re_alignment | [Video] One grumpy Seeker, coming up...

[Thundercracker hadn't expected Jadewing to leave quite that quickly, so he's not there when the other Seeker arrives, though he's very shortly behind. Jadewing will just have landed and probably started wondering where Thundercracker was when the distant growl of turbines answers the question. The rich blue F-15 sheds altitude quickly as it nears, pulling up its nosecone at last minute and flipping around to reveal the (former) Decepticon officer as he lands lightly on his feet. He offers Jadewing a wry hint of a grin.]

I hope you didn't down that last drink after all just to meet me here.

[The modifications that allowed Thundercracker to create his signature sonic booms also gave his engines a distinctive sound, a deep, rumbling undertone that sounded rather appropriately like an approaching storm. Jadewing had just been double-checking the coordinates to make sure he was in the right place when he heard that distinctive rumble approaching and looked up, seeing the blue F-15 flying in.

He stepped back a pace, both to politely to allow Thundercracker more landing space and to put himself out of arms' reach when Thundercracker did. Not that Jadewing really thought Thundercracker would attack him, but staying out of grabbing distance of officers had become a habit he didn't feel it wise to try and break.

He straightened and saluted Thundercracker as he landed, much more smoothly than last time, but settled into a more normal stance then Thundercracker spoke.]

There wasn't really that much left of it, Sir. Besides, I didn't want to keep you waiting.

[Staying out of easy arm's reach of ANYONE who wasn't explicitly a friend or otherwise unquestionably trustworthy was a wise habit to keep. Thundercracker still practices it himself.]

[He nods to acknowledge and accept the salute but doesn't otherwise address it, himself more than a little tense, still waiting for Jadewing to notice and react to the smoothness of his wings, broken only by his stripes.]

Appreciated. So . . . what have you been told so far? About this place, the people, how things are run...? And how did your meeting with Starscream go?

[Wait for it, Thundercracker. Right now he's still processing the fact that you're not dead. He'll notice soon.]

A bit more than what the acolytes told me, Sir. The Lambda brought us here from wherever we happened to be, and we can't leave for the foreseeable future. I apparently belong to the temple of some bot named 'Nexus Prime', who's one of a number of bots calling themselves the 'First Forged', who are in charge around here. Unicron is a major threat, but not an immediate one.

From others, I've learned that there are a fair number of others here, and not everyone is some variety of Cybertronian, or even mechanoid. There's some sort of police force in place that apparently accepts organic members. Widespread strangeness tends to be a fairly common occurrence. There are apparently duplicates of certain mechs running around, though thus far I haven't spoken to more than one of anyone. Also, no one here seems to know what Quintessons are, and that most of them seem to think I need a new paintjob.

And my meeting with Starscream went well. I explained to him what a trine is, and we talked about a few other things. He's... nice, Sir.

[Jadewing shrugs slightly; there really wasn't a better way to describe the red and white Starscream. That was still surprising, though Jadewing felt it unwise to bring up a comparison to the Starscream they both knew from back home. However universally disliked their own world's Starscream was, he was still Thundercracker's wingmate, and Thundercracker might feel obliged to defend him.

And speaking of wings, there was something different about Thundercracker. Jadewing had been trying to put his finger on it all during the conversation, but had been focused first on the fact that Thundercracker was alive and then on making his report. Now, however, he's noticing that something is missing...]

Thundercracker, Sir...? What happened to your wings?

[Not only his wingmate, but his trine leader. He'd defend...but only so far. He knows better than anyone what their Starscream is like and what his problems are. He certainly won't deny it. ....having had to explain trine to Starscream, though...the white he's not surprised, but the red-and-white too? Huh... That might explain why the mech didn't particularly seem to want much to do with him. He nods.]

He's...he seems generally mellower than the Air Commander, yeah. To say the least. Though he still pokes at Megatron whenever is convenient.

[He pauses, wondering where to start with "everything else" he felt the young Seeker needed to know. Or maybe ask a few more questions, like what a Quintesson was. Or just comment that the Seeker's paintjob was just fine, what was everyone's problem. But then . . . Jadewing decides it for him.]

