Nice to get out another update! Big things are coming, and as always I appreciate the readers and reviewers. Enjoy!
"Not that."
"Why not that?"
Starscream threw up his hands. It wasn't the first time that morning, and Updraft had hoped that after the third time he had given up in disgust that this would have gotten easier. One would think someone who walked on stilettos stood less firm, but he had always been stubborn.
No matter. Unfortunately for Starscream, Updraft had inherited the trait.
"I don't like it," Starscream said finally. Some argument. "I used to have a cockpit on the front and it got in the way."
"Not for this alt," Updraft said. She looked to Windward for confirmation. Their long-suffering designer nodded, her optics visibly dimmed with exhaustion. Updraft pointed, again, at the example, giving Starscream the firmest look she could muster.
"It's true, sir," Windward said. She didn't cower at the Air Commander's black look (Updraft had heard her muttering about the demands of high-caste mechs and their busywork jobs, whatever that meant) and met his optics readily. "She's chosen a small alt mode, which means the cockpit will be quite sleek. Unlikely to get in the way."
"Well, we'll see about the alt, too," Starscream muttered. Updraft frowned hard, staring at her datapad, right at the little blueprint of a small, racing jet.
She had guessed that Starscream would make this hard for her, but this was worse than she'd expected. Windward tended to save what Updraft wanted to their blueprint, Updraft having tried to treat her well (something Starscream had, after a session, questioned out loud), but it was Starscream's shanix she was spending. Her carrier hadn't let her forget it. Updraft knew very well he could cancel her upgrade any time, go elsewhere, and pay for the one he deemed best.
"I don't understand," Starscream said, on their way out of another useless session. "This could be all done by now, but for your incessant arguing!" He stared down at her, optics hard. That gaze still made her spark twinge. "Why are you such a difficult child?"
"It's my upgrade," she managed to say. She hated getting on the shuttle alone, to meet Starscream at the reformatting shop for their sessions. "And it's my choice. All the literature-"
"Frag the literature," Starscream snapped. "Yes, yes, it's your choice. I'm letting you keep your red, though you'd look just stunning in that silver, is that not enough? Your sire was difficult, too. Serves me right for baring my spark."
It sure does. Updraft's interest pricked at that, despite Starscream's bad temper—mentions of her sire were ridiculously rare. "I guess them combined with you was always gonna make me difficult."
The sharp smack to her finial was a shock, and she yelped, loud enough for the front desk staff to stare. Starscream, suddenly quiet, hustled her to the shuttle, Updraft's spark ringing as loudly as her audial.
Starscream was a lot of difficult, infuriating things, and over the years Updraft had learned what bothered him, but...he'd never struck her. No matter how angry he was, and especially not over such an offhand comment. Violence was not one of those things of his (not that she saw, anyway). Her fighting him on this upgrade was more stressful to him than she had guessed. The way he glanced around, like he was being hunted, Updraft knew he'd made a mistake.
"You watch your tongue next time," he said finally, his voice nearly a growl. Updraft was left standing at the shuttle doors, hand still over her finial and her spark beating too fast.
Cumulus was her pilot again. He had taken her last trip, too—it was nice to see friendly staff members regularly. He took one look at Updraft as she sat herself down, how she kept reaching up and touching her finial, and seemed to understand.
"Boxed the side of your helm?" She nodded, and Cumulus winced in sympathy. "My mentor liked that one when I was a newbuilt. Don't worry, it doesn't dent."
Updraft only nodded. Now that her spark had stopped pulsing so fast, and Cumulus had shut the cockpit door, she relaxed in her seat, letting her arm fall to her side. Starscream had lost his temper and misstepped. The thoughts of what he might do when she was finally upgraded surfaced, but she ignored them as hard as she could. Remembered, instead, how her carrier had quailed years ago at Skyquake's meaningful threats. Maybe she wouldn't have bring it up—she'd ignored plenty of Starscream's poor choices before.
But Updraft wanted her upgrade. Her upgrade, not Starscream's idea of one.
Starscream bought her a massive bag of sweetsticks before they took the elevator up, warning her not to eat them all in one go. In the next two days, books, polishes and paints addressed to her appeared on her berth, a tag signed by her carrier on all of them. On his way out each day, he wished her a good morning. Once he even patted her shoulder, making Updraft's back go straight in surprise.
Before their next appointment, but long enough for Starscream to think she was placated, she cornered Dreadwing. She told him, over her breakfast, how Starscream had lost his temper.
Updraft had expected the anger, of course. She'd counted on it, with her bodyguard's firmness in keeping her safe from trouble (and trouble, these days, was namely Starscream). Dreadwing's shocked, wild gaze, and the sharp crack of the counter as he gripped it, made Updraft wonder if this had been a mistake.
"He hit you?" Dreadwing repeated. The hand that had just damaged furniture was gentle now, tipping the side of Updraft's head up to search for dents. "Like a drone? Here?"
"He's frustrated about my upgrade," Updraft said quickly. "I think he's sorry he did it." She wanted Starscream to be in trouble—not have his head smashed in. She tried to wriggle out of Dreadwing's grip.
"Sorry," Dreadwing said, grinding out the words, "doesn't cut it, I'm afraid. He's broken his promise not to bring you harm, and for what, a frame?" He vented in deeply, finally stepping back from Updraft. For a split second, before Dreadwing composed himself into calm, she saw why smaller mechs tensed around him.
