You can swallow a whole chicken?
Title: The Nine Rings of Vos: War
A Transformers G1 Fanfic
Author: Sanjuno Shori Niko
Summary: What do you do when one of the most important people in the world to you is someone you've never met?
Timeline: More fic here.
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(In which Barricade and Cardinal talk.)
Sunstorm was nervous. He paced. His wings twitched out of control. His engine revved whenever he forgot to try and keep calm. The flaps on his wings fluttered like fabric in a high wind. He tapped his claws together as he wrung his hands. Sunstorm was, in fact, the very image of a lost Seeker finally returned to his kin and painfully unsure of what his welcome would be. Sadly, it was not an unfamiliar sight here in the Seeker’s Temple of Primus.
Cardinal stifled a sigh of regret, shifting slightly where he stood. Every recovered Seeker was brought to the main temple of Vos in order to reconnect properly to the windbond and submit to a scan that would allow the priests to track down and alert any surviving spark-kin. Providing there was any family left to contact. Seekers would fight to the death to defend their families. That was why the government had targeted the residences of Seekers who were away from home during the raids. It was also for that reason that the scientists had come up with the idea of severing any bonds the captured Seekers had. Any bond left intact was an invitation to have a lab razed to the ground by vengeful Seekers. That being said, a rescued Seeker whose bonds had been broken could only pray that their relations would be agreeable to reconnecting with their long lost kinsmech.
It was a regretful circumstance, but many times there was no one to call. Worse were those times when family was found, but refused to meet with the recovered Seeker. It saddened Cardinal to see his windkin deny their own codes, but Seeker’s lives were so very tied up in their bonds to one another that asking a Seeker to remake a forcibly broken bond was often impossible. The unreasoning terror inherent in the loss of a bond was an insurmountable obstacle to many. It was asking them to chance feeling that horrible pain again, when they had reconciled themselves to their loss, and it was cruel torment for both parties. With the breaking of the bond, Seekers became dead to their wingkin. It took a strong, brave spark indeed to choose to remake a broken bond. It took incredible strength of will to reject the belief that a lost relative was gone forever when your spark told you that you had felt them die. Most of the time, it was those who had managed to somehow cling to the remnants of tattered kin bonds that were welcomed back by their spark-kin. Only rarely did those who did not fight the severance of their bonds manage to reclaim them. Much like how Spectre had repudiated young Prowl after the rejection, and never thought to see his offspring. Simply because, to Spectre, Prowl was no more relation to him than any other Seeker.
Cardinal could only thank Primus that it was impossible to completely disconnect a Seeker from the windbond. Otherwise, there would have been nothing left to rescue from the labs.
The thought of his creation’s creation lingered, bringing with it memories of Interceptor, and Cardinal shuttered his optics as the bittersweet emotions swept over him. He could still remember the pain as the creation bond thinned and snapped as his creation weakened, then finally succumbed to his wounds. His sole creation, lost to the machinations of Senate assassination plots. Interceptor had possessed a rare strength of spark, and would never have denied his kin. Just look at all he had done for Prowl.
Cardinal remembered then a reclaimed Flightless who had dragged her wingless mate and newly formatted offspring into the Temple to have the sparkling properly inducted into the windbond. Only one of her spark-kin had come to the Temple, apparently because of seeing her name in the creation announcements of the new reel. She had not even thought to contact him, thinking all her kin dead, and since she had not returned immediately to Vos after being freed from the labs, there had been a bit of a mix-up in the paperwork. It had been good to see family reunited. Hopefully things would work out just as well in this instance.
“Grand Genitor, are you well?” Barricade shifted closer to the mech who had raised him.
“I am fine. Why do you ask, youngling?” Cardinal patted Barricade’s dark clawed hand as it rested on his forearm.
“You always turn your thoughts to Genitor and my brother at moments like these.” Barricade tucked his pack panels in tacit apology for dredging up painful memories. “I only wanted to assure myself that you are not distressing yourself needlessly.”
“I will always grieve, youngling, but that does not mean that I will ever forget the joy that their lives, and yours, have brought me.” Cardinal smiled and shifted his attention to the gold and cream Seeker fluttering nervously about the atrium. “I have heard tell that you plan on adding to my joy as well. Is there any truth to this talk?”
