Units of Time
Klik - Second
Breem - Minute
Joor - Hour
Orn - Day
Decacycle - Week
Lunar Cycle - Month
Vorn - Year
Units of Distance
Cubit - Inch
Dodit - Foot
Trikobit - Yard
Cybermeter - Mile
Chapter WHY THE FUCK AM I STARTING ANOTHER THINGASDKJFHSADKJFHSKAKLDFHAS
Starscream groaned as he was dragged to the meeting with his Dominant and Winglord. It was a silent groan that only registered in the bond and caused Thundercracker to crack a smile. As much as Starscream groaned and griped about these meetings, the youngest amongst the trine loved them. Starscream's processor loved to be challenged and tested and sometimes these senate meetings did just that. The seekers had no need to be included except to show support- or rather to show that their old tradition of hunting grounders was no more- and thus most times Thundercracker stayed silent and let his submissive mate do all of the talking, not that he could speak the grounders' tongue.
Thundercracker relied on the bond with his mate to make sense of what was going on though so he didn't worry about what was being said because he understood what was important. Skywarp on the other servo struggled to stay still. He would twitch every meeting and his wings would flutter in boredom. It had gotten to the point the meetings were called far earlier than they should have been and would need to reconvene another orn because the seeker caused everyone else to feel antsy too.
Today the seekers decided to try something else. They were letting Skywarp have an orn to himself to fly above the city-state and relax. The meeting would take several joors and Skywarp would have more than enough time to fly and scout the entire city from above and play in the unique air currents the high buildings created. Thundercracker was antsy about leaving his mate alone because Skywarp had their youngest seekerling with him. But Starscream was on the verge of his heat- or that's what it smelled like- and Thundercracker was more reluctant to leave their youngest alone for that.
The meeting began and Thundercracker sat back to poke around in the bonds and get settled. He would be keeping an optic on Skywarp closely through the bond and watching Starscream physically for any cues that he should begin to listen to what the grounders discussed. Starscream was fairly silent for this meeting, which caused Thundercracker to trill a questioning note. /What is happening, Starscream?/
In the same lyrical language all seekers spoke starscream replied, /They are talking about educating their sparklings. It is not something that we should be concerned with. What they need to know to survive is far different than our way of life./ Thundercracker gave an accepting flick of his wings and focused on his missing Second. Skywarp was having a lot of fun speeding between giant buildings and feeling the tunnels of wind they created.
When Starscream stood up with a growl and slammed his servo's onto the table all focus left Skywarp and landed on his tricolored mate. /Starscream?/ Thundercracker growled as his coding ignited and he stood up to flare his wings and crack his claws dangerously.
/They wish to cut down some of the forest to build a learning center for the sparklings. I know that that itself would be acceptable but I know grounders, they will not stop at one building or one section of the forest./ Starscream spoke aloud in the musical tone to let the gathering know he was telling the Winglord what they had suggested.
As the debate began Skywarp pushed the irritation and anger out of his mind from his mates. He didn't care to be part of these meetings and thus tuned it out, trusting his mates to be able to handle it on their own. The smell of energon ignited his coding and he landed with a fairly loud sound.
He was in a deserted looking street on a highway above a black abyss. The air that moved was stale but strong. He could jump and just float on the strength of the current if he wanted to. But there was something else. He smelled the energon of something dying yet there was nothing here and the air from below was stale with no scent of anything living in a long time.
His wings prickled and he was tempted to contact Thundercracker but held off. His mates were doing something important and if there was something bad going on he could just take off or teleport.
As he walked his thrusters clicked on the road causing the only sound that he could hear at all. He stilled as he heard something and angled his wings in that direction. But it was too late. With all the sounds and sensations from the wind created by the vast emptiness below the grounders had snuck up and managed to hit his wings with their tranquilizers. He stumbled and growled but his wings quickly went blind as the agent numbed them, but because the rounds pierced right through the entire thickness of his wing, not enough got in his lines to sedate him.
