To my dear readers and reviewers, wow, it feels like I was just here :) but here we are once more. As always, anything that you recognize I simply do not own, I wish I did, but truly I do not. Props to Bee, my dear Beta, so now? Well no further ado:
Chapter 171 – Learning to be Cybertronian
(SwPOV)
Soundwave patiently stood at the technician's section of communications. It was nice in here, a multitude of humans walking, speaking in calm, quiet tones.
Restful, in an organized chaos kind of way.
Ravage was repaired, she was drowsing contentedly in his frame, somewhat petulant that she had not had the chance to devour the prey she had made of Laserbeak, but the cube of energon he had provided her had made that up.
Another sweep through his processes. Two processors were focused on the frequencies, scanning through them, listening for key words and dialects to identify. One processor was controlling a few minor repairs to his own frame, an habitual run; when he was working, few bothered to notice that he was repairing what damage had been caused by Megatron.
But then, he was simply improving the minor defects that had been shunted to the low priorities now, recent damages from the former Lord High Protectorate had made certain of that.
Several orn now. It had been several orn since any had struck him.
Rather pleasant.
The humans still shot the occasional wary glance at him, Soundwave chose to take it as a compliment. They were wary of him, which meant they considered him a respectable opponent. Not that they weren't easy targets singly, but there were easily enough in this room to overwhelm him. He had seen their kind overwhelming threatening bots in battle. Efficient warriors for all that they were tiny.
Soundwave couldn't help but approve of their wariness, not only had he not found the time to replace his insignias, but he did pose a rather strikingly threatening appearance.
Not that he would say it aloud, of course.
Soundwave glanced through his circuitry idly, and noted the familiar damage reports on his emotional circuits. He felt emotion, certainly, that was the province of the spark. The circuits were responsible for the showing of said emotion.
The processor paused for a moment.
Repair emotional circuits yes/no...
The doors opened behind him and the processor remained paused. Rear scans indicated an unfamiliar frame, but a familiar spark signature.
Banshee-hawk femme.
Soundwave turned minutely and nodded his greeting to the newest femme.
"Soundwave," the femme nodded with a smile. "I wanted to thank you, and Ravage for bringing me out of that mine."
"Gratitude: received with thanks. Ravage states: gratitude unnecessary between pride-mates." Soundwave murmured, passing on his symbiont's thoughts. Behind his visor, he allowed himself a tiny smile, quite pleased that this femme had survived her casting, she was a pleasant personality.
"I uh..." she started quietly.
"Banshee-hawk femme: escape from over-enthusiastic trainers." Soundwave murmured, wondering if the femme would hear his amusement through his monotone vocal processors.
"Yeah," she snorted. "And I was wondering if you could maybe teach me some of the finer points of signal monitoring, I caught your signature several months ago, but it took me until now to identify is as yours." the femme smiled.
Soundwave straightened slightly at the compliment. Dual compliment, the request for his knowledge and a compliment on his skills at hiding his signature.
"Banshee-hawk femme: should sit. Body: still new. Result: Damage much easier." Soundwave informed the femme calmly, gesturing to the bench he had not yet tried.
Sitting on the job in a Decepticon ship was not acceptable behaviour. Even when it was a job that had absolutely no need for movement whatsoever.
"How come you aren't sitting?" the femme asked curiously, cautiously settling onto the bench and looking up at him. Several of the humans were looking curiously at him as well.
"Habit," he shrugged patiently.
"Lemme guess, Megatron doesn't like bots sitting when they work?"
Soundwave nodded patiently.
"Banshee-hawk femme: -"
"Call me Lena, fewer syllables," the femme interjected with a grin.
"Lena: have used binder cables yet."
"No..."
Soundwave nodded and for the first time in vorns, sat down beside the young femme.
"First step: systems check. Locate binder cables." he stated calmly and nodded approvingly as her optics dimmed. A few moments and her optics brightened again.