[He flinches, wings twitching as they hitch up his back. He knows he's /grimacing/ and he pulls his gaze down and away from Jadewing so the younger Seeker won't, hopefully, think he's actually up at /him/. Thundercracker knows all too well what Decepticon superiors do to inferiors when they're upset. That's not him - never really was before, certainly not know...and he doesn't want to give the other mech the wrong impression that he might start now. Still . . . it's a moment before he can make himself answer, hands clenched in fists.]

They're fine. I had . . . I had my brands removed.

[He makes himself look back up. It's silly and he KNOWS it, this bracing for reaction like he is - the only one he /really/ needs to fear is Megatron. The fact that he's /not/ dealt with that yet...is wearing on him, even if he's not fully aware. But he /is/ aware that, of all people, a subordinate who's been trained - who's been /conditioned/ - not to challenge his superiors isn't going to "do something" about this. And even if he did . . . not like Thundercracker couldn't take him. He made officer on his own merits too, not just because of his trinebond with Starscream. Rolling his shoulders, forcing his wings back down into a more neutral pose, his voice is calmer when he speaks again.]

No more "sir", Jadewing. No salutes. I'm not your superior officer anymore. I belong to no one . . . except Alpha Trion - [He gestures at his left shoulder with the black-rimmed, vibrant magenta Glyph.] - and that only to keep me from going murderously insane.

The war doesn't exist here. Autobots and Decepticons don't have to like each other and get along, but they're not permitted to fight. And . . . there's no point in it anyway. What we have here is already tenuous without meaningless fights destroying what little there is.

[He could say more - MUCH more - but...he'll pause there to let the young Seeker take that in.]

[Jadewing also nods his agreement.]

Definitely.

[Odd though... The Starscream he'd spoken to didn't really seem the type to go poking at Megatrons...

He doesn't have much time to think about that though, as such thoughts are pushed to the wayside by the sight of Thundercracker's blank wings. For a moment, he's afraid that he said the wrong thing, Thundercracker's grimace clearly indicating his not fond of discussing the subject of his altered wings, but he then directs his gaze away from Jadewing. Thundercracker's hands were still clenched into fists, though, so Jadewing waited warily for Thundercracker to speak, or to do something. Ready to duck if need be.

What Thundercracker does say when he finally speaks again thankfully doesn't necessitate ducking. It does, however cause his optics to widen, staring at Thundercracker in disbelief. He continues staring even as Thundercracker looks back up, meeting his optics once again as he continues to speak, renouncing his position as both Jadewing's superior officer and his faction.

It's not until a few seconds after Thundercracker stops speaking that Jadewing finally finally blinks again. Give him a moment, Thundercracker; that's a lot to process, especially on top of everything else that's happened to him today. Finally he sighs, the position of his own wings settling marginally, though not entirely. Half to himself...]

Just when I thought there'd be something sort-of normal around here...

[Normal tone, to Thundercracker.]

Well... Can't say this comes as a complete shock. We just... never thought you'd actually do it, you know?

[He shifts his weight from foot to foot uncomfortably, looking slightly down and to one side himself, not entirely sure how face the other without the clearly defined boundaries of rank.]

Starscream said the same thing. About there not being a war here. [pause] It's still hard to believe...

[While logically he knew that a time when Cybertron was without war had existed, he'd never actually had to deal with the prospect of not having a clear goal before. A clear enemy to fight. Or orders to follow. It was... liberating and frightening all at once. He just didn't know how to voice that. Or even if he should.]

["We"? They suspected? Was he that obvious!? Who was "we"? Who else knew? Who-??]

[He stopped himself from the mild but threatening panic. It didn’t matter who did or didn't think what about him back home. He was never going back home, so he could never be found out and punished. At the last, he nodded with a faint, wry grin.]

It is hard when all you've known is war for most, if not all, of your life. It took me weeks to stop being completely on edge every time I left my quarters, just sure that someone would attack me if I let my guard down.

[There's more he could say – he'd COMPLETELY understand the "liberating and frightening" sentiment, having felt the same way. But he doesn't want to say "too much" somehow, so he'll see how Jadewing reacts to that much for the moment.]

