I only own my OC's!
Sparked Praxian
Two Weeks Later, shatterdome cafeteria, breakfast
I lead Silverwing, wearing her blue, white, and red school uniform, into the cafeteria, with Bluestreak, to find all the jaegers, their pilots, and all ten gestalt members at the table we usually share with Gipsy and "her" humans. "Hey."
"What's going on?"
Gipsy shrugs. "We don't spend a lot of time with Silva."
Coyote smiles. "We're not letting it happen anymore. We're sitting with you."
"Fine with me." I slide into my seat and watch Bluestreak head off to get his energon before turning to Blades. "How you doing?"
"I'll be all right. I haven't been sick as much as Heatwave, surprisingly."
What had surprised us was that both of them had wound up sparked. "Where is Heatwave?"
"Chased me off when I tried to comfort him this morning. I think he's struggling more than I am with this."
"He's probably…" I sigh softly. "I think he might be jealous, Blades."
"Why?"
I motion around us. "At least in Griffin Rock we were all on the same level—we all were alone."
"He wasn't gestalt, though."
I sigh and set down my fork before getting up. "Mako, make sure Silva gets to school. Sunstreaker's leaving with her in fifteen. I'll be back, but I don't know if I will before she's done, so try not to leave, because I still need to talk with you all."
Hot Spot and Silverbolt share a look before nodding. "All right."
"My people…" I sigh softly. "I want to get together later, around lunch, with the other pilots, and Newt and Gottlieb, since everyone needs to get their jaeger teens to school. I've got some things to talk with you about. How about…my meeting room at twelve? Stacker?"
"We'll be there."
"All right. Thank you." I slip out of the room. 'Sheyenne? Why did you want to meet with us?'
'Mako, what we've learned…how similar gestalts and…well, we are…as pilots… What I witnessed with you, and Rals, and Yance… Then going through something similar with Blades… Guys, this is serious. As Stacker once said, those are his rangers dying out there—His. Rangers.' I sigh over the link. 'And we need to prevent another event like what happened with Rals…with him… We can't let that happen, or we risk death in more than one way. I'm surprised Rals lasted the 5 years before he got with you, because I had wanted to crawl under a rock and die, and I wasn't even officially a Protectobot at the time!'
'Wait…'
'It wasn't just Ratchet, but our bond wasn't official…we'd… We learned, two weeks ago…when we went to form the bond…I didn't tell you guys at the time, and I don't know if I'm ready to bring this up to Rals and Yance yet, and definitely not to the kids…well, Gips deserves to know…' I sigh heavily over the bond as I push the door to the Autobot quarters open, step inside, and let the door close softly before leaning against the wall. One thing at a time, and I'm still talking with Mako. 'But Mako…we DID have a bond—it was weak, but it was there. I was still young enough when I met them to form a bond by contact alone…and we had a lot of contact, Mako… I really had been Gestalt. Ratchet…he helped build Defensor—'
'Build? They were not built…were they?'
'They were, but they…they have sparks. They were built in the earlier days of the war, after the Aerials, and Wheeljack and Perceptor—you haven't met him yet—did most of the work, but Ratchet helped because of Aid. Ironhide was their teacher and bodyguard.'
'So they were your brothers anyway.'
'Yeah…but we had a gestalt connection. I'll be covering all this in the meeting. Have everyone come to it with a picture of both forms of their jaeger. The one on the right needs to have the machine, the one on the left needs to have the human form.'
'I just got one of Star Warrior today. She reminded me of myself, when I was her age.'
'Mako…'
'When I still had my parents.'
'Oh. Well, I'll see you in the meeting.' I push off the wall and step back into their recharge room with a soft sigh. "Heatwave?" He groans softly. "Heatwave, it's Star." I step over to the bed I know he claimed, in bot form, and lay a hand on his forehead. "Hey…"
"What do you need? You got what you wanted."
"Heatwave…" I run a gentle hand over his shoulder. "You're still my guardian."
"Secondary. You have Defensor and Ratchet now. You don't need me anymore…and neither does Blades."
I sigh heavily before cuddling into his side. He's prone to these moments of despair. "We still need you, 'Wave."
He sits up with a heavy sigh. "I never had a chance, did I?"
