried to wrap around this… life.
"You rang to stare mindlessly at me? Well, whatever keeps me distracted…" Swindle frowned glancing over his shoulder "Oh! I see you still have your little friend, not dead yet it seems or scared off, are you acting nicer to people now?"
"No, It just ended up back on my ship, I don't know I was a bit distracted by some Korlonium Acid you know" Cyclonus eventually responded.
Having turned to look at the aliens once he was mentioned, Gavin caught Swindles face melt into a look of horror at the name of this substance.
"What! Korlonium? You KNOW that stuff is not sold an-" His words began to run together as he babbled against this substance.
"I found some at Unicron's Head" Cyclonus interrupted him, "Someone had sold it, and the buyer has intents to use it for its 'intended purpose', something about a 'big-horned boss' I think we can gather a few hints there"
Swindle's face fell before a disgusted sneer pulled across his face.
The camera went black for a while but the speakers still broadcast shuffling and alien squeaks, until a distressed squawk announced the screen turning back on.
Thunderhoof was now on-screen, arm on Swindle as he used his height and weight to lean on and press down on the latter.
"So… Yous gots somethin' for me?" He had a much more cheery sneer on his face "Good thing you rang then, my… Buddy here was showing me his… discount stock if yous knows what I mean, a little, eh, compensation y'know?"
Swindle grunted and pushed Thunderhoof to the side. Well, he attempted it.
"Well of course! You're looking at the best dealer around!" He ignored the disbelieving scoffs that line earned, "Hell I'm sure I can get some nice little Earth goods for the small one there!" He winked "Won't cost a pretty Shanix! I assume you have some by now..."
Cyclonus ignored him and Gavin stared blankly, at the very least he'd figured out Shanix was some kind of money as Cyclonus began explaining what happened.
Apparently he was just going back to his ship when a barrel of this Korlonium sailed past and he went to investigate, he explained how he was 'vastly outnumbered' - A line Gavin frowned at, he didn't remember that many creeps hanging about with the slug - and how that was cause for him to leave it for a better day.
Thunderhoof nodded listening to all of it.
"Huh so 'e thinks yous workin' for me? Well, I'm sure I can afford your services, I got a job or two yous can take" He pondered.
"Fuck off" Cyclonus was unimpressed.
"Well then I can hire th' tiny one, for the best with Korlonium, Lerge thinks 'e can take over my empire! Hah!" Thunderhoof jabbed a finger at the screen
"Fuck off" Gavin parroted.
"Well ain't that all fine and dandy!" Swindle shoved himself back on-screen, clasping his hands together, "I'm sure Thunderhoof now has to go think of a way to deal with this as I leave! I'm assuming you're heading back too?"
Cyclonus grunted.
"Well, I'M heading back home, no better time to mend some issues during a festival, right?" He grinned widely before it fell a little "Plus I can fix some Combaticon-issues under the friendly guise"
"Oh yeah, the Festival a' Trypticon" Thunderhoof never left the room it seemed and Swindle looked like he could shrink back into his shell "I'm sure my new bestest bud here can take me back to partake while 'e shows me more o' his 'special offers'?"
Swindle scowled all conversation leaving him as he flicked off the screen and let the silence roar back through the ship.
