The first lesson went alright. The next ones were even better, once Thundercracker began to relax and realized Updraft was bright. Sparklets, at least this sparklet, were much quicker to learn than he had guessed.
When he and Skywarp arrived that first evening, Updraft had been alone. She unlocked the door on her tiptoes, and when it opened Thundercracker saw her staring up. Her optics were laser-bright and wide in anticipation. Thundercracker wondered how long she'd been by the door.
"You showed up!" she exclaimed, reaching out for Thundercracker's hand.
"You're all wet," was what he said to her, and Skywarp laughed out loud. Her plating still dripped from the washracks.
"I pushed my own stool into the washracks and it's perfect for reaching the tap!" Updraft told Skywarp. "I'm so clean!"
"You are," Skywarp said, crouching down to her level. "But you're also gonna drip on TC's datapads. So go get dry."
Updraft grinned and turned right around. As Thundercracker was locking the door they heard the rush of air from the washracks. Skywarp grinned, leaning against the wall.
"Cute kid," he said. Thundercracker was silent.
When she returned, properly dry, Thundercracker gestured towards the table. Now it was covered in datapads, things he'd spent the night putting together for her. Updraft jumped into a seat, back straight in anticipation. Academy students never quivered in excitement like that.
"Where's Screamy?" Skywarp asked, flopping down in a seat across from them.
"Kaon," Updraft said. Thundercracker paused, mouth half-open. Skywarp stopped swinging his legs under the table.
"Kaon," Thundercracker repeated. Starscream had punished them for finding Updraft, then. Normally they got a comm when he took a trip without them, and leaving them here meant he'd brought lesser subordinates. That meant that he'd probably have a few less subordinates once he returned, since nobody could stand him.
Updraft seemed surprised at their concern. "He'll be back soon," she said. "He actually talked to me before he left. He said to tell you you were both..." She frowned. "Both slagheads. I think that's a bad word."
Skywarp grinned in delight, and Thundercracker sighed. "It is a bad word," he said. He was already exhausted by Starscream, and he hadn't even commed him that day, let alone spoken face-to-face. "Well, never mind. Let's see what you know."
As it turned out, she was almost up to standard. Updraft read fluently when Thundercracker gave her a Vosian passage to read. She stumbled on the one in Neocybex Standard, but seemed to catch on to the similarities and got the point across. (Of course Starscream must have thought anything but their dialect was beneath her—at least, that's what Thundercracker hoped, because otherwise it was another tick of failure on the growing list.) The appropriate downloads for arithmetic and simple math had been given at upgrade. She completed the problems he gave her and said, "These were easy. Do I get harder ones soon?"
"Of course," Thundercracker said. "We'll start with that. Then I'll show you a map and we'll see where we are on Cybertron."
Updraft's optics lit up and she nodded, sitting straight up in her chair. "And the weird reading you gave me?"
The weird reading would be the Standard, which she had never heard spoken in the Vosian Heights. Thundercracker gave her a small nod.
"Math first," Thundercracker said firmly. "We'll start here. This builds on the problems you just did..."
It didn't surprise him at all that a sparklet of Starscream's was intelligent. She caught on very quickly to the math, and was soon zipping through problems that made Skywarp yawn loudly. Eventually he got bored and padded off to find energon treats, but Thundercracker kept Updraft's attention firmly on the problems. Math was not a challenge for Cybertronians, not like he'd heard it was for organics. They did little in the way of learning what simply was.
When he was satisfied with her performance, he clicked on the map. Updraft's optics flashed with excitement as a holographic Cybertron jumped to life. The enthusiasm pleased Thundercracker, and he traced her Starscream's most likely route from Vos to Kaon. Then he led her finger from Kaon to Tarn, to Iacon in the north, and told her about city-states. Then he spun the planet-map northwards, going south back to Vos.
"Our city's a flier's empire," Updraft said. Thundercracker tapped Vos on the hologram and it sprang up instead, all skyscrapers and landing pads. "That's what Starscream said once."
"The one thing he's right about," Skywarp said cheerfully. He popped another sweetstick into his mouth. "It's true."
"Yes," Thundercracker sighed. "Thank you, Skywarp. Anyway, yes—Vos is the only flight-dedicated city on the planet. Most of the forged 'bots here are born with flight protocols."
