Chapter Eight: Brave New World
"Star?"
Starfall groaned and tried to curl deeper into the padded surface of his berth. He refused to activate his optics or move from where he lay. His wings twitched lethargically behind him.
"Come on, Star. Time to reboot." A large hand took him by the shoulder plate and gently jostled him.
Starfall groaned in protest, but obediently activated his optics. His engines purred as they spooled up inside of him. A diagnostic display appeared on his visual readout as all of his auxiliary systems were brought back online. Starfall groggily blinked the haze of static from his visual display to find Optimus standing by the side of his berth, leaning over him. His father offered him a warm smile. The hand that had been shaking him moved to his back struts and encouragingly rubbed between his wings.
"Good morning, Star. It's time to get up."
"Five more klicks," Starfall mumbled. He was sure his father was trying to help wake him up by rubbing his back, but in reality it only made Starfall want to fall back into recharge more. He let his optics dim again as he nuzzled down into the berthmat.
Optimus chuckled. "I don't think so. Time to rise. You don't want to be late for your first day at the academy, do you?"
Starfall's optics flashed back online. He gasped and sprung up from the berthmat. "School starts today!" He was now fully awake.
"That's right," Optimus smiled. "So you should get up and start getting ready. We leave in four deca-klicks. Go use the wash rack, then come to the dispenser to get your morning fuel."
Starfall scrambled up off the berth and slid down over the side. "Alright!" Racing out of his room he ran for the wash rack down the hall. The lights automatically blinked on as he skid inside. Starfall chortled to himself. The wash rack was the only room in the domicile with such slick floor tiling. If he ran fast enough and skid on his thrusters he could sometimes slide all the way across the wash rack. Today he only managed to get three-quarters of the way.
Starfall gave a quick glance around the sliding door of the shower stall. The tiling inside was already wet - the shower head still dripping water - meaning that Ironhide and Optimus had already taken their morning wash. Starfall smiled. That meant he didn't have to hurry as much. He liked to stand under the shower jet with his face turned up into the spray, optics offline, and imagine he was flying through a rainstorm. When he'd still been a ward of the hatchling facility it had been one of his favorite fantasies. It had been a way for him to escape the suffocating confines of the facility besides just through his stories. Such flights of fancy were no longer such a necessity - not since Optimus adopted him - but Starfall still sometimes liked to indulge.
Starfall motioned the water jets on and stepped inside the rack. He slid the glass door close. Other sparklings his age might have required help from a guardian to wash themselves but Starfall had been seeing to his own maintenance since he was old enough to reach the wash rack controls himself. Although he liked the idea of having Optimus there to help him if he needed it, Starfall was too proud to relinquish his independence when it was not required.
The water jets instantly doused him, enveloping him in a cocoon of misty warmth. Streams of cleanser-laced fluid ran between the edges of his plating down to his protoform. Starfall slowly turned and twisted underneath the powerful spray, letting the cleanser-solvent wash away the grime from his frame. The day before, a few hours before dusk, Optimus had accompanied him up to the roof of the apartment building to let him fly several low circles over the building. While Optimus watched from below, Starfall let himself enjoy the freedom of flight. He liked to think he was getting better with each flight he took. The only downfall to flying Starfall had discovered was the extra accumulation of dust and other airborne particles under his plating - most notably around his shoulder vents and wing flaps. If he went flying the night before, Starfall always noticed an increase of dirt in the cleaning solvent the next morning. It always made Starfall cringe to see so much grime and know that it had come off of him.
When the water finally began to run clear Starfall shut the jets off. He stood for a moment to let the majority of the fluid drip off before activating the power dryer in the shower rack ceiling. The fans roared to life and within several nano-klicks the water that had been pooled underneath his plating was blasted off his protoform onto the floor. Wiggling his wing flaps to shake the last little bit of moisture from them, Starfall left the stall. He went to the sink and pulled his step stool out from underneath. Standing on it, Starfall admired himself in the mirror. His plating shined in the overhead lights. He liked the solvent his father stocked the wash rack with; it made his armor shine a way the shower racks at the hatchling facility never had.