"Chance?" My eyes widen. "Oh." I smile slightly. "You wanted my place, with them, didn't you?" He turns away, but nods as he does. "Wave, you're where you're needed, and you might not believe it, but Kade really cares for you. You never would have the…renown…you have, as Sigma's commander."
"Renown? We weren't allowed to handle anything on Cybertron!"
"Heatwave, think of the renown you have now—you stayed a rescue bot while the others went off to fight, and…Heatwave…you survived Defensor. You survived Cemetery Wind. You survived what killed everyone else, then you took it upon yourself to comfort those who had lost everyone! You were there…" I sigh and lean into him. "You were there, for Blades, when he had a nightmare about losing his brothers. You were there, for me, when I fell apart about losing Ratchet, or Chicago…whatever got to me at the time. Heatwave, you were there for us when we needed someone, but didn't treat us any different on the field than you did the others. You made us feel like we were part of a team again. I never would have taken this risk—saving Defensor, reviving everyone I have—we have a team again, and that never would have happened…without you being the wind beneath my wings."
He looks down to me. "You really believe that?"
I smile up at him. "Yes, I do. You kept me going when I wanted to quit." I check the time with a heavy sigh. "But I have meetings to get to, and med-bay duty between them. If you need to talk, don't hesitate to come by."
"What kind of meetings?"
"The first is with the Protectobots and the Aerials, but I'm pulling Stacker in as well so we can discuss their positions in the kaiju war. Then I'll have a procedure I've got to assist with on Blades—sparklings can spread through gestalts without it, after all, and an hour of work with Ratchet and Aid. After that, I'm meeting over lunch with the pilots to explain gestalt bonds and their equivalence to the drift, and hopefully set up a protocol for the event a single pilot gets hurt or killed in the field again. After that…I don't know. I might go for a flight, or we may wind up having a kaiju attack…I don't know yet."
"But you'll be here if I need to talk."
"Yes." I pat his shoulder. "Now, how are you feeling?"
"Better than I was earlier… How's Blades?"
"He's okay, Wave. I'll send him by after I'm done with him, and…maybe I can keep the others busy long enough for you two to actually have some time." I shrug. "It's a gestalt thing, and they're still…getting used to having everyone together again."
"I'm trying to be patient, Star, but it's—"
"I know. It's hard." I sigh softly. "Wave, life's never easy. The question is, is it worth it, and I'd have to say yes."
"Okay."
"Just hang in there, Wave. We'll get through this." I slip out of the room. 'Hot Spot, I need the gestalts to the meeting room. Mako, tell Stacker I need to meet with him at the same time. We need to figure out their positions in our war against the Kaiju.'
~On my way, Little Sister.~
'Will do.'
'Thank you, both of you.'
I lean against the wall and smile at my room of eleven. "First things first, how is everyone settled in?"
Silverbolt looks around to his brothers. "We're good."
"Hot Spot?"
"We've been having some…jealously…issues—"
"With Heatwave. I think I made some progress there this morning. We'll find a balance, Spot. You don't just have his bonded, though—you've got his little girl." Hot Spot sighs. "We have a secondary guardian bond, and he's feeling…abandoned. We're working on it."
He nods, and hands me something as almost an after-thought. "I know it's not much, but you need to eat."
I look down to find a large cereal bar in my hand. "Thank you." I open it and take a bite. "All right. Stacker, we need to know where we'll need them most. I mean, they're helpful here in the shatterdome, but as combiner teams, they're…well, Superion is as big as our mark 3, and—"
"And you believe they could help us against the kaiju."
"Yes, Sir." I slide into a chair. "They don't require anything but energon, and Wheeljack's gotten a solar panel up top for us to get our energon supply up. They would be a good asset."
Silverbolt sighs softly. "We're willing to help, Stacker."
"You mentioned the wings were a liability with Star Warrior."
"The kaiju adapt, Stacker, and, while I know you know that point…" I sigh softly. "Sir, we can adapt to match them, where we would have to build on new weapons to the jaegers, Wheeljack is always coming up with new weapons, especially for his creations, and, while the connections are very similar to the drift—I'll go into detail at noon on that topic—we are less fragile than humans, and my goal is to save lives. With them, we would not need to build another jaeger, and…well, they're still pushing for the coastal wall when you and I know it won't work."
"You would have to work closely with us."
"I already am."
"As a commander, Sheyenne. You had a problem accepting your authority the first time you stayed here."