[Jadewing nodded himself, having missed Thundercracker's momentary flicker of panic. When asked that question, he would explain, but for now he remains oblivious to Thundercracker's concern.]

I was sparked for the war. Seventh out of a batch order of twelve. Was shipped off to training the next day, along with my wingmates.

[shrugs slightly, flicking one wingtip. He wondered if he'd eventually get over that need to be almost constantly on the defensive too. The war is all he's ever known. Fighting Autobots was literally the reason he existed. Now, though...]

Not sure what I'm going to do now... Starscream said I should do what I wanted, but Pit if I know what that is right now. [pause, considering] What is it that you do around here, S- Thundercracker?

[He bites off the 'Sir', hastily correcting himself. Thundercracker had said he didn't want to be called that any more, after all.]

Batch order . . . [The comment comes out a snort of indignant anger.] You never knew Vos, then. [He shakes his head.] We were once a proud race. The war . . . our own faction . . . reduced our kind to mere made-to-order battlefield fodder. Just like everything else. [His gaze had dropped a little, a hint of old memories in his optics, but then he looks up again, his gaze hard.] That is why I am no longer a Decepticon. Everything, even down to our very identities, has been twisted over the ages, and nothing means what it once did. Whatever the war has taught you, Jadewing, know this –you are a Seeker. You should never have been meant to be anything less a jewel of the skies, part of a powerful heritage.

[He stops himself from continuing, a soft shivery of memories making him flinch slightly before he stuffs it all again, getting back on track.]

Starscream is right about doing what you want now. Take your time. Explore and get to know people. It took me longer than I like to remember to figure that out myself. First, I accepted a position at the bar as a bouncer, and later I joined the police force. [His hand strays to an object on his right shoulder, opposite his Glyph, as if it means a great deal to him. Jadewing might or might not recognize it for what it is –a Cybertronian-sized version of what is basically a plastic toy sheriff's badge.] I'm also . . . heh, believe it or not, I'm also on the road crew now. [Considering his infamous contempt for anything groundlocked (he might admit these days that it was a cover as much as anything), that should come as quite a shock. He's well aware of that, though THAT reaction he pauses for in amusement rather than nervousness.] Be willing to ignore faction symbols and pay attention to the person behind it, just as you'll find most others are willing to do for you.. You might be surprised.

[Some of his closest friends are Autobots, something that would NEVER have been possible back home.]

[Jadewing isn't honestly sure how to respond to what Thundercracker says at first. Part of him wants to just bitterly state that how things should be and even how they used to be didn't matter, because what they have to deal with is what things are like now. But he finds that it's a smaller part than he thought it would be.

Because deep down? What Thundercracker is telling him made sense. Seekers still clung to their pride in their flight abilities, and their wings that were a symbol of such, but it really didn't mean anything, did it? They were viewed as just another Decepticon by everyone, even other Decepticons. Were there even any Seekers who weren't Decepticons back home? Was there a trine out there that was considered more than just cannon fodder?]

I've flown over Vos a few times. It looked... about the same as most cities on Cybertron.

[Which was to say, largely a dead, blackened wreck. The war had been going on for quite a bit before he'd come into it, after all. He almost asks what it was like, but can't quite get up the nerve before Thundercracker continues speaking. He glances at the badge on Thundercracker's shoulder when it's pointed out.]

Huh... Was wondering what that was...

[The comment about being on the road crew though, that gets him another, if less stunned and much briefer session of disbelieving staring.]

...Seriously? You? Who talked you into that, and how? [Because they must be a dangerously persuasive person.

The last bit though...]

Not sure how well that's gonna work. But... I can at least say I won't be shooting at anybody that doesn't do the same to me first. And I've already talked to at least one Autobot on the comm.

[He knows Jetfire is an Autobot, but that red medic Knockout never really mentioned his faction and bore no symbol of such that Jadewing could see, so he isn't quite sure about him.]

[As much as he hates it, he can only nod at the first.]

I used to believe that at least there'd be a day when we'd see Vos rebuilt. I . . . can't say I do anymore.

[Then he laughs - it's quiet and low, a short bark, but lacking any of the hint of bitterness or anger or anything Jadewing might have come to associate with his "laugh" before.]