Updraft nodded. Her optics were bright and her full attention was on Thundercracker, at least for the moment. The corner of his mouth quirked as she said, "Of course! That's why Air Command is here, so Starscream has lots of fliers."
"Good," Thundercracker said. "Exactly. The superior function on the planet is concentrated here, for that purpose."
"Are there lots of people that don't fly?" Updraft asked. Thundercracker detected genuine surprise. "Like drones?"
"Yep," Skywarp called from the next room. Thundercracker heard the dull sound of the TV and knew he was already bored. "Poor slaggers."
Thundercracker sighed. "Forged mechs are all born to a function," he said. "Most of those jobs don't require flight, but we're the lucky ones."
"Oh," Updraft said. She looked past Thundercracker, out Starscream's big window and at the traffic of Vosian jets. "One day I'll fly too. After my upgrade I'll never even touch down."
Skywarp grinned at her. Thundercracker pointed at the map and turned her gently back towards it, saying "Let's move on. This one is Helex, it's further north here..."
They spent the rest of the afternoon mapping Cybertron for Updraft. Or, Thundercracker walked her through, and Skywarp interjected when he felt the lesson needed more flair. Near the end Updraft's attention began to wander, but a full hologram of Iacon's Spires brought her back quickly. Seeing details, like the Iaconian roadways and Kaon's gladiator rings seemed to thrill her, especially when an animation or two was brought up to simulate. By evening they had gotten through all of the southern hemisphere and much of the north. Darkness was falling outside, the lights of buildings going on gradually.
Updraft slumped when Thundercracker shut down the map and said they were finished. He wondered how much more polished the Aerial Corps would be if they all started off this excited.
But this was probably the most fun Updraft had ever had. Thundercracker gave her a blank datapad and a stylus, which she hugged so tightly he was worried she would crack them. He set her plenty to do the next morning, before they arrived and whenever they couldn't be there.
Like the night before, Skywarp had to gently pry her hand out of Thundercracker's. They heard her shutting the door behind them as they left, and the soft click of the locks.
"You're really good with her," Skywarp said, on the flight home.
Thundercracker snorted. "She's a good student. Attentive, no thanks to you."
"It's 'cause she has nothing better to do," Skywarp said. "You watch, TC, she's a troublemaker."
"I guess you'd know."
Late that night, curled up in the berth and recharge imminent, Skywarp whispered, "We ought to have a newspark. You'd be good."
Thundercracker sputtered. Skywarp laughed, much too loudly for that time of night. He laughed so hard he almost fell of the berth, face pressed into the crook of Thundercracker's neck.
"I have enough to deal with taking care of you," Thundercracker said finally. "You've known her two days. It's not that easy."
"Our caste qualifies with application," Skywarp said, optics bright and mischievous in the dark. "C'mon, TC. I want you to plant a spark on me."
Thundercracker pushed him off the berth. The subsequent crash and indignant howl made him smile, and he rolled over to recharge.
It wasn't as if Skywarp hadn't picked them up a sparklet already.
The next couple of weeks went by in much the same way. Thundercracker and Skywarp would spend their evenings with Updraft, and Thundercracker taught her what he thought she would need. There were specialists, of course, tutors in the Vosian Heights for sparklets, but their materials were hard to come by. So Thundercracker did his best.
Skywarp thought he was helping—he helped more when Thundercracker paused the lesson and let Updraft run and yell. Thundercracker could tune her out and check her work while Skywarp whooped and chased her. Sometimes a teleportation would make Thundercracker start and Updraft shriek with delight.
One night, instead of a lesson, Skywarp scooped Updraft up and informed her that class was cancelled. He regretted it right away, because Updraft's optics widened and her lower lip trembled.
"We might have time for a short lesson later," Thundercracker said quickly. "First we're going out."
Slowly, Updraft uncurled her fingers from Skywarp's plating. "Where are you going?"
Skywarp grinned at her, and finally Updraft smiled. "Remember the first night I promised you a good polish? We're gonna get you a nice one. Professional."
Thundercracker was really starting to enjoy seeing her face light up. She wriggled out of Skywarp's grasp to the floor, taking Thundercracker's hand. He had finally managed to stop flinching when she did that.
