I did it, I did it, oh yeah yeah yeah. No reading here tonight, no reading here tonight, no no no reading here tonight you're on a di-et! :D
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Not really, but I'm just so happy that I got this chapter up and out! In the words of Steve (the monkey) "Excited! Excited!" And now you guys will get to see my love for quoting. It's also really late here and I have to get up early 'today' (since it's morning) but what internet junkie doesn't do this?
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From my question in the previous chapter, I have come up with a solution. I am going to post scientific notes down at the bottom of each chapter to add some tidbits, and perhaps even hint at future content. I have added one at the end of this chapter, and I have also added a note at the end of the prologue. The First and Second chapter still need their own notes, but I'll update you guys when that content is added. I'm not sure if anyone is interested, but if you have a minute or two of time to kill, why not read it?
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Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Its good to be posting again.
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Disclaimer: Transformers is the intellectual property of Hasbro and the author has no claim to any associated ideas or characters mentions in this fanfiction. All ideas used from other Fanfiction authors are used with their consent and the author has no claim to them in any way or form.
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Starlight Chapter 3:
Raining Down Like Balls of Fire
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o.0.O.0.o
Thirty miles northwest outside the outskirts of Mission City, Nevada, a previously abandoned military base was being reformatted to suit the needs of the planet's most recent extraterrestrial visitors. There were enough hillsides composed of rock and dirt to make anyone's eyes bleed from the monotony, but they did prove useful in hiding the base from the curious eyes of any traveler wandering away from the interstate twenty-two miles away.
There weren't many military personnel stationed on the base, for everyone there had to have previous knowledge of the aliens, which limited the pickings to two groups: ex-sector seven agents, and the soldiers who fought in the battle for Mission City. However, despite the diminished amount of human life the number of humans still far exceeded the number of extraterrestrials on the base.
The aliens were known on legal forms as Autonomous Robotic Organisms, but everyone on base upon meeting the robots were prompted to either call them Cybertronians or Autobots. Despite their frighteningly large size and their near-mystical cybernetic technology, most soldiers saw the Cybertronians as equals. Their comradeship formed when taking up arms together, and solidified after the battle. After all, it would be hard to question their state of sentience when the soldiers saw for themselves how mortal the Cybertronians were, and how they were just as prone to feelings of loss.
There were three Autobots stationed on the base until further notice: Ratchet, Ironhide, and Optimus Prime. They were technically given free roam of the surrounding government grounds, but tension between the government bureaucrats and Autobots remained high until an official treaty could be agreed upon. Although they had signed that off as the main excuse, Optimus had reason to believe that the human government was just biding its time so as to review over the content Sector 7 had managed to attain from Megatron. The results would assuredly affect the conditions of the treaty, but in a positive or negative manner Optimus was still unsure of.
Bumblebee was the only Autobot that could come and go off base as he pleased. In a way, he was an example of just how much the humans already trusted them, but he was also an example of how far they were willing to go to sate their mistrust. He was required to wear a tracker wherever he went, and it stayed attuned to his unique E.M. signal to insure that it would not be taken off. In addition to the tracker his weapons had to be removed, and his structure examined thoroughly by human electricians and mechanics to ensure that not a weapon was missed. Bumblebee went through the procedure with a surprising amount dignity even though the humans had examined and reexamined parts that were considered off limits in Cybertronian culture. He had gone through the invasive procedure only for the sake of his ward.
Left without any orders, Ironhide had set up a shooting range full of immobile targets, and had manually removed his auto-targeting system to make it marginally interesting. He had planned to practice alone, but a few humans had stopped by and had watched with curiosity. Reports varied on how it had happened, but Ironhide was soon discussing human weapon systems with the soldiers.
Upon being shown the facility, Ratchet had immediately set aside a large hanger as a temporary medical base. He had asked grudgingly for permission to remove the human's stored equipment, and when given it cleared the mess out without help from the humans. He then repaired Bumblebee's legs with metal stripped off a Decepticon corpse before shoving the scout back outside and cleaning the hanger to better fit his standards.
Optimus had been the only one constantly kept busy by others. Aside from the many conferences discussing the circumstances of the treaty between humans and Autobots, Optimus had been given many different forms to read over, answer and sign detailing the technologies they would share with humans and the conditions of their stay on earth. Many forms reiterated over previously addressed topics only with tighter legal jargon to prevent any loopholes that might be exploited. It seemed that, no matter where you traveled in the universe, legal matters always induced a processor ache.
