Chapter Text
Thundercracker's spirits were soaring as he came back to the district headquarters after his final patrol. Today he was being promoted, and had seen the last of the dull patrol assignments.
Staff Sergeant.
It was a meaningful position, too, and one that he knew he had fully earned. Eager to hear the news that had already unofficially gone around the entire district, he made his way straight to his Captain's office and announced himself with a professional chirp.
"Ah, Thundercracker!" Jetsky said. "Just the flier I wanted to see. Come in, sit down, I have an exciting new assignment for you."
"Yes, Sir." Thundercracker couldn't contain the quiver of excited anticipation as he stepped inside and sat politely across from the Seeker who had done so much to coach him in his career and as a mecha. The sky blue and purple Seeker with bright golden optics was as much a creator to him as the trine that had brought him into the world as far as Thundercracker was concerned.
"Well, to start with, congratulations on the promotion I'm sure you already know about," Jetsky said warmly. "I look forward to seeing just how far you'll go with us. Now, as for your assignment. I trust you heard about that terrorist they caught in Tarn last decaorn?"
"I believe I heard him referred to as the Sinkhole Demon. It took something like thirty officers to bring him down," Thundercracker kept the curiosity from twitching his wings too much. "I have not read the report yet."
"Well, you're going to," Jetsky said, and slid a datapad over. "He was set to go on trial for execution, but fortunately we caught on in time to send someone over there. We've promised Tarn that he won't create trouble with them again, along with gifting some material good will, in exchange for releasing him to us. We believe his particular skillset could come in very useful, if he can be broken properly. With all these rumors going around, the more trained and specialized fliers we have, the better."
"Fliers...." Thundercracker murmured as he picked up the datapad and quickly scanned it for the most important points. "Just a flier, a Seeker. A Seeker that teleports," he said as he continued to read, eventually confirming his assumption that the mecha was a mech-framed Seeker. Combat grade frame too, though not yet with weapon mounts. He was the same frame as the majority of citizens, including Thundercracker himself. Rather attractive too, once one looked past the arrogant smirk and damage from being captured. "How does this pertain to me, Sir?"
"Well, that is the exciting part," Jetsky said, beaming like he was about to give Thundercracker the greatest news of his life. "He needs someone strong, firm, solid ... you know, a grounding sort of influence to keep him calm. And I have personally recommended you to the position!"
For his part, Thundercracker was proud that he didn't vocalize the squeak of protest that did make it to his wings. "With all due respect, Sir, I do not yet have a trine, nor have I raised any creations. Surely a mecha who is experienced with youth would be better suited." Never mind that Thundercracker was reasonably sure he wasn't that much older than the black Seeker in the picture. Okay, so this Skywarp was technically a mechling and Thundercracker was two centuries into his adult frame, but that didn't make that much difference when they were both so young.
"Precisely why I think you would be perfect for this job," Jetsky said. "You're closer to his age, you'll understand him and what he's going through! I'm sure you'll find something in common with him. And he is far more likely to show you respect than an older Enforcer. You're close to being his peer."
Thundercracker's wings gave a twitch at how insulting that statement was, but he didn't say it out loud. "Yes Sir," he responded instead. "How does one stop him from teleporting?"
"We've discovered that he teleports with whatever he is attached to," Jetsky said. "If the object is too large, he can't bring it with him. So chaining him down to a building stops him from teleporting, and we've taken the additional measures of freezing his global funds and implanting a tracker in him. You will be responsible for his primary rehabilitation and training, though I expect it will be a slow process."
Thundercracker mulled that over as he finished the report and found it distressingly light on some subjects that should have been front and center in it. "Sir, what happened to his creators? There is no mention of his creation trine or his flock here."
"We don't know," Jetsky said with genuine sadness. "The working assumption in these cases, as he is clearly a Seeker, is that he separated while in another city. Possibly unwanted, defective or the result of abuse, though even the nice versions where he was orphaned and raised by strangers isn't very pleasant. Tarn doesn't know him, and we have no records of him. Getting him to tell you will be part of your duties. As of when we took charge of him, he is a citizen of Vos, regardless of how he came to be. He also seems to be an older mechling, so he'll likely be ready for adult upgrades soon."
Thundercracker's wings dipped in sadness at the possibilities presented for Skywarp's history. It was just so wrong. No Seeker should be raised without the network of trines that made up a flock to take care of them. Even those trines that kindled unusually young or were the rare three-way mates and thus did not have a network of lovers and mates and those trines could rely on their creator's trines and networks for support.
To be raised alone ... Thundercracker shivered slightly at the concept of it.