"Don't do anything stupid," she said quickly. Dreadwing's optics flicked up at her in surprise. "I wouldn't even have told you, but-"
"Has he struck you before?" Dreadwing said, optics flashing. Updraft's tanks clenched.
"No! No, never," she said, reaching out to take one of Dreadwing's huge hands. Maybe it would have been better to wait for Thundercracker. "He shouldn't have done it, but I'm fine, and he's never done it before. Let me explain what happened. Before you get yourself arrested."
He still seemed a little thunderstruck. He finally relaxed his wings, and it was clear he was making an effort to be composed. "Tell me then, little one."
Updraft sighed. She explained, as best she could, the situation with designing her new frame. How it was Starscream's shanix she'd be spending, no matter how much the designer liked her, that he'd have to approve her first steps into adulthood.
"...And I want to decide what I look like," she said finally, her shoulders sagging. Dreadwing, to her relief, had calmed, enough not to interject. He nodded, slowly. "This is my frame for the rest of my life. I don't want to regret it."
Dreadwing nodded, but his optics seemed sad. "I'm afraid that I still don't understand. He still wronged you."
Updraft's spark flickered with disappointment, but she ignored it. "He did. But he's afraid of you, and he's going to be afraid that I'll tell you guys what he did." She allowed herself a smile, and her optics glinted with her mischief. "He got me a huge bag of sweets on our way back the other day. And two books today. But if you know, and he's afraid..." She shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe remembering what he's afraid of, he'll have to approve my choices. I hope?"
Dreadwing looked hard at her. His optics were so bright that Updraft almost shrank back and apologized, for using her predicament to meet her ends. To her relief, Dreadwing's face softened. He smiled.
"Let's hope he doesn't catch on," he said. "Use that processor right, and you'll do well. He deserves a little fear."
Updraft wanted to relax. She found that she couldn't, that her spark still beat too fast.
He and Skyquake didn't take long to act. One night Updraft was lying in her berth, fiddling with possible parts on her upgrade datapad, when the door unlocked and Starscream returned.
She heard the crash, and his yelp, as the twins cornered him. She was sure she'd specified not to harm him, that this wasn't about that, but Dreadwing had been...enraged. He'd frightened her. Maybe he wouldn't listen now that she wasn't here. Jumping off her berth, she pressed her audial to the door. Better that he not think she put them up to this.
Starscream's stilettos scratched against the tile, clearly trying to get his footing. He squawked with indignation, and Updraft could picture her two friends looming, optics bright and cold as they held him down.
"How dare you," Skyquake rumbled, so low that it shivered down Updraft's spinal strut. "How dare you hurt her. Have you been waiting for the chance?"
"Hurt her?!" Starscream said, his voice much too high. "She's my daughter! I would never hurt her!"
"You're a poor liar, Starscream," Dreadwing said. "And you haven't treated her with respect. It is not your upgrade you're meddling in."
A pause. Updraft tried to lean closer to the door.
"Oh," Starscream said, voice lower. "That. Listen, you oafs, I am only trying to do what's best, and her behaviourhas been insufferable-"
"She is not the insufferable one, Starscream," Dreadwing said. "Never forget who it is we serve."
"And never forget," Starscream snapped, "Who pays your salary! I don't fear you two low-caste, good for nothing-"
One of them cracked his knuckles, and Starscream's voice trailed off into a squeak. Updraft felt something odd in her spark. She wondered how often the twins had done this very thing for her carrier, on some other poor sod. Whether they ever enjoyed the work. (She knew what a mercenary was. She had a datanet login now, and had looked it up.)
Their voices grew too low to hear, and Updraft pulled herself back into her berth, optics dim. Had she just gotten her friends fired? The twins had no love for Starscream, but that didn't matter as long as he was paying them, and they could keep close to her.
At some point she'd fallen into recharge, because Starscream was waking her, his hand shaking her shoulder. She started, but it was more out of surprise. If Starscream felt the need to wake her, he was usually a lot screechier than this.
"Get up and get polished, child," he said. "We have an early meeting today. Sudden, I know." He wouldn't look at her, and she looked past him to see Skyquake in the doorway, his arms folded across his broad chest. He winked.
Starscream saw her looking, because he quickly cleared his vocalizer and stood. "Your bodyguard," he added, nearly spitting the word, "will be joining us today. I trust you hold no objections?"
Updraft stared at him. Before he could ask what was affecting her, she nodded once. "No, Starscream," she said. "Give me a few minutes."
They must have really frightened him if he'd agreed to that. Skyquake flew alongside Starscream, and even in alt mode her carrier was dwarfed. The twins did fly quite well, considering they weren't Vosian. It was rare that Starscream let himself soar alongside mechs outside the trine, unless he needed to impress someone, and this certainly wasn't that.
This session, Skyquake stood behind them, and winked, obviously, at Windward as she sat down across from Updraft. She seemed flustered for the first portion of the session, looking Skyquake's way often, Updraft spared a glance behind her. The corners of his lips barely twitched. Starscream, to her surprise, said nothing.
The session was the best she'd ever had. Starscream's face said everything, but he was quiet as Updraft went through her choices, pointing out to Windward what she liked best. Windward, ignoring Skyquake, got to do her job.