At any other time Optimus could easily be found in what has now been designated as his office, but at the moment he was as far away from any legal forms as he could possibly be. On the other end of the base there was a room completely vacant save for one thing. This room was treated with the utmost honor and anyone inside held a respectful silence, for inside the room was a memorial.
On the wall at the far end, a mech could be viewed. His silver metal plating was polished to the point that it reflected every single snippet of light that shown upon it. His smooth glass visor hid behind it optics that in life shown with the purest blue, but were now forever entombed as an unlit gray. His frame held none of the scarring he had carried in life: none save for the faint wield mark wrapped around his middle. The mech's structure was held upright by strong supporting magnetics embedded in the walls of the structure he was entombed in. A glass dome encased his front, revealing for the world to see his faceplates held in his signature charismatic smirk.
Optimus stood overlooking the memorial, holding himself upright and firm as if one slight tilt of posture would topple the world from his shoulders. Even away from judgmental eyes the young Prime held himself with nobility and honor, though that illusion would shatter for those who saw his optics, dim in his sadness.
"Jazz, my old friend, if only you had lived, you would have witnessed the beginning of the end to this extra-galactic wide war."
After Ratchet had finished fixing Bumblebee and organizing his self-designated med bay, without a single thought to rest he had immediately set to work on a Captis Box for Jazz. Though his supplies and tools were limited he was able to gather enough raw materials with the help of humans to begin construction on the box.
The humans had been surprisingly compliant towards Ratchet's request despite the lack of trust their government had for the Cybertronian species. When questioned why, the humans who had given them materials had responded that everyone, regardless of species, should have the simple right of honoring those who had fallen in battle.
Perhaps their species were even more alike than they had originally thought.
After obtaining his supplies, Ratchet worked for two joors refining the iron he had received so that it was capable of withstanding the tests of time. He had completed the rest of the box in under a cycle, and it had only taken another joor for him to piece together Jazz's body and repair any obvious cosmetic damage. The smaller marks and scars on his plating would be left alone so that all who looked upon him would know of the fierce battle he took part in before his death.
Jazz's form had never changed throughout the war. Though he had obtained numerous battle scars and lost multiple sets of limbs he had always chosen to stay with his lithe and lightly plated form for his style involved more fluidity than those of other bots. Other bots changed their form constantly over the era of war to suit what was needed when battlefronts lacked troops, but Jazz had insisted that there was always a need for intelligence gathered through infiltration.
Jazz had been involved in the conflict with Megatron even before the war. He had knowledge of Megatron's ambitions back when the Council still considered Cybertron to be in its golden age, despite the reports of slavery and underground gladiator rings that had filled up their forms daily. Jazz had always been in Special Ops, exploring where all else dared not to tread, finding a trail to follow when others considered it a dead end, eyes open to the imperfections of Cybertron that all other mechs turned a blind eye to, including those with the highest authority. He knew what was happening deep down in Cybertron's core even before Megatron had lead the first riot, and he was the first to suggest ways of preventing a civil war on Cybertron, but in those orns no one had listened.
By the end of four vorns not a single council member had survived.
So lost in thought was he that Optimus did not sense as the Hanger doors opened, Ratchet entering from the other side. However, he did hear the faint call of his name, and turned towards the call. "Yes, Ratchet."
"There's a situation."
Optimus narrowed his eyes in thought. "What is the issue? Has another problem arisen concerning the circumstances of our treaty?"
"No Optimus." For the first time in several cycles, Ratchet's face plates curved upward in a smile. "We have Autobots inbound."
Optimus turned to face Ratchet, giving him his full attention. "I assume this means that your Teletraan prototype is operational?"
Ratchet gave a slight nod of his head, "With only the most basic of functions, but yes, it is operational."
"Who is making landfall?"
"Prowl and Wheeljack."
Wheeljack would be a needed addition on the team. With his engineering knowledge and scientific background he could both help Ratchet in repairs and begin development on methods that would help the Autobots adapt to living on Earth. Already questions of re-energizing without natural sources of energon were being posed -Ratchet being the spokesperson for said concerns- but with Wheeljack on the case the problem would hopefully be solved quickly.
Prowl was also a well welcomed boon to the team. His knowledge and skills in the heavier matters of political relations would be necessary in the times to come. Optimus could not help but feel relieved at Prowl's timing; though the addition of two more Cybertronians would complicate the works of a treaty, Prowl's skills would tip the scales in their favor.