Jetsky waited a klik for Thundercracker to come to terms with that before continuing. "When he is in your care, you must stay attached to him at all times. If he teleports and brings you with him, simply grab onto the nearest large structure and alert us to your position. At the end of your shifts, until you are otherwise comfortable, he'll return to his cell. If he is contrary enough, you are authorized to imprison him in an underground cell. Hopefully that will be enough of a deterrent."
Thundercracker's wings shuddered at the impact of that authorization up front and what it implied of his new charge. For that was what Skywarp was. He wasn't Thundercracker's prisoner, he was Thundercracker's charge, a mech that Thundercracker was obligated to care for, tend to and raise to be a productive member of society.
In the back of his processors, he wasn't completely ignorant that if Skywarp wasn't an Order, they'd likely end up trined after so much intensive interaction.
"Sir, at what point will he be sent home with me instead of to the cell?"
Jetsky looked surprised at the question. "Well, if you do manage to get that far with him, I'll leave it up to you to decide. The end game for this mech isn't full civilian rehabilitation, Thundercracker." Jetsky leveled his gaze at the young adult. "It's to get him to a point where he can be safely handled and trusted to follow orders. We're trying the gentle way first, and if necessary, we'll hand him over to Special Ops and they'll do it their way."
"Oh." Thundercracker swallowed as his entire plan and what was expected of him was turned inside out and pointed in a direction that made his tanks churn. "No one is expecting him to live long enough to need a trine." His wings quivered with how much that thought hurt and his optics dropped. It went against everything he believed in to do that to another. He even believed that Seeker-kin were worthy of better than that. But he had his orders and he would do his best to follow them. Only he would also do his best to give his charge a chance at life too. "I will do my best."
"That's what I want to hear," Jetsky said with a warm smile. "And don't worry too much about this one. Just do your best and be careful--the reports from Tarn were unpleasant. They're all linked in there." He gestured to the datapad. "Now, here's the key to his tracker and the code for his shackles. And congratulations on your promotion, Staff Sergeant."
"Thank you, Sir," Thundercracker responded smoothly, his professional manner firmly back in place as he stood. "With your permission, I will retrieve my assignment now."
"You are a credit to your rank," Jetsky said, canting his wings in approval.
With that Thundercracker left the office and flew to the high-security cellblock. It was only half a dozen cells, each intended to be customized to counter or contain whatever special abilities, unremovable weapons or flying nightmares came into Vos before they were executed, reformatted or sent to Cybertron's Detention Center for internment without a frame. As he expected, only one cell was occupied and there were two mecha with Special Operations markings standing guard.
"Designation," one of them said, scanning him up and down.
"Air Martial Staff Sergeant Thundercracker," he answered, and after a few moments, got a chirp of approval from both of them as his visual and vocal identity was confirmed.
"Here for the little terror?" the second one asked, not trying to hide his amusement at the indignant protest it earned from inside the cell.
"I am not a little terror!" the prisoner said as Thundercracker came into view. He grinned immediately. "Well, I'm not little, anyway. Hiya."
"I understand you prefer to be called Skywarp," Thundercracker regarded the black Seeker with purple trim and wings that looked like galaxies.
"I would hope so since that's my designation," the youth said, and flopped on his chest. Thundercracker could see where the wing shackles that had been welded in place were chained into the floor by a heavy length. "Else I'd think you have some serious problems with your record keeping." He sat back up suddenly. "Wait, who're you?"
"Air Martial Staff Sergeant Thundercracker," he introduced himself again. "You are my charge until you can convince me that you can be trusted to fly on your own and not cause trouble."
"See, I told you mechs you sucked slag," Skywarp said, waving his hand at his guards. "They went and had you replaced! By an Air Martial! That's probably humiliating. So what now, you get me outta here or what?"
"For now," Thundercracker said as the shield deactivated to allow him inside. "When my shift is over, you will be put back in this cell, under their guard, until I believe I can trust you enough to not be locked up at night." He studied the setup for a brief moment, then took the padded shackle attached to a lighter length of chain from its hook on the shackles and unlooped the lighter chain. He attached it to his own wrist, checked it and the chain, then unhooked Skywarp from the floor.
The next thing he felt was probably the strangest sensation of his life as the air around him seemed to compress his entire frame and there was a roar of wind and when it stopped, he was high in the air above Vos.
"Oh, for slag's sake!" Skywarp shouted, as he seemed to realize at the same time as Thundercracker realized where he was that he had a passenger. A barrage of curses followed after that, all of them aimed right at him as Skywarp engaged his thrusters and shot up, trying to get out of the shackle.