“… Blackout is pretty sure that Sunstorm and Jetfire are his trinemates.” Barricade shuffled his pedes in an uncharacteristic display of nervousness, ducking his head down as he admitted to the situation. “I like them too. Jetfire is very easy to get along with, and Sunstorm often reminds me of you. Talks about Primus’ Will and fated choices all the time. I was actually hoping that you would agree to mentor him. He wishes to become a priest.”
“Does he now?” Cardinal lifted his sensor panels in interest, examining the skyborn with more focused intent than before. “I would be glad to teach him all that he wishes to know. It is always an honour to guide a student down the path of spark. I was starting to believe that no other in our family would ever hear the call of Primus and choose to serve in the Temple.”
Barricade twitched a little at the reminder that all of Cardinal’s descendants had so far chosen military careers rather than religious vocations. It was one of the reasons Barricade liked Sunstorm so much. Teaching the gold skyborn the ways of Vos’ priesthood would make both of them happy in addition to distracting Cardinal from mourning Interceptor and fretting over Prowl. Hopefully that itching sense that he had somehow disappointed his caretaker would fade now that he had managed to give the High Priest an heir to his faith.
Barricade hid a wince from his grand-creator. It had made sense at the time to request assignment to Vos itself rather than serving outside the Citadel. With his creator dead and his elder brother on the front lines and ignorant of his origins (damn the Senate anyway, for ruining their tentative plans to tell Prowl about where he came from!) Barricade had the choice between creating a duty sparkling to carry on his codes and serving Outside as his Genitor had done, or staying close to home for his grand-creator’s peace of mind. Barricade himself was a duty creation, and he did not resent his Genitor for giving him to Cardinal to raise. Keeping Prowl and playing double agent within the Peacekeepers had been risky enough without adding another youngling to the situation. Plus, Cardinal was the High Priest, and Barricade was the only descendant of his line remaining in Vos. This gave Barricade some leeway in choosing his posting.
Considering Blackout’s abrasive personality and distain for Outsiders, coupled with the mutual agreement not to think about sparklings until after they had found Blackout’s trinemates, Barricade had thought it best to remain in his position as head of the Home Guard. Ironic that Jetfire, his partner’s trinemate, was the Air Commander. It was almost as if it had been planned to turn out this way (and he should stop right there before he started sounding like on of Cardinal’s sermons.) Considering how well things had turned out in the end, Barricade figured that he had made the best choice. (No matter how tempted he had been to request assignment to the Autobots in order to get closer to his brother. Blackout never would have been able to last long among the Autobots and Barricade would never consider leaving his mate behind.)
“How do you think this is going to go?” Barricade asked quietly, watching Sunstorm pace with concerned optics. “You’ve met with Lord Starscream before. Do you have any insight as to how he and his sister will react to Sunstorm?”
“I am glad that you care. I must admit that I held worries that you would clash with Blackout’s trinemates when he encountered them. It is good to see that those fears are groundless.” Cardinal’s amused expression faded as he sighed and answered Barricade’s question. “Commander Jetfire knows our Winglord and his kin far better than I, and by all appearances he is unconcerned. I would take that as a good sign. I cannot say for certain either way. In the end it all depends on them, but Lord Starscream and his sister are both sparks of uncommon strength. I feel that they will be able to accept your Sunstorm into their family. That Sunstorm claims to feel a kin-bond to Lord Starscream is perhaps the most promising thing. I do not know how this Shockwave managed it, but Sunstorm is a Seeker through and through. He feels the windbond as clearly as any Seeker I have ever spoken to. Better yet, there is no broken bond standing between them. I have hopes that things will turn out for the best.”
“I hope you are right.” Barricade murmured as every Seeker in the room tensed, feeling the approach of an unmistakable presence. “Because here they are.”
(Word Count: 1622)
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It may not seem like it, but I have introduced some significant aspects of Seeker culture as well as foreshadowed some major plot points. And no, I will not tell you what I'm hinting at. You have to either figure it out yourselves or wait until the 'reveal' is posted. Mwahaha. XD
This is the bonus update for creepygoth666 for giving me my Nebula egg. She wanted Seeker Trine or Soundwave, but this is the best I can do for now.
I will have more Rings for you all on the weekend though. I had a brainstorm and have been facepalming all over the place for not realizing that I had left a gaping plothole in my series. But that's okay, I've fixed it. It's also made the end of Revelations about five times more awsome than I thought it would be.
In other news I have lost 3 inches off my belly. Only 10 more to go! Looks like exercising every day really does help. ^_^
Here there be dragons. I finally got a male Canopy dragon. Yay! ^_^
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A Transformers G1 Fanfic
Author: Sanjuno Shori Niko
Summary: What do you do when one of the most important people in the world to you is someone you've never met?
