From The Bottom Up
Chapter 13: What's In A Name?
As Starscream finished his announcement, the room erupted in a racket of Cybertronian yells, foot-stamping and chatter. Starscream turned to Dr Syn.
"I was not idle while flying: I was trying out Swiftstrike's idea. If you would take Swiftstrike back to the medical bay, Thundercracker and I shall bring Skywarp to be repaired." He said. Dr Syn put his hands out, and Starscream carefully placed Sam in them. Sam saw Starscream and Thundercracker head towards the downed Skywarp, stooping to slide their arms under his shoulders and aft. Then Dr Syn turned, blocking Sam's view of the fliers, to take him back to the medical bay.
"Hang on to the laser scalpel for now, Swiftstrike, it may make anyone else thinking of acting against you think twice." When Sam looked at him in surprise, Dr Syn spoke again.
"Just because you have earned their respect doesn't mean you have earned their friendship, in fact some may now have elevated your status from 'nuisance' to 'threat.' Be aware of that."
Sam nodded his understanding putting the handle of the scalpel through his belt after finding and using the safety catch to stop the button being depressed by accident: he had no desire to lose a foot or leg through carelessness.
"What's with calling me 'Swiftstrike' all of a sudden?" asked Sam. Dr Syn looked at Sam in what Sam could tell was genuine puzzlement.
"Is not 'Samuel' the name your parental units gave to you? It doesn't sound like an earned name."
"Uh, yeah, but what do you mean 'earned name.'" Sam asked.
"Then 'Samuel' is your Sparkling name, the first name you receive. It often is based on appearance of the Sparkling body, such as main colour, or named after a certain person, or related to things such as satellites, suns, stars or elements, and sometimes they have no meaning, but are just sounds. There is no dishonour in living the whole of your life under your Sparkling name, but it is often that people earn another name, due to an action they have undertaken, or circumstances that occur around them. When a name is given to you, it replaces your Sparkling name." Dr Syn said.
"You mean you have to accept a name you are given? Is it an honour thing?" Sam asked.
"It is a custom, Swiftstrike, that an earned name takes precedence over the Sparkling name. The event can be good or bad, but custom dictates that the person take it. Your prowess with the scalpel I gave you means you have earned the name Swiftstrike. Everybody here will call you it, and it is likely that the Autobots will call you that also once they find out you've earned it."
"What if someone earns more than one name? That could get confusing, and easy to lose touch if someone changes their names, say, twice or more in a lifetime." Sam said.
"Comm signals are based on unique frequencies and harmonics." Dr Syn said. "If you have someone's comm signal, no matter how often their name changes, the comm signal is the same. Also, one earned name does not take precedence over another earned name. The named one can choose which earned name they want to use."
"What about you? You said Syn is a shortening of your alt-form name." Sam said. "How does that work?"
"Sparkling names and self-chosen names have equal status, none is more important than the other. As I have no earned name, and my Sparkling name has no English translation, I chose to be called Dr Syn."
"What about Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker's?" Sam asked as Dr Syn walked into the med bay and put him on a surface to one side.
"Starscream's is complicated, he earned it twice, once for a bad reason, and again for a good one, and it is up to him if he tells you how, Skywarp earned his when he gained his special ability, and Thundercracker….well, maybe he'll tell you himself." said Dr Syn.
Thundercracker and Starscream had come in, carrying the hamstrung Skywarp between them. Dr Syn indicated his biggest worksurface, and they lay him down on it.
"Thundercracker, perhaps you would let Swiftstrike here know how you earned your name?" Dr Syn asked. The blue flyer turned to Sam with a slightly aloof air.
"It goes back to my time at the Academy." he said. "I entered a contest organised by one of the lecturers. It was to see who could produce the loudest emissions from their tailpipes."
Sam stared.
"You entered…a farting contest? A lecturer organised it?" he asked.
"Most of the lecturers entered it too." Thundercracker said, seeming confused at Sam's astonishment. Sam tried to imagine his school teachers entering a farting contest, and failed.
"And?" asked Sam, grinning widely in spite of himself.
"I won." Thundercracker said. "That's when I got named, and as far as I know, my record is still unbroken." He then turned and left without a word.
"Don't worry about Thundercracker's attitude. He's like that with all non-fliers. If you can't fly, he couldn't care less about you." Dr Syn smiled. "Of course, his attitude towards me turns respectful if he needs fixing." As Starscream turned and exited the med bay too, Dr Syn said "You spend a little time with Bumblebee, Swiftstrike, while I repair Skywarp's ankles and left wrist." The medic picked Sam up again, taking him over to where the little yellow scout lay on a smaller work table.
Sam sat with his Autobot friend for a while, telling him all about the duel and how it had happened. Bumblebee seemed quite awed.
"Wow. Swiftstrike. Quite a name you've earned there. It'll be odd to get used to calling you that."
"Well, you don't have to, plain old 'Sam' is Ok with me." He said.