"See, these will rub against each the chassis on this alt," she said, tapping Updraft's choice of shoulders with her stylus. "I'd recommend something more streamlined, like this."
Updraft liked being spoken to as an adult. Not having Starscream interject every so often was even better, and Windward's explanations always made sense. Now that she could do her job, the preliminary blueprints were starting to look like a true frame.
When their time was up, Windward turned, bravely, to Starscream. "This is all to your liking, sir?"
Starscream nodded, though his scowl was comically pronounced. "It'll do," he said. "We'll be back next week, for further discussion."
"Well," Windward said cheerfully, "today we made a lot of progress. I expect only one more session with you will be needed before we actually start construction."
"And then how long?" Updraft asked. She leaned forward eagerly, and ignored Skyquake's snicker. "Will we have to wait awhile for it to be ready?"
Windward smiled at her. "Next week we'll settle on a deadline. But, no, not long. A couple of months."
Updraft bit her lip, instead of saying that is long! Instead, she shook hands with Windward, and thanked her politely for her work today—a response that would have made Thundercracker proud. She wished she could see Skyquake's face, because Windward's smile had gone flustered, her faceplates flushed.
"Well?" Skyquake asked, on their way out. His hand rested on her helm. "Are you getting what you want?"
Updraft glanced up at Starscream, walking quickly ahead so he could fly off. She nodded, twisting up to look at him. "I think so," she said, even as she narrowed her optics. "How did you get him to do that?"
Skyquake grinned, leaning closer. "A little blackmail, a little physical threat," he said. "All part of the job, to be honest."
Updraft's tanks shifted. The discomfort, that had twisted in her since telling Dreadwing what had happened, settled deeper in her tanks. "I don't want to blackmail people," she said quietly. "Not even him. He's my carrier."
Skyquake patted the top of her head, before pulling his hand back. "It was not your decision," he said, voice still low. "You'll have to live in that frame. That should be your choice. Feeling guilty about it makes you better than us, and him."
"You know what else is a choice?" Updraft asked him. Her optics glinted, as Skyquake raised a brow. "Asking out pretty frame designers."
Skyquake, in faked embarrassment, pulled his hand off her head and stomped a few steps forward. "I'll send your brother all the details!" she promised, and Skyquake shook his head at her, clearly trying to hide his grin.
"Cheeky little bit," he said. Updraft grinned, as sweet as could be as she left for the shuttle. (And caught herself matching up the Taxonomy in her head. Could a Vosian designer date a Kaonian worker?Certainly not, but it was all in fun.)
The next week, as prices were negotiated and her blueprints were finalized, Thundercracker joined them. If he knew about what had happened, he said nothing about it to either of them, and sat quietly as Windward went over the design one last time.
"Here it is with colour," she said, and Updraft suppressed her gasp. Daring a glance at Thundercracker (not Starscream), she saw how bright his optics had gotten as he stared.
"I can't wait to see it," Updraft said softly. Windward shut the colour back off.
"You'll see it in the mirror, when you wake up," she said. "It's a bit less surreal if you don't see your frame from your old one."
"The gold is..." Starscream began, until he felt all optics on him. "It's quite vivid, wouldn't you say?"
"I like it," Updraft said firmly. "It goes with all the red."
"I agree, sir," Thundercracker said, surprising her. "She'll be very striking." He had a quick smile, just for Updraft, and she tried not to grin. "You really are growing up."
There was more to get through, and Updraft worked hard to pay attention. Scheduling, costs, additional fees...she spent most of it watching Starscream run his gauntlet of annoyed faces, and Thundercracker dealt with the busy work. Slowly, Starscream signed his name on the final documents, and Updraft watched him form each careful glyph. Now they'd be starting construction. He couldn't change his mind.
Thundercracker signed as well, as a witness, and finally Updraft added her name. She felt very grown-up, and was sure that if someone hadn't known, they wouldn't have been able to tell her sparklet's writing from the adult's.
Windward showed before she left, with the wall, how tall she would be in her new frame. When Thundercracker saw, Updraft caught him hiding his smirk. Starscream's trine weren't exactly bruisers, but Updraft's chosen alt would bring her barely chest-height to them.
"Every shape serves a purpose," Thundercracker said. "I'm looking forward to seeing her top speed."
Updraft's systems hummed just at the thought of having a top speed. The whole way home, she watched jets go by. Even her first words, as a newspark, had been about beautiful flying bots, and soon she'd get to join them. Maybe even outstrip them as they zoomed by, the fastest femme in Vos.
The next two months passed slowly. Updraft tried to do extra homework to fill the time, and succeeded only in falling behind. Thundercracker shook his head at her efforts.
"You're distracted," he told her. "Don't waste both our time." Embarrassed, she scribbled through her last extra essays and started sitting out on the balcony instead. Curled up with a book, she could think about flying away too, watching traffic go past. She was no longer locked off the balcony, or the roof—in fact, they encouraged her to get some air.
"Think about the wind direction," Skywarp said. Even he was serious about this. "And the lighting at different times of day. People's flightpaths—stuff like that'll get you thinking about it."
As if she didn't already think about flying all the time. Still, she listened, and felt..and leaned a little too far over the balcony, if no one was home.
