Six oneshots
Title: Tricks of the trade
Characters: Jazz, Prowl
Rating: K
T-Series: Generation 1
Summary: When the booby-trap discharges prematurely, it’s fairly easy to figure out who was the culprit.
Prompt #1 - pick from Master Prompt (August 07, 2009) “It’s not wanton Destruction, it’s aggressive redecoration.”
Jazz smiled shamelessly.
Prowl, as the questioner, wanted to scream. He settled for a low-pitched compliant that non one, least of all the bot being questioned in the court-martial was supposed to hear. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I suppose you could demand I redefine the dictionary terms - seeing as I already have mangled the meaning of the words anyway.” Jazz briefly cut out the smile to shudder in disgust. “Hate bureaucratic work - too many forms to fill out. Much rather use it as an offensive tool than for its intended purpose.”
“You mean, you’d use it to trip up enemies, clog important circulation vents, and fill in crevices with the pads all dedicated to proper, legal procedures,” Prowl replied deadpan.
“Xactly.” Jazz beamed. “now, ‘bout my reported ‘misuse’ of a incendiary device during the unmentionable on-going prank war?”
“Jazz!” Prowl practically exploded. “This is an official investigation! Everything mentioned during this pretrial is a matter of record.”
“Not public record,” Jazz responded, not at all distraught by the level of officialness this preliminary meeting had. “Gotta give the higher-ups something to laugh at, least every bot turns dreary and dull.”
The black and white tactician was determined not to lest his frustration during this first inquiry derail the conversation any longer. “How did you end up pink anyway?”
‘The incendiary I mentioned? Booby trapped to spew colored paint ‘stead of blowing up.”
Title: Story-telling hour
Characters: Perceptor, Skyfire, Kup
Rating: K
T-Series: Generation 1
Summary: Some bots are great at keeping an audience on the edge of their seat: others need to be prompted to stay on topic.
Prompt #2 Scenario: A character is waiting for something exciting to happen
“And then?” The audience asked with breathless anticipation.
“Then what?” the bot on stage inquired.
Groans came from those who hadn’t heard the story before. “You were telling us how you escaped capture,”
“Oh,” Kup shuttered his optics. “Well, Gearhead knowing I was pinned, and out-of-ammo, stopped to gloat, about how he, the unstoppable enemy, managed to trap me.” The old mech chomped down on the ever-present rust-stick.
“Get to the point already!”
“What Gearhead had forgotten was the fact I hadn’t come in alone - while he told his story, my partner, Alpha Trion, emerged from his hiding spot and took him out. Then, before Gearhead rebooted, Trion freed me, allowing me to arrest the dangerous criminal.”
“That’s it?” “You got rescued by Trion? The archivist?” “Lameo-ending!” And disappointed boos came from the listening mechs.
Perceptor turned to Skyfire. “I thought the tale was quite riveting.”
Skyfire silently agreed with the scientist - but the younger bots were not enthralled with Kup’s story. “Next time, you want to entertain the crew?”
The old, aqua-green mech stepped off stage, letting Hound introduce the next mech (formality only, because everyone knew him).
“Can’t.” Perceptor shook his head mournfully. “Been banished from the stage.”
Wheeljack stepped up, seemingly immune to the not-so-silent whispers of ‘should we evacuate while everything’s still intact?’ that came about after he pulled out flash grenades. Wheeljack proceeded to juggle the volatile compounds, ignoring the fact that the first few rows stood up and left for safer havens. His was the closing act anyway.
Title: Absent-minded Professor
Characters: Wheeljack
Rating: K
T-Series: Generation 1
Summary: Wheeljack shares some (okay, a lot) of traits with other scientists and some medics - mainly, being distracted from necessary tasks in order to take care of the important stuff.
Prompt #3 Morning routine
An alarm pinged.
Absentmindedly, Wheeljack turned it off, focused on the endothermic chemical reaction happening in the beakers on the laboratory table. “Fascinating - sodium reacts violently with dihydrogen monoxide.”
He pulled a fresh - distilled, not tap - sample of the rare liquid compound.