"I assume that you'll send me the report Prowl will have no doubt filled for us?"
"It's waiting on a datapad in your office."
"And the humans?"
Ratchet frowned, whether from the circumstances of having to depend on an organic species or from the answer he was to give Optimus could not tell, though concerning Ratchet both probably played a role of equal importance. "They have been informed, and they are certainly not pleased. They have demanded a conference call, and are already waiting for you."
Optimus raised his head and looked forward, holding his shoulders square. The sooner they arranged an agreement with the humans, the sooner Prowl and Wheeljack would be allowed to land.
"Let's not keep them waiting then."
o.0.O.0.o
The ground shook as if it was falling apart and fountains of dirt sprayed into the air from the point of impact. The tremors caused Samantha to fall ungracefully on her behind, only saving her head from getting hit by quickly placing her arms behind her. Dirt rained down on her and she closed her eyes and mouth that had dropped open from shock. Her arms trembled in fear and threatened to collapse, bringing the rest of her body down with them.
When the sound of falling dirt disappeared, she opened her eyes once more and forced herself to rise, ignoring the shake in her legs. She turned her head and spit out the few pieces of dirt that had managed to make their way into her mouth. Mounds of dirt obscured her view of the crash site. If the meteor had fallen thirty feet closer she would have been buried alive.
Believing that the danger had passed, Samantha garnered up her courage and approached the impact site, her curiosity getting the better of her. Her ears still rang from the crash, but she ignored the fact that she was for the moment impaired.
The dirt the mounds' consisted of was soft and malleable in her hands. It was surprisingly cool, for it must have absorbed little heat from the meteor before quickly cooling off. She ignored the way the dirt gathered under her fingernails and stained her clothes as she pulled herself up to the top and peered down.
Inside the crater lay the meteor, completely unlike anything she was expecting. Instead of a chunk of rock from space, this meteor was formed out of refined metal and clearly made by a living being. Its form was burned from reentry, and covered with dirt, but Samantha thought that she spotted a hint of purple, of all colors. The metal twisted and turned, but never quite seemed to form a single solid shell. Instead, the metal was split into different pieces that connected and interlocked, leaving space in-between different pieces to expose the workings of the interior. Peering closely, for a moment Samantha thought she caught a glimpse of inner mechanics, but that glimpse was gone just as quickly.
Her mind immediately assumed that the meteor was a satellite despite the fact that the impact hardly seemed to damage its completely alien form. She couldn't bear to think of the implications if she allowed herself to realize the truth. But the illusion she started to build in her mind shattered with the force of a two-ton rock thrown as supersonic speeds.
The metal plates the meteor consisted of began moving and shifting. The movement startled her so much she pushed herself off the dirt hill, falling backwards and toppling painfully onto her back, knocking the wind out of her. Despite the fact that her eyes faced the sky and her body lay on the other side of the dirt mound, she could still see the meteor, because its form was rising over the mounds of earth, changing its shape into a form very familiar to her.
The meteor's form was becoming humanoid.
Samantha didn't even have the time to feel the slightest bit of awe at how precise and intricate the movement of the metal plating and mechanics were as the machine morphed into something so strange, and yet so familiar. She could only feel sheer terror as a face fully formed 25 feet above her and deep, blood red eyes peered down at her.
All higher thought departed and Samantha let out a blood curdling scream.
The beast let out an electronic noise that was both primordial and utterly alien, and the metal plates on its face that its mouth seemed to consist of shifted around as if articulating the noise, finally settling down to form a frown. It lifted up one of its long legs that had appeared with the morph and brought the foot hovering over the still-screaming Samantha.
She didn't even have the sense to move.
The foot was brought down quickly with little force, and the screaming that had lasted for so long was abruptly silenced.
o.0.O.0.o
Sideswipe was bored out of his processor. He had been waiting for the perfect chance to approach the organic for so long that his processor had begun to loop over the same thoughts. His subprograms had halted his motor functions and were turning off bits of his processors one by one, slowly initiating a recharge. His awareness of the organic had disappeared the moment his subprograms had switched off his heat sensors, but he was so far gone that he hardly even noticed.
Then he became aware of a fact that he had been ignoring since he landed.
The feeling of being startled jumped across the bond, and heightened to the point where all Sideswipe's sensors were brought online as his processors overclocked, searching for what had caused his scare. The fans attached to the radiators of his liquid cooling systems tripled in speed as the water grew hotter and hotter.
When the pain hit, he could do nothing to protect himself.
