CHAPTER 1
Designation
At first, there was a light, then darkness. Then cold. And a long period of more darkness.
Then, suddenly, the cold became less and the heat became more. The darkness became less dark, and the light became more light.
Then...he opened his optics.
As he gained vision for the first time in his short existence, he saw a blurry face in front of him. It was a bot, and he seemed to be watching him.
"Ah, you're awake," the bot said in a drone-like voice. "Off with you."
After blinking a few times, his vision became sharper, clearer, until he could see the world clearly around him. He looked from side to side. He was in a booth of some sort, standing. He pushed against the back of the booth and stepped out on the floor. In front of him he saw a small group of bots walking out through an opening that brought bright light into the mostly dark room. Most of the bots looked the same; sleek, clawed and winged. The only seeming difference between them were their color schemes. He looked down at himself. His servos had claws as well. He looked behind him. His back sported wings as well. He was silver, red and blue, with an orange cockpit on his chest.
"Get a move on," the bot from before said in a stern tone, startling him. "Or you'll be left behind. You, get out as well."
He looked to the side to see who the bot was talking to. In the booth right next to his - among several other booths in the same row, he now noticed - another winged bot slowly stepped out. This one had the same chassis as himself and the other winged bots, but was golden yellow in color, with a few silver areas. He had the same orange cockpit on his chest and his optics were yellow, his face white. He felt something odd in the direction of that winged bot, though was not certain what it was.
The two winged bots were escorted by the wingless bot over to the other ones outside. They were almost blinded by the bright light, having been in the darkness for so long.
"Line up!" the wingless bot commanded.
The winged bots lined up in a row in front of the wingless bot. As everyone had taken their place, he started walking past them and talked while studying the bots.
"Today you lot will embark on your first mission of your existence," the bot said. "You will present yourselves to the public of Cybertron from Vos Central. You are among the first artificially constructed Cybertronian flight frames. It has been decided that you shall be known as Seekers. You have been designed for aerial combat, to eventually be part of the great Nova Prime's mighty galactic empire. But before that can happen, we need to be sure that you lot are everything Nova Prime asked for. So before your presentation, you will be tested for flight, endurance and abilities, during which we can give you proper designations. For this reason, this area has been specifically made for your arrival."
The Grounder spread his arms out, and the Seekers looked around without moving their bodies. The area they were in was open but small, as they could see tall buildings around them about a hundred mechanometers away. There was but a single building in the small area, the very one they had just stepped out of.
"You," the Grounder said and pointed at the Seeker to the farthest left, the Grounder's right, "begin flight! Let's see what you can do!"
The Seeker nodded and stepped forward, presenting himself to the others. He was almost entirely red, with the exception of his white thighs and face, and his black helm, lower arms and pedes. With a deep vent, the red Seeker transformed into a likewise almost solid red jet, with the exception of his black nozzle and back fins. He fired his thrusters and shot upwards, flying for the first time as the very first Seeker.
The other Seekers watched with admiration how the red Seeker flew so effortlessly, despite having just come online. After a few minutes, he returned to the ground and assumed bot mode, also landing gracefully without effort. All the other Seekers' optics gleamed with excitement at the prospect of their own first flights.
"Good," the Grounder praised and waved his hand to the right, his left. "Go stand over there. The others will join you when they have performed."
The red Seeker stepped confident over to the spot the Grounder had pointed out.
"You're up next," the Grounder said to the one who had been standing next to the red Seeker. He stepped forward, presenting himself to the others like the first one.
This Seeker was mostly blue but with dark gray lower arms and black pedes. His face was also white and his helm black. Like the red Seeker, this blue Seeker took a deep vent before transforming and shot into the sky. His flight was faster than the first one, darting from point to point, the other Seekers having hard to keep up with him. At one point, the blue Seeker flew so fast, a loud BOOM sounded and he practically disappeared from sight. The other Seekers searched around, wondering if he was coming back.
"Hey you," the Grounder shouted, "I didn't permit you to leave Vos ground - or sky, whatever! Come back here immediately or you will be reprimanded!"
Within a few nano-cycles, the blue jet finally returned to the open area, and as he - seemingly - confirmed he had found his way back, he descended and returned to bot mode, landing with a loud thud, kneeling and his arms spread to the side. He stayed in that position, perhaps for dramatic effect, before rising and standing up straight.
