(no subject)
Dreadnought stood silently behind his stealth cloak, watching as Fireflight clambered down into the crater that had been torn into the rocky desert soil to greet the small femme who sat, looking rather stunned and put out, at the bottom of it. He'd picked up her ascent and spark signature only moments before and grabbed the least intimidating member of his team to go see who she was and where she needed to go, and now he frowned slightly as he took in the antique styling to her shell and her lack of real armor or weaponry.
"I'm Fireflight," his young soldier was saying in her gentle, curious voice. "I'm an Aerialbot, and I belong to Dreadnought's team. What's your name? Are you okay; you didn't hurt yourself or anything, did you?"
The older femme blinked, and then took the hand that Fireflight offered her and got slowly to her feet. "I'm Chipdancer, and I don't belong to any team. I used to be a librarian back on Cybertron when Vector was Prime, but I've been away for awhile."
"And now Cybertron's all messed up," said Fireflight sympathetically. "Not that I've ever seen it... but that's what everyone says."
"You've never seen Cybertron?" Chipdancer frowned at her. "How can that be?"
"I was born here on Earth," said Fireflight, gently urging her out of the crater and helping her over the rough spots. "Optimus used the last shard of the Allspark to create my sisters and brothers and... ohhhh, that's a shiny rock!"
Dreadnought facepalmed gently behind his shield, though his mouth was twitching up at the corners.
"Quartz," Chipdancer told the Aerialbot, her own mouth holding a smile as she scanned Fireflight's find. "With a little bit of gold in it."
"Ohhh. The humans like gold. But this is so pretty that I think I'll keep it." Fireflight carefully tucked the rock away with all the others in one of her storage compartments, then smiled and offered Chipdancer her hand again.
The older femme took it, her expression going worried and grim. "So the rumors I heard on the local information network are true. The Allspark's gone."
"Yes. But that's okay. Wheeljack knows how to make new sparks if we need somebody else."
Chipdancer blinked at that. "He does, does he? Who's Wheeljack?"
"Oh, he's the best Autobot engineer there is." Fireflight looked around with a slightly confused frown. "Dreadnought? Where did you go, sir?"
Chipdancer looked around too, looking puzzled now. "I never picked up any signatures but yours, dear."
"That's alright. Nobody ever sees Dreadnought unless he wants them... to! Oh, here's Two. It's alright. He probably just doesn't want to scare you." Fireflight put her arms around the big drone's neck as Dreadnought released him and told him to go make nice for the femmes.
"Isn't that a Decepticon badge?" Chipdancer frowned at the design on Two's forehead, her expression wary and mistrustful.
"Yes. But the war's over. Two and Dreadnought are good guys now." Fireflight kissed Two on his symbol, and then smiled at the other femme. "Listen to him purr. Doesn't it just make you want to squeeze him?"
Behind them, Dreadnought snorted inwardly at Fireflight's words. Good guys. Sure, kid. //Hey, Kup. We have a new femme just touched down. She's a non-combat model and says she's a librarian that left Cybertron when Vector was Prime.//
The reply was surprisingly quick and free of snark. //A librarian... what's her name?//
The Lord Protector frowned at the eager and hopeful note in the Head of Security's gravelly voice. //She says it's Chipdancer.//
//Oh slagging PIT! I need to get cleaned up!//
//....// Dreadnought looked down at the two femmes as they transformed and headed toward the base with Two galloping along at the newcomer's side. //I take it she's somebody you know.//
//Did you see where I left that polish the kids got me the other day??//
Dreadnought facepalmed again, and then PINpointed back to base to find his usually laid back and sarcastic Security mech running around like a bureaucrat with no excuse, much to Slingshot and Rainbird's amusement and Sunhalo's bemusement. "Kup, you don't got time to put on polish before they get here."
"Slagging pit! I can't let her see me like this!" The elderly mech looked up with a frantic scowl. "I look like a fraggin' slob!"
Dreadnought rolled his optics behind his visor, and then blasted the old guy with a low level flame thrower jet before following it with a gout of hot steam.
Kup stood there and looked stunned for a few clicks, but then looked down at himself and brightened. "Great! Thanks, kid!"
"Kup and the new femme, sittin' in a tree," Rainbird started to chant, but then yelped as Dreadnought booted her.
"You 'n Slingshot go fly the perimeter," he ordered.
"What?" Slingshot straightened from his comfortable slouch. "But we just got back from doing that!"
"So go do it again. It's what you get for having an obnoxious girlfriend."
The Aerialbot and the Seeker femme both gave him reproachful looks at making them miss what they were sure was going to be fun, but they went without further protest. Dreadnought was sure that First Aid would be digging gravel or a bird out of one of their intakes by nightfall, if Rainbird didn't have a full scale stupid attack and do worse.
He watched them go, then looked down at the anxiously jittering Kup and turned to go into the rec room. "Sunhalo, you play host if we need it."
"Yes sir," said the young red Seeker in his quiet way, his blue optics focused gravely on where a dust trail could be seen coming down the road to the base.
Dreadnought mentally ordered Two to leave Kup and Sunhalo alone, then flipped on his favorite human movie and flopped onto the couch to watch it as he commed Optimus and let him know who and what had landed.
He was aware of when Chipdancer came into visual range, and of Kup transforming to go meet her. And his sensors easily picked up when the two old Autobots transformed to stare at each other for a long moment before Kup whooped and scooped Chipdancer into his arms. He snorted when the elderly mech spun the femme around till they were both dizzy.