Starfall smiled and turned to the side to look at himself from a different angle. The wing stripes Skyfire had given him stood out boldly against the pure white panes of his wings which made Starfall smiled even wider. He wanted to look especially good today. It was his first day at the academy and he wanted to make sure he made a good impression. Optimus once told him how important first impressions were. That was what people judged you by every time they saw you again afterwards. Starfall trusted his father's wisdom. He didn't really understand what being a Prime meant or what Optimus's job really entailed, but he knew it was important and recognized how everyone they met treated his father like he was some kind of king or living god from one of his stories. If anyone knew about how to make others like him it was Optimus.
Starfall turned to look at himself straight on again. He hoped he made a good impression today. He had to. His father had gone to a lot of trouble getting him into a good school, and judging by the reactions of everyone Optimus had told that day of the big party the academy in district 11 was very special. He couldn't let his father down.
Starfall was looking forward to finally be able to go to school. When he'd come online in the hatchling facility he had received all his basic function information in a software download sometime during his first deca-cycle of life. Such information included his first sub-routines of language development, basic motor skills and internal data-processing commands. Everything else he knew he'd acquired through time, experience, what he'd picked up by reading data pads and listening to what the workers of the hatchling facility talked about when they didn't think he was there or listening. To finally have the opportunity to receive formal instruction and be taught everything he'd always wanted to learn was a dream come true.
More than anything else, though, Starfall was looking forward to being around other sparklings his age. In the hatchling facility, he'd often been around sparklings. But every time a new batch came online, he rarely ever got to spend more than a few deca-cycles with them before they were old enough for adoption. Every newsparks he played with or he decided he liked the best out of the latest batch would inevitably be chosen by some couple who wanted nothing to do with him and take that sparkling away, leaving Starfall, once again, alone. Every time a new batch of newsparks had come online Starfall would spend all his time in the recreation room with Mayday soaking up every nano-klick of time he could with them. He liked playing with newly gestated sparklings. Helplessly uncoordinated and supplied with only the most basic language skills that allowed them to chirp and warble, they were small enough to be picked up and held by Starfall and were easily entertained. Newsparks didn't care what kind of model he was or if he had wings. Newsparks only cared about how long Starfall was willing to play with them before they got tired and how much he could make them chortle with laughter. Life was simpler around other sparklings.
Or at least Starfall hoped that was still true outside the walls of the hatchling facility. He had no idea what to expect when Optimus took him to the academy. Would the other sparklings like him? Would they want to be his friends? If he could find just one who wanted to be his friend Starfall would be happy. Just the thought of having someone else his age to play and spend time with made Starfall both excited and nervous. It was all he'd ever wanted besides finding a nice family to adopt him.
Starfall critically studied his reflection in the mirror. Did he look good enough to make others want to be his friend? He wasn't sure. The wing stripes Skyfire gave him only did so much to improve his appearance. What else could he do to make sure he made a good first impression?
Looking around the wash rack Starfall spotted a canister of polish sitting on one of the higher shelves of the storage unit beside the shower stall. It was higher than another sparkling Starfall's height would have been able to reach, but no other sparklings Starfall knew of were seekers. It took only a short burst of power from his thrusters to jettison far enough off the ground to reach it.
Starfall returned to his step stool with the canister of polish. He opened it and examined the thick white paste inside. Starfall tentatively ran one fingertip across the top of it and rubbed the residue between his fingers. A strong, clean smell immediately filled his olfactory receptors. Starfall smiled. This was his father's special armor polish. Optimus had pointed it out to him sometime during Starfall's first few orns living there. It was a special mixture with fancy oil additives Optimus only used for special events when he needed to look exceptionally good.