The alarm rang again, interrupting him before he could pour a measured amount in a clean flask. This time, the sound registered.
“Drat, time to fuel up.” Wheeljack put the stable supplies down. Exiting his lab, he turned to head for the break room.
Wheeljack got most of the way to the rec-room before he noticed somemechs leaving.
“Hey, Jazz! I got your replacement tools.”
The black-and-white subspaced his cube. “Fantastic, Jack! Didn’t expect you to finish so soon.” He reached for the special-order. “Cheers.” Jazz walked away, pleased to see Wheeljack heading to grab a ration of energy without prompting.
“Hey, Cliffjumper - how’s your modified lasergun working out?’ Wheeljack asked at the next corner.
“Love the extended reach.” Cliffjumper patted the weapon. “Got anything else you want to field test?”
“Always -“
Before Wheeljack remembered why he’d left his lab, the inventor and minibot had changed direction for the shooting range, where Ironhide was attempted to recalibrate his rifle.
“Got the proper part right here, Ironhide.” He handed it over, no questions asked.
“Thanks, Wheeljack.” Ironhide took a seconded look. “You refuel yet? Or recharge at all last night?”
“Hm?” Wheeljack asked, removing duct-tape from a cracked cylinder. “Recharge? Yeah, I got some last night.”
Title: Encouragement
Characters: Skyfire,
Rating: K
T-Series: Generation 1
Summary: Skyfire is the Aerialbot’s big brother - and he helps them reach places they’d never find on their own.
Prompt #4 Elevation
“Follow me!” Skyfire swooped down on the Aerialbots during a lull.
The white shuttlecraft scattered the practice formation of four of the five Autobot jets. Almost immediately after he dove past they, they were on his tail, jockeying for position.
Skyfire jinked and danced in midair, more to see which of his dog-fighting moves they could imitate than to dodge nonexistent weapon strikes.
He took the airborne aerialbots on a broad loop, encircling the Ark once or twice while Silverbolt laboriously struggled to get off the ground in range to help his brothers crowd the intruder out.
“Follow me.” Skyfire abruptly flipped head over thrusters, so he faced his pursuers.
Skydive, Slingshot, and AirRaid got out of the way. Fireflight and Silverbolt did not twitch, aiming for certain collision.
One more quick twist and Skyfire was underneath, upside-down, repulsers pushing Silverbolt and Fireflight higher, faster, than their own engines could have taken them. Another turn, and Skyfire was right side up, still bellow, but no longer in danger of crashing.
“That looks like fun!”
Skyfire didn’t know which of the team said it first. He just wanted them to fly higher, so he obliged them, repeating the unorthodox move three more times to help them all escape earth’s very thin atmosphere at the highest elevation they could reach on their own.
Title: Undercover operation
Characters: Jazz, Perceptor
Rating: K+
T-Series: Generation 1
Summary: Getting the best crew together is more than simply finding the right mindset for the job - the handler needs to know his agents are capable of being the mech they are portraying.
Prompt #5 Perky
“Could you repeat that, Jazz?” Perceptor asked after resetting and recalibrating his audios. “I could have sworn you just said ‘I am too lively’.”
The black-and-white Special Operations mech vented. “You heard right - you are way too animated. There is no way I can take you on this mission.”
“Is it wrong to be passionate for something?” Perceptor tapped his fingers together. “A lack of excitement towards anything indicates a non-engaging interest.”
“Mech, I need someone who can pretend to be shockwave.” Jazz stressed. “Ain’t now way that drone personality is every beset by emotions.”
The red research scientist glared angrily at the Autobot saboteur. “Just because one does not show reaction does not mean one cannot feel emotions.”
“Yeah? Ol’ Shocker never acts surprised, or angry. Or frustrated. Or even happy.”
“You never went to the academy with him, either.” Perceptor stood up. He physically towered over the black-and-white special agent, but could not intimidate the smaller mech. “You want a temporary replacement while the Autobot femmes rescue their comrade; I can be that mech.”
Jazz froze. For just an instant, he thought the red mech in front of him was the dreaded Decepticon scientist. “You’ll do.”