"Second step: send command for convenient cable to extend." he stated patiently, lifting a servo and extending one of his favoured cables from beneath his wrist plating. "Recommend: one quarter power-speed."
"One quarter?"
"Full power-speed: used for emergency binding and causing damage." Soundwave explained patiently.
"How does that work?" one of the humans asked curiously. Soundwave glanced around at the humans watching him with fascination showing in their faces.
He looked around for a target, and noted a pile of outdated technology sitting in a corner.
"Use of technology pile." he inquired, gesturing to the pile of computers.
"Headed for full memory wipes, then they're gonna get slagged, there's nothing sentient in 'em."
Soundwave nodded and retracted his cable somewhat, he glanced at it as the end split into the sharp-edged tetrad claw.
"Wrecking end," he stated, holding the cable up for a moment before shifting away from the femme. A nano-second to aim and Soundwave extended the cable at it's full power, straight into the side of the small tower he had been aiming for. Metal screeched as he tore the component parts out of the interior, pressed it through the opposite wall of the box and – simply because he was showing off – curled the cable around the box, destroying it's integrity before retracting the cable again and offering the component parts to the little femme.
"First lesson," he stated calmly, delicately depositing the parts into Lena's hand, then patting her shoulder with the closed claws. "Control."
"That. Is so cool!" one of the humans called out cheerfully.
Soundwave couldn't help but preen slightly, although it would never show on his countenance. He glanced around at the humans grinning at him and at the young femme looking to him for instruction in their shared interest. The paused processor made it's appearance again in his displays.
Repair emotional circuitry: yes/no.
Usually, he sent no. He had sent no the moment they had been destroyed, and had sent no for vorns afterward.
Repair emotional circuitry: yes/no...
Yes.
(MPOV)
Optimus was carrying me again. I could feel within his spark his enjoyment of that, and his amusement that being carried everywhere was beginning to wear thin on me.
I liked walking. And I really, really liked flying.
My armour was currently in hiding however. Arcee's insistence.
Evidently, my family, my mate and my scrapping sister knew me all too well.
"Can we at least go outside?" I whined at my mate, and as had become his habit over the past few days, my Optimus looked at Arcee for permission.
It was automatic. And it was also automatic, the second he did that, I would pout. I simply couldn't help it.
"No dear, not today," Arcee informed me tolerantly.
Optimus promptly turned away from the entrance bay. Back toward our quarters. I groaned.
"How about med-bay?" I asked pleadingly.
"It's time for you to recharge again, Kae," Arcee informed me.
"But I'm not tired!" I protested. I sounded like a child, I knew it, she knew it, I just couldn't help it!
"Whether or not Lena was truly your sparking, your body needs the time to recover, particularly since you are so young Kae," Arcee informed me. Again. "It'll be easier next time. I promise."
I tried squirming out of Optimus' arms. That didn't work, he simply held on a little bit more tightly.
Blasted metal fatigue.
I gave up, and hated that I was giving up, dropping my head onto my mate's shoulder.
"It will only last another orn, my Kae," he murmured soothingly. I vented a sigh and kept my head on his shoulder as he carried me into our quarters, Optimus settled me gently onto the berth and Arcee crawled up beside me, another habit, but this one I didn't mind as much.
In her own gentle, bossy way, Arcee was now my surrogate mother. Doubly, she was bonded to my spark-father. Although it wasn't official yet, of course.
Hmn...
"Enjoying your bonding?" I murmured with a small smirk.
"I am," Arcee purred. "My grumpy medic is an excellent ma- Kae!"
I smirked at my mother-sister as she shot a glare at me.
"So when do you think Ironhide and Chrome are going to follow your example?" I teased her.
"When Cybertron is revived, and they can stand in the bonding circle," Arcee shrugged calmly, settling down beside me again. I looked at her curiously. "Only two whom are not yet bonded can stand in the bonding circle," she explained with a smile. "Ironhide swore that when he bonds he will do so in the circle, and Chromia is quite content to allow him that desire."