It only took the older, more experienced and fully upgraded Thundercracker a moment to collect himself, engage his thrusters and climb-fly his way to Skywarp's back.
::Not the smartest move, mechling,:: Thundercracker transmitted on the single frequency that Skywarp's comms were permitted to operate on. With that he reached inside and activated his own gift.
Sonic vibrations roared outwards, focusing down and into the young mech under him far more strongly than Thundercracker's namesake. With the vibrations came the instinctive terror that to date, no being had managed to overcome. It normally drove other Seekers to the ground, to flatten and hide.
This one, instead, pulled him through the air in half a dozen other rapid jumps that finally ended with them on the ground, the youth shaking badly and staring at him. "What--the--slag?"
"My designation is Thundercracker," he growled at the panting youth pinned under him, highlighting the points that marked his gift. "When you teleport, you take anything you are attached to with you. The building holds you because it is too large for you to teleport. Understood? You cannot leave me behind. If you make me give up on you, you go to the SpecOps center and they'll fix you."
A flicker of what looked like genuine fear passed over Skywarp's face before it was gone again and he cocked his head. "That's your spark gift?" he asked, like he hadn't heard any of the rest of it. "A big boom?"
"A big boom that knocks fliers from the sky," Thundercracker stood and hauled Skywarp to his pedes. "Now, are you going to teleport us back to the cell or am I going to haul you back to the city on your wings?"
Skywarp glared at him, and then jumped, high up into the sky. "Can't drag me from here," he said.
Thundercracker engaged his thrusters and came even with the arrogant youth. The cannon on his right arm powered up and without a word he shot out Skywarp's thrusters.
"Hey!" Skywarp protested and gave a sharp screech as he was suddenly forced to hold onto Thundercracker to keep from falling.
"Do not temp me to take your wings," Thundercracker growled in frustration at the dangling mech.
"You wouldn't," Skywarp said, staring at him.
Without a word Thundercracker reached out to grab a wing and put just enough twisting pressure to warn the owner that not only was he serious, he was capable.
Skywarp yelped. "All right, all right!" he said. "Pit you're about as much fun as getting spiked by a metrotitan. C'mon. Sorry. Don't make me go back there yet."
"Then teleport us back to the cell so we can begin this correctly," Thundercracker said firmly.
"Why don't we just skip that part and you show me whatever you were gonna do in the first place?" Skywarp wheedled.
Thundercracker's engines grumbled. "Because whenever you mess up, I will make you go back to the beginning and try again until you get it right."
"You suck slag," Skywarp said, and Thundercracker found himself pulled through the air in the jumps he was definitely learning to dislike until they were back in the cell, where three Special Ops agents were waiting, blasters pointed inward.
"It will suck less when you stop being a brat," Thundercracker countered, then looked at the weapons pointed at him. "No need for that. Though the medic should see to his thrusters and left wing when I return him tonight."
Skywarp huffed as the weapons were lowered. "At least you're good for something," he said, and looked back to Thundercracker. "All right, so, get on with whatever."
"Do you understand what will get you released from my charge?" Thundercracker settled into a relatively relaxed manner.
"Being either very good," Skywarp said, pointing one way, and then the other, "Or very bad."
"Close enough for now," Thundercracker decided. "Come," he turned, showing his back to Skywarp in a blatant display of not considering the mech dangerous. And walked out of the cell.
Skywarp was forced to follow or be dragged behind and he kept up as well as he could with the thrusters damaged, although Thundercracker had shot them out in such a manner that it didn't seriously impair his ability to walk. He caught up quickly and practically skipped along next to the older Seeker. "That means I can be kind of bad, though," he said, and sounded pleased with himself.
"If you turn out to be a masochist and enjoy the pain that results from being bad, I will become creative in how to punish you," Thundercracker warned. "Though why you would want to remain my charge for one nanoklik longer that required is beyond me."
"Oh, mech, you really aren't all that bad on the optics," Skywarp said with a sympathetic coo. "Give yourself a little credit, your colors barely clash! You're way better than those dull old drones."
Thundercracker gave him an odd look. "I have never heard of a Seeker who would choose servitude over freedom."
The look was mirrored back. "You think you're free?"
"Free enough to go to my own home off shift, gather with friends of my choosing and leave my job if I become dissatisfied enough with it. I am free to fly where I will and pick trinemates that I like. You have none of those freedoms until you earn them back."
"Don't hafta take orders," Skywarp said, shrugging his wings. "Not from you or the government or anyone."
"You do if you wish to ever fly unchained again," Thundercracker pointed out as they left the prison and got into the Air Martial transport that was waiting.
"Yeah but it's my choice," Skywarp said, and grinned. "See?"