Starscream found a doctor, one who specialized in transfers to new frames, and Updraft found herself nervous. He was an old mech, experienced, but with overlarge brows and a stern face. She swallowed her nerves, and listened as he discussed the procedure and recovery. A date was set. Updraft counted down the kliks.
Everyone seemed to want a good look at her when it got close. Starscream didn't send the twins anywhere that whole week. Even more surprising was that he didn't take his trine out on business, letting them come and go as they pleased to see Updraft. Even a few of the neighbours, bots she hardly knew, stopped in to wish her well in her spark transfer. She hadn't even realized they knew her name.
Thundercracker fretted. "Maybe we should wait?" he said, his hand on Updraft's helm. He had been making a lot of contact—maybe to try and remember the old frame better. "With her health, and her age...she could wait a few more months."
"The doctor said my SRD will be better," Updraft said. All this attention felt odd, and pressed uncomfortably against her excitement. It was like a going-away party. "Not gone, but better. The new systems will root out a lot of it. So you won't have to worry."
It hadn't flared up in years, not since that crystal-dust storm had blown open the screen door and made her purge on the floor. Thundercracker smiled down at her, his optics soft.
"I'll always worry about you," he said. "That won't change, even when you can fly off on your own."
"Not on her own!" Skywarp piped up. He was on the other side of the room, a camera snapping endless photos before Updraft made her change. He flashed his wide grin. "She'll need a spotter until free flight is approved. Which...shouldn't take long, I guess, Starscream got his license in about a week."
"Not if you've rubbed off on her," Thundercracker said. "It took you three months."
"In Kaon," Skyquake said, "you don't need a license."
"That's 'cause Kaonians fly about as well as a turbofox," Skywarp said, not missing a beat. "A turbofox someone dropped off a cliff."
Dreadwing opened his mouth to shut them up, but Updraft got there first. "It's my last day," she said quickly, causing them all to look her way. "Be nice."
Dreadwing smiled his approval, and Updraft grinned back. For her last while as a sparklet, she deserved a little peace.
Not that it lasted. She had just settled on the couch, wishing she could eat something before the transfer, when Starscream returned to collect all of them.
"It would be nice if it could only be myself and my daughter," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear as they filed out. Updraft was last to pass him, and tipped her chin up to meet his optics.
"No, it wouldn't," she said. Starscream growled, but said nothing else as he followed her out. She had tried not laugh at five Seekers, two of them twice the size of the others, stuffed into one small shuttle. Cumulus waved at her from the cockpit, and despite Thundercracker's stare she waved right back.
She'd be going home on her own wings, after all. This might be the last time she saw him.
It was family-only up to the operating room (something Updraft disagreed with—her family would be waiting down here, too). People in the waiting room stared at their little procession—but this was sort of a last goodbye, right? In the spotless waiting room of a private clinic, where she would go under a sparklet and wake up a Seeker.
Skyquake picked her right off the ground to hug her, making her yelp, but his smile was a lot more like Dreadwing's than usual. He'd never been good at hiding what he felt, even when Updraft had been small. She could still remember him trying to laugh against Starscream's wall. Dreadwing crouched down instead, and the way he enveloped her Updraft was glad she wouldn't be put into a frame too big to be held.
"Brave girl," he murmured into her audial. "I will still protect you."
Updraft's spark flickered. She smiled, rushing for Skywarp so she wouldn't cry instead. This wasn't really goodbye, after all—only a big step. An enormous step.
Skywarp squeezed her hard enough to make her squeak. His grin would be the same when she walked out as it was right this second, but it didn't keep her from memorizing how he looked, in this moment. "I'm proud of you," he said. "Can't believe it. You're gonna be all grown up."
Thundercracker said nothing, but all that meant was he probably couldn't even speak. She hugged him extra tight.
"Off we go, then," Starscream said, when Updraft finally stepped back. He was looking at his subordinates with annoyance, and Updraft almost stopped right there. Surely at least the trine could come up with her, if she made enough of a fuss.
In the end, after a last glance at the mechs she loved, she followed Starscream away. She was too old for that now. When she woke up tomorrow, making a fuss would not be received the same way.
Starscream rested a hand, awkwardly, on one winglet as they waited. The doctor was a little late, and the waiting made Updraft even more antsy than she would have been. She thought about scooting away from Starscream, but decided against it.
"I've been reading up," her carrier said finally, surprising her. "About what one does when their offspring has taken this step. We'll debut your frame at the next big function."
"A debut?" That meant being shown off. High society would meet her as an adult—though she couldn't imagine she'd feel like one, right off the bat. "Not right away, I hope. I want to make sure I know how to land without crashing first."
Starscream huffed. "Of course not. We'll get you your free flight license first, or no one will think twice about you." He gave her winglet a brief pat, before pulling back his hand. "Make me proud, once you have those wings. They weren't cheap."
To Updraft's relief, the doctor finally arrived. The stern old Seeker, who still made Updraft nervous—but had explained exactly what would go on, and whose fingers moved fast over his work. He had probably been doing this since before Starscream was even forged. At her carrier's nod, she followed him in. The door closed behind them.
The nurse who helped her onto the berth was friendly, and gentle, but Updraft almost didn't hear him over the thrumming in her spark. For the first time in years, she was reminded of her old nurse, from when she was a baby. It felt odd to want him now, about to grow up.