"Aaaww," I murmured with a smile, looking up at my own mate. "I'm sorry you never got to stand in the circle, my beloved."
"I stood in the circle once," my Optimus rumbled with a shrug. He smiled then, popping open a cube of energon and sitting down on the berth beside me. "I stood in the bonding circle, and bonded Elita-1. Then, in my darkest hours I met a tiny creature with blue-green eyes that sparkle with mischief. I knelt in a circle of friends and allies and bound myself to a femme who loves me, even if she's currently irritable that I do not wish her harmed." Optimus finished with a smile, lightly catching my chin with his thumb and forefinger.
My spark flared in response to the truth of that statement, my dear bot.
"Don't forget your blocker," Arcee murmured in my auditory receptor, I shot a wry glance at her.
"What, not forbidding interfacing too?" I snorted.
"Optimus knows to be gentle with you, so no, you need something to keep you entertained besides," Arcee smirked at me. She pecked a kiss to my forehead and squirmed off of the berth. "And if you behave yourself, it'll be less than an orn and you can have your armour back."
(MnPOV)
Megatron sat on his bench, glaring at Shockwave. The mech was cowering, finally, it had taken almost an orn for him to move. And by the time he was moving, Megatron had been forced to get the mech enough energon to survive.
That rankled. Megatron did not fetch energon for others!
But Shockwave was instrumental in his plan to retrieve Soundwave, he needed the mech alive... for now...
Shockwave was still damaged, but Megatron felt better now, and in his mind, that's what counted.
"Now that you have finally decided to rejoin us from your stasis nap," he growled at Shockwave. "We have tasks ahead of us."
Shockwave stayed cowering and quiet. An excellent move.
"We know where the auto-bots are hiding Shockwave," Megatron growled with a grin. "You will go destroy one of the human cities, and Laserbeak-"
"Is offline, my lord," Shockwave reported softly.
Megatron growled and gave Shockwave another kick, not even bothering to get up to do it.
He needed to revise his slagging plan, he glanced around the surroundings again and his eyes lit on a tiny drone, trying it's best to remain invisible as it laboured away.
"You! Drone!" he barked. The drone froze, glancing around for others of it's ilk before looking at him. "I have a task for you drone," he growled softly.
"Yes, my lord?" the tiny voice stated.
"You are to spy on the auto-bots, and discover the location of Soundwave," Megatron growled at the tiny mech. "You will then report this to me, Shockwave will deliver you to the correct co-ordinates."
The drone nodded fearfully and squeaked somewhat when Shockwave picked it up, transforming and blasting into the air.
(APOV)
Arcee strode from the Prime's quarters, already she could hear Kae's soft, humming moans.
Without a doubt, Optimus was keeping her entertained. He was, after all, highly proficient at it.
On that note...
Arcee smirked to herself and strode down the corridors, straight for the med-bay. Ratchet was being irritable, again. Time to investigate.
As was the longstanding habit, Arcee poked her head around the door, spying on her mate before he spotted her. The twins were self proclaimed masters of it, they were of course not always successful. Sunstreaker's complaints of dented helm and scratched paint frequently resounded across the entire base.
"Whoever you are, go away," Ratchet growled, not even looking up from the servo on the bench.
Aah, servo work, of course.
Arcee quietly strode up behind her mate, ascended the bench and wound her arms around his chest.
"Are you sure?" she murmured into his audio receptors.
"N... not entirely..." her mate mumbled. Arcee smiled to feel his faceplates heating up somewhat.
"Mmm, good, now what's twisting your processors my spark," she murmured gently, nuzzling her face into her mate's neck struts.
"Servo work," Ratchet growled irritably.
"Then why aren't the twins here and watching?"
"Brig."
"Ah," Arcee settled somewhat more comfortably and watched her mate at work. As much as he hated working on servos he was incredibly talented at it, strong, remarkably slender for their size hands caressing his work as he threaded a hand together and worked the screws that held it together.
