Silvery shine

The new master was a tall mech, light gray and blue, with some mask-like dark pattern around his blue optics. He didn't wear the usual purple Autobot insignia, but there was a strange red pattern on his forehead that the sparkling considered to be pre-dating the face-like symbol. His voice was calm, detached.

„You two, wait for me outside. Runabout, come."

The old-looking mech walked in an easy, yet graceful way, fast, but without hurry. He caught up with the slim blue Autobot as he was doing the imprinting before leaving the facility with his white bargain. They were standing in a corner, chest against chest, head against head, possessing blue glare against submissive red optics.

„Good aslongasyoudoeverythingastold Iwon'thurtyouIpromise justdon'tevertrytostandinmyway."

The white one shivered, and obediently backed away, giving his master the personal space he required. The owner turned around to see the other customer blocking his path, and even worse, he seemed to be doing it on purpose.

„Whodoyouthinkyouare! Letmegoand...!"

The older mech smiled.

„Not so fast, young Blurr. I would never question your speed but sometimes it's worth to use your brakes too."

„Whotheslagareyou whatdoyouwantfromme?"

„I just came to give you a little advice to remember: couriers are meant to connect, never to separate. Keep that in your CPU, and don't ever break a set, for the two halves might turn useless without each other." With that, he signaled the black robot to join his white brother. „Consider my advice a gift." With that, he stepped out of the way, into the outside light.

„Whatdoyouwant doyouwantmetotaketheblacktoo?"

„He's yours. Just treat him as a gift, never as a property you'd bought. Will I see the three of you leave? Together?"

„Isthatwhatyouwant?"

„That soft-sparked do-gooder bought the whining black so that they would not be separated. How typical of him."

The sparkling gave Impactor a deep look, but he wouldn't mention the same „soft-sparked do-gooder" just got him out of the prison area, and if that wasn't an act of kindness and undeserved mercy, he couldn't imagine what was.

„Don't talk about our master like that" he said in a cold, firm voice.

„Hah. Do you know anything about him?" Impactor asked. The sparkling didn't feel an obligation to answer.

There was an odd-looking vehicle waiting not far from the entrance. It was red and gray, and had at least twelve tough-looking metal wheels. Impactor walked there, patting its side while murmuring „You still stick with this moron, Train? I thought you were free to leave anytime you chose to."

The unpainted robot wondered why Impactor was talking to the strange vehicle, but he didn't feel like asking. He stepped out into the light, looking up at the sky for the first time in his life. This outside world was so grandiose, so alien for him. But there was his Master, watching the blue Autobot running at breakneck speed, closely followed by the black and the white.

„Let's get going" the old mech said, making an inviting gesture with his hand. The sparkling followed him inside the vehicle without hesitation, Impactor made a confused face before he was grabbed by the arm and pulled inside.

The silvery mech sat down, facing Impactor confidently. Their owner was giving instructions a little farther, but watching the two other mechs, wondering whether their opposition would remain for the rest of their lives. When he finished, he sat down next to the sparkling, who immediately turned to him, watching the light gray face with the dark pattern around the optics in awe and curiosity.

„We'll do the imprinting when we're at home. I understand you're so young, everything must be new for you, I need to give you time until I have your perfect attention. But here are the basics: I expect you to do your best, and don't be afraid to become who you really are. You may call me First like almost everybot does. My mines are the largest in the region, the complete cave system reaching from the Tagan Heights almost to the Sonic Canyons. Do your job well and you will learn to like the place."

Train carried them South-West from Tarn to Polyhex, and the Master spent most of the time talking to the sparkling: about the Tagan Heights, about Cybertron's astrological position in the present and in the past, about the creation of the Cybertronian race, about the God of Light and the God of Chaos. The sparkling was either looking out of a window or looking in his Master's optics, asking questions usually as soon as First finished his sentences. Impactor made comments from time to time, but First ignored them, and so did the young one.

„Master?"