"We used to roll patients in on the stretcher," he said, "but I think it's better if you walk in on your old feet and leave on your new ones."
Updraft nodded, barely hearing him. She couldn't see her new frame (was that it? Under that sheet?) but she thought about how this would be the very last time she lay down in this body. The last time she looked at the world through these optics.
There was a jab in her arm, and the cheerful nurse asked her to count down from one hundred. At ninety-five, she imagined her wings. At ninety-one, she was out.
Skywarp had sat down at first, next to Thundercracker, across from the Kaonians. Then he'd paced, then gotten energon, then gotten energon for everyone, and then hadn't stopped talking until Skyquake had promised he'd make him. When he'd heard that, he'd simply started teleporting and seen if he could make someone jump. Thundercracker, twice. Skyquake, once, plus two instances of being chased outside. Dreadwing didn't budge, but apologized for all of them when a nurse threatened to call security.
"My head aches," he moaned. Updraft wasn't here to be to be the child, which gave Skywarp free reign. Beside him, Thundercracker shook his head.
"Your head is on the floor," he said, tapping Skywarp's thigh. "The energon's rushing to it."
"I think better this way," Skywarp protested. The mech behind the counter glared at him, as he pressed his feet against the wall.
"You don't think at all," Dreadwing said flatly. Skyquake covered his mouth to hide his snicker—Thundercracker grumbled, and Skywarp finally pulled himself upright.
"They'll kick us all out if you don't behave," Thundercracker said. "I'm sure you can handle another couple of hours."
He could, if he really tried. The anxiety about Updraft was making it difficult, but even Skywarp could sit for a Senate session if Thundercracker kicked him under the table. In the end, he offlined his optics and tried to nap. Leaning on his conjux's shoulder was nice, even in public, even on a hard day.
Thundercracker jumping up jolted him awake, and he almost teleported in his surprise.
"She okay?" he asked groggily, jumping up beside TC. "Is she all done?" Dreadwing and Skyquake, the sorry fraggers, had stood up fluidly, apparently quite calm.
The smallest Seeker he had ever seen looked a little overwhelmed, with four pairs of optics on him. "The Air Commander sent me to get you," he said quickly, taking one step back. "The spark transfer was a complete success. She's just walking out now."
Skywarp grinned, wide and delighted, and for a split second Thundercracker did too. He nodded towards the hall, and his hand rested on Skywarp's arm. A warm, electric excitement filled his spark as he strode forwards, after the nurse, well ahead of Dreadwing and Skyquake.
He wasn't much for hospitals, not since his extended stint in an Iacon CR chamber. This was different, though, a private clinic that did only upgrades, that had done nothing but good things for Updraft. He scanned the hallway carefully, ignoring each staff member in favour of...
"There," Thundercracker said quietly. His grip, gentle on Skywarp's arm, tightened on reflex. Starscream was just ahead as they turned the corner, speaking in a low voice to the old doctor.
There was a small femme between them, one hand on the doctor's arm to steady her steps. Skywarp found himself looking for Updraft, behind her—where was the little bit?
Skywarp remembered why they were here. He wouldn't be seeing that sparklet again. Updraft—this new Updraft, met his optics and waved, grinning tiredly. Skywarp felt welded to the ground.
She was stunning.
She was small, yes—shorter than Starscream, but still lithe and sleek. A Seeker in every sense. Skywarp had seen the blueprints, but they had showed nothing of how she would come to life, how her spark would illuminate this new form. The red colour she wore now was deeper, just a little more grown up, the rest of her plating slate-grey. Darker than the standard for a face, but being a little unique suited her. He wondered when Starscream had agreed to the gold accents, when he's been so set on silver.
"What are you looking at?" a voice said. Of course—that had changed too, and he'd have to get used to it. The glittering optics, and the grin that followed, were the same as ever. He'd seen those at a Vosian party a long time ago. Skywarp relaxed, and grinned right back.
"You!" he said. He threw out his arms, just to drive it home. "Look at you! You're the prettiest newbuilt this side of Cybertron!"
Updraft ducked her head, still grinning, letting go of the doctor's arm. Her steps were still unsteady, her new wings flared out wide to keep her balance. Skywarp had done that too, when he was first forged. Hers were good for balance, wider and shorter than Starscream's own. They suited the little frame. And Starscream knew it, judging by how his optics were glued to his daughter. He'd fought against pretty much everything that had come together here, and Skywarp wondered if he'd admit how wrong he'd been.
Dreadwing said something behind him, something rough and Kaonian that must have been affectionate, because Updraft ducked her head again shyly. (When had she learned to navigate that accent? Skywarp certainly couldn't.)
The old doctor took Starscream aside, pushing datapads into his hands on newbuilts and post-spark transfer care. Skywarp saw Thundercracker lean over, to make sure he heard all of it, too. Starscream had better not skimp—Updraft might be upgraded, but she still needed help to navigate the world. The trine wasn't going it alone.
Updraft rested her new fingers on his arm. Long and sleek, sharpened to lovely points. Skywarp forgot about Starscream and turned to her. "How do you feel?"
"Tired," she said. That new voice suited her, too. Not soft, but it wouldn't shriek its way through life like her carrier's. "My steps are still wobbly."
"That's why you get to spend another night here," Skywarp said. "We can't have your first flight back home in a shuttle."