Title: Setback
Characters: Hound, Prowl
Rating: K+
T-Series: Generation 1
Summary: Taking a shuttle on a routine exploring mission doesn't always mean the shuttlecraft will arrive back intact - or that the bots will remain out of danger the entire time.
Prompt #6 - TASK
“An emergency beacon?” Hound asked, warily. “How’s that going to help? We’re in the midst of enemy territory.”
“Kindly do not tell me facts I already know.” Prowl stated, wrapping more duct tape around Hound’s punctured energon line. “I have a plan.”
“A plan.” Hound shuttered his optics, wishing once again Cybertronian optics could roll like human eyes. “I trust Jazz when he says that - but you?” He chuckled weakly. “Improvisation is not your strong point.”
“Which is why I’m the head tactician during the midst of battle when we need a mech who can think-on-the-fly.” Prowl responded dryly. “Any other leaks?”
“Nope - think you got ‘em all.” Hound choose not to ask about the human expression Prowl uttered - couldn’t risk a processor reboot until after they’d been rescued. “Least, my levels aren’t dropping any lower.”
“Good.” Prowl straightened up, risking being seen by enemy forces. “Can you walk?”
“Walk, yes. Run, no. Disguise us with holograms? Not this side of the pit.” Hound accepted the hand and hidden strength of his companion as he was pulled upright. “So, what’s the plan?”
The emergency beacon was turned on. Prowl casually tossed it in the acid-carved sinkhole that swallowed the crashed shuttle shortly after they got out. “We wait for rescue along that ridge.”
Hound followed Prowl at his best speed - a stumbling walk that was more a shuffle than anything else. “We could have waited to activate that beacon - given us some more time to get away.”
“With Cons tracking what they think to be a mortally injured turncoat?” Prowl smiled deviously. “I might not be a gladiator, but Jazz and Ratchet ensured I know how to permanently take down any opponent.”
“And you’re uninjured,” Hound pointed out, unnecessarily.
Prowl vented. “How many times must I ask you to not state the obvious?”
“Just pointing out the facts, marionette.”
Characters: Jazz, Prowl
Rating: K
T-Series: Generation 1
Summary: When the booby-trap discharges prematurely, it’s fairly easy to figure out who was the culprit.
Prompt #1 - pick from Master Prompt (August 07, 2009) “It’s not wanton Destruction, it’s aggressive redecoration.”
Jazz smiled shamelessly.
Prowl, as the questioner, wanted to scream. He settled for a low-pitched compliant that non one, least of all the bot being questioned in the court-martial was supposed to hear. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I suppose you could demand I redefine the dictionary terms - seeing as I already have mangled the meaning of the words anyway.” Jazz briefly cut out the smile to shudder in disgust. “Hate bureaucratic work - too many forms to fill out. Much rather use it as an offensive tool than for its intended purpose.”
“You mean, you’d use it to trip up enemies, clog important circulation vents, and fill in crevices with the pads all dedicated to proper, legal procedures,” Prowl replied deadpan.
“Xactly.” Jazz beamed. “now, ‘bout my reported ‘misuse’ of a incendiary device during the unmentionable on-going prank war?”
“Jazz!” Prowl practically exploded. “This is an official investigation! Everything mentioned during this pretrial is a matter of record.”
“Not public record,” Jazz responded, not at all distraught by the level of officialness this preliminary meeting had. “Gotta give the higher-ups something to laugh at, least every bot turns dreary and dull.”
The black and white tactician was determined not to lest his frustration during this first inquiry derail the conversation any longer. “How did you end up pink anyway?”
‘The incendiary I mentioned? Booby trapped to spew colored paint ‘stead of blowing up.”
Title: Story-telling hour
Characters: Perceptor, Skyfire, Kup
Rating: K
T-Series: Generation 1
Summary: Some bots are great at keeping an audience on the edge of their seat: others need to be prompted to stay on topic.
Prompt #2 Scenario: A character is waiting for something exciting to happen
“And then?” The audience asked with breathless anticipation.
“Then what?” the bot on stage inquired.
