SUMMARY: The origin story of Cybertron, centering on Megatron's younger sister and victim of the war, Luma.
PROLOGUE: The Passing
** Kaon, many vorns ago **
With the end of the working orn came a flood of weary Cybertronian workers. Some worked in factories or mines, with the worst work conditions on Cybertron. Very few in Kaon lived happily or safely, but some kept some happiness in their loves.
Megatronus was one such mech.
The mech, barely out of younglinghood, was a hard and strong worker. Since the death of his mech creator, his irat, he'd worked hard to help his femme creator, his ira. His ira's spark broke with the loss of her bonded, but there had been one thing stopping her from passing on.
His ira was sparked. A femme and a sister for Megatronus. Megatronus had a deep worry that once his sister was onlined, his ira would leave this plane of existence forever. No. Megatronus knew she would.
He hurried through the crowd, optics focusing on a nearby clinic. The Free Kaon Clinic was the only one that he and his ira, Solas, could afford, and while the care wasn't top-notch, it worked for them.
"Tronus!" Megatronus stuttered briefly and almost fell when a mech grabbed his arm. It was an older mech with a green and gray paintjob. He recognized him from the factories, a friend named Ion. "In a hurry, friend?"
"Ira is in the clinic." Megatronus said, motioning to the clinic. He hoped his movements weren't as jerky as he thought they were. "My sister is arriving soon."
Ion's face turned sympathetic. Most in the factory knew Megatronus' irat, Turn Table, and her condition. "Go, then. I'm sorry for keeping you."
Megatronus didn't spare another sentence, just kept on. The crowds parted for him. His frame was large, bold, and intimidating. It was the way Turn Table's had been and his irat before him and his irat before him. Their family unit was not one that was troubled often.
"Megatronus," A sympathetic nurse greeted him. It was a femme he remembered from previous visits. She was a pretty femme with a soothing white and purple paintjob named Sheen. "Your ira is close to unsparking. She has been in surgery with Medic Clawthorne for two decaorns."
"Her unsparking with me was only one decaorn." Megatronus said, eyeing her clipboard warily. "My ira, will she...?"
"We're hoping so," Sheen said sympathetically. "But we aren't optimistic, especially with the very recent passing of her bonded. I'll call you when you can see her."
Megatronus nodded and took a seat near the front window to wait. The clinic was worn down and old. The council was eager to put their money elsewhere, like fancy vacations for their wealthy upper castes. Megatronus picked up a gray datapad from the side table and skimmed through the free magazines.
Kaon Central News was the most popular, but there was also international news. Megatronus half-heartedly read an article on the newest Prime, Sentinel Prime, and information from the recent council meeting. He didn't care much for that. He was more interested in the wanted ads, including a need for new gladiators. Kaon Gladiators were big and tough, and they had to be to fight in the death matches in the Arena.
Megatronus sent the link to his personal cloud. He'd look into that. Gladiators were the richest in Kaon, often getting the best penthouses and material things.
The end of the orn passed, and soon most of the mechs and femmes in the clinic left. Megatronus was left with a few nurses and doctors. He applied to the gladiator ad, read an article on a Vosian raid, read up on sparkling care, and watched a few short videos on frame maintenance. When he truly was beginning to get bored, Sheen entered the room.
"Ira..." Megatronus began.
"She's awake but I'm afraid she doesn't have long." Sheen said. "Your sister is safe and healthy. Please, follow me."
Megatronus followed Sheen through the dark hallways until they reached door 8A. Inside, his beautiful ira looked close to Primus as she held a tiny bundle.
"My son." Solas whispered. Megatronus hurried to her side and held her hand tightly.
"Ira, please don't go," He begged. "I can't do this without you."
"You're a good boy, Megatronus," Solas said softly. Her silver and red frame was losing color fast, a sign that her life was nearly ending. "You will be a good Irat to her." With shaky hands, she unfolded the bundle and let Megatronus see his sister.
She was a delicate little thing with soft, defined features and a chubbiness in all sparklings. Her optics were white and would be until her first youngling frame. Then they would shift to her caste color. She would have red optics, like Megatronus, a sign of poverty. Her frame colors were primarily black, like him, with scarlet-red servos and peds, a stripe of white on tiny doorwings, and a silver face. She was beautiful.
"Luma." Solas said with difficulty. She pushed Luma closer to Megatronus until he finally held her in his arms. "Your sister is Luma. She is yours. Protect her, my son, and never forget my love for you two."