Sideswipe attempted to curl in on himself, yet in his alt-form he only managed to tighten his plating together to the point where it brought pain, but he couldn't even feel that slight bit of discomfort. The pain of his twin was overpowering all senses. His spark couldn't even distinguish between the two of them anymore.
The pain had no direct origin. It was everywhere, encompassing everything: his body, his mind, his spark. Panic shot through the pain; they couldn't dampen the bond.
Just as abruptly as it had started, it ended. A bout of exhaustion prevented Sideswipe from acting as he felt a barrier erected between his and his brother's sparks, leaving only a void. Sideswipe's spark reached out for his brother, only to end up in pain as his spark attempted to stretch further than it could reach.
Then the earth trembled and shook his alt-form, and his mind was jolted back into an awareness of his surroundings, it was a distraction that Sideswipe latched onto. Sideswipe automatically stretched out his external sensors to find the source of the disturbance, and left the pain and worry lingering in the back of his sub-processors.
His processors ran calculations as to the speed and spread of the tremors from one wheel to the next, and determined that the origin was on the other side of the house approximately 127.23 human feet measures away. His thermal sensors stretched their detection radius, and he detected a large mass of heat that had dug its way into the ground at the point of origin. A smaller heat source pinged on his sensors, making its way towards the crater.
Sideswipe immediately started up his motor system and began to make his way around the house. He was slightly hesitant, as he was not sure whether or not he should get himself involved. But despite his doubts, he increased his pace as the pavement gave way to wet grass.
As he was going along, the large heat source of the meteor that was rapidly cooling started to morph and rise, and in that instance Sideswipe knew exactly what it was. He burst out in speed and he fishtailed from the lack of friction the grass offered as he turned around the house. In the distance, someone started to scream.
Reacting instantly, Sideswipe leapt forward, doubling his pace as he immediately initiated a transformation. As his sub-processor accepted the request and his plates began to move around his structure, he heard someone yell in Cybertronian, "Shut up, you stupid squishy!"
Sideswipe didn't even wait for the transformation to complete.
With as much force as he could dare while his legs were still transforming –as they had already separated from his alt-form but had no solid structure- Sideswipe pushed his form up and off the ground towards the Decepticon. He practically forced his arms apart from the chassis of the car, ripping the few minor connections that still held his arms in place and doing a slight amount of damage. He held his arms out and forward to collide with the Decepticon. His head emerged away from his chassis and his optics onlined just in time for him to catch the pleasing sight of the utterly dumbfounded look on the purple Decepticon's face as he stood on one foot and stared in surprise at the Autobot. Sideswipe had just enough time to save the image to his hard drive before he collided full force into the other Cybertronian and brought them both tumbling down into the crater.
The constant sound of screaming disappeared instantly, and for a brief moment while his sensors were forced to reboot from the impact, the flow of information stuttered and the small heat signal disappeared. For that brief moment, Sideswipe believed that the organic had perished. Then his sensors were once more fully online, and all data packages that were lost en route were sent again and retrieved properly, the organic heat source once more jumping back into place with no change to its previous temperature.
Good, that meant that the organic was still alive.
As Sideswipe was distracted the Decepticon pinned under Sideswipe's form seemed to regain his grip on reality and he struggled against the weight holding him down. Acting quickly, Sideswipe spread out his arms and held down the Decepticon's right shoulder while pushing the 'con's face into the dirt. The Autobot growled in annoyance when his heat sensors detected the human in the exact same position as before, not even having the slightest sense to move, though he was a bit grateful that she was finally quite.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the Decepticon. "Get off, you fraggin' overweight Autoscrap!"
Using his right leg Sideswipe forced the Decepticon's free arm down so that he wouldn't be able to pull him off, and with his left he put pressure on the pelvis so that the Decepticon would have less of a chance of bucking him off. Sideswipe was a regular class and he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold down the carrier class for long.
Sideswipe smirked and bared his teeth at the Decepticon's rage. "No, I think I like it up here." Beneath him the Decepticon roared… and the same small heat source blinked again on his sensors, in the exact same position.
That stupid, stupid organic seemed to have a death wish. He turned his head towards the organic and yelled, "Run!"
The Decepticon felt a slight lift of pressure and took advantage of Sideswipe's distraction, bucking the Autobot off of his form and throwing him out of the crater.
