A Soldier Now
By BookwormDragon
Disclaimer: Neither Transformers nor any of the Characters in Transformers belong to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended.
"Sam, you're a soldier now!"
Ironhide hears the adult human's declaration and swiftly databursts it to his fellows. Until now, the human Sam has been designated as a Sparkling – a child, in the local language. Someone to be sheltered and protected. Sparklings do not fight in battle, except in self-defense.
But the adult human's declaration has changed all that. Among Cybertronians, when a Sparkling's nurturers declare that one is a warrior, one is immediately considered to be an adult and expected to pick a faction and fight with honor. The tradition has been followed for thousands of years, for as long as the War has continued. There was a time – before the War – when adulthood did not mean immediate subscription into one faction or another, but they have been a race of warriors for longer than the human species has existed. It's a sad universe, when Sparklings must be declared warriors. But better to fight than to die helplessly.
From this klik forward, Sam is an adult. Adults have duties and responsibilities that Sparklings do not, and may be called upon to undertake dangerous and even suicidal missions. A small part of Ironhide regrets the loss of the young human's innocence and childhood, but the rest of his processor is far more practical: Sam is small and clever. He will be an asset on this cramped and constricted battleground.
Still, Sam is only newly adult – Ironhide remembers what his own first battle was like, how frightening and shocking it seemed, how unprepared he felt. It takes only a nanoklik's effort to reassure the youngling that his new brothers-in-battle will be there to watch his back.
Being a warrior has its downsides, but it also has its compensations.
Like all younglings, Sam has a short attention span and is easily distracted, but when his processors are finally properly focused, he shows promise. So quick and clever and stubborn. Courageous and defiant, too. If they all survive this battle, maybe Ironhide will take an interest in his training. It could be a nice change of pace – it's been a long time since he's trained such a young warrior.
Until then, he's got some Decepticon scum to slag.