"Why do we have to go out to do that?" she asked, as the door shut behind them. "Starscream has polish."
"Yes," Thundercracker said. "And those are locked in his room. We're going to a mod shop downstairs."
Updraft's optics went so wide, the corner of Thundercracker's mouth twitched. "There are stores downstairs!" she exclaimed. "I want to go! Let's see all of them!"
He wondered if Updraft had ever even left the apartment. The Vosian Spires were connected by a network of malls, full of high-end shops and necessities. Thundercracker had deliberately chosen to live slightly farther away from all this, but Starscream loved status. His penthouse crowned one of the tallest buildings, above the finest shops. Updraft bounced the whole way down the hall, and into the elevator. She shrieked in delight when it lurched down.
"Can we go to the ground floor?" she asked, fingers hovering over the buttons.
Skywarp pulled her hand back. "Seekers don't need the ground. We have the sky and skyscrapers."
When the doors opened, Skywarp picked Updraft up. Thundercracker hated navigating the bodies and wings of distracted shoppers. He would take the sky any day, but Skywarp had insisted they take her to the best. To his credit, his conjux was keeping Updraft safe from the crush as they weaved through the crowd. Skywarp had never been patient and never would be, but Updraft focused on one thing after another. He seemed willing to bring his attention to each new thing she caught on to.
"You buy energon sweets there," he was saying to her. Thundercracker pushed out ahead and made something of a path for them. "That one has books. Dorks like TC like that store."
"And this is a professional mod and detailing shop," Thundercracker said, interrupting. "Where you're getting a paint and polish and Skywarp is getting a sticker over his mouth to shut him up."
Skywarp shoved his shoulder. Updraft giggled. The distraction was good for her, because people had been staring the whole way. There were no other sparklets in sight, and people were craning their necks to get a good look at Updraft. She was so small next to these tall, sleek Seekers and fliers. No alt mode to speak of and such wide, oversized optics.
The shop employees seemed taken aback, too, but they were visibly trying to play it cool. The Vosian wealthy did much odder things than carry sparklets out in public.
Thundercracker nodded to Updraft. "A full repaint and polish for the little one." The tech that stepped out to meet them was middle-caste, rather small, but he gave Thundercracker a smooth smile all the same.
"Of course! Of course," he said, coming forward to give Updraft a closer look. Suddenly everything about her changed, and she was shy. Her cheek rested against Skywarp's shoulder. Her optics dimmed. "You don't usually see sparklets out and about. You two must be very proud."
It took Thundercracker a moment to realize what he meant. Skywarp was grinning with delight and Thundercracker forced himself not to shove him.
"She's not ours," Thundercracker said quickly. "The Air Commander is away for now."
The technician was immediately stiff as a board. His wings stood up awkwardly as he stepped back, motioning them through. "My apologies! I wasn't aware the Air Commander had any sparklets. It makes sense, I guess, for someone so important to-"
"She's quite young," Thundercracker said. He realized the full extent of how they must have looked the part: a pair of visibly decorated, high-caste conjunx endurae, holding a sparklet on an evening out.
Skywarp certainly didn't seem to mind. He was turning on every available tap in the washrack to show Updraft what they all did. He seemed to have found his calling in making her laugh.
"Well," the tech said, staring at Skywarp. "the little one's charming." Updraft turned to them and waved. Skywarp blasted a jet of solvent out the door and at another attendant, who shrieked.
Thundercracker and their tech looked at one another.
"He can't stay here, sir," the tech said.
"Agreed."
Skywarp ended up sulking in the front room, at least while Updraft got her wash and the other tech cleaned up Skywarp's mess. The tech began to relax, realizing Thundercracker was not nearly so petulant or bad-tempered as his average customer. Updraft even coaxed a name, Nacelle, out of him. He seemed relieved to deal with someone so small and good-natured. Updraft hadn't yet learned how to order her lessers around.
"You two, you aren't caretakers," Nacelle said, setting Updraft in front of the drier. "You're much too-"
"Nope," Updraft said. Her optics were shuttered as she leaned into the hot air. "They're my carrier's top lieutenants."
Nacelle stared at Thundercracker, who grunted. The washrack steam was condensing on his plating and he was uncomfortably damp. "The Air Commander's business is his own," he said. "Yours is finishing her polish."
