Disclaimer: Transformers © Hasbro
Warnings: See Chapter One
Notes: This section jumps around a bit between flashbacks and the present. Basically, this chapter is to both move a little of the story along and to show a bit of background for a few of the characters as they are in this particular universe. The flashback sections are in full-italics; any text appearing 'as thus' is Seeker-Cant and would only be understood by the seekers in the room.
For the few people who asked me about who, exactly, Thundercracker's creators are, the answer is pretty much given immediately in this section. And I have a couple other flightless introduced as well... even some borrowed from other continuities.
It wasn't as if he had never been to Vos before – in his work as a Peacekeeper, he had been back and forth between the two seeker cities many times – nor was it the first time he'd been talked into going to one of the flightless endurance races with his trine mates. It was, however, the first time that Smokescreen insisted on meeting the winners of the competition, and it was difficult to argue when there were no pressing matters to use as an excuse to get out of it.
Which was how he found himself leaning against a pillar, watching in mild amusement as Smokescreen argued with the black-and-green member of the winning trine and sipping at a cube of mid-grade. His younger trine mate had managed to engage a few of the Vosian flightless in conversation, and by all appearances the small group was having a good time making friends. He shook his head and absently looked around to see if he could locate the other two members of the racing trine; they shared the same frame-build as their partner, but where he was black the other mech and femme had been white, accented with blue and red-and-black respectively.
"Want some company?"
The voice, low and smooth, startled him for a moment, and he turned his head abruptly to find the object of his thoughts standing next to him. The femme grinned in amusement, her axlewings flicking slightly to match her mood. Now that he wasn't seeing her from across the room or up in the spectators' stands, he saw that her faceplate was a softer shade of red than the rest of her colouration.
He blinked, trying to decide what the appropriate response to the question would be. A mental smack from Smokescreen goaded him into speech. "I wouldn't object, if you're offering."
The femme's optics lit up brightly, and she edged closer to latch onto his arm. "Well, I'm offering," she purred in that same low thrum from before. "We don't have to stay here; I trust Locks and Raj to find their own way home, even if Locks is acting like a huge sparkling right now!" she directed towards the black-and-green mech, who waved her off as he continued his 'discussion' with Smokescreen.
"I can empathize," the Praxian offered, smiling faintly when Smokescreen likewise waved him off. "Is there anywhere in particular you would like to go?" he asked. Almost as an afterthought he added, "I'm Prowl, by the way."
"Fracture," the femme replied, waving to her blue-and-white trine mate as they walked towards the door. "I know this lovely restaurant up on the fifth ring...."
oOoOoOo
'So we're taking Doc Bot with us?' Skywarp asked, leaning over the offlined medic and poking at him lightly with one finger. Starscream rolled his optics skyward and pulled his twin back, humming at him in amusement even as Mirage moved toward the door.
'Yes,' Prowl said, a faint frown touching his lips. 'From conversations with him, I feel that Ratchet is unaware of just how little truth there is to the rumours circulating about our faction. Simply telling him the facts would work for the short-term, but he's a mech who needs to see something to fully believe it.'
'Still, isn't this risky for you, genitor?' Thundercracker asked, giving his creator a troubled look. 'You've worked hard to keep your cover for so long.'
'An alert came in about an hour ago,' Mirage remarked as he walked back into the room, Jazz and Red Alert behind him. 'Apparently your creator,' he added with a glance to the twins, 'launched an attack on a hydroelectric plant and the humans called for assistance. Ratchet wasn't about to leave while the three of you were still in stasis lock and recovering from the transference, so a few of us volunteered to stay behind as well.'
Jazz snickered. 'They probably wouldn't have been cool with leaving if they knew that six seekers had infiltrated their ranks ages ago and were the only ones staying behind!' he said in the stilted form of Seeker-Cant used by those with wing injuries.
'No matter,' Red Alert added, likewise using the more-simplified form of the Vosian-Praxian language. 'We need to move, fast. The virus I planted will go into effect shortly, and I'd rather we were away from here before it locks down all the doors.'
'I agree,' Prowl said, taking charge. 'Red, Jazz, you two grab Ratchet. It's past time for us to leave this place.'
The two heavily-disguised seekers moved to pick up the medic, carefully settling him between them before turning towards the door. Mirage moved to take point, keeping an optic out for any mechs that may have returned unexpectedly, and the younglings fell into step immediately behind the three adults. Prowl took one final look around the repair bay before turning on his heel and walking out the door for the last time.
oOoOoOo
The buzz of a comm connection did little to distract the Decepticon pair currently tangling with the Lamborghini twins, although Fracture did let out a string of Vosian curses that would have rivaled Sunstreaker on his worst day could he understand the meaning behind her engine revs and clicks. Shoving herself backward and stomping out a miniature quake, the femme finally responded to the alert: This had better be important, I was busy.
Too busy to say hello to your bondmate?
Vermillion optics lit up brightly and she bit back a small smile even while throwing herself back into the fray, this time latching onto Sideswipe's jet pack to keep him from getting airborne. Prowlie! I thought you were keeping an eye on our pit spawn and his friends. That's what Smoky and Blue said when they brought the news....
Prowl's voice held a mildly smug note when he responded, drawing a faint giggle from the femme: I was, and am. Thanks to an unexpected attack that got most of the Autobots off-base, those of us here decided to take the opportunity to grab the younglings and head home... with a guest in tow.