No one, really. It's . . . kind of a long story. [He wasn't sure he was ready to be all "I've got friends now and I wanted to help them" just yet. Even though it was true.]

[He nods again at the last.]

It's a process. Trust me, I get it. There are a few fraggers around - on both sides of the border - but for the most part, you'll find a lot of people are either indifferent or supportive. Heh . . . something else that'll probably take a bit to get used to.

[He pauses a moment, studying the younger mech. He . . . he kind of wants the other to stick around, finding himself craving the company of another Seeker, and someone from home at that, but he doesn't want Jadewing to feel he has to stay if he doesn't want to. Thundercracker won't command him.]

Do you have anywhere you need to be soon?

[That was the best way he can think of to put it that gives Jadewing an easy out if he wants to withdraw now...]

[Jadewing shrugs a bit.]

Might still happen. Though given that it's probably going to be Autobots doing the rebuilding, who knows whether it'd be recognizable.

[Because he doubts the Autobots know much of anything about building with fliers in mind. If they'd even bother to do so.

He gives a little 'heh' though, unable to avoid smirking in amusement himself when Thundercracker laughs. It's almost weird to hear, and not just because of the tone; Thundercracker had always struck him as the grimmest of the Command Trine, neither as bombastic like Starscream nor a prankster like Skywarp.]

I bet it is. [Anything that could get Thundercracker to willingly tie himself to the ground for any length of time had to have an interesting story behind it.]

[He simply nodded at Thundercracker's statement about it being a process. And about there being a few fraggers on both sides. The latter, at least wasn't at all surprising, as it had always been true, and probably was true anywhere there was a group of sufficient size.

The latter bit, though, about people being supportive...]

Yeah, I guess. [sighs] Though from what I've seen this whole fragging place is gonna take some getting used to.

[Jadewing almost wished Thundercracker would order him. Orders were familiar. They made sense. And most importantly right then, they removed the necessity of thinking about things too much.

But it seemed it was not to be, and Jadewing was left to decide for himself. Not that this decision was particularly hard; like Pit was he just going to fly away from the only mech, the only thing in this crazy place that was the least bit familiar. Outwardly, he shrugs.]

I don't even know what other places there are to be other than Nexus' temple and the Hub. So no, I don't.

Hmn. Join me, then.

[He meant it as an invitation, an offer, more than a command, though it likely comes across sounding more like the latter. He was, after all, accustomed to giving them, even though he's very conscious of not doing so. One of his biggest reasons for renouncing his brands was the hate he'd come to feel for being ordered and forced to do things he didn't necessarily want to do, having no choice in his own actions anymore. It's a freedom he wanted his fellow Seeker to experience, one that was his by right anyway, or so Thundercracker felt. If he'd seemed grim, that whole issue had certainly been a big part of it.]

[In any case, he settled on a rock, enjoying the view over the valley. They could feel "up in the sky" without actually flying at the moment, concentrating more on the conversation.]

You think it'll probably be the Autobots who rebuild Vos? Why?

[At one time, the very thought of Autobots even stepping foot in his beloved city, ruined or not, would have had him raging. Now . . . he's just curious.]

[Jadewing picked himself out a similar-sized rock near Thundercracker's and sat down. It was a good spot for a conversation, he'd give it that. He wondered if Thundercracker had deliberately selected it as a meeting spot for that reason.]

Well, in the time I'm from, the Autobots have regained control of Cybertron and have been doing a good bit of rebuilding, time and energy reserves permitting. If they keep at it, I don't see why they wouldn't eventually rebuild Vos in some form.

[He shrugged slightly. Any kind of spite aside, it simply wouldn't be practical to rebuild the rest of the planet- as seemed to be their ultimate goal, from what he'd heard- and leave Vos a wreck. Though it might be on the lower end of the priority list.]

. . . yeah, all right, that makes sense. The Autobots have Cybertron, though? When did that happen?

[He looks at the younger Seeker as the thought really hits him.]

What time are you from? Ahead of me, apparently.

[Jadewing nods, looking a little uncomfortable. Slag, he was going to have to drop the bombshell he'd been dreading fairly soon, wouldn't he?]