And then he turned the sensors that weren't needed for security toward the movie as he let Bumblebee out of her carrying hold and left the newly reunited pair to get to know one another again.
"I'm Fireflight," his young soldier was saying in her gentle, curious voice. "I'm an Aerialbot, and I belong to Dreadnought's team. What's your name? Are you okay; you didn't hurt yourself or anything, did you?"
The older femme blinked, and then took the hand that Fireflight offered her and got slowly to her feet. "I'm Chipdancer, and I don't belong to any team. I used to be a librarian back on Cybertron when Vector was Prime, but I've been away for awhile."
"And now Cybertron's all messed up," said Fireflight sympathetically. "Not that I've ever seen it... but that's what everyone says."
"You've never seen Cybertron?" Chipdancer frowned at her. "How can that be?"
"I was born here on Earth," said Fireflight, gently urging her out of the crater and helping her over the rough spots. "Optimus used the last shard of the Allspark to create my sisters and brothers and... ohhhh, that's a shiny rock!"
Dreadnought facepalmed gently behind his shield, though his mouth was twitching up at the corners.
"Quartz," Chipdancer told the Aerialbot, her own mouth holding a smile as she scanned Fireflight's find. "With a little bit of gold in it."
"Ohhh. The humans like gold. But this is so pretty that I think I'll keep it." Fireflight carefully tucked the rock away with all the others in one of her storage compartments, then smiled and offered Chipdancer her hand again.
The older femme took it, her expression going worried and grim. "So the rumors I heard on the local information network are true. The Allspark's gone."
"Yes. But that's okay. Wheeljack knows how to make new sparks if we need somebody else."
Chipdancer blinked at that. "He does, does he? Who's Wheeljack?"
"Oh, he's the best Autobot engineer there is." Fireflight looked around with a slightly confused frown. "Dreadnought? Where did you go, sir?"
Chipdancer looked around too, looking puzzled now. "I never picked up any signatures but yours, dear."
"That's alright. Nobody ever sees Dreadnought unless he wants them... to! Oh, here's Two. It's alright. He probably just doesn't want to scare you." Fireflight put her arms around the big drone's neck as Dreadnought released him and told him to go make nice for the femmes.
"Isn't that a Decepticon badge?" Chipdancer frowned at the design on Two's forehead, her expression wary and mistrustful.
"Yes. But the war's over. Two and Dreadnought are good guys now." Fireflight kissed Two on his symbol, and then smiled at the other femme. "Listen to him purr. Doesn't it just make you want to squeeze him?"
Behind them, Dreadnought snorted inwardly at Fireflight's words. Good guys. Sure, kid. //Hey, Kup. We have a new femme just touched down. She's a non-combat model and says she's a librarian that left Cybertron when Vector was Prime.//
The reply was surprisingly quick and free of snark. //A librarian... what's her name?//
The Lord Protector frowned at the eager and hopeful note in the Head of Security's gravelly voice. //She says it's Chipdancer.//
//Oh slagging PIT! I need to get cleaned up!//
//....// Dreadnought looked down at the two femmes as they transformed and headed toward the base with Two galloping along at the newcomer's side. //I take it she's somebody you know.//
//Did you see where I left that polish the kids got me the other day??//
Dreadnought facepalmed again, and then PINpointed back to base to find his usually laid back and sarcastic Security mech running around like a bureaucrat with no excuse, much to Slingshot and Rainbird's amusement and Sunhalo's bemusement. "Kup, you don't got time to put on polish before they get here."
"Slagging pit! I can't let her see me like this!" The elderly mech looked up with a frantic scowl. "I look like a fraggin' slob!"
Dreadnought rolled his optics behind his visor, and then blasted the old guy with a low level flame thrower jet before following it with a gout of hot steam.
Kup stood there and looked stunned for a few clicks, but then looked down at himself and brightened. "Great! Thanks, kid!"
"Kup and the new femme, sittin' in a tree," Rainbird started to chant, but then yelped as Dreadnought booted her.
"You 'n Slingshot go fly the perimeter," he ordered.
"What?" Slingshot straightened from his comfortable slouch. "But we just got back from doing that!"
"So go do it again. It's what you get for having an obnoxious girlfriend."
The Aerialbot and the Seeker femme both gave him reproachful looks at making them miss what they were sure was going to be fun, but they went without further protest. Dreadnought was sure that First Aid would be digging gravel or a bird out of one of their intakes by nightfall, if Rainbird didn't have a full scale stupid attack and do worse.
He watched them go, then looked down at the anxiously jittering Kup and turned to go into the rec room. "Sunhalo, you play host if we need it."
"Yes sir," said the young red Seeker in his quiet way, his blue optics focused gravely on where a dust trail could be seen coming down the road to the base.
Dreadnought mentally ordered Two to leave Kup and Sunhalo alone, then flipped on his favorite human movie and flopped onto the couch to watch it as he commed Optimus and let him know who and what had landed.
He was aware of when Chipdancer came into visual range, and of Kup transforming to go meet her. And his sensors easily picked up when the two old Autobots transformed to stare at each other for a long moment before Kup whooped and scooped Chipdancer into his arms. He snorted when the elderly mech spun the femme around till they were both dizzy.
And then he turned the sensors that weren't needed for security toward the movie as he let Bumblebee out of her carrying hold and left the newly reunited pair to get to know one another again.