"I am but a sergeant and medic as a Ranger, Sir, and I was a lower rank while I was under you before. I am only a top commander with the Autobots, and I still answer to Hot Spot when I am on a rescue mission, and Ratchet in the medical bay." I smile. "But while our teams are working together, I will take my position as co-marshal, at your resolution."
"You will have to handle the governments as I am, and they do not like to accept a word from those of us in the field."
"Suits and ties, as Herc said." I sigh softly. "They're trying to hurt our kind too, Stacker, but we'll have this. Major Lennox is going to help me there, with the American government, but I am certain this will help both of our causes with the others. We need to restore our alliance with humanity as soon as possible."
"Agreed." He slides out of his chair. "If that is all?"
I nod. "You are dismissed. Hot Spot, Silverbolt, you are to report to compatibility training in five. Blades, we have your procedure, so you're off duty until after lunch. First Aid, you are exempt as well this morning because of your medbay duties, but the staffs are not used to kill. You are required to report after lunch, as I am off for maternal reasons. They want a medic on duty when the jaegers train with their pilots anyway, and Ratchet is on duty in the medbay. I am due for compatibility training as well, because Mako and I haven't done it for a while, but I need to get a hero patrol in beforehand. Raleigh and Yancy are going to walk your team through it, Silverbolt. It's tricky, but it's also fun. No weapons other than staffs in the upstairs training room. Ours is downstairs. Dismissed."
"You did good back there."
I rub the back of my neck nervously. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Aid looks down at me. "I was so nervous taking command of a meeting with the Marshal in it. He's been kind of hard on some of his soldiers, while I take the compassionate route."
"You'll do fine, Star."
"Yeah. We've got your back."
"Thanks, guys." We step into the medbay. "All right, Blades, on the table. Aid, let's get started."
I'm about to leave for my meeting with the pilots when Prowl steps up to the doorway and leans against the frame. "Starlight?"
"What's wrong, Prowl?"
"I need a spark scan." He steps over to the berth, and I notice he's looking a little pale.
"What's wrong?" I grab a scanner as he lays back. "You look a little pale, have you been purging?" He nods as the scanner beeps. I glance down at the readout, then smile. "Well, it's nothing bad, Prowl, so you can relax." I lay a hand on his shoulder. "You're carrying, Prowl—only a few days in."
"Starlight?"
"Hey, Ratch. You're here to take over?"
"Yes." He takes the scanner. "Thank you for giving Red Alert and I some time together this morning."
"No problem. I just—"
"I got it. You need to get to your meeting. Stacker has sent for your meals to be delivered. They are waiting on you."
"Got it. Later!"
I step into the meeting room to find everyone eating and talking amongst themselves. "Sorry I'm late. I had a patient."
"You are fine, Sheyenne."
I slide into the seat at the head of the table. "You have all been called in because of your drift connections with each other."
"Even us?"
"Yes, Newt, even you and Gottlieb. The two of you drifted with each other, and the kaiju baby." I sigh softly. "I know some of you have heard about our discovery, that these drifts we share with each other have similarities to our two combiner teams, but we have recently learned—in connection with my discovery that I am actually gestalt—that they are completely alike. This discovery means new weaknesses amongst our teams. This means—" I lean forward on the table. "If one of you loses someone on the field, we could lose the others they are connected to as well. I am surprised we had Stacker and Raleigh for so long, but at the same time…an iron will is required to operate a jaeger on your own, and the same iron will is required to do what Blades and I did—survive spark break." I smile. "If you would, since I am taking this down—Red Alert is recording it through his personal security cameras, so we'll have sound on the recording—tell your name, and your jaeger." I nod to Stacker.
Stacker clenches his hand around the picture of Coyote Tango. "Stacker Pentecost. Coyote Tango and Striker Eureka."
"Tamsin Sevier. Coyote Tango." Her picture is of a 15-year-old blonde boy with blue eyes.
She clings to her picture of Cherno with one hand. "Sasha Kaidonovsky. Chemo Alpha."
"Aleksis Kaidonovsky. Chemo Alpha." His picture is of another 15-year-old, but his has lighter blonde hair—almost white—and amber eyes.
"Chemo?"
I reach up to my comm. "Their accents, Red. They have Cherno."
"Understood."
"Continue, please?"