Acting quickly Sideswipe was able to right himself and land on his peds, pulling his gun out of sub-space. He tested a few shots against the Decepticon as he rose and turned to face Sideswipe, but the shots seemed to only burn the armor. He'd have to shoot in between the plating if he wanted to have any chance of winning.
The Decepticon pulled out his own weapon and Sideswipe jumped to the side, avoiding the shot that the Decepticon had immediately fired. The shot traveled through the open air and into the forest, detonating on impact and disintegrating the trees caught in the blast.
The human was still standing still, and Sideswipe had decided that he had waited long enough. Without any further thought, he charged towards the Decepticon.
If the human wasn't going to move with that sort of incentive, then the only thing left to do would be to move the human himself.
Sideswipe jumped and grabbed the Decepticon by his plating before he could fire a single shot. He pulled out one of his five plasma grenades and managed to place it under the shoulder plate of the Decepticon's shooting arm before he was pulled away and thrown once more out of the crater.
Sideswipe managed to dodge most of the shot that the Decepticon sent trailing after, but a bit of it managed to skim his right arm and tear a hole through an armor plate. On his left arm, the strength of the Decepticon's grip had dented one of his armor plates, blocking a hydraulic line and limiting finger movement.
"Did you actually think that would work ag-" The Decepticon was cut off as the Plasma grenade detonated and blew off his right shoulder plate, the hydraulics in his arm loosening and causing him to drop his gun. The Decepticon yelled in pain and gripped his shoulder with his good arm.
Sideswipe was already running when his grenade exploded and didn't even glace back to see what damage it had caused as he ran full force towards the human. She looked up and stared at him as he approached, and Sideswipe was briefly disturbed by her lack of reaction.
Was there such a thing as self-preservation in these organics? Were they made to be idiotic? Did they believe that they could stand in a fight between two metallic beings five times their size and survive?
Sideswipe scooped down his right arm and picked the organic up, careful to make sure he didn't squish her. While the Decepticon was distracted he ran with her to the forest's edge and placed her in the treetops. She grabbed the branches automatically before she could fall down. Throughout the whole interaction the organic remained silent, staring at Sideswipe with wide optics.
"At least you won't squish under our peds." Sideswipe muttered to her in English before turning around and running back towards the fight.
Ahead of him, the Decepticon seemed to have nullified his pain receptors and was stooping over to pick up his gun just as Sideswipe made it back to the scene. The opportunity was a perfect one.
The Decepticon screamed as he grabbed his smoldering rear, yelling out of shock rather than pain.
Sideswipe laughed aloud and hardly gave a care when the Decepticon turned towards him with murderous intent in his eyes. The human was safe enough for now, he could put most of his focus on the battle.
If only that other human in the house would run away, then he could really focus on the fight.
o.0.O.0.o
'Well this is an awfully odd predicament to find one's self in.' Samantha thought as she watched her backyard from above.
Down in the backyard, the two robots continued to fight each other. With each blow they sent at each other a harsh, metallic clang resonated throughout the air. When one was thrown to the ground, the whole earth seemed to shake with the force. Then, when the larger, purple bot fired off a shot, the sound was so odd that she could only compare it to an electronic rendition of nails on a chalkboard.
They mainly focused on hand to hand combat, but when they made use of their weapons craters formed and patches of forest disintegrated.
It was a battle of the titans, and she was caught in the middle. So why didn't she care?
Oh, that's right. She was completely insane.
When one just escaped death losing one's mind is perfectly reasonable. Or at least that is what she assumed. She had never really realized in the past when she had come close to death. Having a young mind and an idealistic sense of the world made her unaware of the fact that she might not one day wake up, and that electrical socket that she was about to put her hand in would be what caused it. But now she was older, and hopefully wiser, and she knew that she would one day die. She just never thought that it'd be in a dream like this.
After all, what else could it be? Giant robots, most likely aliens if that meteor-robot's suspected origins were true, fighting each other to the death. That in itself was weird. Aliens that had, instead of attempting to conquer the Earth, moved their own battlefield to Earth. It seemed that Hollywood was wrong all those times before. It just didn't make any sense, none whatsoever. One had tried to squish her, the other tried to save her.
As Samantha pondered, her mind became incased in fog and her consciousness drifted from her body. She felt her limbs becoming limp as her mind parted from her. While her mind rose, gravity pulled on her physical body, and she felt her body give slightly and fall an inch. The sensation immediately snapped her back into consciousness and caused her to reflexively tighten her grip on the branches. She had forgotten that she was in a tree.
