Of Seekers, Volume 1 of the Cybertronian Mech Guide
Chapter 1, Basics and Technology
Seekers. The fliers of the Cybertronians, fearsome Birds of Prey of the Decepticons, and masters of the sky. These mechs and femmes are one of the most famous (or in some cases, infamous) class of Cybertronians in the universe. In this first volume detailing the amazing robotic organisms that are the Cybertronians, we delve into the lives of the Seekers.
This first chapter will deal with the summary basics and technology (biology) of Seekers.
Seekers are large mechs*, being composed of large thrusters, wings and atmospheric control surfaces, and weapon hard-points, but regardless of size, armor is not a strong point for them. Needing to be lightweight enough to fly, the armor on Seekers is light, but this works in their favor to allow them to be faster and more agile in the air as well as on the ground than most mechs. With this speed and maneuverability, most mechs would use 'spray-and-pray' tactics with weapons, with most of their processor focused on moving than shooting. However, Seekers tend to use precise shots than just suppressing fire, and this is due to their fast reaction timing. Flying at hyper-sonic speeds, Seekers need to react fast if they are to avoid colliding with objects thrust into their paths. This perk of theirs also allows them to think fast in combat, performing accurate shots in very short time windows to hit their targets, while still moving around light on their feet.
Seekers live in trines, or pairs of three. Trine mates are very important to each other and thus will go above and beyond to protect them. Trines are one clue that points to two possible origins of Seekers, one being that Seekers evolved from pack hunters, and the other being that they evolved from herd or flock prey. However, trines are much more complex than just packs or flocks, and will have their own chapter later in the volume.
Seeker weapons will vary between each individual, but most will be found with arm mounted cannons, missiles, and swords. Their large size can be very deceiving, and fights usually end up with similar sized and smaller mechs limping away. Weapons and combat will be covered in another chapter.
Seeker moods can be deciphered by looking at their wings. Happy Seekers will have their wings perked up slightly, lifted upwards towards the ceiling. Sadness is occupied by the wings drooping down towards the ground, while nervousness and restlessness is accompanied with twitching wings. An angry Seeker will have his wings spread out to take up as much space as possible in an intimidating manor. In combat their wings will be constantly moving, fine tuning every move their body makes. The wings in Seekers are also extremely sensitive, and are vital for Seekers in not just combat but society. Their wings are used in everything from the guidance of the body in a fist fight, to mating and courting. For a Seeker to lose even one wing permanently could spell death through depression and anxiety.
A Seeker that hasn't flown in a while is a dangerous Seeker. Seekers need to fly in order to maintain their sanity, literally. To ground a Seeker for more than a week will make a Seeker very hostile and restless, a month and they could hurt themselves and possibly kill themselves trying to gain access to the sky, if insanity doesn't destroy their processors first. Seekers can fly for up to 48 hours (Earth standard) straight and more, depending on the level of restlessness before the said flight. Storms cannot hold back Seekers, and are considered fun for said mechs. You can find Seekers surfing the thunderheads, flying against the wind in what a Terran could consider a 'power-walk', or diving into the heart of the storm and playing various games of 'tag' and 'hide and Seek' regardless of wind and turbulence. However, Seekers rarely fly below cloud level and into the rain or into winter storms, as water in its various forms are annoying and, in the case of ice, dangerous for the light fliers.
Most, though not all, Seekers consider themselves superior to other Cybertronians, especially ground mechs. Even other fliers that are not part of the Seeker class are looked down upon. However, it is not impossible to find Seekers befriending 'ground-pounders' and even bonding with femmes that cannot fly and visa-versa, although it is rare.
The next chapter will cover whatever the majority of readers want me to cover next chapter. That means reviewing.
(* I refuse to go into the specifics on the dimensions of Cybertronians, as trying to find scale in G1 is like trying to convince someone that a horse is part reptile. Its impossible. For example, in multiple episodes injured Autobots will be put into the back of Ratchet's alt mode. Devastator's size can change drastically, I even found a scene where Rumble was the same size as Soundwave. xD So ya, no accurate measurements, sorry. :/ Also, I'm making this out of what I observe in Fanfictions and what seems logical in my mind; I'm not really going off the G1 series. For example, I really doubt 'Screamer, TC, and 'Warp are as closely knit in G1 as they are portrayed in lots of Fanfictions. And stuff like the behavior I made up, although I wouldn't be surprised if someone else also thinks Seekers' wings should twitch when their restless and such. Hope you enjoyed! And if anyone wants to use this as 'research' (lol) for a story they're writing, then go 'write' ahead! (Budum tss) Crappy puns aside, if I didn't want other people to use some of what I come up with when writing stuff like this, I wouldn't post it on the internet. All that I ask is that you message me so I can read what you're writing. Anyway, do you guys like it? Should I keep writing this? I was planning on doing this 'Volume 1' on Seekers, then making more volumes on maybe gunformers (Megatron and Shockwave), pursuit/enforcer bots (my name for bots like Prowl and Barricade), etc. So please review! No seriously, if I don't get more reviews I'm gonna sick Ravage to stalk you for a day. Don't believe me? Ask 'Cracker, he's still getting his back panels replaced.)