"If that is what you must tell yourself," Thundercracker shrugged slightly. "I have never considered a choice between compliance and reformatting to be a choice."
"Well you're just too boring," Skywarp said, and flopped down, head tilted back as he twitched with impatience. It only took about half a klik for the impatience to build up high enough to break the brief silence. "Ugh these things move so slow. C'mon just tell me where we're going, it'll take no time."
"If you teleport us there we will start over in the prison cell," Thundercracker warned him. "I have an office in Air Martial District Three Headquarters. How did you end up in Tarn?"
"How did you end up so hot?" Skywarp asked with a leer.
"Unintentionally," Thundercracker shrugged. "Are any of your creators still functional?"
"They were the last time I talked to them," Skywarp said, shrugging.
"What are their designations?" Thundercracker pressed.
"Pit you're nosy aren't you," Skywarp said. "Not that I mind nosy but I'd rather it be more, y'know, interesting."
"Then what do you want to talk about?" Thundercracker offered.
Skywarp shrugged and looked out the window. "Not gonna help you do your job."
Thundercracker relaxed in his seat and fell agreeably silent for the rest of the ride to the district HQ and got out. Everywhere Skywarp looked there were mecha with Air Martial markings and mecha in cuffs being led here and there.
"Mmm ... how about no," he said, and gave Thundercracker an imploring grin. "This looks boring as slag."
"Then you had better learn to find me more interesting to talk to than you have so far," Thundercracker shrugged his lack of care on the subject and walked into the building, trilling and wing-flicking various casual greetings to many of those around. "It is where I work, thus it is where you will be when you are with me and out of that prison cell."
"Slag," Skywarp groaned, and Thundercracker didn't have any warning at all before he felt the pull through the air and found himself standing on the roof. "There, that's better," the purple and black Seeker said, grinning and looking around. One quick motion landed him on his back, the chain taunt to the ground as Thundercracker stepped on it.
"Is it?" the blue mech looked down at him. "As I understand it, being dragged on your wings sucks far more than boredom."
Skywarp hissed at him and jumped again, this time landing them in midair above the city. Skywarp ended up dangling from the short chain, his weight creating a split-second of free fall.
Thundercracker used his thrusters to take them to ground level, where everyone was watching, only to drop a very started Skywarp the last half length to land with one pede on his back, just above the wing shackles and pressed down enough to hurt.
"Now, are you going to behave or do I need to take a wing off?" Thundercracker rumbled.
In answer, Skywarp began a series of rapid jumps that took them all over the city, each on jarring Thundercracker just enough that he couldn't ever get a good grip on the mechling, until it suddenly stopped--more jumps later than he'd been able to keep track of--and Skywarp looked like he was flickering in and out of visibility.
"Oh," he said, and they realized simultaneously what the problem was.
He was out of fuel, and they were at least ten hics outside the city, from what Thundercracker could estimate.
"Slag."
"Well, now I know what to keep your fuel level at to keep you in one place," Thundercracker said with evident pleasure as his charge hung, helpless, on the far end of the chain linking them together. "That went faster than I expected."
"I was already way low," Skywarp grumbled, and sighed in resignation as he looked at Thundercracker. "Well now I've got you alone, maybe that was my plan all along," he purred.
"You will have me alone in my office," Thundercracker shrugged as he flew towards Vos, his comm system very active as he explained the situation and insisted that everyone could calm down. "Though from what I've gathered planning is not your strong suit."
"Maybe I'm just a mastermind and my plan is you make you think that planning isn't my strong suit," Skywarp said, fidgeting.
"It's doing so well," sarcasm rippled through Thundercracker's harmonics. "You can't fly or teleport now and we'll still be in my office for much of the orn."
"Which is exactly what I want you to think that I want!" Skywarp said triumphantly, a huge grin in his voice.
Thundercracker shrugged and proceeded to ignore him as he flew to Vos.
"You're not even listening to me," Skywarp complained as he resigned himself to being flown wherever Thundercracker wanted to take him.
Thundercracker accepted the door ping and looked up to see Ciel step inside, wings canted hopefully. "Got a klik?" the other Air Martial asked, glancing at Skywarp, who stared back at him from where he was chained to Thundercracker, perched on the desk.
"Of course, Detective Ciel," Thundercracker said by way of introduction and flicked his wings in welcome. "What brings you here?"
"You remember that serial theft string we had, last metacycle?" Ciel said as he came forward and pulled three reports out, passing them over. Skywarp swiped one of them to look at. "I think we've got the same mech again."