Her mate was an excellent medic, arguably the best. Even had Cybertron not fallen, Ratchet would still be the best medic.
"Who's servo?" she murmured in her medic's auditory receptor.
"Blank. I'm wiring faults in for the twins to find," Ratchet grunted.
Arcee beamed at her mate's helm. Without doubt, he was taking his mentorship of the twins seriously. She thought back for a moment, then paused in surprise.
"Are the twins not over-due coming into the med-bay with something missing?" she asked curiously.
"Looong overdue," Ratchet snorted gleefully. "The terror twins have done more damage to each other in the past three orn than the Chevies."
"Is that what Sunstreaker was yelling about? I thought you caught him with your wrench again."
"Nah, Sideswipe tripped – on purpose – and tripped Sunny as a result. Right into the med-bay."
"And then you hit them with wrenches?"
"No, I asked if they were alright," Ratchet snorted, looking over his shoulder at her. "You are a bad influence on me, my mate. Sunstreaker was shouting about his paint, Sideswipe was laughing his tailpipes off. They were fine."
"You actually let them leave un-wrenched?" Arcee asked in amusement.
"No."
"What did they do?"
"They were trying to distract me from realizing that Mirage was sneaking around them to pilfer the high-grade." Ratchet snorted.
"They're never going to cotton on to the frequency transmitters you put on the cubes, are they," Arcee chuckled, nuzzling her helm against her mate's.
"If they do I'll do something else," Ratchet chuckled, twisting a final bolt into place and turning, catching Arcee in the circle of his arms. "Now then, my mate, I sense from you an impending order."
"From me?" Arcee asked innocently.
"I shall inform you of the same that our daughter's mate says: That innocence is lost the second I look into your optics, my mate."
"I KNEW IT!" Ironhide roared from the doors.
Arcee shot a wry look at her mate as Ratchet looked guiltily at Ironhide.
"You didn't even let me stand with you," Ironhide grumped, striding into the med-bay and sitting with his usual grunt.
"We weren't standing at the time," Arcee informed the weapons master airily.
Ironhide stared back and forth between the two of them and fell off his bench.
Howling with laughter.
(SePOV)
Sentinel came out of a leisurely recharge and stretched. He synced his processors contentedly and stared at the ceiling as his personal logs made their way to the front of his attention. He had another orn of seminars, another series of humans coming to learn from him.
He'd be lying if he said that he didn't find that to be one of the highlights of his stay on this planet.
Sentinel reached along the frequencies and noted the bots that were awake, the bots that were in recharge and... a new bot?
A new femme to be precise, Sentinel was on his pedes the next moment.
He wanted to greet this new femme.
That was second on the list. First was ensuring that Lena had been found.
Sentinel strode out of his room and down the corridor at a good pace, headed toward the med-bay where Kae and Optimus' spark signals came from.
"Good morning, Sentinel," Optimus rumbled the second he walked through the door. "I trust you had a good recharge?"
"I did, thank you," Sentinel responded. "Good morning, Kae, is there any word on Lena?"
Archangel smiled at him, and it was only then that Sentinel noticed that she was devoid of her armour.
"We found her, and no doubt your next question is 'who is the new femme on base?"
Sentinel nodded, then jumped.
"I missed her casting?"
"Most of us did," Ironhide rumbled behind him. Sentinel moved forward somewhat to allow the weapons master room to enter the med-bay. "Kae wound up carrying her back like a sparking and Optimus didn't allow anybot but the medic and femmes near her."
Sentinel looked back at his young friend's mate and jumped somewhat in surprise.
"You suffered the complications of a first sparking," he rumbled worriedly, idly baring his chest to Optimus. No doubt his young friend would still be highly protective of his mate.
"With Ratchet and Arcee right beside me to fix it," Kae stated comfortably, gently reaching out and touching her mate's arm. "Now quit reminding him, I haven't been allowed to so much as walk since we got back."