"Pardon," the blue Seeker apologized before walking over to the red Seeker, the first of them to have spoken a word. The Grounder didn't seem to dwell on it, instead turning his attention to the remaining nine Seekers.
"You're up next," the Grounder said to the next Seeker, who stepped forward. This one was almost entirely black with a few purple and silver areas. Unlike the other two, he didn't take a vent before transforming and ascending into the sky.
The black Seeker wasn't as fast as the other two, but he still managed to give a stunning performance. While flying, he suddenly seemed to disappear. At first they thought he had flown off so fast they hadn't noticed, but a second later, the Seeker reappeared from behind them, then disappeared all of a sudden again, then reappeared from their left.
"Interesting," the Grounder said, probably to himself more than the Seekers. "Come down again!"
Instead of flying down, the black Seeker disappeared from the sky and then reappeared right in front of the Grounder, who almost flinched in surprise, and reverted back to bot mode, a wide smirk adorning his face.
"So, we have a warper, eh?" the Grounder mused and gave the Seeker a smile. "I wonder what the rest of you are going to show me? You, up next!"
As the black Seeker joined the blue and the red Seekers, the next Seeker stepped up, this one being a piercingly solid green one but also with the typical white face and black helm. He immediately took flight and flew around without much going on before returning to the ground and joining the others.
The next two Seekers that went up were of similar piercing color schemes as the green Seeker, the first being bright yellow and the other being solid bright blue. None of them showed any special tricks, also similar to the green one. They both landed and joined with the other four Seekers. Now there were only five Seekers left.
"You, up," the Grounder said to the next, who stepped up. This Seeker was lavender in color, with a few black areas, as well as the white face and black helm. His flight was also nothing noteworthy, and he soon returned to land and join with the others. The next Seeker was dark blue with white servos and thighs, same face and helm as the rest of them. Again, no flight of interest, and he soon joined the others. Three Seekers left.
"You're next," the Grounder said, seemingly getting bored. The next Seeker that stepped up was very dark blue, as well as having white and red areas. His face was notably red and his helm the same dark blue as most of his chassis, thus already looking very different from the rest of the Seekers. He seemed eager to get in the air, but at the same time nervous. He transformed and shot into the air, doing lots of tricks, loops, spinning and what not, apparently trying to impress those below him. He seemed to be faster than the black Seeker, but otherwise he wasn't that impressive.
"Get down again," the Grounder ordered, also not particularly impressed by the colorful Seeker's performance. "I hope the last two of you will give us a more impressive ending. You go first."
As the dark blue Seeker went over to the other Seekers, with a rather disappointed look on his face, one of the two last Seekers stepped forward, the golden one that had a strange feel to him.
He neither vented nor shuddered of excitement like the others. Instead, he waited a few nano-cycles, gaze fixed on the last Seeker standing, before initiating jet mode and launching into the air. At first it seemed like it would be another half-sparked performance, but then, after circling the area a few times...the jet suddenly set ablaze, an orange flame covering the entire Seeker. The other Seekers gasped at the scene, even the Grounder gaped at this one.
The burning Seeker didn't seem to take notice of the fire surrounding him. He didn't try any aerial tricks either, but instead descended to the ground after about a hundred rounds in circles, ninety of them in his flame mode. As he reverted back to bot mode, the flames still blazed around him and he raised an optical ridge at the Grounder's shocked expression.
"Something wrong?" the burning Seeker asked. "Did I do well?"
"Uh...yes," the Grounder replied hesitantly. "You did very well. But, uh...can you turn those flames off?"
"What flames?"
The Grounder pointed and the Seeker looked down at himself. He lifted an arm and first now did he notice the flames surrounding him.
"Oh. Is this bad?"
"Well, it will be bad for us if you can't turn them off," the Grounder said, seemingly intimidated by the Seeker. "Just turn them off!"
"Alright, alright, I'll try," the Seeker said.
After a few nano-cycles, the flames finally dissipated from the Seeker's golden body, and his frame suddenly seemed shinier than before. The rest of the Seekers moped at the brilliance of the golden Seeker's chassis. He seemed to notice it too.
"Shall I join the others?" he asked.