Megatronus watched her optics dim, her colors fading, and the spark monitor's light beeping stop. He registered Sheen enter and gently prod him and Luma out of the room, but it felt dream-like. It wasn't until Luma made a soft whimpering sound and reached out over their bond that he came to life.
"It's okay, Luma," the giant mech said soothingly, sending love and happiness over the bond. "Even if it's you and me, it's okay."
** Housing Unit 65B, next door to Megatronus and Solas **
"Did you hear?"
"Hear what?"
"About Solas."
The lean mech straightened up to look at his bond curiously. Sharpdrive, his bond, kept an optic on their hallway just in case their youngling decided to wake up and cause chaos.
"Sad business," Darkout commented. He liked Solas and Turn Table and, by association, Megatronus. He'd been sad when Turn Table passed, and he was also unhappy with Solas' passing. "We have to help those little ones, Sharp."
"I agree," Sharpdrive said. Unlike Darkout, who was tall and lean with red optics and a black-and-brown paintjob, Sharpdrive was stout and robust with yellow optics and a black-and-red paintjob. "We'll have to teach the youngling to be gentle around sparklings."
Darkout snorted at the thought. Their youngling was close to his second youngling frame, and he had a smart mouth and a quickness for violence. Darkout blamed Kaon for his little one's attitude. His youngling could also be sweet, but only to Darkout and Sharpdrive and occasionally Solas and Megatronus. But that was occasional.
"He can do it," Sharpdrive insisted, puffing out his chest. "Knockout is a good mechling, Darky. He can be gentle."
"We will have to make sure he understands, Sharpdrive," Darkout said sternly, setting a full cube of energon on the table for his mate. The energon, usually a glowing blue color, was dull and sea green. It could have been better energon, but it was the best that Kaonians could do.
"Understand what, Irat?" A squeak came from the hallway. Holding a ragged toy with red optics gleaming in the darkness, Knockout smiled at both of them.
"You should be recharging," Sharpdrive said sternly, an Ira's fury on his face.
"Heard ya talking," Knockout said, hurrying to sit on his Irat's lap. He kissed Darkout's cheek and snuggled into his armor. The two mechs could hardly hold back their coos at the cuteness before remembering what they were initially mad about.
"I'm sorry we woke you up, son, but you need to recharge," Darkout said sternly, stroking Knockout's helm.
"You were talking about Solas," Knockout said, optics wide with curiosity. "Is she okay? Did she have the sparkling? Is it tiny, Irat? Did she have a femme or mech? What's its name? Do I get to play with it? When is Megatronus coming over? I miss him."
"Enough," Sharpdrive said, exasperated. "She had the sparkling, a femme they named Luma. She is tiny, and yes, we can set up a playdate, but you have to be careful when you play with her, Knockout. She's very fragile. And...I'm afraid Solas passed, Knockout. You remember our discussion when Turn Table passed?"
"Yeah," Knockout's face turned to dismay. "I miss Table a lot. Why did he have to go? Why does Solas have to go?"
"All must leave at some point, my son," Darkout said softly. "They feel no pain now. They are safe with Primus. We must help Megatronus and Luma now, Knockout. You must be a kind and helpful, mech. Can you do that?"
Knockout nodded quickly. "Yes, because we are lower caste and we must help out fellow lower castes, right?"
"That's right, my little one." Darkout said, optics filled with love. "You are a good mech and we are proud of you, son."
"That's right," Sharpdrive kissed Knockout's cheek. "Here, it is time for recharge. Megatronus and Luma come home tomorrow and we must be rested to help them."
Determination filled the youngling's body, and he nodded firmly. The two mechs were proud of their mechling. He was an arrogant, angry little thing, but he loved those he was close to, and that was all they could ask from him. Knockout let Darkout scoop him up and waved goodbye to Sharpdrive as they headed towards his room.
His little room had nothing besides his berth, a small side table, a dresser for things, and a small box filled with his handmade toys. Irat settled him on the bed, covered him with his handmade metal-threaded blanket, and kissed him gently. His little toy, a stuffed cybercat he called Savior, was pressed against Knockout's chest tightly, and another stuffed animal, a turbo-hound named Kip, was close to his head.
"I'll be a good mech," Knockout promised his Irat when Darkout stood to leave.
"Oh, mechling, you are a very good mech." Darkout said fondly. "We love you dearly, never forget that."
"I won't," Knockout said happily, offlining his optics to go back to recharge gently. He did love his creators ever so much. As long as he had them, he would never be unhappy.
