Fanfiction: Excelsior (2/3) (Transformers Prime)
Title: Excelsior: A Sequence (2/3)
Fandom: Transformers Prime
Character(s): Smokescreen, Optimus Prime,
Pairing(s): None
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1100 (this installment; 2300 total)
Warnings: None.
A/N: This sequence was written for the 30 Days of Writing: A Drabble a Day challenge on Tumblr, and tells the story of Smokescreen from his enlistment in the Autobot cause before the series begins through his career in the far future after it ends. It will include a great deal of pre- and post-series headcanon that is not altogether compliant with the larger Aligned continuity. My artistic license remains current. The illustration to chapter four was commissioned from my colleague Amber Dawn. Crossposted to transficsation. Concrit welcomed with an opportunity for great responsibility.
11. Prepared
Finally, Smokescreen gets it.
He sees at last what everything was for: the endless drills, the studying, even the stint in stasis. Destiny was preparing him for this post, to stand shoulder to shoulder with Optimus Prime - the Optimus Prime! - against the enemy. (Sort of. That is, if Optimus weren't hanging from a gantry overhead right now.) But never mind: time to play Kick the Con! Phase Shifter engaged, Smokescreen charges a startled Starscream, knocking him straight out of the Apex Armor and onto his skinny aft.
"Now that was a plan!" he exults.
Oh, yeah, Smokescreen's ready. Half-past ready.
12. Knowledge
Working with Smokescreen throws Jack off balance. He's used to thinking of the Autobots as, well, grown-ups - veterans of a war that began before the dinosaurs died out. But if Optimus Prime and even Bumblebee are old campaigners, Smokescreen's ROTC. He's full of war stories, but they're not his stories, so they don't weigh him down. Every smile Jack coaxes from Arcee is a victory; Smokescreen never stops joking. If only he had a little more discipline -
And now I sound like my mom. Great.
"Hey, Jack?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do you drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?"
13. Wind
Smokescreen activates the Spark Extractor and runs as if the Destroyer himself were chasing him. Nobody knows what the device's range is; even phased to immateriality beneath a body-length of Cybertron's crust, Smokescreen feels its lethal energies fretting at his core. That's gotta hurt, he reflects, and runs faster.
Spark intact, he reaches the rendezvous point only a few nanocycles after the rest of the team. "We're clear of pursuit!" he comms Optimus triumphantly.
The Prime's field surges past his, questing behind him, and the contact is like an arctic breeze across Smokescreen's mesh, damping his ardor. "Acknowledged," Optimus replies.
14. Denial
The order to disperse offlines Smokescreen's vocalizer as effectively as any virus. It's the Archives all over again, the 'Cons blasting everything he's supposed to protect, and him helpless. He almost balks when it's his turn to go, but with the Prime's field bracing his, all he can do is salute and obey.
Only when he emerges from the groundbridge, tires slipping on soft moss, does his impotence crystallize into denial. He can't leave Optimus - not like he left Alpha Trion, and Glazier.
She always said my first word was no, he thinks, turning back. Hope it's not my last.
15. Haze
Squinting against the splendor burning in Optimus's chassis, Smokescreen knows what he's supposed to do: accept the Matrix, lead the Autobots, restore Cybertron. Optimus, optics dimming, practically ordered it. But Smokescreen's always trusted his instincts, and right now they're screaming at him (in Arcee's voice and Cascade's and Glazier's) that he's no Prime. Sure, the part of him that yearns for glory aspires to be one, but the part that drank in Alpha Trion's stories of the Thirteen, thrilling to every unexpected turn, just doesn't believe this twist.
Sorry, sir, he thinks, reaching instead for the Forge of Solus Prime.
16. Thanks
Smokescreen doesn't tell anyone about turning down the Matrix. (Optimus never mentions it, either, but maybe he didn't notice, being almost offline and all.) He doesn't regret his decision, but that doesn't keep his everyday duties (grunt work, really) from feeling like a demotion. How does he go back to being just Smokescreen after nearly becoming Umbraculus Prime?
The best advice he gets isn't advice at all, but Bumblebee's steady-going example. Patience, that's the ticket - and someday everyone will see what the Matrix saw, and there'll be more than just another job to thank Smokescreen for a job well done.
-----
Author's Note: In the tradition of dubiously Latinate names for Primes, Umbraculus is derived from umbraculum, literally "little shadow," but in use anything that provides shade (e.g. a screen, a parasol, a bower) and also, metaphorically, a school (perhaps via the concept of "the groves of academe").
17. Look
Smokescreen pushes the gain on his sensors until he can count the dust motes on the hangar floor, but all he finds is the chip he knocked off Laserbeak. And cataloging particles can't keep his processor from generating anxious what-ifs and if-onlys. What if Ratchet's on Knockout's dissection table right now? The doc's so old; what if his pump fails or his cortex crashes during interrogation? If only Smokescreen had hit Laserbeak square; if only he'd tackled Soundwave; if only -
Ultra Magnus taps his shoulder-guard, startling him. "Take a break, soldier."