„Yes? What is it, tireless sparkling of mine? You still have something unanswered?"

„What is that large shadow over there?"

„That is Darkmount. What have I told you about it?"

„It is the centre and the capitol of the Polyhex region, it used to be a Decepticon fortress in the historical times, it's commander was... uhm..."

„Straxus" First helped him out, but he withheld and let the sparkling continue.

„Straxus, best known for his poetry that is well known thoughout this universe. His name became one with that of his fortress, when he couldn't publish under his own name he published his works as Darkmount and everybot knew it was him."

First smiled at the eager youngling, blue eyes shining brightly against the dark gray pattern.

„Exactly, young one. But we won't go that far now. We're going home. Right, Train?"

As if answering, the vehicle turned slightly right and rallied underground.

For half a breem, it was all dark. Mysterious, welcoming dark, they could only see some ore conformations lit by the rare safety lights. As they went deeper, the athmosphere began to feel heavier, and the air was filled with unmistakeable smear oil and ventillation dust smell.

„For now, you will only notice it's hard and smelly" First proclaimed. „In time, you will learn. A good miner does not rely on lights. Dwellers can take them out. Anything can happen. A good miner will navigate in his mine by the smells and the direction of the breeze, by the echo of the walls, and by the taste of the raw energon in the air."

It was the first time Impactor admitted he agreed.

Train came to a stop at an energon storage pit. As they stepped out, both First and Impactor sighed, letting their panels loose, their internal vents speeding up to let in the familiar smells of the mine. Just as First said, taste of energon was lingering in the air.

The workers around had put their tools down, greeting their master before returning to their jobs. A brown mech, not nearly as bulky as the others, remained there, frowning at the sight of Impactor but not questioning his master's decision.

„Good to see you again, First" he said, bowing with respect. „Welcome home. We missed you, you missed nothing."

„Thank you, Walky. It's good to be home indeed. I knew nothing would come to it."

„Not on my watch."

„Good. Come here, sparkling. This is my faithful mine captain, Walky. He will show you around, help you find your place. Take any command from him as if it was from me."

„I will."

Walky put his hand on the sparkling's shoulder, recognising his stern stuff with a nod. First turned to the vehicle, giving it a wry smile.

„You still won't risk it on your own? All right, Train. Let's do it together."

He put both hands on the front of the vehicle, muttered „focus", then counted. At the count of three, Train started to transform.

It was a relatively long process, panels turning, swifting, swirling, switching places. „That's it, Train, don't you give up. You're almost there... right, that's it."

Where the vehicle used to be, lay a gray and red mechling, not larger than the miners. His red optics were dim and wary, his sigh exhausted, his smile uncertain.

„Train is a rescue" Walky explained. „ Autobots were using him for some transformation experience, by the time First found him, he already lost more than half of his mass in subspace. Knowing his abilities, I believe First found that part of him first."

„Impactor mentioned Train was free to leave anytime..."

„Don't give Impactor a credit. Train is free to go indeed, but where would he go? The surface is dominated by the Autobots, not a company he or any of us would long for. This is a sanctuary. You should consider yourself lucky to be here. 'Bots above, dwellers under, this is where we rejoice in Primus's embrace. Come, I'll show you to the active veins."

The sparkling spent the next few orns packing ore and raw energon into crates of diffierent size, and carrying them to the subsurface rails that were laid to facilitate Train's getting around when he was in alternate mode. He indeed proved to be hard-working, strong, durable. He was a good miner, a useful slave, and for him, there was nothing wrong with these.

He had rarely seen his master, or even Walky, for that matter. He was working behind an unnamed miner, watching and following him. He might have had some programming on drilling through the wall of stone, but there was much to learn from experience. He was taught not to go „straight like some mindless drone", he had to check where exactly the ore was in front of him. He had to scan the architecture of the already mined levels so that he wouldn't drill out a weight-carrying pillar from under a few megatons of rocks. He couldn't go too far with the driller without stanchioning his way back. And, most important of all, he had to be careful not to round on a dweller or other transorganic of the depths.