Updraft's optics lit up, and her new wings perked with joy. "I can't wait. This feels right." Just to prove it, she twitched her new equipment, visibly thrilled with the control.
Thundercracker took his arm, gesturing to a private room, and everyone but Starscream managed to squeeze in. Updraft didn't seem all that bothered by his bailing ("he says he has stuff for me"), and had no trouble sitting up.
"I'm proud of you guys," she said, her optics teasing. "Nobody got kicked out while I was recovering? Not once?"
"I came pretty close," Skywarp said proudly. She laughed, and he was glad to see it was just as easy to cause it.
He got a better look at her, as Thundercracker ran her through simple exercises. A little wingspeak, stretching the arms, curling the fingers. Updraft had red, vivid biolights running down her midsection, and one beneath each wing. Probably more that Skywarp wasn't seeing, certainly more than any of them. Those were considered quite attractive, and Starscream would regret them as soon as young bots came calling. They pulsed with her every movement. Newly-settled sparks did that, Thundercracker had said. She needed time to adjust.
"I was sure you'd be a little bigger," Skyquake said. "I seem to recall a a little bot who swore she'd be taller than me."
Updraft grinned at him, and shrugged. "Well, the alt I wanted is small. So I'm small. But," she added, optics bright. "I'm faster than you."
Skyquake grinned back, relaxed in a way Skywarp rarely saw. The Kaonians usually kept it together around the rest of them. "We'll see, little one. Your first flight won't be top speed."
"We'll see about that."
"We won't," Thundercracker said sternly. "It's an important occasion, your first flight. Not a race."
"Yeah, yeah," Updraft said. Her wings twitched, clearly excited. "You only told me a hundred times about it."
"Shame we won't get to see it," Dreadwing said. He was frowning, something Skywarp was surprised he could manage with how Updraft was lighting up the room. "We'll be in...Tesarus, I believe."
"I guess it's Vosian stuff," Updraft said. "I'm glad you're here for now." There was an edge to her voice that meant she wasn't all that happy about her friends being away, but Skywarp was relieved. The first flight was a Vosian thing, something that should only be seen by Vosians. High-up ones, preferably, not the sort of people Updraft had found to be her bodyguards.
Maybe—ideally—Starscream would fire them soon. Updraft would have her free flight license in no time, and that would mean she could come and go as she pleased. Within reason, anyway. There was plenty of boring stuff to learn about being a good aristocrat. Skywarp hoped she wouldn't ask him for help.
Those were hopes that wouldn't be said out loud. Not in front of Updraft. She was clearly thrilled, to be the centre of attention, but also to have the four of them together. For her sake, they'd probably keep up the good behaviour.
Starscream returned after some time, and Skywarp tried to remember when he'd last seen him all smiles. It clearly made Updraft a bit unsettled, and Skywarp snuck an arm around her as Starscream re-examined her new frame.
"You two," Starscream said, snapping his fingers at Dreadwing and Skyquake. "Outside. Do that guard duty I hired you for."
Skyquake looked ready to growl about this, but the sharp incline of Dreadwing's head towards Updraft seemed to shut him up. Their charge's smile was apologetic, and once the door had shut behind them, she frowned.
"I don't like when you send them away," she said. Amazingly, Starscream's smile didn't falter, as he thumbed a speck of dust from her armour.
"I know, dear child," he said. "But soon you'll be your own Seeker. You'll have to take on a more professional standing with our employees."
Updraft didn't argue, even as Thundercracker nodded in agreement, but it was clear she wanted to. Instead she pulled out a grin, looking Starscream's way. "The gold accents look nice, don't they? I don't think it's too much at all."
Starscream puffed up, and grumbled something, so Skywarp patted her shoulder. "You can design my next mod, too," he said. "Seriously, you've got fashion sense."
Updraft beamed, and Thundercracker rolled his optics their way. Skywarp grinned, and leaned in anyway to nudge Updraft's side. She winked one optic at him. It was nice to see that they wouldn't lose their sparklet.
They talked late into the evening. Starscream said little, but hovered over Updraft, constantly watching the twitch of her new wings or the way her optics brightened.
"It's time you recharged," he said eventually, pushing lightly against her shoulder. His wingtips were held high and pleased. "Rest that frame for your flight."
Updraft tensed, but her carrier didn't seem to notice it as she pulled back slowly, laying against the berth. He'd never before shown this kind of concern—it hadn't been lost on her how he stared at her new frame, how he'd strutted beside her as clinic staff stopped to look. It was as if he was seeing her for the first time.
Maybe he was. A sparklet couldn't fly, couldn't make herself useful in all the ways Starscream needed. A beautiful newbuilt femme was a whole other thing, especially one attached to him by spark. She let Skywarp throw a thermoblanket over her, though this new frame seemed to have no issue regulating temperature.
"Proud of you," Skywarp whispered, loudly, from the doorway. Thundercracker hushed him, but his optics were bright in the darkened room, watching Updraft as he shut the door softly.
She lay awake for awhile. The blanket was kicked to the floor, and she found it hard to get comfortable the way she'd used to. The wings only felt comfortable if she lay them flat beneath her, or if she got on her front...but she had tended to recharge on her side, a position that squeezed her wings uncomfortably. She wondered if the newly forged had these same problems, and imagined a young Starscream, wiggling with discomfort just the way she was.