Starfall stared at his polish-covered fingertips, suddenly unsure of himself. Should he use it? He'd never used polish before but he understood the basic idea of how to apply it. But more than that he wasn't sure what Optimus would say about it if he did. As far as he knew Ironhide didn't even use Optimus's special polish. Would his father care? He didn't want to make his father angry, but the unspoken pressure to impress his future classmates looming over Starfall's head far outweighed any fear of his father he might have had.
Starfall vented a heavy cycle of air. Hesitation wasn't going to get him anywhere.
Starfall dunked his fingers into the polish and scooped out a large glob of it. Setting the canister aside on the edge of the sink, Starfall went to work rubbing the polish into a workable paste between his hands. It took only a few klicks to smear the polish across his arms and shoulders, and a few more to get a second helping to finish covering his chest plate and leg struts. He tried to get as much of his wings as he could but was only able to reach the middle portion of them. Working the polish in as best he could everywhere he could reach Starfall finally grabbed a rag from the storage unit underneath the sink unit and began to slow process of wiping all the excess polish from his frame. It took several rags to complete the job but he finally wiped the last of it away.
Starfall took a moment to examine himself in the mirror. He offered his reflection a tentative smile. For his very first attempt applying polish he thought he'd done a pretty good job. His armor gave off a pretty shimmer in the light when he moved. On the white parts of his plating, if he looked close enough, it looked like there were little flecks of diamond dust mixed in with the polish. Starfall marveled at the effect. His father's polish really was special.
"Star?" Optimus called from down the hall. "Are you alright? Do you need any help in there?"
"No, dad. I'm all done!"
"Hurry and come get your energon then. It's almost time for us to leave."
"Coming!"
Starfall gave himself one last glance in the mirror, then turned for the door. He went down the hallway to the main area of the domicile. Optimus was sitting on one of the chairs at the kitchenette table. He was leisurely sipping at a cube of energon while simultaneously listening to the newsfeed playing on the tele-consol in the common area. A half cube of energon sat ready on the table in front of the empty chair across from him. There was no sign of Ironhide; he must have already left for the day.
Trying to appear as nonchalant as possible Starfall went to the chair Optimus had set his morning energon at.
"What was taking you so long in the wash rack?" Optimus asked as Starfall clambered up onto the chair. "Usually you're much quicker getting ready in the morn-"
Optimus abruptly fell silent. His optics ran up and down Starfall's frame, scrutinizing him.
Starfall hunched down into his seat.
"Star, did you use something different today in the wash rack? Something besides the normal shower solvent?"
Starfall cringed. He should have known better than to think his father wouldn't notice his new wax job. "No," he instinctively lied.
His father's gaze did not waver from him. "Are you sure?"
"Yea."
Optimus's optic ridges furrowed together in a serious expression. "Really? Then why do you have streaks of polish around your shoulder joints?"
Starfall followed Optimus's gaze and was mortified to see he was right. Lining the edges of most of his plating were streaks of chalky white residue - the dried remains of the polish he'd missed while wiping it off. He looked back up at Optimus to find him staring at him expectantly. Although Optimus didn't look particularly angry, his facial plates were set in a stern frown.
"Do you want to tell me the truth now, Star?"
Starfall looked down into his lap, unable to bear the weight of his father's gaze. "I'm sorry! I just wanted to look nice for my first day of academy. So I used your special polish."
"Why did you lie to me, Star?" The question wasn't accusatory or angry. If anything Optimus sounded almost… hurt.
"I don't know! I'm sorry. I just didn't want to get in trouble for using your polish."
"That is no reason to lie," Optimus said. He held Starfall's gaze steadily with his own. His lips were turned down in a sad frown. "You must never lie, Star. Lying is a very bad thing to do. Even if you do something wrong, you must always tell the truth. It might feel like the most difficult thing you ever have to do, but even if you do something wrong no one can speak ill of you if you take responsibility for your actions and tell the truth. Do you understanding what I'm saying?"
"Yes," Starfall murmured. "I'm sorry." He wanted to sink right down into the floor and disappear. He risked a hesitant glance up at Optimus. "Are you mad at me?"