I watch as Yancy's grip tightens on his picture of Gipsy in jaeger form, with him and Raleigh standing on her foot—the same one Raleigh had shown me years ago. "Yancy Becket, Gipsy Danger with connections to Star Warrior."
Raleigh holds out a smart phone with a picture of the three of them on Gipsy's first day of school. The 15-year-old girl has black hair with red streaks and amber eyes. "Raleigh Becket, Gipsy Danger with connections to Star Warrior."
Mako's got a picture of Silva from this morning on her smart phone—we'd switched positions as planned, but have yet to jockey as such. The little girl is in her uniform, her now-blonde curly hair pulled back with a red headband, and her now-azure eyes are sparkling. Her human form had changed to be closer to mine when she gained my techno-organic abilities. "Mako Mori. Star Warrior and Gipsy Danger."
"Chung Wu Ten. Crimson Typhoon." He's holding a picture of them with Crimson. They look at least ten years younger in the picture.
"Hu Wu Ten. Crimson Typhoon." His picture has a 15-year-old Asian boy with black hair and amber eyes—the only feature they don't share is his eyes.
"Jin Wu Ten. Crimson Typhoon."
Herc's hand—the one he hurt in the fight against Leatherback—clenches around the picture frame holding the picture of the mark 5. "Herc Hansen, Striker Eureka."
Chuck is holding a recent picture of the two of them in compatibility training on a smart phone. The younger boy has brown hair and amber eyes. "Chuck Hansen. Striker Eureka."
The room goes silent. I nod to the scientists. "And you two?"
"We don't have—"
I smile over at them. "Go on."
"Hermann Gottlieb. Drifted with Dr. Geiszler and a kaiju fetus near the end of the first kaiju war."
"Newt Geiszler. Drifted with Hermann—" Gottlieb glares at him. "Dr. Gottlieb and a baby kaiju, and saved a ton of lives."
I look up to the camera. My picture is laying face-up on the table, and is from right before my first drift in her. Someone had taken it while Blades and I were talking about my nerves over drifting, so the helicopter is in the image as well. It's…haunting…but inspiring…how much has changed since then. "Sergeant Sheyenne Merritt of the US Army Rangers, Commander Starlight Prime of the Autobots. Star Warrior, also known as Silverwing to the Autobots. Newest addition to Defensor." I turn to the group. "Now… We need to come up with a way to prevent any more deaths in this war. Some kind of forewarning system, or…a contingency, where we rescue the jaegers in the event something goes wrong. We can't lose another jaeger team—especially now that we know of the gestalt similarities." I sigh. "After all…I would know, having both, and Aid does keep calling those of us who are part of the group who could drift together in either Gipsy or Star an organic gestalt."
Chuck turns to me. "Well, do you have any ideas?"
one hour later
Herc leans forward. "I think the best idea so far is to have a backup team."
"A backup team?"
Herc nods. "Remember when we were there to back up Cherno and Crimson?"
"Loccent! Typhoon and Alpha are in trouble. We're moving in!"
"You are to hold your ground. Do not engage. We need you to carry that bomb. Do you copy?"
"Jesus, we can't just sit here and watch them die. Come on! Screw this. Loccent, we're moving in now!"
"We've been hit with some type of acid!"
"Come on!"
Aleksis is panicking over the comm. "Hull has been compromised. We need backup immediately!"
"Just hold on, Chemo! We're on our way!"
"Our power move! Yeah!"
Sasha and Aleksis gasp and try to scream as their conn pod fills with water, and they drown. Tendo sighs sadly. "We just lost Chemo, sir."
As they watch, Crimson's pilots become crushed, and get impaled by the thing's tail.
"Engaging air missiles!" The kaiju they're attacking employs a natural EMP, shutting Striker Eureka down and shocking the two connected to him."
I look down, mourning them even as the five lost that day sit in front of me. "I remember."
"If we sent a secondary team in, but gave them orders to protect if necessary, instead of making them hold the coast…"
My eyes widen in realization. "We'd be able to keep everyone safer, while at the same time protecting against their offensive maneuvers!" I lean back. "Any other ideas, or is that the one we'll go with?"
"It still stands to be tested, Sheyenne, but…it sounds viable."
"Then we test it. We'll meet back here after the next attack for more discussion, and don't forget we have the gestalts as well. Dismissed!"