She would have to watch out for Starscream. He was kind to her now, clearly satisfied with how the upgrade had come together. Her first flight excited him, and Updraft knew she would be shown off to those who caught sight of it. It settled an unease in the bottom of her tanks. Passing below his notice had become the norm, after all, with his trine and her bodyguards to give her attention.
Post-transfer exhaustion finally caught up to her. When Updraft woke, there was sun streaming in through the window, and her chronometer told her it was well into the day.
Guess who's got wings! She sent out, to the only person she commed regularly anyway. Smokescreen would open her message when he was done for the day, and he would be so excited for him. He'd sent Updraft a picture of him in his new frame—tall, broad at the shoulders, with a charming imitation of wings on his back where his alt's doors settled. He had already enrolled in the Elite Guard Academy, and had wasted no time telling her all about it.
Now you and I are on equal footing. She'd sulked with jealousy at first over his upgrade, until the others had started to notice. Updraft pulled herself upright, slowly, careful of getting her balance as she set down her feet.
When she caught sight of her reflection, in the room's long mirror, she took another moment to look at herself. How the new deep, slate grey of her face made her optics seem brighter. When she held her hand over her slim waist, the biolights cast a glow onto her fingers. Her wings twitched, and their every movement distracted her. Her thrusters seemed to hum with energy. It seemed like they were itching to get off the ground as much as Updraft, intent on telling her it was time to go. Be patient, she told herself.
She smiled at herself. Her new reflection was beautiful, more than she could have dreamed of having. If Dreadwing had seen her this way, preening and turning to see how she caught the light, he might have scolded her for her vanity, but it was only her first morning as a Seeker. She had every right to a closer look.
The washrack was a little bare, smaller than at home (it was hard not to bump her wings against the sides) but Updraft took great care cleaning all her armour. It was slow going, with how much more she now had to wash and her wingtips out of reach, but she managed. Everything had to be right today, after all.
When Skywarp saw her later, he laughed, energon cubes balanced in one arm. "You didn't leave much for us to do!" he said, examining her new coat of polish as he set breakfast down.
"She is experienced," Starscream noted, frowning. He raised a brow as he pace around her. "Primus knows my water bill was high enough on her old frame."
"You don't pay for the water here," Updraft said. She had turned to Thundercracker, in an effort to see what he was pulling out of a large bag.
Thundercracker noticed, and tipped it—enough to reveal a beautiful, expensive set of new polishes, of all kinds and with every detailing tool. Updraft nearly squealed as she stepped over, intent on getting a closer look.
"A Seeker needs a full set," he said. Adult or not, he still tapped between Updraft's brows, as he'd always done, and smiled. "Skywarp and I thought we'd get it as an upgrade gift."
"I guess we won't have to use them all," Skywarp said, grinning as he tilted his head, "but we do get to detail you."
Updraft was almost tempted to wash again, to make excuses so she could use her beautiful new set. They were right, though. She hadn't left much to do.
It wasn't the only thing on her mind, either. As Thundercracker laid out the detailing brushes, and Starscream fussed over which was best, she found herself looking towards the door, past them. She had already known Dreadwing and Skyquake would be going to Tesarus, but remembering that they wouldn't be here to see her fly...well. There was nothing to be done about it. Her feelings or not, she'd have to act the good Vosian today, and the result would be worth the trouble. Starscream's trine were downright cheerful, in perfect teamwork. A nice thing to see.
Smokescreen pinged her, and she set it aside. She would get back to him when they were home, and she was resting again. For now, she drank her fuel and watched Starscream measure out paints, his optics narrow in concentration.
"I thought you weren't superstitious, TC?" Skywarp said, from his perch on the windowsill. Updraft turned back to Thundercracker, who was carefully loosening every drawer in the room, opening every cupboard just slightly.
"That's for a smooth flight, right?" Updraft said."So the air will rush into all parts of the room. Skywarp's right. That's just an old flier's tale."
"It is indeed," Thundercracker said, frowning. Still, he didn't stop. "Glad you've studied your Vosian myths."
They all took time polishing her up, and Updraft tried hard not to wriggle. This must have been what it was like to have a trine—a good trine, a true company of three who looked after each other. Starscream would often fuss, and "touch up" points that he thought the others had detailed poorly. They were slow, and it took ages, but she had to look right. This was important.
She somehow looked even prettier when they finished, and she beamed at herself in the mirror. "A properly vain Vosian," Skywarp said. Updraft reached out and flicked his shoulder. With a crack, he teleported back to the berth, where he could sit and get a better look.
"Out of the way," Starscream snapped to Thundercracker, who patiently stepped aside. "And you," he said to Updraft. "Stop leaning over like that. You won't get to see them anyway."
"Did you ask Thundercracker what you'll write?" Skywarp said from behind her. She could see his optics glittering in the mirror. Starscream shifted, crouching down and just out of view behind her wings. "You're not the most poetic, y'know."
Updraft's spark thrummed. Only adult, flying Seekers got their glyphs, and only on very special occasions. They were important, and people might see them as she flew. What if Starscream wrote them poorly? She considered asking Thundercracker to do it instead.
"Shut up," Starscream said. "Of course I thought about what to write, and I don't need your help, but...yes. Thundercracker and I discussed something suitable."