Optimus shook his helm. "No. Just a little disappointed that you didn't immediately tell me the truth."
Starfall hung his head lower. Disappointed? Disappointed was even worse than angry. He'd almost have preferred to have Optimus yell at him than look at him with such disappointment in his optics. When he used Optimus's polish he'd never wanted to make Optimus think badly of him. A thin ring of static began to fuzz the edges of his visual readout.
"I'm sorry," Starfall insisted in a tight whine. "I won't ever lie again. I promise."
Optimus offered Starfall a soft smile. "I accept your apology, Star. Thank you for telling me the truth." He got up from his seat and motioned Starfall to follow him. "Come. Let's see if we can't fix those polish streaks and even you out. I see at least three spots you missed."
Starfall was still feeling too embarrassed and chastised to say anything. He quietly followed Optimus down the hallway back to the wash rack.
Optimus pulled out Starfall's step stool for him from underneath the sink. "Up you go."
Starfall sullenly mounted the stool and looked at himself in the mirror. His wings drooped at what he saw. The reflection that stared back at him was not the same one he remembered when he first looked at himself in the mirror. When he'd first wiped himself off Starfall had though he'd done a satisfactory job of applying his own polish. No longer blinded by naïve self-assurance, Starfall now saw how easy it had been for Optimus to catch him in his lie. Streaks of dried polish decorated his entire frame along with multiple patches of armor he'd missed entirely. Turning a little to the side Starfall only now realized he'd been in such a rush that he hadn't even thought of doing the back parts of his armor. That wasn't to mention the areas of his frame he'd been completely unable to reach.
In a word: he looked horrible.
Starfall looked away from his reflection, unable to bear the sight of himself anymore. It was too painful to look at. How did he ever think he looked good? How did he not see those streaks and dried smears? How did his father manage to keep a straight face and not burst into laughter when he came into the kitchenette? Starfall was so embarrassed he swore he could feel his face plates heating up. The ring of static around his visual readout thickened.
His father must have sensed his embarrassment because he came up behind Starfall and offered him a gentle smile in the reflection. "Don't be upset, Star. I'm not angry and this is nothing we can't fix. You missed a few places here and there but it's not the end of the world."
"I look horrible! How are we gonna fix this? Everybody's going to laugh at me!"
"No they're not," Optimus calmly said. He reached around Starfall and picked up the canister of polish from the side of the sink. He opened it and scooped out a small glob of it out onto his fingertips. "This is a relatively easy fix." Rubbing the polish into a thin paste, he reached underneath the sink and withdrew several rags from the storage unit there. He set them on the side of the sink for later. "Alright, arms out," he sing-songed.
Starfall did as he was instructed, his head hanging down his chest in shame.
Optimus took hold of Starfall's right arm and began to spread the polish across his plating in short, practiced strokes. "I think your problem was that you used too much polish before," he said as he worked. "That was why you weren't able to get all of it off before it dried. It's cases like this where less is actually more." Optimus finished reapplying polish to Starfall's right arm and moved on to his left.
As Optimus worked, Starfall reluctantly began to relax. His father's touch was reassuring and calm. If anyone could get him ready before they had to leave, it was him.
Optimus finished Starfall's arms and moved on to his wings. Starfall instantly melted under the feel of strong hands massaging circles up and down both sides of his wings. He was so soothed by the sensation he no longer remembered to be embarrassed.
"You completely missed the backs of your wings, Star, along with a good portion of the fronts," Optimus observed.
"I couldn't reach," Starfall murmured. "My arms aren't long enough."
Optimus nodded with a hum. "Yes. That can sometimes be a problem even for bots without wings. I myself sometimes have trouble reaching my shoulder struts."
"How do you get them then?"
"They make special sponges on the ends of long handles that make it easier to reach trouble spots. I have one in the storage closet in the hallway." Optimus finished with Starfall's wings and took another helping of polish to start on his legs. Starfall remained still, enjoying the attention. "I don't understand, though, Star, why you didn't come and ask me for help. I would not have denied you the use of polish or been angry about you asking."
