When Seekers Protect.
Chapter Three.
By the time morning came, Ratchet still didn't have a good method to tell the Witwickys. He was able to wangle a bit more time by inviting them to pop around after their midday meal - which would also give Starscream the time he'd asked for to start teaching Sam how to fly – but he had little hope that the extra time would help him find a better way to explain why their son was now a baby Cybertronian.
At least Sam's reorganised memories had made him less scared of Starscream: after securing a solemn promise, made on Starscream's Spark, that neither he nor his wing brothers would harm Sam, the sparkling had happily gone into recharge cradled in the bigger Seeker's arms.
"I will need to wake him soon, he needs to learn to fly," Starscream told the medic. "My wing brothers and I will fill our tanks, but Sam will be fine on a half-tank or so. He will not actually be using powered flight on his first lesson, so a full tank will only equal excess weight at a time when it would only hinder him."
"Well, you know where the fuelling station is, you and your wing brothers help yourselves," Ratchet said. "You fuel Sam up, you can probably guess how much fuel he'll need." Starscream nodded, and headed over to the fuel store, and was just putting fuel in the sparkling's tank when his wing brothers entered.
As Starscream gently stroked Sam's faceplates to waken him, his wing brothers filled their own tanks. As Sam unshuttered his optics and then levered himself semi-upright on Starscream's arm, the Seeker spoke to him.
"Sam? I have put fuel in your tank because we are now going to take you out and teach you how to fly." "Okay, that's great!" Sam said. His optics had brightened with anticipation, and despite his apparently nonchalant reply, he was wiggling with excitement. He was actually to learn how to fly, in this new body, to learn how to use it to soar in the atmosphere. Perhaps he could go up into the jet stream one day, experience in a most personal manner how it would – if he were going the right way – help push him along so he used less fuel and expended less energy.
"First though, Sam, I must give you a list of checks that you must go through before each and every flight. In time, doing these checks will become second nature to you, as it is to us. At first it will be something you will have to force yourself to recall, but I can only tell you that these checks are absolutely vital. If something is wrong, something that might cause you to crash or veer wildly off course, that might affect your ability to fly, these checks will be the easiest and least dangerous way to discover them. If discovered during the checks, whatever is wrong can be righted, without it causing you to be severely injured, or even die from a preventable incident."
Sam watched Starscream as the Air Commander and Decepticon Leader pulled a data cord from his wrist. Starscream sounded as sincere as Sam had ever heard him, almost scared, so he did not protest when Starscream, without asking, plugged the cord into a point halfway down Sam's neck. He downloaded what seemed to be a very long list, half of which Sam didn't actually understand. Just what was an elevator, in flight terms, and why was it so important that its motion was unrestricted? Sufficient fuel was obvious, so was good engine health and structural integrity, but flaps, reverse thrusters, leading and trailing edges? The list of things to be checked for functionality went on, and Sam could only hope that Starscream would remember that he was so new to Seekers, and flight principles in general, that half the terms were as good as gobbledegook to him.
"Now, Sam, we'll go through the checks together, this is where you learn about all the different components of a Seeker's body, at least those that directly relate to flight. If you have any questions, please ask." Sam decided to take him at his word, so slightly hesitantly he asked "So just what are reverse thrusters?"
Starscream chuckled a little. "Many of the terms in the checks will be entirely new to you. I understand, and if you are patient, I will explain every part, term, and item, plus why it is essential that each check is done. I will also explain what could go wrong and the possible and likely consequences.
However, to answer your question, the reverse thrusters are the same thrusters you use upon taking off, but as the name suggests, the force is applied in the opposite direction. They are used upon descent, along with brakes and wing spoilers, to help slow you down. If these do not function properly, or not at all, you could go flying off the end of a runway. The consequences of that can be serious enough if you are on land, but if that runway is the top of an aircraft carrier, you could end up joining Megatron at the bottom of the ocean."
Although his tone was light, Starscream's gaze was serious. "In a situation where, Primus forbid, despite your checks, something goes wrong with them, the best thing to do is lift your nose and abort your landing, alerting any nearby who might need to know – Commanding Officer, Trine, or human control towers - and find an alternative, or just try again if the situation is right, and be ready to abort again if need be. Now, Sam, the first and most obvious check is to be sure you have an adequate amount of fuel in your tank..."
oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo
An hour later, Sam knew more than he ever though he'd need to about flight essentials, parts of his new anatomy, things that could go wrong with said parts, and their consequences. He even knew a bit about certain structures he himself did not possess that others did. For example, he was told about the trailing hook Starscream had for catching onto a wire rope deployed on aircraft carriers and sometimes land-based runways, as another slowing and stopping method for jets. Its official name was 'emergency arrestor hook' or the easier-to remember 'tailhook.' As a sparkling without an alternative (vehicle) form, he lacked this, but when he went into an adult body, he might gain an alt form which possessed one, so he needed to know about it.