"Uh, yeah, do that," the Grounder replied, relieved the flames were gone. As the golden Seeker had left to join the others, the Grounder turned his attention to the last Seeker not having flown yet. "Alright, now it's just you left. Show us a spectacular performance, something that will make all these other guys seem like petro-rabbits in comparison! Otherwise I'm just going to be disappointed."
The last Seeker was white with a red torso, blue lower arms and pedes, having a black helm like the others, but a dark gray face unlike the rest. As he was the only one left, he needed not step forward, but simply to mentally prepare himself for the flight there was to come.
Like many of the others, he had not yet spoken his first word, and, having seen and heard the others, he would make sure to make his debut memorable.
He glanced to the side, sharing gazes with the golden Seeker. There was something strange, yet familiar about him, unlike the others. The gaze was brief, and he soon faced forward, staring into the sky. He took in a deep vent, then exhaled. He had never done it before, yet somehow, he knew exactly what to do.
He moved his limbs and body parts in odd ways until he assumed his alt mode, also a jet, but almost entirely silver, only a section of the middle of the frame was visibly red. He ascended into the air, first at a slow pace, then as he gained high enough altitude, he sped up, circling the area like the previous Seeker. He flew faster, and faster, and faster, not as fast as the blue one who had made a sonic boom, but just fast enough to not make one. He kept circling the same length of the circle despite the increase in speed. After showing off his speed, he slowed down a little bit and did a few aerial tricks; spinning, still circling, then made a loop, then half a loop and ascended higher into the air, higher, higher, until the bots below were even smaller than simple dots.
As he reached a sufficient altitude, he did what none of the other Seekers had done during their performances. He switched back to bot mode in midair, initiating a free fall.
At first he let himself fall with his back towards the ground. After a few nano-cycles, he turned so he was looking at the ground, coming in fast. He could not see the looks on the faces of the bots below, but he imagined they were shocked, stunned, admiring his courage to pull off such a trick that no one else had.
Just a hundred mechanometers from hitting the ground, he switched back to jet mode and turned upwards, firing his thrusters as he was a mere mechanometer from hitting the ground, and launched back into the air with a spin. What a thrill! He certainly had made his first flight memorable for himself, if not for everyone below him.
He circled a few more times before deciding it was enough and descended to the ground. Before reaching the ground, he switched to bot mode again midair, landing similarly to the fast blue Seeker, but kept his position for just a few nano-cycles longer before standing up straight, face up, optics closed and showing off a satisfied smirk. He spread out his arms and took in a deep vent, preparing to say his first words.
"That flight was perfect," the silver Seeker said with a rather deep voice, "much like the bot who performed it."
The Seeker opened his optics and saw the look on the Grounder's face. He didn't seem so much impressed as horrified.
"You...do you have any idea what my boss would do to me if you had just crashed back there?!" the Grounder scolded, surprising the silver Seeker. "Don't do that again! You'll have to do better than that if you're going to impress me! Go stand over there with the others!"
The silver Seeker's tanks rushed with an odd feeling. At the same time, he wasn't sure if this Grounder was being serious. He had performed perfectly, he had done what none of the others had done, the least the Grounder could do was commend him for it. The Seeker scoffed at the scolding and walked over to join the other Seekers, standing next to the golden one.
"You did well," the golden Seeker whispered without looking at the silver one.
"I can't believe I didn't do that," the dark blue and colorful Seeker mumbled to himself. "Now I'll never be noticed..."
"Seekers!" the Grounder said out loud, making everyone resume their straight and synchronized positions. "Some of you performed better than others, but regardless of tricks and abilities, you did well in the flying test. As far as flying goes, our engineers definitely succeeded in making you proper flight frames. Next you will be tested for abilities. As you may know from the information downloaded into your processors before you came online, all bots have some sort of special ability, though rarely unique ones, as you can imagine. Your next test will be to unlock and show off these abilities of yours. We've already seen some of your abilities, so it won't be all of you to undergo this test. Therefore, I will divide you into two groups, those who will perform and those who will watch. Those who have already shown their abilities will remain where you are. The rest of you will step to the other side of this field."
Only three Seekers remained behind to spectate; the other eight went off to the other end of the field. The black, blue and golden Seekers made sure to keep a good distance between each other, having more space to spare. The other eight Seekers stood in another line, again with the silver Seeker to the far right of his sense of direction. The Grounder went over to them and picked them off again from left, his right, to right, his left.