Samantha looked down, each branch as it emerged further down the trunk was larger than the last. The branches and pine needles spread wide, preventing the ground from being viewed. She wasn't on the top of the tree, but she was certainly near it, and a drop from this height would kill her. Her hands trembled but she refused to let go. She let her fear of heights root her in place; she would not attempt to climb down.
She was trapped, watching robots battle and the lands that she grew up on destroyed. She couldn't do a single thing.
This was more like a nightmare.
o.0.O.0.o
Sideswipe darted left as he avoided a shot that the Decepticon sent his way. He fired a few of his own shots, and smirked when one managed to make its way in-between the Decepticon's plaiting.
"I guess Mr. Decepticreep can't take on a bot half his size on his own. Where's your partner, lost in space?"
The Decepticon let out a bark. "Hah! At least I have backup. The poor Autoscrap is on his own. Where's your partner? Oh, that's right, not here."
Sideswipe reflexively tightened his grip around his gun and dodged left as the Decepticon fired another shot. The time spent alone with Sunstreaker for several vorns seemed to have brought their sparks closer, to the point where it affected their personalities. The twin-sparks apparent distance from each other at the moment had no apparent impact of ridding Sideswipe of that effect. He managed to hold back his rage, but only just. "Nope! He'll come when he wants to. Sunny won't let himself be confined by the likes of you."
"That's not what it looked like when we trapped him on the Brig of the Nemesis." Sideswipe could feel the smirk penetrating through the words.
"Naw, just you wait. He'll explode when you mar his paint and there will be nothing but scrap left of the Nemesis and crew."
The Decepticon let a large smirk overtake his face, as if Sideswipe had just walked into a trap. "Well then, that's interesting. After all, with all Hook has done there's hardly any plating left on him, let alone paint."
Sideswipe's optics brightened as he let rage overtake him. The past couple of vorns had been one bad even after another, and by Primus he had had enough. "I'll whoop your aft so hard your processors will come flying out of your head."
"I'll tell 'Sunny' you said that after Hook is done with his experiments… Not that there'll be anything left of him."
He cracked.
Sideswipe ran full force at the Decepticon with blazing white optics, shooting and screaming as he made his way towards his target. He didn't give a damn about the humans near him, he didn't give a damn as his shoulder was thrown backward from a shot sent by the Decepticon. He didn't care about his own safety.
The fight for morality, the fight against Autobot and Decepticon, for truth and justice, it had no part in this battle. It was just the Decepticon and him, and his rage. And damn if he let the other emerge from this battle anything short of headless.
Ahead of him, the Decepticon smirked.
Sideswipe jumped as he came close to his enemy, intent on shooting the Decepticon right in the optics, and blowing his processors out the other side. But when he approached, the advantage quickly changed.
Sideswipe was grabbed and pulled suddenly and he flipped through the air. He tried to control his fall but only managed to flip himself in time to land on his back. He slid over the ground, whatever he ran into tumbled and flattened. Organic matter shoved its way under his plating and slowed his momentum. Finally he came to a rest after plowing through one final object, momentum spent. Sideswipe attempted to rise, the error log rolling across his optics conflicted with the battle-mode programming that was now dictating his movements, causing the Cybertronian glyphs to blur on the already-white screen. Whatever lay underneath him splintered and wedged its way into his plating as he placed a hand down to support his weight, the material cracking as he shifted his weight. In the back of his consciousness, he detected someone screaming.
"You know, this is even easier than I thought. Like crushing a scrappling under my foot." The Decepticon taunted and he slowly approached Sideswipe as he attempted to rise. "Who would've thought that it would be the Autobot that killed the organic?"
At those words Sideswipe looked down in shock. The material that had cracked and splintered between his plating had been wooden beams, things that the home had been constructed out of. The home had been his height, and easily twice his size, but the material was weak, bowing easily to the force of a Regular class Cybertronian toppling through it. He had plowed completely through the construction, even to its foundations, leaving behind only splintered and flattened rubble.
Then a thought suddenly popped into his head, and he remembered something that he had ignored and forgotten: the organic. A quick look at his heat radar informed him that there was something underneath that was emitting an organic heat signature… and it was rapidly losing heat.
Sideswipe glared as the Decepticon slowly approached him as if the battle had already been decided in his favor, "You'll pay for that."