Groans came from those who hadn’t heard the story before. “You were telling us how you escaped capture,”
“Oh,” Kup shuttered his optics. “Well, Gearhead knowing I was pinned, and out-of-ammo, stopped to gloat, about how he, the unstoppable enemy, managed to trap me.” The old mech chomped down on the ever-present rust-stick.
“Get to the point already!”
“What Gearhead had forgotten was the fact I hadn’t come in alone - while he told his story, my partner, Alpha Trion, emerged from his hiding spot and took him out. Then, before Gearhead rebooted, Trion freed me, allowing me to arrest the dangerous criminal.”
“That’s it?” “You got rescued by Trion? The archivist?” “Lameo-ending!” And disappointed boos came from the listening mechs.
Perceptor turned to Skyfire. “I thought the tale was quite riveting.”
Skyfire silently agreed with the scientist - but the younger bots were not enthralled with Kup’s story. “Next time, you want to entertain the crew?”
The old, aqua-green mech stepped off stage, letting Hound introduce the next mech (formality only, because everyone knew him).
“Can’t.” Perceptor shook his head mournfully. “Been banished from the stage.”
Wheeljack stepped up, seemingly immune to the not-so-silent whispers of ‘should we evacuate while everything’s still intact?’ that came about after he pulled out flash grenades. Wheeljack proceeded to juggle the volatile compounds, ignoring the fact that the first few rows stood up and left for safer havens. His was the closing act anyway.
Title: Absent-minded Professor
Characters: Wheeljack
Rating: K
T-Series: Generation 1
Summary: Wheeljack shares some (okay, a lot) of traits with other scientists and some medics - mainly, being distracted from necessary tasks in order to take care of the important stuff.
Prompt #3 Morning routine
An alarm pinged.
Absentmindedly, Wheeljack turned it off, focused on the endothermic chemical reaction happening in the beakers on the laboratory table. “Fascinating - sodium reacts violently with dihydrogen monoxide.”
He pulled a fresh - distilled, not tap - sample of the rare liquid compound.
The alarm rang again, interrupting him before he could pour a measured amount in a clean flask. This time, the sound registered.
“Drat, time to fuel up.” Wheeljack put the stable supplies down. Exiting his lab, he turned to head for the break room.
Wheeljack got most of the way to the rec-room before he noticed somemechs leaving.
“Hey, Jazz! I got your replacement tools.”
The black-and-white subspaced his cube. “Fantastic, Jack! Didn’t expect you to finish so soon.” He reached for the special-order. “Cheers.” Jazz walked away, pleased to see Wheeljack heading to grab a ration of energy without prompting.
“Hey, Cliffjumper - how’s your modified lasergun working out?’ Wheeljack asked at the next corner.
“Love the extended reach.” Cliffjumper patted the weapon. “Got anything else you want to field test?”
“Always -“
Before Wheeljack remembered why he’d left his lab, the inventor and minibot had changed direction for the shooting range, where Ironhide was attempted to recalibrate his rifle.
“Got the proper part right here, Ironhide.” He handed it over, no questions asked.
“Thanks, Wheeljack.” Ironhide took a seconded look. “You refuel yet? Or recharge at all last night?”
“Hm?” Wheeljack asked, removing duct-tape from a cracked cylinder. “Recharge? Yeah, I got some last night.”
Title: Encouragement
Characters: Skyfire,
Rating: K
T-Series: Generation 1
Summary: Skyfire is the Aerialbot’s big brother - and he helps them reach places they’d never find on their own.
Prompt #4 Elevation
“Follow me!” Skyfire swooped down on the Aerialbots during a lull.
The white shuttlecraft scattered the practice formation of four of the five Autobot jets. Almost immediately after he dove past they, they were on his tail, jockeying for position.
Skyfire jinked and danced in midair, more to see which of his dog-fighting moves they could imitate than to dodge nonexistent weapon strikes.
He took the airborne aerialbots on a broad loop, encircling the Ark once or twice while Silverbolt laboriously struggled to get off the ground in range to help his brothers crowd the intruder out.