"Yes!" Nacelle said quickly. "Yes, yes. I won't change a thing, I'll just fix the scuffs."
Thundercracker stepped out briefly, long enough to fetch Skywarp from outside. He was leaning in the doorway of the shop, holding a massive bag of energon goodies he must have picked up during his exile. Thundercracker pulled him back in before he could fling any more at passersby.
"You promised her the polish," he said. "You'll be there for it if you don't touch anything."
It turned out this had been the right choice, because it was only on Skywarp's reassurance that Updraft would allow the wet paint to touch her. "It'll dry the same colour?" she asked. Her optics were wide with concern. "I like my red."
"These guys know what they're doing," Skywarp said. "If they didn't, they wouldn't serve in the Vosian Heights, okay?"
So the paint went on without incident, and Updraft didn't shiver after the first touch of the brush. It was quick-dry, for short sessions like this. It was when Nacelle turned on the rotary buffer that Updraft jumped back. Skywarp laughed out loud.
"It tickles, kid," he said. "Promise."
Nacelle held up the offending tool. "It's on the very lowest setting. See, miss? You'll look lovely when I'm done."
Updraft frowned. Thundercracker thought she would refuse, but instead she puffed out her chest and held out her arms. The corner of Thundercracker's mouth twitch. Updraft shrieked when the buffer first touched her, but it was in delight. It took twice as long as it should have on such a little femme, with her shrieking and wriggling. Thundercracker saw Nacelle wince at the noise.
"Is it good?" Updraft asked when it was over. She spun in place, arms still out wide. "Do I look like a Seeker, Skywarp?"
Skywarp laughed. "I don't see any wings, but you've got the style."
The session wasn't cheap, but Thundercracker paid without a word. He also bought Updraft her own wax and brush, new possessions she held just as tightly as the rest.
The mall was beginning to clear out now. It was easier to get to the elevator as shops closed down and people trickled out. Updraft turned to wave at Nacelle, but Thundercracker didn't check to see if the tech waved back. It was easier for people to stare now, and occasionally people would stop and exclaim over her, blocking their path. More than one person complimented their "family unit," enough to make Skywarp laugh at Thundercracker's face.
Updraft was sagging by the time they got back. She'd seen Starscream's parties, but always from a distance, hidden away until they left. It had been a long day.
"I want my lesson now," Updraft said sleepily. Thundercracker put sweetsticks away for her on a low shelf, with "UPDRAFT" written on the bag in large letters. She would know to hide them for herself. When he turned to look at her, her head was resting on the table, optics dim.
"We'll be back tomorrow," he said. Her face fell, but there was no way she would make it through any lessons today.
"You've already got one foot in recharge," Skywarp said. "Besides, you learned about navigating the Vosian Heights." He tapped her helm. "You did good."
"Yeah?" Updraft said, looking up. Her optics pulsed brighter.
"Yeah."
She locked up behind them like always, and the two of them left the building in relative silence. Skywarp munched on his new sweets. As soon as they were up in the air, Skywarp laughed raucously over the comm. He teleported to fly right over Thundercracker, fast enough to make him startle.
"I told you!" he crowed. "It's fun taking care of one! She likes you, one from our sparks would have to like you and then-"
Thundercracker transformed midair, grabbed Skywarp and pulled them both towards a balcony. Skywarp transformed halfway down, sputtering. "What are you-"
"I thought you knew this wasn't some game!" Thundercracker shouted. "You think it's a game for Updraft? We've known Starscream since we were all sparks, you know how-"
"TC!" Skywarp said. He was shocked, optics wide. His wings were dipped low. "Hey. TC. Listen-"
"Don't you 'TC' me! Sparklets are more unpredictable than the forged," Thundercracker snapped. "And this one? She got the short end. So would ours, idiot. You can't go home and get away from them."
"Well, yeah," Skywarp said. He was very quiet. "Obviously. TC, I'm just teasing. You know that, right? Thundercracker? I'm pretty much teasing."
Thundercracker shoved him in the middle of his chest. "Pretty much. Pretty much! You're not playing parent or big brother or whatever you think this is. I really thought you'd grown up a little."