"Not even your special polish?"
Optimus's lips twisted in a wry smirk. "I admit this polish is rather special and only used for special occasions, but I could have found you something else just as good, if not something easier to use. This is a special formula made by an old friend of mine named Sunstreaker. It looks beautiful, but it is extremely difficult to apply properly. Ironhide refuses to even deal with it, it's so troublesome. You might not have noticed yet but Ironhide have very little patience for superficial things like this. I usually have to force him to wax himself for formal events."
Starfall snorted. During his time in the Prime household thus far he had noticed Ironhide's general dislike for things like polish and other fancy things. Starfall would have almost enjoyed seeing the look on Ironhide's face if Optimus presented him with Sunstreaker's special polish to use.
Optimus finished with Starfall's legs and reached for one of the rags he'd set aside earlier. Starting on Starfall's arms he began to rub the residue from his frame. Starfall's plating gleamed in the wake of Optimus's ministrations.
"So why didn't you come to me for help? Surely you know by now you can come to me for anything."
"I know," Starfall murmured. "I just… don't like asking for help. When I was in the hatchling facility it was just easier to do things myself. Even if I asked, no one ever seemed to want to actually help me, so I just learned how to do things by myself."
Optimus vented a sad sigh. "You've been alone for so long you don't know how to rely on others." He caught Starfall's optics in the mirror and held his reflection's gaze. "Promise me you will come to me for anything. Please, Star? That's part of my job as your father to take care of you. You don't have to do everything on your own anymore. You have me now."
Starfall stared at Optimus's reflection, his spark clenching in his chest at the sincerity in Optimus's voice. He didn't trust himself to speak. Even now, several deca-cycles after Optimus found him, he was still at times taken aback that he finally had someone in his life who wanted to take care of him.
"Okay," Starfall said, too overwhelmed to say anything more.
Optimus smiled warmly at Starfall in the mirror, then turned his attention back to wiping off Starfall's frame. Finally, he wiped the last little bit of polish off of Starfall's pede. He stood straight and took a step back with a pleased grin. Starfall looked at himself in the mirror. He turned and twisted his body several different ways to inspect his father's handiwork. The effect was stunning. No longer were there any streaks of dried polish or uneven spots. Every inch of his plating shined as if his body was radiating a soft glow of light. The shimmery effect the polish had on the white plates of his body were even more noticeable now after Optimus's touchup. Sunstreaker's polish really was something special.
"I think that should be acceptable for your first day of academy," Optimus said. He set aside the used rags on the side of the sink. "What do you think? Did I do well?"
Starfall looked up at his father with static-fuzzed optics. Optimus had done better than well - he had saved Starfall from assured public humiliation. Unable to put the full magnitude of the gratitude he felt into words Starfall reached for Optimus. Standing on his step stool he was just tall enough to wrap his arms around his father's waist. "Thanks, dad," he murmured into Optimus's torso plating.
Optimus returned the hug, pulling Starfall tightly against his front. "You're welcome, son." He gently stroked the back of Starfall's helm with one hand. "Don't forget what I said before: you can come to me for anything. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you."
Starfall wordlessly nodded, unable to do anything else.
Optimus patted him between the wings and released him. He smiled down at Starfall. "Let's go get some fuel into you. We have to leave soon."
"Okay." Starfall hopped down off his step stool and pushed it back under the sink. Optimus gathered up the used rags and deposited them in the waste bin beside the door. Starfall walked close beside Optimus as father and son exited the wash rack and went back down the hall to the energon dispenser.
When he'd been a much younger sparkling still living in the hatchling facility, Fortran had once told Starfall about their race's cosmic-creator, Primus. Starfall had never quite understood what this Primus was or what he was suppose to do. He'd never seen him or noticed any of the wondrous things Fortran said he was responsible for. As far as Starfall understood it, Primus was the being those of his race prayed to when they wanted something or needed help. He'd never really believed the stories Fortran told him, but he had enjoyed them well enough as interesting tales to entertain him.