Sentinel chuckled somewhat, shooting a wry glance at his young friend.
"Entirely contrary to the knowledge that the sooner a femme is allowed to move on her own, the faster her recovery?" Sentinel smirked.
"That is for the mature femmes," Arcee stated behind him. "Kae is not a vorn old yet, better to be cautious with her frame than to cause further damage."
"My frame is settled enough!" Kae immediately protested.
"Not yet dear."
"Please, my Kae, just a little while longer," Optimus added gently.
Sentinel laughed. He couldn't help it. Kae looked like a little youngling as she sat with her arms crossed and a pout bending her faceplates.
"It's my turn to attend to the seminars!" Kae grumbled, glaring at her mate.
"I shall bring you in the trailer," Optimus informed his mate patiently.
"Arceeeeee!"
"Either you go in the trailer or I attend to the mindspace myself," Arcee informed the femme flatly.
Sentinel frowned somewhat, Kae looked entirely like she was struggling to not use the voice of command.
"The voice is not for attaining personal goals," he reminded the femme flatly.
"I know that, the point stands. I want my armour, and I want to stand on my own Primus damned pedes again! Every last one of my personal scans and sensors state that I need to start working my body back into it's strength, not lazing about and being carried everywhere!" Archangel began ranting. "They weren't even this protective over me when I was human! Now I'm made of metal, a thousand times stronger than I was and they're treating me like silicate glass!"
"You were far easier to protect as a human, all I needed to do was transform and you were in my cab," Optimus murmured beside his mate.
Kae glared at Optimus. Optimus shot her an innocent look.
"You're impossible when you're like that," she grumbled quietly. "Fine, go get your trailer my mate, or we're going to be late."
Optimus beamed at his mate and left the med-bay, Arcee close behind to advise him how to transform his flight-deck into a proper carrier for his mate.
Silence.
"Ironhide quick where's my armour?" Kae muttered softly, rising and striding toward the weapons master.
"Nice try niece. Sit down."
Sentinel snorted in amusement as Kae's faceplates bent into a darker scowl.
"You're going to leave your niece defenceless?"
"Sentinel'll be there, and half the unit to back him up. Nobody's gonna get to you niece. Now sit down."
Kae began pacing, back and forth across the med-bay. Sentinel couldn't help it, he burst out laughing at her. Healer, Predator, Prime. Not one of which was accustomed to sitting still.
Frankly, he was amazed she was capable of sitting through his lectures, he had begun repeating himself. Quite frequently.
Optimus strode back into the med-bay and looked at his mate in astonishment.
"Kae! You should not be pacing like that!"
Archangel Prime glared at her mate.
"Put in my place, having been carried everywhere for the past five days are you now going to state that you would not be pacing, my mate?"
Optimus stood for a moment, watching her.
Obviously weighing his words.
"You're right of course, after less than an orn of being carried around in the sedan Optimus got out and threw both of his porters over his shoulders and strode down the street," Ironhide snorted gleefully.
"I was making a point," Optimus rumbled airily.
"That you were stronger and larger than both of your porters?" Sentinel rumbled curiously.
"That we can walk on our own damn pedes!" Kae growled, striding toward her mate. "Now will you please stop coddling me? I'm not an invalid my beloved."
Optimus looked down at her with pleading optics, the two of them obviously speaking spark to spark.
"I know you're worried for me, my beloved," Kae murmured finally, standing on her toes and winding her arms across his shoulders. "I feel your worry for me, but I'm supposed to be your protector now, remember?"
"How do you figure that?" Optimus rumbled with a frown.
"You made me the Lady High Protector, I'm your ceremonial bodyguard, remember?" she smiled up at him. Beside him, Ironhide snorted in irritation. "Ceremonial, Ironhide, point stands, if I have to parade around threatening everyone that dares glare at my mate you're walking beside me doing the same damn thing. You've been on his left from the moment you were needed, and I have no doubt you're going to be on his left to the day we all return to the Well."