"But - "
"A break," Ultra Magnus repeats, disconcertingly gentle.
18. Doubt
His shoulder took the hit, not his helm, so Smokescreen doesn't understand why he can't make sense of what he's witnessing. His sensors record every detail of Bumblebee's fall, from the impacts of Megatron's shots to the last flicker of the scout's field before the pool of cybermatter engulfs his frame, but Smokescreen's processor generates nothing but an endless loop of no and my fault.
Not until Bumblebee returns - not dead and drowned, but healed - to slay Megatron does the cycle break, joy displacing horror. We did need the Star Saber. I was right, thank the Allspark. I was right.
19. Transformation
The restoration is more impressive from orbit than it is at planetfall. Smokescreen's awed delight in the renewed gleam of life illuminating Cybertron's geography quickly gives way to dejection at the ton of work the Omega Lock's successful deployment has left for Team Prime. Every structure the war didn't blow up seems to have fallen over.
Exploring in base mode, he follows a trickle of energon to a puddle ringed with crystals - not the carefully harmonized glasshouse cultivars he remembers, but wild growth. Smokescreen prods them curiously, doorwings twitching when they jangle, then rearranges them to play a proper tune.
20. Summer
Cybertron's axial tilt is less prominent than Earth's, and energon can be mined at any season, which means that no one invented the summer vacation, and that's just sad. Work hard, play hard, right? And who wouldn't want to kick back for a bit, now that they've won the war?
Everybody except Smokescreen, apparently. Undiscouraged, he continues to promote the idea of an aestival holiday until Arcee, his current supervisor, finally gives in. "Okay, hotshot," she says, "you can have your summer break."
"Really?"
"Sure." She uploads a list of chores to his scheduler. "And here's your summer job. Enjoy."
21. Tremble
It's not that Smokescreen isn't afraid. The Chaos-Bringer in Megatron's body, raising an undead army to annihilate Primus, extinguish all life on Cybertron, and drown the universe in entropy? That's the stuff of human horror films, the ones even Miko prefers not to watch. If Smokescreen stopped to think about what he's facing, he'd be shaking so hard he couldn't aim. So he doesn't stop, just makes the next shot, the next leap, the next quip, and leaves strategy to Ratchet and Arcee and Bumblebee.
He's never felt less worthy of the Matrix, or more relieved it passed him by.
To be continued ...
[Acknowledgments: Transformers Prime was created by Hasbro Studios. Copyright for this property is held by Hasbro.]
Fandom: Transformers Prime
Character(s): Smokescreen, Optimus Prime,
Pairing(s): None
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1100 (this installment; 2300 total)
Warnings: None.
A/N: This sequence was written for the 30 Days of Writing: A Drabble a Day challenge on Tumblr, and tells the story of Smokescreen from his enlistment in the Autobot cause before the series begins through his career in the far future after it ends. It will include a great deal of pre- and post-series headcanon that is not altogether compliant with the larger Aligned continuity. My artistic license remains current. The illustration to chapter four was commissioned from my colleague Amber Dawn. Crossposted to transficsation. Concrit welcomed with an opportunity for great responsibility.
11. Prepared
Finally, Smokescreen gets it.
He sees at last what everything was for: the endless drills, the studying, even the stint in stasis. Destiny was preparing him for this post, to stand shoulder to shoulder with Optimus Prime - the Optimus Prime! - against the enemy. (Sort of. That is, if Optimus weren't hanging from a gantry overhead right now.) But never mind: time to play Kick the Con! Phase Shifter engaged, Smokescreen charges a startled Starscream, knocking him straight out of the Apex Armor and onto his skinny aft.
"Now that was a plan!" he exults.
Oh, yeah, Smokescreen's ready. Half-past ready.
12. Knowledge
Working with Smokescreen throws Jack off balance. He's used to thinking of the Autobots as, well, grown-ups - veterans of a war that began before the dinosaurs died out. But if Optimus Prime and even Bumblebee are old campaigners, Smokescreen's ROTC. He's full of war stories, but they're not his stories, so they don't weigh him down. Every smile Jack coaxes from Arcee is a victory; Smokescreen never stops joking. If only he had a little more discipline -
And now I sound like my mom. Great.
"Hey, Jack?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do you drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?"
13. Wind
Smokescreen activates the Spark Extractor and runs as if the Destroyer himself were chasing him. Nobody knows what the device's range is; even phased to immateriality beneath a body-length of Cybertron's crust, Smokescreen feels its lethal energies fretting at his core. That's gotta hurt, he reflects, and runs faster.
Spark intact, he reaches the rendezvous point only a few nanocycles after the rest of the team. "We're clear of pursuit!" he comms Optimus triumphantly.
The Prime's field surges past his, questing behind him, and the contact is like an arctic breeze across Smokescreen's mesh, damping his ardor. "Acknowledged," Optimus replies.