"You go first," he said to the red Seeker, again standing as the first one, who stepped forward. He seemed clueless as to what to do.
"How do I do this?" he asked unsure to the Grounder. "How do I access my ability?"
"You should be able to feel it," the Grounder said with crossed arms, waiting impatiently. "Go on."
The red Seeker didn't seem very informed but tried anyways. He tried feeling it, moving his limbs in all sorts of ways, flapping his wings, squeezing his optics shut, wracking his processor to try and force something out. But nothing happened.
"I can't do it," the red Seeker admitted, relaxing his frame and looked down. "I don't feel anything."
"Hmm," the Grounder hummed. "Well, it seems almost all bots have a special ability. Then again, those three exhibited abilities during flight, so you may not be out of bounds yet. Go join them and try again later. Next!"
The red Seeker walked to the other side of the field with lowered head and wings, disappointed in his poor performance, joining the three other Seekers, who only briefly glanced at him before returning their gazes to the next Seeker. The next one was the green Seeker. Unlike the red one, the green Seeker seemed certain about what to do. He held out his arms and activated the cannons on his arms. Instead of energy, however, acid sprayed out from it, eroding the ground as it landed. The Grounder waved his servos.
"Alright, alright, that's enough," the Grounder said and the green Seeker stopped and looked confused at him. "Well done, go join the others. Next!"
The next Seeker was the bright yellow one. Like the red Seeker, he didn't seem able to show any sort of special ability, and likewise gave up and strolled disappointed over to the others after the Grounder approved. Afterwards the solid blue Seeker stepped forth. Like the green one, he knew exactly what to do. He pointed a cannon at the Grounder and activated it. Instead of energy, however, an electromagnetic pulse hit the Grounder, temporarily stunning him. The action shocked him, but it only lasted for about ten nano-cycles before he was able to move again.
"Nice ability," the Grounder grumbled as he rose to his legs. "Though you might want to reconsider testing your weapons out on a non-living object in the future. Next!"
The next to step out was the lavender Seeker. He managed to summon forth a flamethrower and spouted large flames from it. The Grounder likewise waved his servos for him to stop and approved him to join the others. The next Seeker was the dark blue one with white servos. Like the red and yellow Seekers, he seemed unable to activate his special ability under the current circumstances. And likewise, he joined the others with a disappointed look.
"You bots really are a piece of a work, aren't you?" the Grounder commented, as the dark blue and red Seeker also failed to show off his ability. "Well, you gave us quite a show during your first flight, let's see if you also got an interesting ability."
Again it was the silver Seeker who got to perform last. He was confident he knew what he was going to do. Like the solid blue Seeker, he raised his arm cannon and aimed at the Grounder, who expressed worry for what was about to happen but didn't try to get out of the way. A pink energy beam fired from the silver Seeker's cannon and hit the Grounder, who went stiff and fell to the ground, paralyzed once again. This time the effect lasted only about five nano-cycles before he rose back onto his legs.
"I don't get paid enough for this job," the Grounder grumbled to himself. "Looks like you got yourself a pair of null-rays. Good stuff, except when you're on the receiving end. If powered up enough it can also destroy things, so don't use it on bots again unless you get attacked, alright?"
"Whatever you say," the silver Seeker said with a sneer. He wandered over to join the others, standing yet again next to the golden Seeker.
"You stole my trick," the bright solid blue Seeker said from a distance.
"He said these abilities aren't all unique, quit your whining," the silver Seeker hissed lowly.
"Listen up!" the Grounder said out loud, making the eleven Seekers straighten themselves and pay attention. "It seems you bots have various different abilities, some activated by flight and others activated in bot mode. But some of you still have not yielded results, which is odd but not unusual. Some bots have abilities that do not activate unless they are in battle, whether being a passive or active ability. So in another attempt to show forth your abilities, you will fight against each other in your first battles of your existence." He paused to let the Seekers glance at each other, taking in the information they had just been given. "Especially those who have not yielded results yet will have to fight. This time those who have shown their abilities will participate and help the others unlock their abilities. I will point out the bots who have to fight one another."