The older minders told him scary stories about these creatures. First forbade them to try and hurt any of Cybertron's native wildlife, not that they could do much harm to a monster like that, in the first place. Dwellers would come to the mine from time to time, and he was told the only wise thing in this case would be to duck and cover at the closest side-vein and stand still, avoiding the beast's attention. Low-toned metallic rattles would help in keeping the situation safe, for it might calm the monster and assure him that they wouldn't invade their feedingplace. He was shown an energon vein with a dweller in it, the transorganic was feeding on the raw energon, sucking it out of the wall, moving forward slowly. He was told not to disturb the beast, so that it would leave in a few joors peacefully. When it did, the miners returned to the vein, removed the layer of drained energon from the surfaces, and continued digging as if nothing happened. But if there was a pillar that the beast didn't touch, the miners took care not to touch it either. If the dweller avoided it, he must have done with a reason, and they knew no sensors would match those of a creature that evolved in the past few eons exactly for undersurface environment.

One orn his master came for him. The sparkling greeted him with the usual respect and adoration, albeit he was covered in smear oil and powderised raw energon covered his shoulders and his front. First invited him to come to the explored but not yet mined area, and he was honored to follow his superior. First smiled at his enthusiasm, but kept his calm and responsible manner, looking back at him proudly, confident that he spent that thirty thousand shanix the best way possible.

The sparkling paced by his side, his steps hard but rythmic, he only stopped when they came across the first aquitard sealing in the tunnel.

„As I'm sure you remember, the deeper levels are mine almost to the Sonic Canyons. Which means we have to go under the Rust Sea. The cave is safe, I keep checking on that myself, but it's better to have seals so that even if the ceiling would start leaking the liquid rust would not flood the mines. There are also refuges wherever I found a natural cave chamber, and the seals were built so that even if somebot might be trapped down here, they would survive until help would come."

„This whole place is a refuge" the sparkling noted, and his remark made First smile.

„I take it you met the empties, then?"

The sparkling shut up. He was not exactly proud of having sneaked into the abandoned veins without permission, but he wouldn't lie to his master now that he asked.

„I have been to the M vein once" he admitted.

„The M vein" First nodded. „That is under, and named for the Metallic Bay, northest and largest gulf of the Rust Sea. Those robots you met might be the oldest neutrals on this planet, I outdate some of them by mere four or five vorns. It's a shame that they are being hunted on the surface, taken to smelting pools for obviously no reason but their peaceful ways and unability to fend for themselves anymore."

„But you're here for them, Master" the sparkling said cheerfully. However, the blue optics darkened and First's face went stiff.

„I wish I could be there for all of them, all the time. In fact, I can do little when it comes to matters on the surface. I gain my power from Primus himself, the closer I am to his core, the stronger I get. I am but a regular mech up there, and I would be a weakling without his presence.

The sparkling didn't stop, but the shock was clearly written on his face. He couldn't, he wouldn't imagine his deeply respected Master being weak. But he couldn't help realisation either: the caves and the mines, the whole underground territory was not simply a refuge for the others, for miners, for empties, for Impactor or for Train. It was First's refuge, and they were lucky he was willing to share it.

But how could a still young and overly curious sparkling keep silent for longer than a klik?

„How thick is the rock above us?" he asked. The sheer thought of the Rust Sea running high above their heads was intoxicating.

„It would take me a whole orn to dig from here to the sea bottom. For you, it would take half the time."

For the sparkling it was obvious that his owner was teasing him. He laughed out loud, and even his usually composed master was giggling. Life felt so easy at that moment – the two of them were alone in an unmined tunnel, deep under the surface, safely hidden from any danger at the moment, close to Primus, far from anybot else.

A.N. First is a canon G1 character. Energon goodies for you if you tell me his real name!