The Decepticon brought up his fusion gun and smirked, "Not likely."
o.0.O.0.o
Astrotrain smirked at the Autobot pinned at gunpoint. He would have been satisfied with just killing the 'bot, but now he could send him to the pit with the death of an innocent hanging heavily on his spark. He could hear the organic that the Autobot had saved screaming at the death of the other human; she wouldn't last long either.
Astrotrain let his fusion gun charge as the Autobot held still, optics wide in shock. The Autobot's optics still shone a bright white as a byproduct of battle-mode, a fact that made Astrotrain just the slightest bit worried. Only those who had a vast amount of experience fighting and killing in near-death situations developed a heightened battle programming. It was rare to find a bot who had such programming, in both the Autobot and Decepticon factions.
As the weapon charged, he kicked the Autobot who had brought himself to one knee, knocking him back down. He left his ped on the Autobot's chasis to prevent him from rising again, and grinned as the weapon pinged ready on his HUD.
"I'll make sure to say hi to your partner for you." Astrotrain pulled the trigger just in time for him to feel the Autobot shift his whole form under his ped, causing his leg to move right in the line of fire. "Scrap."
Perhaps shooting at point-blank range with explosive shots wasn't the best plan. Well, no time to learn like the present… if you survive the present, that is.
As Astrotrain felt his leg plating give and knee joint blow apart, something strange happened to the blast, causing it to curve inward towards his chasis and blind his optics with a purple radiant energy. The energy caused his form to go flying backwards, even managing to lift him into the air despite his heftier frame.
The resilient crystal that his optics consisted of melted and his force fields finally gave way as the blast washed over him, allowing for the heat to curve the corners of his plating and burn out his nerve sensors dotted along them. His left leg plating –or what little was left of it- also had its nerve sensors destroyed, effectively cauterizing the wound. Strangely enough, his right leg was only slightly burned, but he didn't have any time to ponder on that anomaly as his body came crashing back down on the earth.
The lights in his optics tried desperately to stay illuminated despite the damage done to them and his vision flickered back on and off. His processors must have glitched several times because the Autobot popped into his field of vision, and then appeared again alarmingly close despite the time that had passed given the fact that the 'bot appeared to be walking, not running.
His eyes flickered and his processors glitched again, and there was a gun pointed at the fuel line the blast had exposed in his neck. The barrel of the gun remained black.
Then Astrotrain's optics flickered online once more, and a blinding white light obscured all else. Instead of immediately disappearing, the image faded into a unified gray, and he knew nothing else.
o.0.O.0.o
Sideswipe wiped the trickle of energon that had managed to leak from a cut on his face as he glanced at the beheaded Decepticon. His spark reveled at the sight, but Sideswipe could not manage to dismiss the guilt that heavily clung to him from the organic's death.
Battle-mode had all but left him when the Decepticon had fired that blast. Only a near impossible speed had allowed him to bring a hard-light shield up in time to deflect the blast. The shield had been a gift from a civilization long past, and unfortunately due to the way it was designed had only been fit for a one time use.
Sideswipe glanced down at the now useless small handle in his hand and twirled it around his fingers in thought. He could get rid of it seeing as it had fulfilled its purpose, but he enjoyed having small mementos every now and then. He subspaced the handle as his thoughts wandered.
He was down to four plasma grenades, with 68% life left on the battery of his plasma gun, and a radiant flare. Wait… Why did he have a flare again?
…Nevermind, it wouldn't matter. He might find a use for it in future battles, but in the meantime the flare would be written off as useless, remaining in his subspace for the forcible future.
The energon in Sideswipe's veins still had extra charge left due to the rise gotten from the battle. His battle-mode remained off, but Sideswipe still found the thrill of battle calling to him, though there was no opponent in sight. His optics flared white as his systems tried to exert the excess charge using online functions without damaging his systems. His fans whirred, still trying to expel the excess heat that had built up from the battle.
Even his most basic systems would need half a joor of repair before he could transform again, and it would be a pain in the aft trying to wait out the time needed. That impediment made him recall another annoying fact, and he was once again reminded of the reason he had come to this area in the first place: the organic.
At that thought, Sideswipe immediately brought his head up and faced it in the direction of where he had placed the femme. His optics zoomed and he saw her, a few branches down from where he first placed her, holding on with liquid leaking from her optics and her arms and legs only loosely hanging on.
Her body was already falling and Sideswipe didn't have the confidence that the organic would continue to hold herself up. He sprinted towards her, not about to let another innocent organic die while he was around. As he neared he saw her mouth move and heard a brief sob over the pounding of his legs, before her arms and legs gave way and her body went with gravity.