"Our custom is to use an earned name, but….if you prefer Sam, I will break that custom. There is no penalty for doing so, but some may think I was insulting you by still using your sparkling name." Bumblebee said.
Sam swallowed: he now knew that in the Decepticon base, giving insult could lead to fights.
"Perhaps it would be wise, while we are here, that you adhere to custom, Bee." Sam suggested. Bumblebee nodded his agreement.
Afterwards, Sam ate, and had a wash, and changed his clothes, washing his old ones in the big sink he used for washing himself. After hanging them up to dry, he went back through to find Skywarp waiting for him.
"Lord Starscream has informed me now why you must not be harmed, and as his wing-brother, I will abide by his decision to adhere to the Code. Come, Swiftstrike, I wish to stretch my wings, and you may come with me, if you wish. I am informed that neither Soundwave nor Dr Syn requires your presence here today."
"Yeah, okay." Sam said. He had enjoyed his earlier flight with Starscream, and was eager to repeat the experience. Skywarp nodded to the doctor, who picked Sam up, and followed the Seeker out of the medical bay and outside to the makeshift runway. Skywarp transformed, lifting his canopy so Dr Syn could carefully place Sam inside. Once he had done so, Skywarp shut his canopy again. As Skywarp accelerated and took off, Sam felt the G forces push him back into the pilot's seat, and then the pressure eased as Skywarp dropped down to a fairly slow cruising speed.
Once again, as with Starscream, Sam knew better than to place his hands on any of the controls, so he allowed his hands to fold in his lap, and relaxed to enjoy the flight. Skywarp climbed, not so high that Sam felt faint, but high enough that Tranquility was just a smudge on the ground and he could see the lands around for miles. Sam enjoyed the view, and then, absently, ran the tips of his fingers down the area of the cockpit that displayed various readings such as altitude, speed, and fuel consumption, noting that Skywarp's fuel gauge showed as more than half empty.
"Don't do that!" Skywarp suddenly snapped, and Sam pulled his hand away as if it had been burned, wondering what he had done wrong.
"It tickles and it's distracting, and the last thing I need while in flight is distractions!" the flier explained.
"Oops, sorry." Sam said, folding his hands back into his lap.
Skywarp realised he'd been rather sharp with the human, and his voice was softer the next time he spoke.
"Let me show you something, Swiftstrike," Skywarp said. "Shutter your optics and hold on to the seat."
Translating the Cybertronian names into English in his head, Sam nodded, grabbed the edges of the seat, and shut his eyes, not knowing what to expect.
An odd, slightly disorientating sensation swept over Sam and he gripped the seat harder. Then, just as quickly, the sensation passed.
"You can look now." Skywarp stated. Sam opened his eyes, and could not bite back a gasp.
A moment ago, they had been high up in the sky, following the line of a major highway, which at the height they had been at, had seemed insignificantly small compared to the area around it. Now, they were flying over Tranquility itself, they had somehow descended considerably, for the ground was now so close that Sam could pick out his house, and his school amongst the other buildings of the town. He could even see people in the streets, though not identify them, as they swarmed below like so many ants.
"Skywarp, pull up!" Sam cried, his eyes widening in shock as he realised that if they could see the people, the people could almost certainly see Skywarp if they were to look up. "You're flying too low, this is not a normal place for the Military to fly over, you're gonna be seen!" he said. "We're supposed to be keeping a low profile, and this is not a low profile!"
"Oops!" said Skywarp. This time, Sam's eyes were open, but the disorientating sensation distracted him from noticing when they reappeared at the height they had been at earlier. Sam was awed when he realised they had just transferred from where they had been to where they now were in the blink of an eye.
"How do you do that?" he asked.
"I have a special warping circuit." Skywarp said. "I can teleport between different locations instantaneously."
"Oh!" Sam said suddenly understanding. "That's your special ability, and how you got your name?"
"Yes." Skywarp confirmed. He paused.
"Would you like another demonstration or two?" he asked.
"Yes please!" replied Sam.
Skywarp spent time with Sam teleporting, then said "We'll fly back straight to save fuel, the warping is fuel-intensive, but hopefully that should soon be less of a problem." Sam looked at Skywarp's fuel gauge and noticed it hovered just a little above empty, and Sam hoped, but didn't say, that he hoped it was enough for Skywarp to get back to the Base.
Sam needn't have worried: Skywarp touched down as gracefully as he had taken off, and Sam saw the doctor hurrying out to assist with getting him down. Dr Syn smiled at Sam, carrying him back through to the med bay and putting him down.
"Sam, I need to talk to you." Dr Syn said, and found he was talking to the empty air as Sam rushed over to the other end. Sighing, Dr Syn followed.
"Hey!" Sam cried from ahead of him, and Dr Syn came up and stood behind Sam, who was staring wide-eyed at the work table where he had last seen Bumblebee, but it was now unoccupied. "Where is he?"
He turned to the medic, a mixture of anger and fear showing on his face and audible in his voice.
"Where is he? What happened?" he asked.
"What have you done with Bumblebee?"