Thundercracker calmly took the report from Skywarp and skimmed all three as he spoke. "I was the first on the scene for the second and fifth ones. I admit, the method is similar, but the thefts stopped."
"Maybe he got bored," Skywarp said, trying to get the report back with little success.
Ciel ignored him. "If it isn't the same mech, I'm betting it's someone he's had contact with. The last haul before he went under was pretty big, could he be doing it for a living?"
"It wouldn't be the first time," Thundercracker pulled up a 3D holomap of Vos and mapped out the known hits as well as those by unknown culprits that fit a similar style. Each dot could be expanded for details and were color coded for order. The darker it was, the more recent it was. "If he is, then we should expect the next attack in seven or eight orns given the haul on this one."
Ciel hummed as he looked over the map. "But if he's selling it hasn't come up anywhere, not that we've found, at least."
"Maybe it's serial forgetful store owners," Skywarp said, and stuck his hand into the holomap and found to his annoyance that it didn't react to him as it did to the other two. "Did you try asking them were they last saw it?"
"The energon and parts he might be using for himself or his extended trine," Thundercracker hummed. "These are all common items so far, things that are easy to trade mech to mech without being visible to us."
"No I think I'm onto something here," Skywarp said, and tried to swipe a datapad again, only to have Thundercracker calmly pull it out of reach. "Mechs, really. I feel it in my wings. You should bring me in on this."
Thundercracker gave him a measured looked, then tapped the corner of the holoscreen. "All right."
Skywarp gave him a startled look, then tried an experimental spin of the map and grinned as it responded. "All right, so here's my thought. It's a conspiracy." When the two Air Martials just looked at him, he kept spinning the map. "Store owners are just losing their stuff and so they call you mechs up and report a theft and they all look like the same mech because they're not, see?"
Thundercracker gave the map's corner another tap and it stopped responding to Skywarp, then oriented the map correctly once more as he focused on Ciel.
"Is he always like this?" the Detective asked.
"He's actually behaving reasonably well," Thundercracker chuckled. "I keep his energon level below the level needed to teleport and he causes so much less trouble. He still hasn't decided that talking about reality is to his benefit, but he's learning, if slowly."
"He beats me," Skywarp said, canting his wings down pitifully at Ciel. "Really bad. And he pays the medics off so they won't report it."
"The timestamp to check?" Ciel asked calmly.
"...What?" Skywarp asked, looking startled that Ciel had engaged.
"When and where did it happen?" Ciel asked patiently. "So I can check."
"Surely you realize that you are under constant surveillance, thus anything that happens is recorded," Thundercracker pointed out evenly. "If your claim is valid, there will be multiple logs of it."
"Not if you erase them," Skywarp said, and held his arm out, pointing to a scuff. "See, right here. Proof. Cold, hard proof. I can't stand being chained to him for another klik, he's mean!"
"Mechling, you don't know the definition of mean, or what a beating is if you call that proof," Ciel said coldly, his wings flicking his a disgusted dismissal before he looked at Thundercracker. "How do you put up with such an unsocialized, uneducated, ungrateful flit?"
"Orders," Thundercracker shrugged. "He's not impossible, just very low on processor power."
"Your trine is low on processor power," Skywarp said, and made an obscene gesture at him, only to find himself completely ignored as the other two returned to discussing the thefts.
"Thank you for the input," Ciel said after a while as he tucked everything away again and Thundercracker powered down the map. "How do you find your charge's progress?" he asked mildly, like Skywarp wasn't even there.
"Promising, given what I was first led to believe, though still far below his age," Thundercracker said. "He's still quite a mess. It will take time to correct the errors he's suffering."
"He thinks having fun means an error," Skywarp whispered loudly to Ciel, laying down on the desk and grinning at Thundercracker. "Don'cha." He looked back to Ciel. "If you ever wanna see a really good time gimmie some energon and I can show you what an overload at free fall feels like."
"It always does" Ciel sighed. "Orphans are never quite normal, unfortunately. Their concept pf society rarely integrates until they are fully trined, if they manage to. Most I've met don't make it."
"Please, fliers everywhere just waitin' for some of this," Skywarp said, though it did little to hide how annoyed he was at being ignored. He stretched his arm out and lay his head down, trilling at Thundercracker. "Know you are."
"Unfortunately," Thundercracker agreed. "Those that do are generally those with some kind of kin willing to take them in. By the time one gets to us, it's usually a lost cause, but I am obligated to try. I dislike the idea of handing anyone over to Special Operations."
Ciel looked surprised. "He isn't that bad off, is he? What could..." And then he seemed to answer his own question. "Ah ... the jumping," he mused. "Useful. How long do you have before that happens?"