He transformed and flew home. The silence should have been peaceful, but it was the opposite. It roared in his audials. The lights were off when he returned, but he hadn't come home first—on the counter was a bag of Thundercracker's favourite energon sweets. The expensive kind, flavoured with quartz from Regulon IV. The bag was from the shop Skywarp had visited, but unopened.
He put one in his mouth and waited for it to melt away. These were very, very expensive, so he rarely got them.
Eventually he put the sweets away, and pulled himself into their berth to recharge. He found himself wondering about carrying a spark. All the risk and discomfort it caused. Would being carried on such a quiet, dour spark as his hurt a newspark? If Skywarp carried, would it be wild and foolish?
Maybe Starscream's sour spark had soured Updraft too, and it just hadn't yet shown its face.
Skywarp and Thundercracker had ignited next to Starscream, in the same hot spot. They'd learned in the same cohort and rose through the ranks together. Maybe they'd been soured, too.
It was very late when Skywarp climbed in next to him. Thundercracker pretended to be deep in recharge.
"That was a dumb fight," Skywarp whispered. "Sorry I've been a slagger. No more newspark talk."
"Yeah, well," Thundercracker said. "I haven't exactly been the best either." He'd had time to calm down. The thrum of Skywarp's spark near his helped too.
Skywarp was quiet, long enough for Thundercracker to think he had powered down. Their engines had slowed.
"I guess you have enough to worry about," Skywarp said sleepily. "I bet out of me, Starscream and the kid, she's easiest."
Thundercracker snorted. "We'll see. You're the one who called her a future troublemaker."
Thundercracker tried his private comms. He tried the console in their apartment and in Starscream's. It had been nearly three weeks of no contact from Starscream. He should have been relieved. The break from his whining and demands ought to have been a relaxing experience.
But he'd always told them when he'd be back before this.
"Maybe he's getting himself sparked back up," Skywarp said mischievously. They had just about run out of things to catch up on for the Air Commander, and run out of excuses to others wondering where he was. But there were no public appearances to make, no new hotspots igniting and the excitement that came from that. And it meant Updraft didn't have to be alone all the time.
The thought of Starscream subjecting another sparklet to this nonsense made Thundercracker a little nauseous. He shoved Skywarp away without a word. There was no way he'd had Updraft on purpose, and no way he'd do it again.
Updraft was zooming through short pieces in Standard Neocybex now. Her speaking needed work, but it would come with time. Thundercracker guided her gradually towards harder subjects. Secretly, he was pleased with her progress. He planned to start her on Vosian histories next. She'd memorize the lineage of Air Commanders more vulnerable than Starscream. The sciences, too, like the process of staying airborne and the makeup of sparks...
"You're a good teacher," Skywarp whispered loudly. "Starscream's not stupid. Like—he was punishing us for finding her, but he knew you'd do the job."
Thundercracker hmmphed. Instead of acknowledging him, he leaned over to check Updraft's work instead. No, Starscream wasn't stupid. But he'd failed to account for this turning out enjoyable. It wasn't punishment in the least to teach Updraft, and Thundercracker himself had dreaded it that first night.
A few more days passed like this. Thundercracker contacted the Vosian Council, who told him Starscream's location was classifed. Classified! He funneled this frustration elsewhere instead. He had plenty of time to learn about Updraft and her quirks. See if she'd already been soured by Starscream's influence and if it would manifest, now that she knew them well. She wanted to bathe every day, often twice. They tried to convince her otherwise, and assure her little scuffs were nothing to worry about. But she wanted desperately to never be dirty again. It made Thundercracker's spark roll with anger against Starscream.
They took her out again, this time to a park. The crowds weren't heavy in this part of town—mostly couples and groups of young 'bots enjoying the evening. It was rare that Thundercracker came here, but the clean lines and geometry of these open spaces were nice. The closest thing to the sky you got when grounded. They were still high up, too, well above the lower-caste neighbourhoods.
He and Skywarp kept Updraft between them, her hands held tightly in theirs. This place was built for fliers. There were no guardrails for a flightless sparklet to lean on.
"We're so high up," Updraft breathed. She tugged at them, trying to get closer to the edge. Thundercracker tightened his fingers.
Skywarp grinned at her. "You're always high up! You're from the Vosian Heights."
