Author's Notes: This chapter is a little shorter than the others, but I think it turned out alright nonetheless. For those of you following my story "My Last Word Was Argh!" I just want you to know that I haven't forgotten about it. The plot bunny has just been hiding under the couch for a while, but I'll get back to it soon. Anyway, please review, follow, and/or favorite to see more! I love hearing from my readers :)


Chapter 4

Carriers

Sunstreaker brought Terrabyte to his room that he shared with Sideswipe. His red twin wasn't in yet, so Sunstreaker felt this would be a good time to introduce the sparkling to her new living arrangements as well as lay down a few ground rules.

"Okay Terrabyte, these bunk berths belong to Sideswipe and me," Sunstreaker explained, "I recharge on the bottom, and Sideswipe recharges on the top. You'll get your own berth as soon as I find one in the supply room. Under no circumstances are you to climb into my berth! I don't care if you're scared of storms or the dark or whatever! You recharge in your own berth. Understand?"

Terrabyte nodded; never taking her eyes off Sunstreaker's face.

"Good," Sunstreaker, satisfied that she was paying attention, continued, "Also, when you play with your toys I expect you to pick them up and put them away when you're done. No exceptions!"

"I DOn't have Any toys," Terrabyte stated matter-of-factly.

"I'm going to get you toys," Sunstreaker explained impatiently, "And you will be careful with them, because I don't plan on replacing them every orn. You will also keep your berth clean. A clean room means a happy guardian. You want me to be happy, don't you?"

Terrabyte nodded vigorously.

"Good femme," Sunstreaker patted her helm affectionately, "You will energize in the rec room when I do. If I'm unavailable then you'll go with Sideswipe, but under no circumstances are you to wander off on your own. Understand me?"

Terrabyte nodded.

"Good. Any questions?" Sunstreaker asked after giving her the orientation.

"MaY I releaSe my CAssetteS Now?" Terrabyte asked politely.

Sunstreaker sighed and said "I don't see why not, but they better not mess with anything!"

"THEy WON't!" Terrabyte promised pleadingly, "They will Be gOod."

"Alright then," Sunstreaker replied with a nod, "I have to go get your berth. Stay here! I mean it!"

Terrabyte nodded and released Shriek, Screwball, and Turret from her compartment. Sunstreaker sighed tiredly. This was too easy. No way could it be this easy! He heard so many stories about how difficult sparklings were to handle. He knew something was going to go wrong. He just wasn't sure what.


Sideswipe found his twin in the supply room carrying a berth that was designed for a minibot. He wondered what was going on, and decided to pester his brother for answers.

"Hey Sunny, did you get roped into helping the sparkling move into her new room?" Sideswipe asked with a lopsided grin.

"Something like that," Sunstreaker answered curtly.

"So, where's she staying?" Sideswipe asked.

"She's staying with us. I adopted her," Sunstreaker replied as if he were talking about the weather.

"What?!" Sideswipe asked; floored, "No way! You actually adopted a sparkling? This is crazy! Hey, can we take her with us when we pull pranks on the other Autobots?"

Sunstreaker just glared at Sideswipe for a moment, but then he said something completely unexpected...

"I'm in over my head, Sides!" Sunstreaker suddenly exclaimed, "I don't know how to take care of a sparkling! I barely know how to manage you! What if she had special needs? What if I accidentally kill her or something? They're fragile! What am I doing?! A berth and a few toys aren't going to be enough! What if I mess up?"

"Oh, you will," Sideswipe replied nonchalantly.

"Gee thanks, you're a real help…" Sunstreaker muttered sarcastically.

"Look, it's not a big deal. Lots of parents mess up," Sideswipe said reassuringly, "You'll mess up, but everybody else does too. Besides, it was obvious in the rec room that the little femme likes you. Pit, you're the only one she'll let get near her besides Ratchet! Hm, now that I think about it, that sparkling has really bad taste in character. First Ratchet the Hatchet and now you! Scrap, I wouldn't be surprised if she thought Gears was all sunshine and rainbows!"

Sunstreaker smirked despite his misgivings. Sideswipe was always good at putting a situation in perspective and cracking a joke just when he needed to hear one...and sometimes when he didn't need to hear one.

"So, how do I find out more about caring for sparklings?" Sunstreaker asked, "I know Ironhide has experience with younglings, but I don't know if he'd know anything about femmes or not."