Sideswipe reached out just in time for her to fall into his hand. Sideswipe sighed in relief and spoke in the native's language.
"Gotcha."
o.0.O.0.o
Scientific Notes:
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Order of Class
Repurposing: Shockwave
Cycle 104/Vorn 2291
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There are six different natural occurring classes of Cybertronian, these classes differentiate between size, functionality, and spark traits. These classes, arranged by their size differences are as follows: Minibot, Miniature, Regular, Seeker, Advanced, and Carrier.
Carrier classes are known for carrying extra plates not for their bi-pedal form -as all other classes do- but for their alt-form. These extra plates are needed to expand the interior of their hold to maximize the area of storage, and allow for the carrying of other classes. Carrier classes in bi-pedal form carry twice the mass as a regular class in bi-pedal form. This extra mass slows transformation time.
Advanced classes are about 1.5 times bigger than Regular Classes. Advanced classes are known for having high tier positions in the caste system, and only those born to miners –those who reside in the bottom of the caste system- are exempt from this rule. It is interesting to note that, whether a miniature, regular, or advanced, the form of all Cybertronians chosen as a Prime is changed to that of an Advanced class.
Seeker classes are the rarest class of Cybertronian, and the only Cybertronian born with a natural spark dependency on two others of their same age. Seekers are the only class type of Cybertronian with the need to fly, and will suffer mentally if that need is not met. Carriers, while having the ability to fly, do not require flight as a means of staying sane. Seekers carry the same mass as Regulars, but their forms are slightly smaller due to much of that mass forming wings and thrusters on their backs. While a Seeker trio bond would be an interesting study, their spark sensitivity, and the rarity of seekers, would require a precision that, without further study, we do not have. Any further study without previous experience would prove to be unwise.
Regular classes are the most common class type of Cybertronian. As such, all units of measurement are based upon the Regular class. Unlike Carriers, Advanced, Seekers, Miniature, or Minibot, Regular class types are found all throughout the caste system. It has been rumored that one born as a Regular could change the caste they are assigned to, but all research into this has neither confirmed nor denied such a claim.
Miniatures are thought to be born a Regular with stunted growth. As Miniatures only differ from Regulars in size, this is very likely. However, it is unknown as to what would cause such a stunt of growth to occur. Miniatures are .75 times the size of a Regular, and are only found in the lower caste systems.
Minibots are known for their unexplained origins and their versatility in spark bonding. Minibots are only found in the lower caste systems, and usually are forced into manual labor, despite the fact that their physic does not suit such work. Their ability to bond makes their spark a very interesting case of study, and the natural sparked bias other classes seem to have for Minibots would allow for group disappearances without police concern or involvement. They will require further looking into.
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o.0.O.0.o
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Again, I would like to thank:
Ray of Starlight- For her story 'Twin Times the Fun' which inspired me to write a Sideswipe roadtrip fic.
A Midnight Dreary- For her story 'Til All Are One' and her ideas that will be appearing in later books.
Nidia Ceylon- For her story 'Shattered' which was the whole inspiration for book two and for the use of her ideas in later books.
Faecat- For her wonderful story, 'Science and Fiction', which I believe revolutionized the Transformers fandom.
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And there you have it folks!
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I'll admit, there were a few things I tentatively added in there. I'm not sure if it had the effect I wanted, but it was put in there for a purpose... So I assume that I'm stuck with it for now. There were too many things that I questioned when writing this, but I think my biggest issue was Sideswipe's personality. This is my first time writing him, and I'm sure you guys can tell. I added a small series on this profile (call 'Lost in Space') that just allow me to play with Sideswipe's and Sunstreaker's character a bit, to kinda get to know them. I only added one small, small chapter so far, but I'm thankful for the review Mr./Mrs./Ms. anonymous left me, though I cant really tell them that since the review is, you know, anonymous :/
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I think the hardest part when writing this is that Sideswipe is not acting under normal circumstances. He and his brother just had a shitty few vorns, and he was just separated from his brother only to lose the reason why he departed from his brother in the first place, not to mention him getting trapped on an island without a way of getting out without revealing himself to an organic. Plus you have the fact that his brother is being experimented on (via the spark pain), and Sideswipe's nature to be goofy and foolish goes flying out the window, off a cliff, into the deepest parts of the ocean only to hit a rift in space and end up in a different universe altogether. So it was really hard to guess how he would react...
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I just hope I did okay.
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Enjoy!
~ Silvera