"Past that," Sentinel snorted. "I have no doubt the four of you will be standing formation at the gates."
Ironhide was smirking beside him, arms crossed and nodding his satisfaction.
"So worried about being replaced, Weapons Master?" Sentinel rumbled with a snort. He watched in amusement as Ironhide jumped somewhat, looking around suspiciously with energon flooding behind his faceplates. Optimus was facing him the next second.
"None could hope to replace you!" he rumbled earnestly. Ironhide looked up at his Prime and snorted.
"You're gettin' sappy again youngling," he rumbled gruffly. "Now let's get to that lecture hall and guard the place already!"
Sentinel grinned and strode to the entrance bay.
"Sentinel!" a familiar, female voice shouted. He turned and grinned to see a little, frankly adorable femme running toward him. Jolt was striding behind her, watching the femme in awe. For good reason, the technician's femme had been cast beautifully. "You noticed I was gone! You noticed!" Lena fairly sang, launching herself on him.
It had been a long, long time since someone had done that.
"You bought me time, thank you!" Lena sang, hugging him soundly.
Sentinel chuckled and gently hugged the little femme.
"Will you be returning to the seminar?" he asked gently, pulling back to look at the femme properly.
"Please?" she grinned. "I got all kinds of space ready for learning!"
Sentinel chuckled and stood back, transforming and waiting, watching as the little femme transformed beside her intended.
::. I request a slower pace.:: Jolt sent quietly. ::. This is my Lena's first time driving-.::
::. I drove!.::
::. As a Cybertronian, in the streets, not in the headquarters.:: Jolt snorted in amusement.
::. Oh riiiigght... New things!.::
Across the primary, the presences of the entire unit smiled at the newest femme, enjoying the feeling of new experiences anew as they rolled out in convoy.
::. Right, and when you get bored with it, I'll show you how to proximity fat aft over here.:: Ironhide snorted.
::. How could I possibly-.::
::. You ever get bored walking a long way?.::
::. N... Ye... maybe?.::
::. You'll get bored eventually.:: Ironhide snorted. ::. But when you're proximity following fat aft-.::
::. Fat aft?.::
::. Drive in front of me for a minute.::
Sentinel watched in his rearview as Lena pulled out and passed Ironhide, driving behind Optimus for a moment.
::. Now what do you see?.::
::. Prime's trailer...?.::
::. I am Optimus, there are three Primes.:: Optimus stated patiently.
::. Pretty big back end though right?.:: Ironhide sent tauntingly. ::. And he throws rocks.::
::. Kinda, he's kinda huge though...::
Anyone could hear the femme trying her best to not laugh.
::. Fat aft.:: Ironhide snorted.
::. But... if I start calling him that, he's gonna start calling me Banshee...:: Lena murmured.
::. You're gonna get called Banshee anyway, 's'what your mark says.:: Ironhide grunted.
::. It does not! My name is Lena!.::
::. If it makes you feel any better, a minor tweak pronouncing your name is Cybertronian for Banshee-hawk.:: Kae snorted. ::. It's your Cybertronian name, Lena, just as mine is Archangel.::
::. How do you pronounce it in Cybertronian?.::
::. ∂Archangel∂.:: Sentinel stated patiently.
::. See? Way too regal for me.:: Kae snorted. Sentinel thought about that for a second and shrugged, even for her light-sparked attitude, the deep, regal tone fit her perfectly. She carried herself like a Prime, after all.
::. I dunno Kae, it kinda fits you.:: Lena stated musingly.
::. Traitor.::
::. Proximity Optimus, Lena.:: Ironhide snorted as the femme began weaving somewhat, laughing her tailpipes off.
::. Crap how!.::
::. Secondary processor online, order code 'Follow fat-ass.'.::
Sentinel laughed as the newest femme obeyed, her vectors matching Optimus' even as she continued to giggle and chirp with laughter.