Skywarp prepared to use his Warp drive when something dug into a wing from behind and he cried out from surprise and a tingling of pain. The numbing kept the hurt from coming but he knew it was there. Energon from the deep wound dripped down his wing and he turned and swiped. Stumbling and missing he knew that if he activated his Warp drive he could end up nearly anywhere and if he went into the abyss there would be a chance he hit whatever was at the bottom before his wings healed or came back from the tingling numb.
He used the bond to call out to his mates for help, but they were too far away and without his wings he couldn't properly lead them to him. The grounders were upon him, kicking and punching, saying things he couldn't understand and he whined. His mates were coming but they were so far away and- he shrieked as someone hit his cockpit, and the grounders began to aim at the amber glass. He clawed at whatever he could, felt the splash of energon as he sliced into his attackers' pedes, but it wasn't enough to get them to stop. The glass shattered under the onslaught, and he felt ice in his lines as terror washed over him. With a cry he tried to grab the small translucent sparkling that tumbled out but someone grabbed it first.
"Disgusting!" The grounder cried, not that Skywarp could understand it. "It's creating new monsters, these things need to be eradicated! Let's take the first step in avenging our predecessors that these beasts fed off of! Revenge for our fallen!" The mechs cheered as Skywarp tried to get up but was kicked back down. As the leader moved closer and closer to the edge of the abandoned highway Skywarp began to panic and tried to get up but was easily restrained with the slag in his systems numbing his sensors.
He was keening and crying out, begging for the grounders to spare his seekerling and toss him instead. It wasn't as though he was guilty either, but the seekerling hadn't even had a chance to live yet!
"Sunny." A new voice came from down the road some and Skywarp saw two more grounders speeding toward them. Their transformation from sleek aerodynamic alt modes ended with a screeching halt on their pedes. They were about the same size as Starscream- who was one of the smallest mature seekers Skywarp had ever seen, but who was still larger than most grounders.
"I see, Sideswipe." The yellow mech with orange optics growled as he looked at the group of mechs. "What's the plan?"
"If he drops that tiny thing it'll splat." The red one said and nodded towards the seekerling that was dangled over the edge of the road now,shrieking for its carrier.
"If you drop, you'll splat." Sunstreaker grunted, annoyed. His optic light shifted as he focused on his - friend? partner? mate? Skywarp wasn't sure.
"Perhaps." Squatting he grabbed a piece of rubble and tossed it up and over the edge of the road and waited. Kliks came and went, and they finally heard it hit the ground with a loud clacking sound. "What was that, twelve kliks?" The yellow one grunted an affirmative. "From the highest point it reached in the air, about where the tiny thing is, down to the bottom-"
"Eleven klicks," Sunstreaker said as he took off the single klick it took to reach that height. Sideswipe gave a nod.
"Okay so we know it took 11 to fall meaning that the height it was at was-... half of nine point eight zero six and some change times eleven squared… about 1946 dodit." Sunstreakers helm snapped to look at him with bright optics. "roughly 241 cybermeters per joor."
"Sideswipe…" Sunstreaker growled, the tone threatening, warning.
"I've hit a wall faster."
"All that was left of you was your spark case and even that was severely damaged."
"Case and chamber." He purred and gave a feral grin. "I'm going for a flight~" He giggled and looked at his twin. "Make sure to slag them all in under 11 klicks. That's all it will take for me to hit then you'll be down."
The mech with the seekerling shook as he looked over the two giant mechs. They- they couldn't be serious?! "I'll have them offlined in nine." Sunstreaker promised. Then the two moved. Sideswipe jumped the mech and carefully tore the sparkling from him as they both went over the edge. Skywarp shrieked and failed to do more than move. What were they doing? He wailed, spark clenching in pain for the sparkling he was sure he was about to lose.
Sunstreaker was like a flash acid storm, pouring down on the mechs and in moments leaving nothing but the dead behind. "Slagger, made it in eight." He growled then three klicks after he said that he shrieked and collapsed in a writhing pile of agony. Sideswipe had hit the bottom.