14. Denial
The order to disperse offlines Smokescreen's vocalizer as effectively as any virus. It's the Archives all over again, the 'Cons blasting everything he's supposed to protect, and him helpless. He almost balks when it's his turn to go, but with the Prime's field bracing his, all he can do is salute and obey.
Only when he emerges from the groundbridge, tires slipping on soft moss, does his impotence crystallize into denial. He can't leave Optimus - not like he left Alpha Trion, and Glazier.
She always said my first word was no, he thinks, turning back. Hope it's not my last.
15. Haze
Squinting against the splendor burning in Optimus's chassis, Smokescreen knows what he's supposed to do: accept the Matrix, lead the Autobots, restore Cybertron. Optimus, optics dimming, practically ordered it. But Smokescreen's always trusted his instincts, and right now they're screaming at him (in Arcee's voice and Cascade's and Glazier's) that he's no Prime. Sure, the part of him that yearns for glory aspires to be one, but the part that drank in Alpha Trion's stories of the Thirteen, thrilling to every unexpected turn, just doesn't believe this twist.
Sorry, sir, he thinks, reaching instead for the Forge of Solus Prime.
16. Thanks
Smokescreen doesn't tell anyone about turning down the Matrix. (Optimus never mentions it, either, but maybe he didn't notice, being almost offline and all.) He doesn't regret his decision, but that doesn't keep his everyday duties (grunt work, really) from feeling like a demotion. How does he go back to being just Smokescreen after nearly becoming Umbraculus Prime?
The best advice he gets isn't advice at all, but Bumblebee's steady-going example. Patience, that's the ticket - and someday everyone will see what the Matrix saw, and there'll be more than just another job to thank Smokescreen for a job well done.
-----
Author's Note: In the tradition of dubiously Latinate names for Primes, Umbraculus is derived from umbraculum, literally "little shadow," but in use anything that provides shade (e.g. a screen, a parasol, a bower) and also, metaphorically, a school (perhaps via the concept of "the groves of academe").
17. Look
Smokescreen pushes the gain on his sensors until he can count the dust motes on the hangar floor, but all he finds is the chip he knocked off Laserbeak. And cataloging particles can't keep his processor from generating anxious what-ifs and if-onlys. What if Ratchet's on Knockout's dissection table right now? The doc's so old; what if his pump fails or his cortex crashes during interrogation? If only Smokescreen had hit Laserbeak square; if only he'd tackled Soundwave; if only -
Ultra Magnus taps his shoulder-guard, startling him. "Take a break, soldier."
"But - "
"A break," Ultra Magnus repeats, disconcertingly gentle.
18. Doubt
His shoulder took the hit, not his helm, so Smokescreen doesn't understand why he can't make sense of what he's witnessing. His sensors record every detail of Bumblebee's fall, from the impacts of Megatron's shots to the last flicker of the scout's field before the pool of cybermatter engulfs his frame, but Smokescreen's processor generates nothing but an endless loop of no and my fault.
Not until Bumblebee returns - not dead and drowned, but healed - to slay Megatron does the cycle break, joy displacing horror. We did need the Star Saber. I was right, thank the Allspark. I was right.
19. Transformation
The restoration is more impressive from orbit than it is at planetfall. Smokescreen's awed delight in the renewed gleam of life illuminating Cybertron's geography quickly gives way to dejection at the ton of work the Omega Lock's successful deployment has left for Team Prime. Every structure the war didn't blow up seems to have fallen over.
Exploring in base mode, he follows a trickle of energon to a puddle ringed with crystals - not the carefully harmonized glasshouse cultivars he remembers, but wild growth. Smokescreen prods them curiously, doorwings twitching when they jangle, then rearranges them to play a proper tune.
20. Summer
Cybertron's axial tilt is less prominent than Earth's, and energon can be mined at any season, which means that no one invented the summer vacation, and that's just sad. Work hard, play hard, right? And who wouldn't want to kick back for a bit, now that they've won the war?
Everybody except Smokescreen, apparently. Undiscouraged, he continues to promote the idea of an aestival holiday until Arcee, his current supervisor, finally gives in. "Okay, hotshot," she says, "you can have your summer break."
"Really?"
"Sure." She uploads a list of chores to his scheduler. "And here's your summer job. Enjoy."
21. Tremble
It's not that Smokescreen isn't afraid. The Chaos-Bringer in Megatron's body, raising an undead army to annihilate Primus, extinguish all life on Cybertron, and drown the universe in entropy? That's the stuff of human horror films, the ones even Miko prefers not to watch. If Smokescreen stopped to think about what he's facing, he'd be shaking so hard he couldn't aim. So he doesn't stop, just makes the next shot, the next leap, the next quip, and leaves strategy to Ratchet and Arcee and Bumblebee.
He's never felt less worthy of the Matrix, or more relieved it passed him by.
To be continued ...
[Acknowledgments: Transformers Prime was created by Hasbro Studios. Copyright for this property is held by Hasbro.]