The Grounder walked past the Seekers, studying their faces and frames, considering which bots to pit against another. He stopped by the bright yellow Seeker and pointed at him. "You," he said and kept walking until he reached the end of the line and pointed at the golden Seeker. "And you. You two will fight first. Go out in the middle of the field and show us what you can do."
The solid yellow Seeker glanced concerned at the golden Seeker, who glanced back at him with a blank expression. The two yellow Seekers stepped out to the middle of the field and took their places in front of each other. They took fighting stances, coming almost naturally to them, and stared each other in the optics, waiting for the right timing.
"Ready..." the Grounder said and raised his arm in the air. The two Seekers clenched their fists and their stares intensified.
The Grounder swung his arm down in a swift movement. "...begin!"
As soon as the Grounder's arm fell, the golden Seeker set himself ablaze yet again, at the same time with the bright yellow Seeker set off, charging at his opponent. He noticed the flames too late and rammed into the other Seeker before he could stop himself, making both fall to the ground. Everyone's Sparks leaped, waiting for the flames to burn him up.
But they didn't. Despite laying on top of the other Seeker, covered in flames, the bright Seeker did not scream, char or otherwise show signs of getting hurt by the flames.
The golden Seeker barely seemed to notice it though, and threw off his assailant, quickly got to his legs and prepared to fight.
"That's enough!" the Grounder's voice sounded from the sidelines.
Both Seekers ceased their 'fight' and looked at the Grounder in disbelief.
"But we haven't even fought yet," the golden Seeker protested.
"You did enough to convince me," the Grounder assured. "Fighting any longer than necessary would be a waste of time. Go over to the others."
Sulking, the golden Seeker turned off his flames and slumped over to the other spectating Seekers, disappointed he didn't get to fight. The Grounder turned his attention to the bright yellow Seeker.
"You seem to have some good armor there," he commented as the Seeker got onto his legs. "The fact that his flames didn't even leave a scorch mark on you is proof enough that you have powers. Go join the others."
The bright yellow Seeker walked over to the other Seekers who already had their abilities revealed. The Grounder soon walked over to them and considered who to choose next. There were still three more Seekers who hadn't uncovered their abilities yet.
"You," the Grounder said and pointed at the blue Seeker with white servos, "step out on the field." The Seeker obeyed, and the Grounder walked until he pointed at the blue Seeker with dark gray arms. "You will go against him."
The two blue Seekers went out on the field and prepared to fight.
"Ready," the Grounder said. "Begin!"
The two blue Seekers went at it, first with fists slamming against each other, then one Seeker using lasers against the other one. As the Seeker with dark gray arms started firing against the other, the Seeker with white servos started firing as well, with more sparkling laser shots than the other. As one of the shots almost hit the Grounder in the head, he called it off.
"Alright, that's enough, that's enough!" he exclaimed. "Let's end before someone loses their head, alright?"
The two blue Seekers lifted an orbital ridge and briefly glared at the Grounder before both wandered over to the others. He didn't say anything to them, so the Seeker with white servos was unsure if he had unlocked an ability of some sort. There were two Seekers left who hadn't unlocked their abilities yet.
After thinking for about a cycle, the Grounder pointed at the dark blue, white and red Seeker. "You're next," he declared. "Now, who to pit you against...?" After wandering a bit back and forth, he stopped by the solid blue Seeker and pointed at him. "You will fight him. Step out, you two."
The two last blue Seekers stepped out into the middle of the field and faced against each other, each sizing the other up. The colorful Seeker seemed slightly nervous, but put on a determined face, ready to show his worth. The other Seeker smiled in amusement.
"Ready," the Grounder said and gave the signal. "Begin!"
The blue Seekers' battle was much less dramatic than the yellow Seekers' battle, as well as the battle of the other blue Seekers. No flames or lasers, though the solid Seeker did shoot out streams of electromagnetism. The dark Seeker did everything he could to dodge. He tried to find an opening, but it was hard when having to dodge many incoming attacks at the same time. Eventually he made his way over to the other Seeker, putting even more effort into dodging the shots, until he got up close. He pulled his arm back.
And dealt a single punch to the other's face.
At the same time with the solid Seeker pointing his gun at the other's chest and fired, stunning the dark Seeker.