Timeline: More fic here.
=/=
(In which Barricade and Cardinal talk.)
Sunstorm was nervous. He paced. His wings twitched out of control. His engine revved whenever he forgot to try and keep calm. The flaps on his wings fluttered like fabric in a high wind. He tapped his claws together as he wrung his hands. Sunstorm was, in fact, the very image of a lost Seeker finally returned to his kin and painfully unsure of what his welcome would be. Sadly, it was not an unfamiliar sight here in the Seeker’s Temple of Primus.
Cardinal stifled a sigh of regret, shifting slightly where he stood. Every recovered Seeker was brought to the main temple of Vos in order to reconnect properly to the windbond and submit to a scan that would allow the priests to track down and alert any surviving spark-kin. Providing there was any family left to contact. Seekers would fight to the death to defend their families. That was why the government had targeted the residences of Seekers who were away from home during the raids. It was also for that reason that the scientists had come up with the idea of severing any bonds the captured Seekers had. Any bond left intact was an invitation to have a lab razed to the ground by vengeful Seekers. That being said, a rescued Seeker whose bonds had been broken could only pray that their relations would be agreeable to reconnecting with their long lost kinsmech.
It was a regretful circumstance, but many times there was no one to call. Worse were those times when family was found, but refused to meet with the recovered Seeker. It saddened Cardinal to see his windkin deny their own codes, but Seeker’s lives were so very tied up in their bonds to one another that asking a Seeker to remake a forcibly broken bond was often impossible. The unreasoning terror inherent in the loss of a bond was an insurmountable obstacle to many. It was asking them to chance feeling that horrible pain again, when they had reconciled themselves to their loss, and it was cruel torment for both parties. With the breaking of the bond, Seekers became dead to their wingkin. It took a strong, brave spark indeed to choose to remake a broken bond. It took incredible strength of will to reject the belief that a lost relative was gone forever when your spark told you that you had felt them die. Most of the time, it was those who had managed to somehow cling to the remnants of tattered kin bonds that were welcomed back by their spark-kin. Only rarely did those who did not fight the severance of their bonds manage to reclaim them. Much like how Spectre had repudiated young Prowl after the rejection, and never thought to see his offspring. Simply because, to Spectre, Prowl was no more relation to him than any other Seeker.
Cardinal could only thank Primus that it was impossible to completely disconnect a Seeker from the windbond. Otherwise, there would have been nothing left to rescue from the labs.
The thought of his creation’s creation lingered, bringing with it memories of Interceptor, and Cardinal shuttered his optics as the bittersweet emotions swept over him. He could still remember the pain as the creation bond thinned and snapped as his creation weakened, then finally succumbed to his wounds. His sole creation, lost to the machinations of Senate assassination plots. Interceptor had possessed a rare strength of spark, and would never have denied his kin. Just look at all he had done for Prowl.
Cardinal remembered then a reclaimed Flightless who had dragged her wingless mate and newly formatted offspring into the Temple to have the sparkling properly inducted into the windbond. Only one of her spark-kin had come to the Temple, apparently because of seeing her name in the creation announcements of the new reel. She had not even thought to contact him, thinking all her kin dead, and since she had not returned immediately to Vos after being freed from the labs, there had been a bit of a mix-up in the paperwork. It had been good to see family reunited. Hopefully things would work out just as well in this instance.
“Grand Genitor, are you well?” Barricade shifted closer to the mech who had raised him.
“I am fine. Why do you ask, youngling?” Cardinal patted Barricade’s dark clawed hand as it rested on his forearm.
“You always turn your thoughts to Genitor and my brother at moments like these.” Barricade tucked his pack panels in tacit apology for dredging up painful memories. “I only wanted to assure myself that you are not distressing yourself needlessly.”
“I will always grieve, youngling, but that does not mean that I will ever forget the joy that their lives, and yours, have brought me.” Cardinal smiled and shifted his attention to the gold and cream Seeker fluttering nervously about the atrium. “I have heard tell that you plan on adding to my joy as well. Is there any truth to this talk?”
“… Blackout is pretty sure that Sunstorm and Jetfire are his trinemates.” Barricade shuffled his pedes in an uncharacteristic display of nervousness, ducking his head down as he admitted to the situation. “I like them too. Jetfire is very easy to get along with, and Sunstorm often reminds me of you. Talks about Primus’ Will and fated choices all the time. I was actually hoping that you would agree to mentor him. He wishes to become a priest.”