“Follow me.” Skyfire abruptly flipped head over thrusters, so he faced his pursuers.
Skydive, Slingshot, and AirRaid got out of the way. Fireflight and Silverbolt did not twitch, aiming for certain collision.
One more quick twist and Skyfire was underneath, upside-down, repulsers pushing Silverbolt and Fireflight higher, faster, than their own engines could have taken them. Another turn, and Skyfire was right side up, still bellow, but no longer in danger of crashing.
“That looks like fun!”
Skyfire didn’t know which of the team said it first. He just wanted them to fly higher, so he obliged them, repeating the unorthodox move three more times to help them all escape earth’s very thin atmosphere at the highest elevation they could reach on their own.
Title: Undercover operation
Characters: Jazz, Perceptor
Rating: K+
T-Series: Generation 1
Summary: Getting the best crew together is more than simply finding the right mindset for the job - the handler needs to know his agents are capable of being the mech they are portraying.
Prompt #5 Perky
“Could you repeat that, Jazz?” Perceptor asked after resetting and recalibrating his audios. “I could have sworn you just said ‘I am too lively’.”
The black-and-white Special Operations mech vented. “You heard right - you are way too animated. There is no way I can take you on this mission.”
“Is it wrong to be passionate for something?” Perceptor tapped his fingers together. “A lack of excitement towards anything indicates a non-engaging interest.”
“Mech, I need someone who can pretend to be shockwave.” Jazz stressed. “Ain’t now way that drone personality is every beset by emotions.”
The red research scientist glared angrily at the Autobot saboteur. “Just because one does not show reaction does not mean one cannot feel emotions.”
“Yeah? Ol’ Shocker never acts surprised, or angry. Or frustrated. Or even happy.”
“You never went to the academy with him, either.” Perceptor stood up. He physically towered over the black-and-white special agent, but could not intimidate the smaller mech. “You want a temporary replacement while the Autobot femmes rescue their comrade; I can be that mech.”
Jazz froze. For just an instant, he thought the red mech in front of him was the dreaded Decepticon scientist. “You’ll do.”
Title: Setback
Characters: Hound, Prowl
Rating: K+
T-Series: Generation 1
Summary: Taking a shuttle on a routine exploring mission doesn't always mean the shuttlecraft will arrive back intact - or that the bots will remain out of danger the entire time.
Prompt #6 - TASK
“An emergency beacon?” Hound asked, warily. “How’s that going to help? We’re in the midst of enemy territory.”
“Kindly do not tell me facts I already know.” Prowl stated, wrapping more duct tape around Hound’s punctured energon line. “I have a plan.”
“A plan.” Hound shuttered his optics, wishing once again Cybertronian optics could roll like human eyes. “I trust Jazz when he says that - but you?” He chuckled weakly. “Improvisation is not your strong point.”
“Which is why I’m the head tactician during the midst of battle when we need a mech who can think-on-the-fly.” Prowl responded dryly. “Any other leaks?”
“Nope - think you got ‘em all.” Hound choose not to ask about the human expression Prowl uttered - couldn’t risk a processor reboot until after they’d been rescued. “Least, my levels aren’t dropping any lower.”
“Good.” Prowl straightened up, risking being seen by enemy forces. “Can you walk?”
“Walk, yes. Run, no. Disguise us with holograms? Not this side of the pit.” Hound accepted the hand and hidden strength of his companion as he was pulled upright. “So, what’s the plan?”
The emergency beacon was turned on. Prowl casually tossed it in the acid-carved sinkhole that swallowed the crashed shuttle shortly after they got out. “We wait for rescue along that ridge.”
Hound followed Prowl at his best speed - a stumbling walk that was more a shuffle than anything else. “We could have waited to activate that beacon - given us some more time to get away.”
“With Cons tracking what they think to be a mortally injured turncoat?” Prowl smiled deviously. “I might not be a gladiator, but Jazz and Ratchet ensured I know how to permanently take down any opponent.”
“And you’re uninjured,” Hound pointed out, unnecessarily.
Prowl vented. “How many times must I ask you to not state the obvious?”
“Just pointing out the facts, marionette.”