Chapter Nine - Riot and a Name for Themselves
Swindle returned to a riot.
The main rec room was strewn with the tables and chairs that had been thrown, likely at a moving target. Several knives stuck out of the wall in various places, likely from both mechlings.
Ransack and Crusher had gotten into a brawl and were viciously wrestling each other on the floor.
The siblings were arguing vehemently with each other and Nitro. About what, Swindle couldn't hear for their own yelling, along with that of the former miners'.
Thundercloud had let him know that previously that he had left to go get some things. That explained away his absence and why this situation had not been dealt with by him.
"And I expect that because Roadrage doesn't want to be here, he left and did nothing," the noblemech muttered to himself.
The group he'd brought with him just stared in various levels of dismay or excitement.
"Can I join?" asked one of them, a seeker in his early twenties, his optics flicking down towards Swindle before he returned his attention to the fight.
"No," Swindle replied firmly. He strode forward into the room and snatched up a chair, setting it back on its legs. He then climbed on top of it and yelled, "If you don't all settle down and quiet down, there will be consequences!"
He had to yell a few more times and quite a bit louder for the rabble to actually settle down and shut up.
Angrily, Swindle met their optics one by one before speaking. "You are all old enough to control yourselves and I expect that to be the case here. There will be no rioting in this group, understood? There will be no more of this nonsense. This is your only warning."
The mech then climbed down off of his chair and gestured to the four newcomers.
"These are your new fellow members. I will speak to you all further when Thundercloud and Roadrage return. For now, introduce yourselves. I have things to attend to in my office."
With that, Swindle spun on his heel and strode out the door, the mecha he'd brought with him parting for him to let him out. The noble then turned and walked down the hall towards his office.
The five present members stared at the four newcomers who simply stared back.
Finally, the oldest seeker, a mech nearing his forties perhaps, spoke up.
"For goodness' sake," he said with a grumble before stepping forward. "My designation is Jetstreak, the bright-coloured loon is Wingnut, and the burgundy and yellow seeker is Arson."
He paused, then turned halfway to face the fourth mecha.
"I'm sorry, but you will have to introduce yourself as I am not aware of your designation."
The small black and green doorwinged youngling crossed his servos and scowled. "Wheeler."
Jetstreak rose an optic ridge and nodded once.
"Hi!" Taser said brightly, "Ah'm Taser and that's my brother, Dagger."
Seeing as no one was immediately continuing in introductions, she then carried on, pointing to the mecha as she named them. The three seekers and the youngling followed along with varying levels of interest.
After that, there was another silence.
That was soon broken by the two leaders returning.
Roadrage returned first, took one look at the newcomers, gave them a brief nod, scanned the room, and went to sit down at the bar counter with a shake of his helm.
Thundercloud entered the room shortly after, his loud pedesteps announcing his approach long before he was seen. Ducking his helm to miss the top of the doorframe, he then straightened and gave the mecha and the room a long glare.
"What happened here?" he asked with a growl.
"There was a riot," the seeker named Wingnut said cheerily. His wings then drooped a fraction as he glumly continued. "I didn't get to join."
The giant triplechanger stared at him for several astrokliks before moving his attention from the seeker with the too wide grin.
"Roadrage, why didn't you prevent the riot?" he asked.
Roadrage didn't bother even turning his helm as he answered. "Wasn't here. Same as you."
Nitro swore he saw Thundercloud's optic twitch.
"Where's Swindle?"
"In his office," Taser replied for the rest. "He said he wanted ta talk ta everyone again when you two got back."
"You must be Thundercloud," Jetstreak said with a dip of his helm. "I am Jetstreak."
"I don't care," muttered the triplechanger, eyeing the new group. He then stomped out of the room.
Jetstreak and Arson exchanged a glance.
"Friendly one he is," the older seeker remarked mildly.
Swindle returned and further introductions were made.
The noblemech also asked if the group had decided on a name.
That, was something they'd actually agreed on the offcycle before.
Gauntlet.
Nitro wasn't sure about these seekers.
The oldest one, a dark red and purple coloured mech of average seeker build, seemed normal enough for a seeker. Or at least in terms of what the two-wheeler had heard about them.
The brightly coloured green and purple one was clearly a lunatic judging by the look in his optics and the manic grin plastered across his faceplate.
And the third one, well, what do you really expect of a mecha named Arson really?
Nitro dryly wondered to himself what new and creative ways he could think of himself offlining while living with these mecha.
And while the doorwinged mechling they had brought with them seemed to be about his age, Nitro couldn't find it in himself to really care for that information.
Friends had never been something he'd had nor desired.