Updraft kept leaning forward. "Can't I look down, TC?"
"If you want to hit the ground from 5,000 feet up, then by all means."
"Sounds fun!" Updraft said, grinning wide. Skywarp laughed
Eventually Skywarp lifted Updraft onto his shoulders, so she could be even higher up. She was fearless for a creature without wings. Tonight no one had disturbed them, but the pointing and whispering wasn't lost. Thundercracker didn't fuss about being mistaken for a parent.
Updraft's feet kicked against Skywarp's shoulders. "Do you think I'll be a good flier?" she asked. Skywarp reached up and stopped her feet from kicking out.
"Well, yeah," Skywarp said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's in your spark. Flying's gonna flow through you like energon once you're upgraded."
Updraft leaned over Skywarp's head, trying to look into his optics. "Can you take me flying?"
"Maybe? Maybe one day. It takes a lot of out of you in 'bot mode."
"Then as a jet!" Updraft said. She grinned, as wide and sweet as she could manage.
"Not unless you can shrink down and fit in my cockpit!"
The corner of Thundercracker's mouth twitched. Hopefully what it was to be Starscream didn't also flow through her like energon. So far all Thundercracker could find of him in her was the love of flying. If someone threw her off this platform right now, she'd probably be thrilled at the opportunity.
When they got back it was getting late. Vos glowed red and they could see the moon, looming up behind the skyscraper tops.
"Did we really used to have two moons?" Updraft was asking, as Thundercracker punched in the code.
"Well before our time," Thundercracker said. The door whooshed open, but he didn't finish answering her about the mystery of Luna 1.
Starscream was standing in the middle of his apartment, tearing datapads of their shelves knocking over furniture. That would have been manageable. Thundercracker probably could have managed that, with Skywarp's help. But two massive, winged mechs were standing off to one side, at attention, but looking at one another in a way Thundercracker knew way. He had exchanged countless Starscream-related glances with Skywarp that way.
Starscream turned. His optics pulsed dark with anger as he lurched forward, shoving Thundercracker aside to pull Updraft from Skywarp's arms.
"Where have you been?" he shrieked, right into poor Updraft's face. "She was nowhere to be found! I was frantic, you fools!"
Updraft pushed against his chest, right away sliding herself to the floor. Her optics were bright, and on the strangers in her home. Thundercracker's optics narrowed to slits, and gently he pulled Updraft back. It was a better move to make than shoving Starscream back.
"You've been nowhere to be found for nearly a month," he said. "We took her for a walk. Calm your turbines, sir."
Starscream's lip curled in a snarl, and he folded his arms. "I said tutor her, Thundercracker. Not cavort her around."
There was something in his optics that made Thundercracker nervous. Something genuinely unsettling, and made Thundercracker wonder what else was coming. Skywarp hadn't seemed to notice, still gaping at the new mechs. Why had he brought them into his home, outside of a party?
"Starscream," Updraft said. They all turned to her, and immediately Starscream changed, stroking her helm with one clawed hand.
"Yes, my dear?" He purred the words. "Shall I ask them to leave you now?"
She shook his head. "No! I like them. Who are they, though?" she asked, switching suddenly to Standard from her Vosian. Thundercracker thoroughly enjoyed the look of shock on Starscream's face as he heard the switch. "Are they from Kaon? They're not Seekers."
"Actually," one of them rumbled. He was the more striking of the two, with vivid blue-and-gold plating. "Seekers and Vosians aren't mutually exclusive, little one."
"You're gigantic," Updraft said, and the second mech's shoulder's shook. It took Thundercracker a moment to realize he was trying not to laugh.
Starscream had stiffened up. "Yes, yes," he snapped, waving his hand in their direction. He didn't switch from their own Vosian. "She doesn't know Standard," he said to Thundercracker.
Skywarp snorted. "My talented conjux taught her, sir. It's not that different from Vosian, just gotta-"
"Oh, what do you know?" Starscream said, cutting him off. "You didn't teach her. Of course she figured it out, Vosian's the most difficult dialect and Standard is nothing." He turned to Thundercracker and stared hard, but Thundercracker met his gaze.
"Why did you disappear, and who are these mechs? Seems your sparklet wants to know."