Oh, baby, I love it when you're devious, Fracture purred, her momentary distraction allowing the red Lamborghini to grab hold of her and throw her at her trine mate. Ow, Primus frag it! So, you still need some cover or...?
We're about five minutes out, Prowl replied. I'll comm Megatron to let him know our ETA, so be ready to fall back, sweetspark.
It'll be good to have you back where you belong. See you soon, my love.
The femme turned slightly to see her trine brother nod, an indication that he'd received a similar message, most likely from their point. Deciding to pull out early, the Runners shifted into their alt modes and gunned away from the twins. There would be future battles, but the prospect of welcoming their fellow seekers home was more appealing than aggravating the Autobots any more today.
It didn't go unnoticed that the retreat was called only moments later, but the Autobots wouldn't be making the connection until they returned to the Ark and discovered that those who had been left behind to stand guard were now missing.
oOoOoOo
"And what of the sky-born seeker who survived the assault?"
Prowl glanced up from his datapad, frowning slightly at his commander's question. After a suitable mourning period for his bondmate, Megatron had once more taken the helm of the Decepticon army. The only difference that most of the army saw was that he spent less time walking amongst the ranks and more in his offices; the officers and most of the seekers knew that this was mostly because he rarely allowed the twins out of his sight. Even now, Skywarp was gnawing on one of Megatron's fingers while a silent-for-once Starscream leaned over his creator's arm and peered at the assembled mechs with the same fascination that Prowl's own sparkling displayed when confronted with strangers.
Exchanging a look with Soundwave, the Praxian flightless cleared his vocalizer. "Sunstorm is recovering slowly, Lord Megatron. We still aren't sure how he escaped the bombing, and from what Blackout can tell the memory file may have been corrupted or lost. Unless Sunstorm remembers what happened, we may never know the exact order of events."
"There's also the concern of how the loss of both his trine mates will affect him," Ramjet added; the other trine leaders present – Acid Storm of the Rainmakers and Mirage of the Runners – sounded their agreement with faint trills and wing twitches. "Not all seekers form trines, but when we do the loss of even one trine mate can be devastating. To lose both of them, especially when one is a close relative, is potentially fatal."
Megatron's expression darkened and he curled a protective arm around the sparklings, both of whom chirped in protest. Although they had possessed very different personalities, it was well-known that Solarflare and Sunstorm were dual-sparked twins. The fact that Sunstorm had even made it back to base was astounding, but this new information was highly troubling.
"Madness can sometimes be a result as well," Ramjet continued. "Since he is recovering, the likelihood of a relapse is slim. However, there is still cause for concern."
"Is it possible for him to acquire a new trine?" the commander asked, running a fingertip lightly along Starscream's helm as the sparkling chirred for attention. The trine leaders looked at one another, dropping automatically into Seeker-Cant to discuss the possibilities. Thrusters and engines hummed, wings flared and dropped, trills replaced common speech as a conclusion was reached and Prowl gave a flick of his doorwings before turning back to face Megatron.
"It's possible," he said finally, voice still holding a faint lilt as he slipped back into the common Cybertronian dialect. "The only thing is, with Sunstorm's current mind frame there's little hope that he could ever be a trine leader. We don't have very many trineless sky-born amongst the ranks."
"There have been mixed trines in ages past, though," Mirage spoke up, frowning thoughtfully. "Not only flightless/sky-born, but Praxian/Vosian as well. I know that there's a solo Vosian amongst the flightless ranks, one of our security mechs. He annoys the ever-living slag out of Lockdown, but there are very few mechs who don't annoy my trine brother."
Prowl nodded slowly, recalling the flightless in question. Mirage's assessment was valid; Red Alert was well-known to most of the rank-and-file, and while some disliked him greatly there were just as many who sang his praises. His file had recently crossed the SIC's desk with the recommendation for promotion to head of security, and should the trine bond take then that additional support would serve Red Alert well in his role.
"I'll speak with him on the issue," Prowl promised, mentally adding the name of a Praxian saboteur to the short list of trine candidates. "It's a long shot, but at this point we really can't lose another good fighter. We're already struggling, and the Autobots' smear campaigns are drawing away potential recruits."
"If there's no other business to discuss, I believe we can consider this meeting adjourned," Megatron said after a moment of silence that was broken only by the sparklings' crooning. The officers saluted sharply and exited the conference room, only Soundwave remaining behind to assist with the twins.
Prowl nodded to the other trine leaders and headed to his office, sending out a quick comm to the two mechs he wished to speak with: Red Alert, Jazz. Could you both please come to my office right away?
Final Notes: Just for giggles, I'm going to go ahead and share a couple of this universe's established trines... but only those who have appeared thus far!
The Elite: Starscream (trine leader), Skywarp, Thundercracker. Yes, even though they're younglings, they're still a valid trine and earned their title!
The Second Wing: Ramjet (trine leader), Dirge, Thrust. They're the only full-Praxian sky-born trine in the Decepticon army, and there is a reason for that.
Ground Control: Prowl (trine leader), Smokescreen, Bluestreak. Prowl is, indeed, the real Decepticon SIC; Starscream has been the acting SIC since Prowl et al infiltrated the Autobots.
The Runners: Mirage (trine leader), Fracture, Lockdown. Bet you thought I was kidding about pulling in characters from other continuities, huh? Although I thought his colour description earlier was a dead give-away....