Lately, however, Starfall had begun to reevaluate his old views on Fortran's stories. When Fortran had first told him that Primus granted wishes to those who prayed to him, Starfall had immediately prayed to this invisible, supposedly all-knowing being to help him find a family to adopt him. He'd practically begged Primus to help him find a home only to be let down every time a new batch of sparklings came online. After the last batch he'd all but given up hope. Apparently Primus didn't listen to sparklings or think Starfall's wish was great enough to warrant his attention. It had only been recently that Starfall had begun to wonder if maybe Primus really hadn't heard his wish after all and sent Optimus to find him.
Sending a small prayer of thanks to Primus, Starfall risked asking one more wish: to find another sparkling his age to be just as good a friend to him as Optimus was a father. Surely if Primus answered one prayer, he would answer another.
Right?
Starfall goggled out the window of his father's alt-form cab as Optimus turned off the road into the transformation lot of district 11's Iaconian Academy of Advanced Primary Education. In many ways the academy reminded Starfall of the sector 12's hatchling facility: large, imposing, and extremely official looking. The main building was a mirrored tower that rose at least twenty stories above the ground. Starfall had to lean over Optimus's steering wheel and crane his neck back to see the top of it through the windshield.
"Tall, isn't it?" Optimus's disembodied voice rumbled through the cab.
"Yea," Starfall murmured. "I hope I have some classes on the top floor. I bet they have an awesome view up there."
Optimus chuckled. "I think most of the upper floors are for administrative use and not classrooms for students. In fact, I believe younger students are situated on most of the lower floors."
"Oh," Starfall murmured, disappointed. He leaned back from Optimus's windshield.
The cab unit vibrated with Optimus's amusement. "Don't fret, Star. Almost all the classrooms have windows. It was one of the things I looked for when the administrator showed me around the academy while you took your placement test the other deca-cycle."
Starfall nodded. He remembered. While his father was shown around the building by Catalyst, the school's administrator, Starfall had been given a short test. It was suppose to tell the teachers what grade level he was sorted into. It had been easy enough - some reading comprehension texts, mathematical equations and Cybertronian glyph recognition exercises. Optimus had said he'd done very well on it. His father had looked so proud when they'd gotten his test scores back. Starfall had immediately made it his goal to do his best in school just to see that look in Optimus's optics again.
Starfall looked out the side window of Optimus's cab unit. A number of other bots filled the transformation lot along with many sparklings of various ages. Starfall tried to see how many of his own age there were. He spotted several amongst the crowd. He tried to suppress the nervous knot that formed in the bottom of his fuel tank. His wings twitched against the seat back.
"Here we go," Optimus said as he pulled over to the side of the lot near the front entrance of the building. He swung his cab door open to let Starfall out. Starfall cautiously climbed down. Now that he was no longer ensconced in his father's cab unit he suddenly felt very exposed. All the other bots mingling in the transformation lot were strangers, none of them even the slightest bit familiar. He unconsciously flattened his wings against his back struts. He'd been in enough situations like this to know what happened next: the bots nearest to him would notice him and see what model he was. There would be a momentary pause, maybe even a double-take or two, and then the uncomfortable stares would start. He'd seen the same sequence play out every time a couple came to the hatchling facility to chose a sparkling. He'd seen it when Optimus had taken him out the day after adopting him to buy him new things for his room. And he'd seen it when they'd arrived at the big party the other deca-cycle. The only difference now was that there were other sparkling there Starfall's age to join in the staring.
Two mechs stood off to the side of where Optimus had pulled over. They each had an older sparkling probably a few vorns older than Starfall standing next to them. Except for a gold chevron adorning his helm, one of the younglings was almost an exact carbon-copy of his creator all the way down to his navy blue and white armor and gold detailing. Just as expected, the two mechs froze and stared at the sight of Starfall.