"New attendants," Starscream said. Now he spoke in Standard, and pointed, first at blue-and-gold and then at green. "Dreadwing and Skyquake. They have...a dignity to them, for Kaonians. Of good use to me."
"You're replacing us?" Skywarp blurted out. "With Kaonians? Gladiators?"
"I am no gladiator."
It was Dreadwing again who spoke, and his voice rolled angrily. Thundercracker stiffened. "No more than all you Vosians are Seekers."
He and Thundercracker stared at each other for awhile. Updraft's gaze went from one to the other, slowly, until Starscream said quickly, "We have business to discuss, Thundercracker. Come."
Skywarp still looked close to bowling over. "Are you firing us?"
Starscream sighed, disgusted. "No, idiot. I'm adding staff. Now, Thundercracker."
Thundercracker's faceplate was hot as he left. Those two had not come with Starscream for no reason, and they must know he was a fool of an Air Commander. Now that they had seen this, in any case. And how could two brutes from slummy, dirty Kaon make fine Vosians look like fools?
Starscream, of course, with a dash of Skywarp. Thundercracker had answered his own question.
"What about me?" Skywarp called. He was whining—he didn't wanted to be left alone out there.
Starscream waved his hand. "Watch Updraft."
They entered Starscream's private room, a place Thundercracker had not been in often. They faced each other a moment. He could, very often, make Starscream back down. It was about having the energy to do it, something Thundercracker often couldn't muster. Tonight his optics glowed steady, until Starscream's flickered and went bright. Then he had to brace himself, before he was pushed hard against a wall.
"I've had to turn off my comm completely," Starscream hissed. "And it's all your fault."
Thundercracker's spark was pounding, but Starscream would never know from his face. Those claws of his could bite through finish painfully, if they so chose. "To punish us for pointing out how you mistreated your sparklet. We know about that."
Starscream's optics burned brighter. "Because all of Vos is on my thrusters!" he snapped. "Do you really have a sparklet, Air Commander sir? Mech or femme or neither? All these questions because you took her out!"
Thundercracker stared at him. "Who cares? Really, Starscream. We got her polished and no one said a word."
Starscream's claws really did bite, denting his chestplate. "She's no one's business but my own. You two meddled, but you and Skywarp—well." He waved his free hand. "My point: all of Vos didn't have to know, but now they do."
"But these Kaonians. Sir," Thundercracker said. "They have a right to know?"
"Everyone knew already!" Starscream snapped, throwing up his hands. His optics pulsed bright. "And I have my reasons, Thundercracker, for taking them on. Do not question me."
Thundercracker resisted the urge to roll his optics. "Yes, sir." He waited to be dismissed, so he could get Skywarp out of there and put Updraft to bed. Starscream didn't dismiss him, so Thundercracker held his gaze steady until Starscream flinched.
"Her sire," Starscream said finally. "I have no good answer about them."
No answer? Thundercracker raised a brow, confused. "Surely they're Vosian," he said. It was all he could think of to say. (Primus, it had better not be one of those Kaonians. Was that why they found the sparklet so funny?)
"They're Vosian," Starscream said. His voice was flat and his optics narrowed, turned away from Thundercracker. "They switched caste years ago. Took a speedster alt mode. Roller."
That—
That was almost unheard of. Some did it, if they were willing to lose everything. Few were. And Vosians craved the sky. Lived in it. The few who were forged without flight, in Thundercracker's optics, weren't living a worthwhile existence.
"So," Thundercracker said finally. "Why were you baring your spark to a roller?"
Starscream snarled. "Not your business!" he snapped. "If someone asks you—and they will—it's not their business. If they press, they're posted somewhere classified. There are plenty of our people in units throughout this wretched planet." He pointed a claw at Thundercracker's face. "You or Skywarp spoil this and I really will replace you!"
He didn't mean it, probably. Skywarp might fret, but Thundercracker guessed that for Updraft he would keep his mouth shut.
"Good talk, sir," Thundercracker said. It was a much too Skywarp thing to say, and Starscream snarled in disgust before stomping out. After a moment, Thundercracker followed.
Starscream's private suite had no images of Updraft. No indication he had a sparklet in sight. What those things might be Thundercracker didn't know. But he knew they should be somewhere.