"Now, Sam, my wing brothers will be taking you outside, and your first experience of flight will not be under your own power, this flight will get you used to the experience of flying through the air. We will be your propulsion, so you just need to enjoy it, without having to put the work in. Teaching you in the use of your thrusters, and how to modulate the amount of energy you need to gain a certain amount of thrust, will come later."
"Uh, okay, I guess," Sam said, although he was disappointed. He supposed he was a fool to think he could learn to fly in just one lesson. "Well, let's go then!" Starscream said, and he walked out of the building with Sam, throwing the cryptic "Skywarp, you underfly." at the darker patterned of his two wing brothers, who followed him a few paces back.
They were barely out, Sam blinking at the change of light, when Starscream transferred his grip to both hands around Sam's waist, but with Sam's back still held against Starscream's chest. Then the Seeker ignited his thrusters, pushing upwards with one foot, and seemingly seamlessly transferred from walking to flying. Judging by the engine sounds, his wing brothers had followed suit, although Sam, turning his head, could not see beyond Starscream's own spreading wings to confirm this visually. As they rose, Starscream straightened his arms, holding Sam out in front of him.
He turned his face towards the sky as Starscream angled upwards, spreading his arms, a chuckle of delight escaping his vocaliser before he could stifle it, but Starscream seemed pleased by his reaction. "You truly have a Seeker's Spark," he said. "The AllSpark energy that changed you must have known to make you a winglet." He paused before asking "Can you think of any other human that loves flying so that on our world he'd probably have been a Seeker? Are you typical of your kind, ground-captive with no escape?"
"No, I wouldn't say I'm typical," he said, noticing peripherally that the dark blue Seeker whose name he did not know had soared ahead of them. He smiled, still a strange feeling in a metal, jointed face. "But I'm not the only one. My friend – so close I call him my 'bro' – short for brother - he loves planes. He'd probably know anything you taught me earlier if it relates to human planes, he'd love to fly. I think if he came back as one of your – er, our, - kind, he'd be a plane."
"It is good to know that you are not unique amongst your former species," Starscream remarked. "I wonder how many of your pilots would have Seeker sparks, if reborn as a Cybertronian?" He paused, and Sam noted that the Seeker he'd spotted before was facing Starscream, flying at the same rate, for Starscream's own flight had leveled off and slowed. Looking down, Sam could only see cloud, except for the form of the darker wing brother –Skywarp?- flying below them. Although Sam could see his cockpit, the Seeker was in robot form, arms by his side, hands with fingers splayed, arms tensed as if waiting for something to fall from the sky to catch. This had to mean he was flying – upside down?
"Sam, do NOT engage your thrusters, you are quite safe!" was the only warning he got as Starscream, pulling his arms and hands back, Sam in said hands, then pushed him forward, releasing his grip. Sam flew unsupported and unheld through the air, with no knowledge of how to engage his thrusters.
He flailed his arms and let out a screech, but before he had finished it he felt equally strong hands catch him expertly midair, felt them stroke him, and turn him halfway so he faced out again.
"I'm Thundercracker, and Skywarp flies below. If we miss he'll catch you. If he misses, he can transport instantaneously to where you are. We have trained dozens of sparklings to fly with no deaths or even injuries. Skywarp has never had to use his special transport ability in training. We are that good," he told Sam. Then, before Sam could reply, the one holding him thrust him forwards and out, letting go, and again he was unsupported.
When Starscream caught him he was calm enough to ask "What the Hell do you think you're playing at?" "We are teaching you to fly, just as we would any sparkling," Starscream replied.
"What, throwing me with no warning?" he asked. Starscream sighed. "Sam, when you fly under your own power, there will be no waiting hands if something happens to impede your flight. However, you must not be scared of flight when under your own power, even if something goes wrong. You must be able to feel the air and keep a clear head in a bad situation. The air is your friend and you can usually find a situation that is better than others. 'Falling leaf' pattern" – and here Starscream commed an image of a leaf spiralling to the floor to land flat, followed by a plane mimicking the motion to land relatively intact – "is better than a nose-first crash. You need to know what falling in the air feels like – in order that when you feel it for real, you don't panic." With that Starscream flipped him so he was facing forwards, and threw him again.