In the mirror, Thundercracker smiled, and Updraft relaxed. She barely felt the old, flowery Vosian being printed, and at least she could be sure Starscream's penmanship was beautiful. It took a long time, and by the time he was done Updraft was stiff from standing.
"Lovely," Thundercracker said. He meant it. "It suits her."
Starscream huffed. "It'll do," he said. He couldn't dampen Updraft's mood, not when she looked so beautiful and grown up, and when it was so clear from his face he didn't mean it.
The friendly nurse from her surgery wished her well as they left, and Updraft's smile became more shy. Skywarp's grin seemed to light up the whole clinic, and she could almost feel the pride radiating off Thundercracker next to her. Starscream strutted ahead, and seemed to puff up whenever a head turned and they realized that this was the Air Commander's child on her way out.
The shyness, mixed with the pride of feeling beautiful and grown-up, was a difficult combination. Once she had stepped out into the shuttle bay, though, the nerves started to melt off. There was no way to describe that feeling of a breeze on your wingtips. The sky was clear, the day was warm, because they had timed her upgrade for the best flying season. It seemed to call her—Updraft, Updraft, come on out! She didn't think about it. Stepping forward, she felt her transformation cog warm, settled in her chest—
—and Thundercracker's hand on her shoulder, pausing her. He grinned, because he understood. "Easy," he said. He nodded Starscream's way, steps ahead of them. "Your carrier will go first, then you'll stay in his slipstream. Just to start," he added, when he saw her face fall. "We'll be right behind you."
"First," Skywarp added, peering over her shoulder, "transform once. Give that cog a stretch." He tapped her chest, optics blinking bright at her. "If you fall out of the sky, well, that's a bad time."
Updraft almost didn't care. If she crashed, at least she'd die flying. Still not an ideal outcome, so she glanced at Starscream, who was tapping his foot impatiently. He nodded.
"It's the easiest thing ever," Skywarp assured her. He held out his hands. "You won't even think about it after the first few times."
Thundercracker nodded. He pulled Skywarp back another step.
Updraft nodded, and straightened up. Just like walking. It was what their race had been forged to do, after all, so she just...thought about transforming.
The burst of parts, the feeling of folding up, couldn't be described, but it was over so fast and so painlessly that she almost didn't notice she was a jet. Suddenly lower to the ground, and without limbs, but Skywarp clapped, and Starscream folded his arms. He almost, almost smiled.
"That'll do, too," he said. He was already turning towards the hangar's edge. "Now, back up. You'll leap off the edge in root mode."
Updraft had transformed back up in a second, and she wobbled. Thundercracker steadied her arm, his optics narrowed.
"Maybe a take-off would be best, sir?" He was watching Starscream disapprovingly. "From her jet mode?"
Starscream waved his hand, standing at the hangar's edge. "If we could do it, she can, too. Come, Updraft. On Thundercracker's signal."
Then he was gone, transforming gracefully in the air and starting a lazy lap around the building. Updraft had never before had the chance to follow him.
Skywarp tapped the tip of her wing. His smile had gone more serious, and that made her spark jump.
"We'll be right behind you," he said. "Nothing bad's happening. Go on."
Updraft had waited long enough. With determined steps, too confident to falter, she strode up to the edge of the hangar...and broke into a run, so she could leap. She heard Thundercracker yelp, but the rush of freefall and the wind in her audials blocked him out. She transformed, thrusters roaring.
And flew.
As if she'd done this a thousand times, and wouldn't have been suicide just two days ago. She raced forward, a laugh bubbling up in her vocalizer just as her comm crackled to life.
Already cutting it close! Skywarp called to her, already gliding next to her. Did you hear Thundercracker shriek?
Very Starscreamy, she agreed, as the jet in question came up to her other side. Starscream swooped in then, turning sharply a good distance ahead. Updraft followed easily, turning her body on the currents. She was sure she could do this on her own, but did what Thundercracker had asked anyway and settled in Starscream's wake.
Starscream had not been privy to her earlier comms, and rarely messaged Updraft outside necessity. Very good, he said, and Updraft felt warmed by the praise. He really did fly well. Home isn't far by flight, but we'll go slow.
On another line, Thundercracker scolded. That was rash! Very dangerous!
Any child of mine knows to take what they want, Starscream snapped. He turned again, more slowly, and Updraft thought she'd followed almost as well as his trine. First and foremost for the taking: the sky.
Starscream endorsing her was new. She'd worry about that later, after the excitement had ebbed out of her systems and she was on the ground. If she ever chose to touch down again, anyway. Updraft sent more power to her thrusters in a burst of speed, overtaking Starscream easily.
Watch out! Thundercracker was already beside her, Skywarp on her other side, and she rose with them. Soon we'll hit traffic!
That would be a challenge—but already Starscream was ahead of her, clearing the way. Her comm crackled with new signatures, those flying past who had seen the glyphs on her wings and how carefully she was attended to. Congratulations! they said. Welcome to the sky, Seeker!
How did they know? They must have all had a first flight too. She thanked them, and picked up speed again. They passed through a low-lying cloud, and Updraft felt no fear as her visuals were clouded, as the water rolled over her wings.
There could be nothing frightening up here. Not from the sky, not from growing up...not from Starscream. Air on all sides, thrusters roaring, was where she belonged.