Would her sire have wanted her? Would they at least have paid her enough attention to ensure she was cared for? Maybe.
But Updraft needed flight. She needed to be immersed in the sky, in beautiful Vos. Had she lived in the lower levels, or outside of the city-state entirely...it wasn't right. No better than Starscream's indifference towards her.
Either way, Updraft lost.
When they returned to the front room, Updraft was no longer tucked near Skywarp. The big, blue-and-gold one—Dreadwing—was on one knee, her level, letting her talk away at him. Skywarp met Thundercracker's optics, at a loss.
"How is a Seeker not Vosian?" she was asking. The words spilled from her. "You have a funny accent. And your faceplate's gold, why is that? And—and you understood Vosian! Thundercracker said Vosian's the hardest form of Neocybex!"
Dreadwing's face was calm and still, but the other one, Skyquake, was trying his hardest to keep his mouth from twitching. Starscream looked their way, and right away he straightened up, the solemn soldier.
Skywarp sidled up next to him. Thundercracker could feel the worry pulsing from his spark. It rare he got that from Skywarp, and it worried him.
"Are we slagged?" he whispered. Thundercracker shook his head.
"When we leave," he said.
Starscream ignored his mechs and busied himself examining Updraft's lessons, stepping over the mess he'd made earlier. Dreadwing had begun patiently answering Updraft's questions, still kneeled. A Seeker, he said, was a certain type of flier. A machine for the hunt, and not exclusive to Vos. His accent was Kaonian, and she, Updraft, had a Vosian one.
"No!" Updraft said, bouncing on her heels. "I don't!" Finally Dreadwing's lip twitched.
"You do," he said. "My faceplate is gold because I like it, and I have visited Vos before. That's how I understood."
Updraft's fear from before had evaporated. She was turning from Dreadwing, ins Skyquake's direction, but Starscream's voice stopped her cold.
"The lineage of Commanders, Updraft," he said. "Golden Age to today."
She looked up in surprise. Thundercracker's spark prickled—he hadn't covered such lists with her yet. Updraft straightened up, and looked to Thundercracker. He gave her a nod.
"The first Air Commander was Nova Prime," she said. Starscream's optics narrowed, so she continued quickly. Her optics were bright, nervous. "But he disappeared, and there was a war, so they moved air command to Vos. They made Cloudburst Air Commander, for a long time. Then Divebomb, then he died, 'cause of the Tarnian-Vosian war. The Cybertronian Senate chose Contrail, and after another long time he stepped down for you. Everyone was forged in the Vosian Heights, except Nova Prime, because-"
"Yes, yes," Starscream said. He was embarrassed, optics dark. He hadn't intended for her to be right, so he could tear Thundercracker down for his teaching. Skywarp grinned in delight, squeezing the edge of Thundercracker's wing.
"She's a quick study," Thundercracker said. "You're welcome to look at more of her work."
"I trust you'll make her capable," Starscream said. He had turned away, wings much too straight. "Don't disappoint me, Thundercracker."
As if it mattered to him.
"Dreadwing, Skyquake," Starscream said, after a moment. "You'll be seeing plenty of my lieutenants in my service. For now—I've had enough of you all in my home. Out."
Starscream had turned the comm back on, at least. Thundercracker met Skyquake's optics, and could feel the disbelief radiating from him. He would have to decide on the Kaonians later. They'd been charmed by Updraft, and already understood that Starscream was a mess. These were good traits.
Why they had agreed to be in his service in the first place was beyond Thundercracker. Many bright people had declined because they understood what Starscream was. That was why the Aerial Corps was so laughable now.
So he would watch them.
"Bye!" Updraft called to them, as they filed out. Starscream pulled her back roughly, and she hid how her face twisted up and rushing Skywarp instead. "See you at lessons!"
Thundercracker's fuel tanks churned as Starscream shook his head. "She's obviously doing so well," he said to Thundercracker, smiling. "A break is in order."
Updraft slumped. So did Skywarp. "The books are for her, boss," he said. "So don't-"
The door shut on them both. Down the hall, Dreadwing and Skyquake had reached the elevator, and Thundercracker could feel their optics burning through him.
Very much enjoying working on this! The next step is to integrate Dreadwing and Skyquake more smoothly, I think. Thanks for reading!