This time he managed not to cry out, and Thundercracker gave him an encouraging nod as he caught him and expertly flipped him so he was facing Starscream again. "You're perfectly safe, relax, enjoy it," he advised before throwing him back to Starscream, who again caught him in a steady, secure grip. Starscream himself circled a bit as he turned Sam ready for the next throw, and Sam was surprised to find after being tossed back and forth between the two several times, he was starting to relax and actually enjoy the experience.
Down below, however, was a different story. A small crowd of Autobots had gathered to watch from the Base courtyard, Bumblebee amongst them. As they saw Sam being thrown back and forth, a grumble of concern ran through the assembled watchers. Bumblebee turned and set off at a run back into the Base, literally almost running into Ratchet on the way, who took in the scout's wide blue optics and hurried motion and asked "What's up, Bumblebee?"
"The Seekers are just throwing Sam around in midair! I have to go up there and stop them!" Bumblebee explained. Ratchet caught Bumblebee's arm and swung him about to face him. "Bumblebee, they are using a method that Seekers have used for millennia to train their winglets to fly. The accident rate is exceptionally low, and I've never heard of a sparkling plummeting to its death. Sam is, I am certain, quite safe."
"Safe or not, I'm going up there too. Where's my jet pack?" The scout pushed past into the armoury where he found his jet pack hanging from pegs. Ironhide signed it out for him and confirmed that although it was not fully charged, it was ready to go. Bumblebee strapped it on, charged out of the base, and shot up into the sky with it, heading straight for the Seekers and their little charge, as Ratchet spotted the crowd and moved to assure them too that Sam was completely safe.
Starscream did not seem to be at all surprised when Bumblebee drew up to one side of him, in fact was so intent on catching Sam – who was by now squealing with delight – that apart from a brief nod he did not acknowledge Bumblebee's presence at all until he had Sam safely in his hands, when he said "Skywarp, stand by." He turned so he was facing the scout. "Greetings, co-Creator," he said to Bumblebee.
"What are you doing?" Bumblebee asked. "Maybe this is how you usually train your sparklings, but Sam's only just become such, and has known you as an enemy. Does he know he's safe?" "Why don't you ask him?" Starscream asked. "Why talk about him as if he's not here?" Bumblebee acknowledged the rebuke with a dimming of his optics, and looked at Sam. "Are you okay, Sam? Do you feel alright about this unorthodox training?" "Oh yes, Bee, this is great! It was scary at first but I'm quite safe, they assured me I am and they've not fumbled me once!"
"Come, Bumblebee, as you're here now, and count as one of Sam's co-Creator figures, why not join in?" Starscream asked. With that he launched the sparkling towards him, Sam whistling excitedly.
Bumblebee's Spark flickered in fear as he reached out to catch Sam, his optics spotting Skywarp flicker into being a bit below, but the precaution was unneeded: Starscream's aim was true and Bumblebee caught Sam easily. He hugged Sam, then saw Thundercracker indicating to throw Sam to him. Wondering if he was going mad, Bumblebee rotated Sam in his arms and threw him to the blue Seeker. Sam landed in Thundercracker's hands with a gurgle.
Thundercracker turned to Starscream again, but instead of throwing Sam to him straight, to Bumblebee's horror, he added a flip as he threw the sparkling up and out. Sam warbled in surprise as he flipped helm over pedes three times before Starscream caught him, but his cry didn't sound scared, although Bumblebee almost had a spark attack. At least, the scout reasoned, he had seen it, so when Starscream repeated the manoeuvre to throw Sam to Bumblebee, Bumblebee was prepared for it and was able to catch the tumbling sparkling without incident.
"Why Bumblebee, we'll make an honorary Seeker of you yet at this rate!" Starscream said. Bumblebee looked at him, startled, replaying the conversation in his head, but could find no note of mockery in the phrase. Perhaps, he mused, Starscream meant it, and as such he should take it as the compliment it was. Turning, he repeated the manoeuvre to throw Sam to Thundercracker, while Skywarp hovered midway between them all, and about twenty feet below.
To Bumblebee's relief, Starscream did not add any more new twists or moves to the throwing other than the flipping, and ten minutes later indicated that they should land. Bumblebee was relieved, for his jet pack power pack was finite, and he did not want to have to leave them due to lack of power.
As they landed, Ratchet approached. Starscream was praising Sam as he moved towards him. "Well done, Sam, you've done well today. In your next lesson I'll instruct you on igniting your thrusters and teach you how to take off and land, and a few emergency landing techniques. Hopefully you'll never need to use them, but it's best to know how to just in case."
"Well, Starscream, his first lesson seems to have worked well, but I advise you to bring Sam in so he can have a feed and perhaps a brief rest," ratchet said. He sighed and nodded to the open gates.
"We have received word that Ron and Judy Witwicky have left their house and are on their way here."