"I don't know," Thundercracker admitted. "The Captain implied that it was up to me and I could take as long as I believed I could help him, but that seems unlikely in the long run. At some point either circumstances or cost will force the choice. If he's not ready to be released by then, he'll be reprogrammed."
"Please like anyone just gets released," Skywarp said, and groaned. "Seriously you have to get me a new handler or something, I'm so bored." That counts as abuse, doesn't it?"
"Well, good luck," Ciel said, then gave Skywarp a hard look. "For your own sake, mechling, I'd really start thinking about shaping up."
Skywarp made the same obscene gesture at him without even lifting his helm, wings canted aggressively.
Ciel rolled his optics and looked back to Thundercracker. "Let me know if you ever need a break," he offered.
"Thank you. I will," Thundercracker twitched his wings in genuine gratitude. After the door closed he focused on Skywarp. "So if no one ever gets released, should I turn you over to Special Operations now?"
"No," Skywarp muttered sullenly, and turned his head to look at the opposite wall, though he made no move to give Thundercracker any part of his desk back and Thundercracker didn't care. The blue mech simply picked up his bookfile and began reading again.
After about five kliks, Skywarp started chirping and clicking to himself, drumming his fingers on the desk. His wings eventually started to twitch along with the rhythm and eventually Thundercracker was able to make out an out of tune, off-rhythm song. If it could even be called that.
Another five kliks after that and Skywarp heaved a giant sigh. "I am so bored!" he whined. "How do you just read for so long?"
"I enjoy reading and learning," Thundercracker answered easily. "It stimulates the processors. Have you had any formal education?"
"Umm ... yes," Skywarp said.
"What kind of stories do you like?" Thundercracker asked.
Skywarp looked at him with a confused cant. "Like sparkling stories? I am way too old for sparkling stories."
"There is far more available than sparkling stories," Thundercracker chuckled. "This one," he moved the datapad he was reading, "is about a hunter-detective. There are stories about romance, adventure, nobles, history, fantasy, erotica, porn, horror, anything you can imagine has thousands if not millions of stories written about it."
"Well yeah, duh, I knew that," Skywarp said, and put his head back down, visibly sulking. "I like adventure, I guess. And fantasy."
"Do you want to read something in those genres?" Thundercracker offered.
"Sure," Skywarp said slowly, wings perking a bit. "Adventure?"
"All right," Thundercracker said, and pulled a datapad from the subspace storage beneath the desk and brought up a short story on it. "This was one of my favorites when I was a mechling," he said, and handed it over.
Skywarp took it a bit too eagerly and looked at it, then drooped. "It's in Vosian," he said.
Thundercracker cocked his helm, his wings flicking in distress. "Of course it is Vosian. We are Seekers and this is Vos."
"Yeah well it's useless," Skywarp said and threw it on the floor. "Can't read it."
With a hum and a disturbed quiver of his wings Thundercracker stood and retrieved the datapad. "What languages can you read?"
"Imperial Standard, like everyone," Skywarp said and shrugged his wings. "Not everyone has to read Vosian."
"Then why don't we play a game while I find it in that?" Thundercracker offered.
Skywarp's optics narrowed suspiciously. "What kind of game?"
"A fair trade game," the blue Seeker grinned at him. "Truth or dare."
"So I can dare you to do anything?" Skywarp asked.
"Anything legal and non-damaging," Thundercracker rolled his optics. "Though first you'll have to find something I don't want to admit the truth of."
Skywarp hummed. "That's a stupid rule," he said. "Who're you fragging?"
"Farcry and Longwing," Thundercracker answered smoothly. "How old are you?"
"Three hundred and ten," Skywarp said, noting but ignoring how startled Thundercracker's wingsweep was. "What's the worst thing you've ever done?"
The blue Seeker twitched with a sick-to-his tanks flicker of his wings. "I killed a mech." A seeker, a citizen. "Who created you?" he asked after taking a moment to set himself mentally to rights.
"Sirrus, Res, and Sunchaser," Skywarp said carefully. "Who'd you kill?"
"You're lying. Their real designations," Thundercracker locked optics on him. "I can read designations, mechling. That might get by a commoner, but not anyone educated."
Skywarp hissed at him, wings lifting up. "Frag you, that's what they called themselves!"
"Those are not, however, their designations," Thundercracker stressed the legal, formal intent of the glyph. "You no doubt have kin in Vos. If they can be found and accept you, then you would not have to deal with me or the chains anymore."
"I don't want Vosian kin," Skywarp said and buried his head in his arms. "I don't like this game."