Both Seekers fell to the ground at the same time, though the punched Seeker stood up faster, the punch not having been especially damaging. The dark Seeker was unable to move until ten seconds later. He stood up and prepared to charge again, when the Grounder intervened.
"That's enough," he called. "You're done."
Both blue Seekers stopped and glared at the Grounder, annoyed they had been interrupted, but nonetheless the solid Seeker walked back to the other while the dark Seeker waited for the Grounder's judgement.
The Grounder seemed to frown a bit when he looked the Seeker up and down.
"You've got guts and determination, I'll give you that," the Grounder commented. "Though that's probably about the only thing you got going for you. You're good at dodging though. Keep working and maybe you'll actually be worth something."
The dark blue Seeker seemed to deflate from that comment, his wings and body slumping as he made his way back to the other Seekers. Now there was just one Seeker left who hadn't uncovered his ability - well, two, actually, but it seemed the Grounder had already made his decision about the dark blue Seeker.
Without being called up, the red and black Seeker stepped out from the others, already walking to the middle of the field, his gaze at the Grounder none too pleased. The Grounder ignored it and wandered to pick an opponent for the Seeker instead.
This time, though, someone volunteered.
"I will fight him, if you don't mind," the silver, red and blue Seeker said out loud with his deep voice. Despite not all the Seekers having spoken yet, the Grounder was certain the pretty silver one had the deepest voice of them all. Somehow, it did not seem to fit him.
The Grounder stopped and looked at the silver Seeker. He put a servo to his chin, contemplating the volunteer. "Very well," he decided after a few nano-cycles. "Go out and get ready. You begin on my signal."
The silver Seeker smirked and stepped out from the crowd, making his way over to the red Seeker. How fitting. The two red Seekers would fight, just like the two blue Seekers fighting, and the two yellow Seekers fighting. The silver one found it funny that the same colors were pitted against one another. Nonetheless, it was irrelevant. The only relevant thing at the moment was showing this red bot who was boss.
The two Seekers got ready in a battle stance. The silver one clenched his fists and spread his arms and legs out, ready to charge or dodge at a moment's notice. The red one stood with his side facing the other, pointing his clenched left fist forward while holding his right fist back, his legs in a similar position. They stared at each other, the red Seeker with seriousness in his optics, the silver Seeker with an anticipating smirk adorning his face.
"Ready," the Grounder announced and gave the signal. "Begin!"
The two Seekers charged at the same time, with approximately the same speed, their fists clashing together in a loud bam! They jumped back at the impact, and started circling each other. The silver Seeker made a decision and went for another charge. The red Seeker jumped out of the way and delivered a strong kick to the other's helm, sending him to the ground.
The silver Seeker quickly got back onto his pedes and swiped out with his claws. Taken aback by the other's quick recovery, the red Seeker jumped just a bit too late out of the way, getting swiped on his right wing, leaving four deep claw marks in the delicate metal. The red Seeker let out an exclamation as blue Energon started leaking from the wounds. Not badly, but still enough to be noticable.
The silver Seeker took advantage of the other's injury and went in for another swipe. But the red Seeker was not to be deterred. In a quick decision, he launched his left fist into the other's abdomen, delivering a powerful punch. The silver Seeker coughed and toppled to the ground, gripping his abdominal plates. The other Seeker backed off and stood ready for another attack. The silver Seeker rose, still holding his right arm around his abdomen. He lifted his left arm, gun pointing at the red Seeker.
"That's enough!" the Grounder announced.
The red Seeker briefly glanced at the Grounder before he went limp, falling to the ground, unable to move. As he lay on the ground, he gazed at the silver Seeker, standing with smoke emitting from his left arm gun, the right servo still holding his abdominal plates, but looser now. The silver Seeker wore an all too gleeful smirk on his face.
"I said that's enough!" the Grounder repeated with a growl. "You've fought enough. Go stand over with the others."
The silver Seeker removed his arm from his abdomen and crossed his arms, glaring at the Grounder. "I will stay here, if you don't mind," he snarled venomously.
The Grounder held back a wince and frowned back. "You heard what I said, Seeker," he growled, not quite able to make his voice as dark as the Flier. "Go stand over with the others. Disobey me and you shall be reprimanded."
The silver Seeker scoffed and sneered at the Grounder. "Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it? If you haven't noticed, that guy is still stunned."