"Maybe you're looking at it from the wrong angle," Sideswipe suggested, "Terrabyte is a carrier frame type, so you should probably learn more about their needs. It's kind of like how seekers have different needs from grounders, and racers have different needs than cargo trucks. Carriers generally don't have mobile alt modes, so she might not get too restless, but there could be other things she needs because of her frame type. We should do some research."

"I suppose," Sunstreaker replied apprehensively, "The only carrier aboard the Ark is Blaster. Maybe he'll have some suggestions."

Sideswipe nodded and pat Sunstreaker on the back; hoping to reassure his unsure twin. They went to their room to set up the berth and found Terrabyte sitting on the floor with her cassettes. They were in a circle, and Terrabyte was speaking too softly for the twins to hear. When Terrabyte saw the twins, she ordered her cassettes to return to her and quickly stepped out of the way.

"Hey, sparklet!" Sideswipe greeted her cheerily as they walked in with her new berth, "I hope you like orange. The only other colors they had in berths were orange and orange. I guess if you don't like it we can get you orange."

"ThAt won'T Be NECEsary," Terrabyte replied seriously, "AnY COLOr is FiNe."

Sideswipe sighed at her lack of response. Normally that joke got laughs! Why was she just staring at them while they worked? Was this normal for carriers? The sooner they saw Blaster about this the better.


Blaster was repairing a speaker on his console when Sunstreaker and Sideswipe came in to see him. He was actually pleased to see them. He heard about them adopting the new sparkling, and he wanted to know how she was doing. He had trouble getting the little femmes out of his head after listening to the gold one give an imploring speech over the comm of their dead caretaker.

"Hey, my mechs!" What's happenin'?" Blaster greeted them amiably as Sunstreaker stepped around some broken equipment on the floor.

"Hey, Blaster!" Sideswipe greeted back with a wide grin, "Actually, we were wondering if we could pick your processor for a moment."

"Certainly," Blaster replied warmly as he shoved bits of junk out of two chairs for them to sit down on, "What's up?"

Sunstreaker grimaced when he looked around Blaster's office. It was filthy! There was junk, spare parts, and even used energon cubes everywhere! He hoped his sparkling wouldn't have habits like these, but then again he thought that might be too judgmental. It probably wasn't a carrier thing so much as a Blaster thing.

Reluctantly, Sunstreaker sat down on the proffered chair and asked his question to Blaster.

"Special needs, huh?" Blaster repeated after Sunstreaker finished explaining what he was worried about, "Well, for the most part carriers are pretty mellow. We're not so different from other Cybertronians. We have different personalities, different goals in life, and different ideas on ideology. There is one thing though you might wanna look out for."

"And that is?" Sideswipe asked so Sunstreaker wouldn't have to.

"Carriers that young go through what is known as a loyalty bond," Blaster explained, "Truth is some adult carriers do it too. I never did after I received my adult upgrade, but I'm just sayin' it happens. Loyalty bonding is when a carrier finds one special person, it can be a parent or a best friend or an authority figure, and they devote themselves completely to that individual. When I say completely, I mean they follow that person around like a shadow, they obey that person's every word, and are even willing to die for that person. It's a level of selflessness that most sparklings could never hope to achieve. I suppose most adults don't have this issue because they create cassettes to dote over and devote themselves to. Carriers are social creatures and go crazy if they have to be alone. I should know, I've been there before."

"Really? When?" Sideswipe asked out of curiosity.

"During a battle in Polyhex 6 million years ago," Blaster related, "I was captured by the Decepticons under Megatron's command and held prisoner for 3 orns. Of course Soundwave, bein' a carrier, knew my weak spot. He suggested to Megatron that I be placed in sensory isolation. I almost went mad! Carriers have some of the most sensitive audios of any Cybertronian, and when we can't hear sounds it's as if we're dead! I almost didn't make it out of there alive. If I'd had the means, I would'a offlined myself in that cell…"

"So what Terrabyte needs is noise and company?" Sunstreaker asked; changing the subject in the hopes of avoiding a PTSD flashback from Blaster.

"Exactly! Other than that, I don't think yall'll have any problems," Blaster said jovially; his mood brightening as if nothing had happened.

The war had left scars on every Autobot on the Ark. Sunstreaker knew this, but he didn't think he'd ever get used to seeing a chill guy like Blaster reminisce about the darkest time in his life like that. He began to wonder how much of the war Terrabyte had seen, and how much it had affected her.