** Near the edge of the city of Vos **
The quiet of the night was a welcome change for Surgespray. Usually, you could hear the wild animals of the Vosian Crystal Forests chattering or moving around. But tonight, all was silent.
Surgespray waited patiently alongside his bond, Altair-1, and another smuggler-mech named Overfill amid the forest under a blanket of fine crystallized trees. Their job was rough sometimes. With the constant raids and harassment from the council and upper castes, they had smuggled Seekers out of their beloved city-state. They hid them in run-down cities where the council could not find them, such as Kaon, Helix, and occasionally Praxus. The main one, however, was Kaon. Seekers frequently moved to Kaon and lived peacefully among the grounders.
"How many are coming this time?" Altair-1 asked quietly. Overfill looked back towards them, red optics cool and calm.
"Four mechs," Surgespray replied just as quietly. "Two adults, one barely out of his younglinghood, a youngling and a sparkling."
"A family," Altair-1 said sadly.
Unlike Surgespray and Overfill, Altair-1 was raised in Iacon among the upper castes. He was tall and strong with blue optics and a light blue and white paintjob. He'd only become a smuggler because he fell in love with Surgespray. The Kaonian was glad for his beloved Altair-1. He made these orns better.
"There," Overfill said gruffly, pointing out a few figures slipping through the darkness.
Surgespray straightened and waited patiently. Their boss and the head of their operation had informed them that the mechs they would smuggle this orn were crucial, and when they appeared in the Luna-1's light, Surgespray was in awe of the trueness.
The older-looking mech was tall and lean with sharp red optics and a deep purple and black paintjob. The mech had the glyphs of the Vosian royal family engraved on his arms and a sleeping purple-and-black sparkling in his arms. The younger adult beside him was lean and handsome, red optics peering in the darkness, with a silver-red-and-blue paintjob. The last of their group was a frightened youngling holding his older brother's servo. He had the Vosian red optics and a blue and black paintjob with red stripes on his doorwings.
"You're Starbringer," Altair-1 said softly to the adult.
"Yes," Starbringer said solemnly. "These are my mechlings. Starscream is my oldest, Thundercracker is my youngling and Skywarp is the sparklet. Take them."
"Aren't you coming with?" Overfill said gruffly when a sleeping Skywarp was passed to Altair-1's arms.
"I can't," Starbringer said sadly. He kissed Thundercracker's helm, and Surgespray felt deeply sad seeing the Seeklet hold back his tears and huddle close to Altair-1. "My mates and I kept them a secret. With the chaos in Vos, we couldn't allow them to be harmed. Starscream will take care of them. He's a good mech."
Surgespray looked at the oldest mechling. He looked tired and scared but also prepared. The council was fragged, Surgespray thought angrily. To tear apart a family unit was a terrible thing, and he doubted that the new Prime would do any better than Zenimus Prime.
"This is how we will protect them," Starbringer said, looking at the edge of tears. "This is how our mechlings will survive. Protect your siblings, Starscream. This is an order from your Ira."
"I understand," Starscream said, voice filled with sadness. "I will, Ira. We love you and our Irats."
"I know," Starbringer said sadly. The three smugglers watched the sad goodbye, and when it was time for Starbringer to leave, Surgespray shook his servo proudly.
"We will set them up well," Surgespray promised. "We have an empty apartment waiting with new IDs and plenty of energon until they find work."
"Thank you," Starbringer said quietly. "Vos will not forget this good deed. You will be friend of the Seekers for all eternity."
Surgespray nodded and put a servo on Starscream's shoulder as his Ira disappeared into the thick fold of the forest. The mech looked close to tears but was trying to be brave for his brothers, or that's what Surgespray believed anyways.
A small servo slipped into his, and Surgespray looked down at the tearful Thundercracker. He squeezed the little servo softly.
"Let's get 'em outta here," Overfill said gruffly. "The sooner we're in Kaon, the better I'll feel."
Altair-1 agreed and slipped the little sparkling into his carrying hold. He patted the closed hold and smiled at Starscream. "I will keep your brother safe," He promised. "We need to get to our safe bunker. Did your creators tell you the system?"
"We need to smooth out our engravings," Starscream said, looking downtrodden. "Is it possible to keep their names engraved? I don't want Thundercracker and Skywarp to forget them."
"Should be fine if we scatter the glyphs," Overfill muttered. "Come, mech. The sooner to the bunker, the sooner we can refuel your brothers."
With that, the four mechs and two little ones headed deep into the forest again to find a new life for the broken family unit.