The Grounder looked down at the red Seeker, still lying on the ground. He seemed to struggle even with trying to move his head. The Grounder hummed concerned.
"So you have more control over those null-ray cannons than I thought," he commented and looked back at the silver Seeker with a serious face. "You used a weaker shot against me, didn't you?"
"Only because you seem to have some kind of power over us," the Seeker replied. As he said this, his gaze unwillingly darted around the area without moving his head with it. Somehow, he felt some kind of presence around them. He looked back at the Grounder in front of him. "We're not alone here, are we?"
The Grounder gave him a surprised look, but quickly regained his composure. "That's correct," he replied. "I have guards stationed around this area. They are watching your every movement. They have been ordered to open fire should any of you try anything funny. Such as attack me. Threaten to terminate me. Go ahead and try. They will take you down without a second thought. You are the expendable ones, we can easily make more of you. And we intend to make many more of you. If you want to stay alive, you better follow the orders of your superiors."
This seemed to have the effect the Grounder wanted. The silver Seeker let his arms fall to his sides, optics wide open, mouth slightly open with clenched dentas, all sneers, smirks and glares disappearing from his face. The expression was brief, though, and the silver Seeker soon snorted and shook his head, wandering back to the other Seekers, smoke practically fuming from his audio receptors.
The Grounder followed the Seeker with his optics and put a digit to his audio receptor. "Keep a close eye on the silver one," he whispered, barely out of the red Seeker's hearing range. "He's defiant. He could prove dangerous. Over and out."
The Grounder turned to the red Seeker, who finally became able to move and rose to his pedes. The wounds on his wing were still leaking a bit. He looked sour if anything. Probably an expression the Grounder had to get used to. There was going to be many more of these guys soon.
Instead of ordering the red Seeker to join the others, the Grounder simply nodded his helm in their direction, silently indicating his order. The Seeker understood, and the two of them walked back to the others together.
"Everyone, line up!" the Grounder ordered, and the Seekers obeyed, rearranging their positions until they stood in a straight line, looking straight ahead, all expressions monotone and blank. The Grounder once again started pacing back and forth in front of them while talking.
"Now, I am aware that two of you have not shown any special abilities yet, but as we are currently pressed for time as it is, and considering the amount of progress we've made already, we have to push ahead with the second final stage in your arrival. This time you have to do nothing, just stand like that and be silent." He paused as he reached the middle of the line, and turned to look at them all at the same time. "It is time for me to give you designations."
All the Seekers briefly gazed at each other before resetting to their initial position. Still, on the inside, they were shuddering with excitement. They were going to get names. Finally! No longer would they be mere nameless bots.
The Grounder started pacing again. "Your designations will define who you are," he explained. "As bots and as soldiers. A bot's designation typically apply to their abilities, looks or skills. Sometimes, even their alternate modes. By watching you fly, fight and unveil your abilities, I have made notes and taken my time deciding what each of you shall be called.
A bot can change his name at a later point if he doesn't feel it suits him, or if he undergoes certain changes that makes his name more inappropriate. Don't expect it to be easy, though. If you change your designation, it has to be verified by your city of creation, in your cases, here in Vos. You may rename yourself regardless, but it is not recommended without official acknowledgement. Name changing without official acceptance may be treated as identity falsification, something you can be charged and arrested for. Then it will become much harder for you to be accepted by society.
So when I give you your names in a moment, make sure you keep this information in mind, in case you think your name doesn't suit you. You can try to change my mind, that doesn't mean I'll listen. It takes a lot of thought to come up with these names, and you're lucky to even get one. Instead of loathing your name, embrace it and make it your trademark, make everyone know who you are and what you're capable of. Anyone can turn garbage into treasure. I mean, that's what we're doing with you, after all."
The Seekers fought very hard not to scoff or spit or even glare at the ignorant little Grounder as he pranced back and forth, monologing like he was the owner of this place, which he may or may not have been. It took all the silver Seeker's strength to even just keep themselves from tearing his miserable head off his worthless body.
The Grounder, unaware of the Seeker's murderous thoughts, continued his monologing. "Now, if you all understand, I shall move on with the designation."
All heinous thoughts dissipated from the Seekers' minds. All they thought about now were their upcoming names. The Grounder walked in silence until he arrived at the far end of the line, starting with the Seeker to the far right, their right. It was the black and purple Seeker who was going to be named first, apparently.