Thundercracker regarded him for a moment, then let it go. He knew when not to push. "His designation was Sunsong," he said quietly, answering the earlier question. "What is the worst thing you've ever done?"
"Probably when I blew up the central palaces in Tarn," Skywarp said, his wings flicking almost dismissively.
Thundercracker cocked his helm at the adult in a mechling's frame and hummed. "Well that does explain why Tarn was so eager to execute you despite your obvious tactical value. Makes me wonder just what Vos traded to get you."
"Scrap me if I know," Skywarp said, and turned his head slightly so that one red optic was visible. "Why'd you kill him?"
"He was holding a hostage and refused to negotiate. I shot him in the back, right through his spark case." Thundercracker got it out, his wings betraying that he still wasn't sure if he'd made the right call. "If you hadn't been caught, what did you want to do in the next hundred vorns?"
Skywarp shrugged. "Dunno. Never thought that far ahead. Just kind of, got energon and found stuff to scrap, y'know?" He grinned. "Pretty funny seeing the looks on faces when I jumped into locked rooms. D'you have a, um, trine, thing?"
"Trine," Thundercracker gave a minor, though important correction. "What you said indicated a trine with a three-way sparkbond. Trine," he repeated carefully, "is the generic glyph that applies to all trines. No, not yet. Farcry may become my Vision, though neither of us are sure yet. I have yet to encounter an Action I was fond enough of to trine with yet."
"Trine," Skywarp said, repeating with just as much care for the pronunciation and subglyphs as Thundercracker had put in, getting it correct that time. "How come there need to be the same parts in each one? Oh--wait, sorry, your turn."
"It's okay. Cultural things I'll explain freely if you ask. Only personal questions count towards the game," Thundercracker said easily, more than willing to give the poor mech that much, especially now that he was actually being halfway reasonable. "It's an act of balance and function. While it has much less application in modern times, when the trine came about it was to ensure that the carrier, who would also be the one who cared for the sparkling stage creations the most, would have protection and supplies while vulnerable and unable or unwilling to fly away quickly from threats. Thus the Vision, who is always the carrier, is the one most likely to enjoy remaining close to home and being intellectual. To protect the vulnerable Vision and sparklings, they trined with an Order, who acted as a mid-range guardian and hunter and leader, and an Action, who ranged the furthest to protect and hunt. Today the Vision is still most often the one who stays home, but they are also very often scientists. The Order is more likely to be political, but are also often quickly promoted into management or other leadership roles. Actions are still the ones that range the furthest and are at home the least in most trines."
Skywarp mulled that over for a few kliks, tapping at the desk as he did. "What're you?" he asked.
"An Order," Thundercracker answered smoothly. "You will work out what you are after your adult upgrades. It is generally something that is very clear to the Seeker, and once you work it out, you will broadcast that and your availability to trine status until you have a trine. Then it turns off."
"I'm gonna broadcast something?" Skywarp asked, sounding horrified. "What, like, a beep or something?"
"It isn't audible; it's simply part of the ID signal all mecha transmit socially. I'm sure you picked up something from your creators when they were around, a sense of who it was, even if you couldn't see or teek them."
"Sure, what they felt like," Skywarp said before he touched his chest over his chamber. "But that was in my spark, not some kind of signal. They were just there."
Thundercracker raised an optic ridge, then his wings flattened in a traditional respect for the departed. "I am sorry they were lost so soon."
Skywarp tensed, shock making his wings go straight up, completely rigid. "I didn't say they were lost."
"No, but no creators would abandon a creation before the bond faded naturally. Not when the bond with you was so strong," Thundercracker said gently. "It takes desire, want, love to form that bond with any strength. Sire bonds such as you described are even less common. I can't believe they abandoned you before the bond faded naturally and you knew what I was talking about."
Skywarp hissed, but it wasn't really aggressive or even directed at Thundercracker. His wings lowered back down. "Yeah, well, fine. You're right. Happy?"
"No," Thundercracker said gently. "I wouldn't wish that on anyone. But why don't you want to be with your kin?"
"I don't have kin," Skywarp said. "I've got me."
"How do you know that?" Thundercracker asked patiently.
Skywarp gave an exasperated huff. "My creators were my kin and that was it," he said, looking at Thundercracker like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "So I guess maybe they could have had creators or clutch-mates or something here but they didn't want to be with them so why would I want to be with them?"
The blue Seeker signed sadly. "Just remember you have kin in the city if you change your mind. Being alone is a terrible thing for a sane Seeker."
"Managed it fine," Skywarp said, shrugging. "Still got your creators?"