“Does he now?” Cardinal lifted his sensor panels in interest, examining the skyborn with more focused intent than before. “I would be glad to teach him all that he wishes to know. It is always an honour to guide a student down the path of spark. I was starting to believe that no other in our family would ever hear the call of Primus and choose to serve in the Temple.”
Barricade twitched a little at the reminder that all of Cardinal’s descendants had so far chosen military careers rather than religious vocations. It was one of the reasons Barricade liked Sunstorm so much. Teaching the gold skyborn the ways of Vos’ priesthood would make both of them happy in addition to distracting Cardinal from mourning Interceptor and fretting over Prowl. Hopefully that itching sense that he had somehow disappointed his caretaker would fade now that he had managed to give the High Priest an heir to his faith.
Barricade hid a wince from his grand-creator. It had made sense at the time to request assignment to Vos itself rather than serving outside the Citadel. With his creator dead and his elder brother on the front lines and ignorant of his origins (damn the Senate anyway, for ruining their tentative plans to tell Prowl about where he came from!) Barricade had the choice between creating a duty sparkling to carry on his codes and serving Outside as his Genitor had done, or staying close to home for his grand-creator’s peace of mind. Barricade himself was a duty creation, and he did not resent his Genitor for giving him to Cardinal to raise. Keeping Prowl and playing double agent within the Peacekeepers had been risky enough without adding another youngling to the situation. Plus, Cardinal was the High Priest, and Barricade was the only descendant of his line remaining in Vos. This gave Barricade some leeway in choosing his posting.
Considering Blackout’s abrasive personality and distain for Outsiders, coupled with the mutual agreement not to think about sparklings until after they had found Blackout’s trinemates, Barricade had thought it best to remain in his position as head of the Home Guard. Ironic that Jetfire, his partner’s trinemate, was the Air Commander. It was almost as if it had been planned to turn out this way (and he should stop right there before he started sounding like on of Cardinal’s sermons.) Considering how well things had turned out in the end, Barricade figured that he had made the best choice. (No matter how tempted he had been to request assignment to the Autobots in order to get closer to his brother. Blackout never would have been able to last long among the Autobots and Barricade would never consider leaving his mate behind.)
“How do you think this is going to go?” Barricade asked quietly, watching Sunstorm pace with concerned optics. “You’ve met with Lord Starscream before. Do you have any insight as to how he and his sister will react to Sunstorm?”
“I am glad that you care. I must admit that I held worries that you would clash with Blackout’s trinemates when he encountered them. It is good to see that those fears are groundless.” Cardinal’s amused expression faded as he sighed and answered Barricade’s question. “Commander Jetfire knows our Winglord and his kin far better than I, and by all appearances he is unconcerned. I would take that as a good sign. I cannot say for certain either way. In the end it all depends on them, but Lord Starscream and his sister are both sparks of uncommon strength. I feel that they will be able to accept your Sunstorm into their family. That Sunstorm claims to feel a kin-bond to Lord Starscream is perhaps the most promising thing. I do not know how this Shockwave managed it, but Sunstorm is a Seeker through and through. He feels the windbond as clearly as any Seeker I have ever spoken to. Better yet, there is no broken bond standing between them. I have hopes that things will turn out for the best.”
“I hope you are right.” Barricade murmured as every Seeker in the room tensed, feeling the approach of an unmistakable presence. “Because here they are.”
(Word Count: 1622)
=/=
It may not seem like it, but I have introduced some significant aspects of Seeker culture as well as foreshadowed some major plot points. And no, I will not tell you what I'm hinting at. You have to either figure it out yourselves or wait until the 'reveal' is posted. Mwahaha. XD
This is the bonus update for creepygoth666 for giving me my Nebula egg. She wanted Seeker Trine or Soundwave, but this is the best I can do for now.
I will have more Rings for you all on the weekend though. I had a brainstorm and have been facepalming all over the place for not realizing that I had left a gaping plothole in my series. But that's okay, I've fixed it. It's also made the end of Revelations about five times more awsome than I thought it would be.
In other news I have lost 3 inches off my belly. Only 10 more to go! Looks like exercising every day really does help. ^_^
Here there be dragons. I finally got a male Canopy dragon. Yay! ^_^
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♣
♠
♣
♠
♣
♠
♣