"I have been thinking about your name since your first flight," the Grounder said and turned to face the black Seeker. "You will be known as Skywarp. With an ability as rare as yours, it can be no other reason for you to have this name."
Skywarp smiled slightly, seemingly happy with his name. "It's perfect," he said. "My kind of name." The Grounder moved on to the Seeker next to him, the blue one with black thighs.
"Your name is also something I've been waiting to share," the Grounder said. "For your speed and sonic boom, you shall be Thundercracker. Hope the name falls to your taste."
"It most certainly does," Thundercracker replied, also with the hint of a smile.
"Good," the Grounder replied and moved on to the next Seeker. It was the green one. "Oh, you. I think Acid Storm would suit you well, don't you think?"
Acid Storm nodded, also giving a smile. "I like it," he said.
The Grounder moved on to the next Seeker, the solid blue one. "With your electromagnetic stunning ability, I believe Ion Storm would fit well. And you," he turned to the solid yellow Seeker right next to Ion Storm, "Nova Storm. You seem unaffected by that bot's flames, like a black hole. Obviously, Black Hole would be a bit inappropriate though, if you understand.
"Oh, I understand, don't worry," Nova Storm said and smirked, alongside the smiling Ion Storm and Acid Storm.
The Grounder nodded and moved on to the lavender Seeker. "The name I have in mind for you is a no-brainer, Hotlink. With that flamethrower fitted on your chassis, there is no more fitting name."
"I agree," Hotlink replied and grinned, similarly liking his name.
The Grounder moved on to the blue Seeker with white servos next to him. "I had to do some thinking before I settled on your name. Considering your sparkling lasers, I think Bitstream will do, don't you?"
Bitstream smiled widely at his name. "Oh yes," he replied. "It's great."
The Grounder looked ahead at the line. There were four Seekers left to name. He moved to the dark blue, white and red Seeker standing next to Bitstream, with a rather anxious expression despite trying to look stoic.
"Hmm," the Grounder said and tapped his chin, thinking. "Oh, what the Pit, let's just go with Nacelle."
Nacelle looked surprised at the Grounder. "What does Nacelle mean?" he asked concerned.
"Eh, part of a jet engine, I think," the Grounder replied. "You dislike it, too bad. It's your name now, so deal with it."
Nacelle didn't seem completely happy with his name, but shrugged in reluctant acceptance. He seemed glad to just get a name, even if it wasn't as cool as the other Seekers'. He seemed ready to prove himself the best he could at any point in the future though. Worth keeping an optic out for.
The Grounder moved on to the red Seeker. "You seem to be one of the only two here who haven't displayed any special talents or abilities," the Grounder said, "but you do seem to have some combat skills, and from what I can tell from today, you seem like quite a daredevil. For that, you shall be known as Red Wing. There are few as red as you are. You may find yourself gaining some looks in the future. Whether good or bad, you'll have to find out yourself."
Red Wing nodded, not seeming to care much about his name. It seemed he neither hated it nor loved it. It was acceptable.
Two left. The Grounder was almost at the end of the line. He reached the golden Seeker. He tried not to cringe, thinking about that one's special ability.
"I had no doubt what to call you, ever since you first flew," the Grounder said. "Sunstorm. For your armor is as yellow and shiny as Hadeen, and your flames probably as hot, uncontrollable like a storm. Hope it falls to your taste."
Sunstorm gave a gentle smile, bearing no malice. "It's quite a fine name, sir," Sunstorm replied calmly. "One I shall make sure to announce to the world."
"Mhm," the Grounder replied and moved on to the last Seeker. He stood with his side to the silver, red and blue Seeker for several, long nano-cycles without saying anything, without even looking at him. The Seeker was starting to get impatient.
"Um," the unnamed Seeker spoke deeply, getting tired of waiting. "I get a name too, don't I?"
Finally the Grounder turned fully and looked the silver Seeker in the optics.
"Oh, don't worry, you are," the Grounder replied, sounding much less pleased than with the others. "But I don't know if you'll like it. Then again, I don't care."
The silver Seeker held his breath. Waiting, with anticipation, for the Grounder to announce his decision.
"You shall be known... as Ulchtar."