Starfall willed himself not cower or show that he noticed their looks or even cared. His father never let others bother him when they stared, so neither would he. He forced himself to remember how nice he looked in the mirror after Optimus touched up his wax job. There was nothing bad anyone could say about how he looked.
Optimus transformed to his root form behind Starfall. Starfall would have almost snickered at the startled looks of shock on the two mech's faces if it weren't for the fact that every other adult in the transformation lot was now staring at them. One of the only downfalls Starfall had noticed about having Optimus as a father was that the stares always increased once others noticed him. No matter where they went everyone always recognized Optimus. A murmur of confused awe rippled across the transformation lot. The murmured whispers only increased when Optimus stepped up beside Starfall and rested a hand on top of his helm. Whether to comfort him or to show possession of him, Starfall didn't know. In all honesty he didn't care. Either reason made Starfall lean up into his father's touch and edge closer to the side of his leg.
"Optimus Prime?" the mech with the identical son called. "Is that you?"
"Senator Scion?"
The navy blue and white mech hurried over to them. His son and the other mech and youngling were quick to follow. Scion and the other mech both offered Optimus obsequious bows of their helms. Starfall could feel his father stiffen beside him. Starfall didn't understand why, but Optimus never seemed comfortable when others did things like that around him.
"Senator Scion," Optimus nodded. "Senator Klaxon, it's a pleasure to see you as well."
The second senator - Klaxon - a dark green mech, smiled. "Optimus Prime, it is an honor to be able to see you in public outside of the Senate walls. Whenever we do see you it is usually to discuss some unpleasant matter of state. Please let me introduce you to my son, Gearslip," he motioned to the youngling accompanying him. "He is in his third vorn of study here."
"And this is my son, Aftershock," Scion said. He gestured to the identical sparkling beside him who stepped forward to give Optimus an exaggeratedly low bow.
"A pleasure to meet you, sir," Aftershock said. Despite Aftershock's closeness to Starfall's own age, Starfall couldn't help but think Aftershock sounded unnaturally polite for a sparkling.
Optimus gave a nod of acknowledgement to both younglings. "It is a pleasure to meet you both." He turned his attention back to Scion and Klaxon. "I did not know either of you had children enrolled here."
"We could say the same for you, Prime," Scion said. His gaze dropped to stare at Starfall. Starfall's plating instinctively flattened against his protoform. He could almost feel the weight of the senator's optics on him, critically looking him up and down. "Many in the Senate have heard rumors circulating ever since the Victory Day Anniversary that you and Consort Ironhide adopted a sparkling. Is this… seeker the child everyone is talking about?"
Starfall frowned. He didn't like the inflection Scion used. He couldn't properly explain why, but Scion made it sound like his model was something dirty. His wings fluttered stiffly behind him. Why did no one like his model type? What was so wrong with having wings or being able to fly?
Optimus's optics narrowed above the edge of his mask. The hand cupping Starfall's helm tightened. "Yes. This is my son, Starfall. Ironhide and I adopted him about a deca-cycle and a half ago. Yes, he is a seeker, but I would prefer it if you did not use his model as if it were his only identifying trait." Although Optimus's voice remained steady and calm, even Starfall heard the warning edge in it.
Scion also seemed to hear it and quickly tried to backpedal. "Forgive me, Sir. I meant no disrespect. It's just that seekers… ever since the end of the war… They're just so rare to see in any of the free city-states nowadays…"
"I know what people's general views on seekers are, but the war is over. It has been for a very long time," Optimus rumbled in a decidedly slow voice. Starfall found the effect slightly frightening. He'd never heard his father sound so serious before. "Starfall's make should not be an issue to anybody anymore. We are all one race now. I would hate to see the shame grudges and prejudices of the war-generation passed down to this new generation of younglings."