"Yes," Thundercracker didn't hind the warmth he felt for them. "Their trine is intact, as are the trines of their lovers and my creator-Action's mate. A dozen siblings still function as well. I enjoy going home at night to the flock." He paused. "Do you want your adult upgrades sooner or later?"
Skywarp didn't answer for a while, pedes twitching as he thought. "Whenever," he finally said. "What's ... what's it like, having a flock?"
"Safety, security, support, warmth," Thundercracker didn't hide the happy flutter of his wings as he thought about the kin and their lovers and the lovers' trines he continued to recharge with most nights. "They're mecha to turn to when I need help, comfort and just to socialize. I have a place in every flock my siblings are part of as well, though it is secondary to full members. It's ... good."
"Sounds nice," Skywarp said. "I miss recharging with my creators ... felt the same, warm and safe, y'know? Does everyone do that?" he asked, forgetting to give Thundercracker a question, though the adult Seeker didn't say anything about it.
"Everyone I know of. It's normal. Even criminals have their trines and flocks. It's part of what it means to be Seeker," Thundercracker explained. "Short of hosts, we are by far the most socially linked of any Cybertronian type."
"And exclusive," Skywarp muttered, almost to himself.
"Why would any of us want to leave?" Thundercracker shrugged. "We care for each other, protect each other, support each other."
"Yeah but not everyone," Skywarp said. "It's your turn, anyway."
Thundercracker nodded, accepting the change of subject. "Have you interfaced?"
"Of course," Skywarp scoffed. "What kind of stupid question is that?"
"The kind that leads up to 'what method did you enjoy most?'" Thundercracker's wings flicked in amusement.
"Oh," Skywarp said. "Umm, all of it, I think. Yeah. All of it. What's your favorite?"
"Alt mode, high atmosphere, as the spiker," he rumbled in remembered pleasure. "Though I agree that it's all good. Second favorite has to be with two others, one of them between us," his wings shivered faintly with arousal. "Even if it's only for fun since we're not serious about trining, it's very good. Ever played with toys?"
"Um," Skywarp said, and he was sort of just staring at Thundercracker. "Wait. Alt mode in the sky?" he finally managed.
"Yes," Thundercracker easily let his question slide. "Both spike/valve and sparks can be done in alt mode while flying. It's intense like nothing else. My carrier's Order called it transcendental, though I didn't find it to be quite that intense."
"Wow," Skywarp said. "Hafta try that sometime." He hummed and tapped his fingers. "But right. Toys. Nah, gotta have credits to get toys."
"Given the quality of your upgrades, your creator-trine definitely had some, or were owed some serious favors," Thundercracker told him. "Particularly given you were not upgraded in Vos where Seeker frames are common."
"Sure, but they didn't buy toys with it," Skywarp said. "And I didn't know how to get into their accounts after. How many Seekers are in a flock?"
"A small one will be six plus untrined creations, the larger ones are twenty-four to twenty-eight plus untrined creations," Thundercracker answered. "Most are in between. A handful are larger than thirty plus untrined creations. A flock is your or your creators' trine, plus the trines of their lovers and mates, and any trines those trines are mated with. It is vary rare to expand further than that, but it can happen. It is not uncommon, though hardly standard, for creations to remain with their creator's flock after they trine until they begin to build their own flock beyond their trine, if they do."
Skywarp mused about that for half a klik, then lifted his wings up in a rapid shift of mood. "What's your favorite toy? I need some ideas for when I figure out how to get away."
Thundercracker hummed thoughtfully, then tapped the controls for his desk and a holo-display sprang up that Skywarp was laying half on top of. "If you want to see, you'll need to move out of the display zone," he said absently as he accessed and modified the control access.
"Maybe you should convince me to move," Skywarp purred back.
"Your choice. Move and see a bunch of toys, or lay there and don't," Thundercracker shrugged.
Skywarp glared at him. "They picked you to torture me, I know it," he said as he sat up, letting the holo-display come into full focus. "Ooh, hey."
"My captain says differently," Thundercracker shrugged. "This is the inventory for one of my favorite shops. I have set the controls so you may browse, watch the vids, but not buy or leave this shop. My favorite is J7564-G534, the Double Dragon," he brought up an item that looked rather like two spikes attached together with an offset, pointing opposite directions. "This side goes in your valve, this one sheaths your spike. It's electrified. Unbelievably intense when you are by yourself."
"Whoa." The purple and black Seeker leaned forward, spinning the display around to see toy from every angle. He started to flip through different pages, occasionally asking questions or watching the very matter-of-fact instructional videos for some of the more complicated ones, and Thundercracker waited patiently until he was sure that the strange mechling-adult was fully engaged, before going back to his novel.