"Quite right, Prime, quite right," Senator Klaxon hastily agreed. "Senator Scion and I heard all your speeches about us being one race of Cybertronians again during the reconstruction years immediately after the war. I could not agree with you more. It is time to finally put our talk into action. Whatever model your son is, it is an honor to make the acquaintance of the Prime's son. I know he will make a fine addition to this institution's student body. Gearslip," Klaxon said, "say hello to the Prime's son."
The green and gold plated youngling dropped his head to Starfall in a practiced bow. "It is an honor to meet you, Starfall."
"Hi," Starfall murmured. In none of his day dreams did he ever imagine meeting other sparklings his age would feel so forced or awkward. He wondered if this was what it felt like for his father every time he had to deal with people who recognized him. If it was then he understood why Optimus didn't like meeting people in public now.
Scion instantly followed his colleague's example. He elbowed his son forward. "Aftershock," he prompted.
"It is an honor to meet you," Aftershock bowed.
"Hi," Starfall muttered back.
Scion smiled at Optimus. "I hope that our sons become fast friends, Prime. It would be a joy to see our children become beacon examples of the future you championed for after the war."
"I would like to see that too, Senator," Optimus politely agreed.
Starfall, however, sensed his father was only doing so out of social obligation. Although he had very limited interactions with people outside of the hatchling facility, Starfall sensed something off about the two mechs' interactions with his father. He couldn't explain why but he sensed a certain aura of tenseness from his father, as if he didn't really want to be talking with them despite his façade of politeness. The entire exchange felt overly stiff and formal, as if they were all actors playing out the scene of some drama Starfall didn't understand. As for Starfall, he had felt no connection with the two sparklings or gotten the sense that Aftershock and Gearslip would have come up to greet him if their creators had not ordered them to. If anything, the two senators seemed overly eager for their sons to befriend Starfall. Under normal circumstances Starfall would have been ecstatic. To have the promise of new sparklings his age to play with was what he'd been hoping to get out of going to school the most. But Optimus's stiffness made Starfall hesitate. It was almost as if Optimus didn't trust the two mechs but was just too nice to say so.
"It was a pleasure to see you, Senators, but if you will excuse us, Starfall and I must take our leave. We still need to speak to the academy's administrator before classes start. There is still some paperwork I need to fill out for Starfall's enrollment."
"Of course, Sir," Scion said, obsequiously nodding his head to Optimus. He spared Starfall a glance. "Welcome to the academy, Starfall. I hope to see more of you soon." His smile was unnatural broad as he stared Starfall down.
Starfall mutely nodded his helm. He couldn't think of anything to say. The senator's grin made him uncomfortable.
As Optimus steered Starfall away towards the entrance, Starfall glanced back over his shoulder plate. The two senators were staring after him and Optimus. There was a small smirk on Scion's face, his optics predatory and calculating. Starfall quickly adverted his gaze back around, trying not to squirm under the prickle of the senator's gaze on his back.
Several other adults called out to Optimus as they made their way across the transformation lot. Optimus acknowledged them all - addressing many of them as senators and the rest with other impressive titles Starfall had never heard before - but he did not stop to talk with anyone else. Starfall was glad. His encounter with the two senators had been enough for one day. Nor did he want to spend anymore time in the transformation lot than he had to. He felt exposed in the open where everyone could stare and gawk at his wings. Optimus seemed to sense Starfall's discomfort because he walked close beside him - close enough for Starfall's wingtip to just brush his leg. The feeling was comforting; it reminded Starfall that his father was there with him. The whispered murmurs of the other parents mingling in the transformation lot followed them across the lot and into the school. They only stopped when the doors slid close behind Starfall and Optimus, sealing them inside. Starfall knew better than to hope that there wouldn't be more whispers and stares directed towards him before the end of the day.
To be continued
Next chapter: Star starts school and finally gets to interact with some other sparklings his age. But in doing so, it brings his and Ironhide's tenuous relationship to a head.
The first section of this chapter might seem a little bit out of place but the exchange between Optimus and Starfall will be key for setting up the next chapters. Trust me.
Thoughts on this chapter? Let me know!
Signing out
-LAXgirl