Earth year is currently 2006 where I'm from. And the Autobots regained control of Cybertron after the attack by Unicron about a year previous.

We- the Decepticons, that is- were basically forced off Earth in the early 2000's, and retreated to Cybertron. The Autobots went on to build several new bases, one on Earth, named Autobot City, which was designed primarily to generate energy, and two more on two of Cybertron's moons, with the equally uncreative names of Moonbase 1 and Moonbase 2, from which they planned to launch an assault to retake Cybertron.

They thought we didn't know about the Moonbases, but they'd actually been discovered fairly early on. Megatron just left them alone for intelligence gathering purposes. Which was how he found out about a supply run to Autobot City and decided to take advantage of it.

The plan was for Megatron and a team of his best warriors to hijack the shuttle in flight and use it to slip past Autobot City's defense systems, where they'd then destroy the base itself and all the Autobots in it. The first part of the plan went off without a hitch. They captured the shuttle, killed the crew, and made it past the City's defenses. The rest of it, though... didn't go quite so smoothly.

[He pauses there both to let Thundercracker comment and to put off the inevitable. He really isn't looking forward to having to inform Thundercracker of his death....]

Unicron? As in the Chaos-Bringer!?

[Surely not the entity himself. Someone just using his name, maybe? A namesake? Because otherwise…wow… He listened to the rest, nodding.]

So what happened?

[nods]

The very same. Though I'll get into that a little further on.

[Not that he wouldn't be glad of the excuse not to tell what he'd have to tell next, but Unicron's arrival was just too huge a thing not to go into detail about, and it wouldn't make sense if he skipped what came before.]

The battle at Autobot City lasted all night. By morning, Megatron and the attack group had broken through their defenses and were preparing to storm the city and finish off its inhabitants. But the Autobots had managed to get a message out early on in the fighting, and it was about then that Prime arrived with reinforcements.

Prime charged through the ranks to take Megatron on personally, as usual, but there was something more... serious about it that time, from what I heard. Like you knew that one of them wouldn't be walking away from it. They both went all out, and...

Well, in the end, neither one of them walked away from it both of them were mortally wounded. But Prime and his reinforcements had turned the tide, and Starscream called the retreat.

There were a lot of casualties. On both sides. Most of the seriously wounded never made it back to Cybertron. That included the Insecticons, Megatron... and two thirds of the Command trine. [reluctant pause] I'm sorry but... neither you nor Skywarp survived.

[He tensed, anticipating Thundercracker's reaction.]

[Thundercracker just . . . stared at Jadewing for a long moment, and no doubt a number of thoughts and emotions crossed his face – disbelief, outrage, grief, indignation – finally settling on resignation as he looked away at last. His voice was low when he finally spoke.]

I see. No wonder you were so shocked to see me

[He paused, head bowing for a moment. Then he looked up, an odd, almost knowing smirk on his face, though his gaze remained locked outward, on some distant point that he wasn't really seeing.]

So tell me - was it injuries from the battle and Warp and I just weren't gotten to a medic in time . . . or was it something Starscream did or didn't do?

[Thundercracker was neither blind nor stupid. Though he knew his trine leader as well – likely better – than anyone, and was loyal to him to a fault if only /because/ he was the trine leader, he knew - and Warp did too - that the day either of them went down, it was at least /as/ likely to be at the hands of their own trine leader as it was those of the Autobots. Be it by sheer accident, something deliberate because Starscream had finally decided that even his wingmates were in the way of his plans, or by unintentional omission. The time he tried to blow up the entire planet Earth to power Cybertron, and failed to warn his wingmates so they could get the frag out of Dodge came to mind.]

[Jadewing shifts awkwardly on his rock. Yeah. Really no good way of telling someone that. He doesn't look up until Thundercracker asks him the question. No good way to tell someone this either, but at least he seemed to expect it, almost...]

Well, as I've said I wasn't there, but... when Astrotrain was having a hard time getting back to Cybertron, someone suggested lightening the load by jettisoning those who were critically wounded. Starscream didn't object, and from what I heard, tossed Megatron out himself.

[Jadewing frowned, turning his gaze to the same point in the distance that Thundercracker wasn't really looking at. Megatron was understandable. Starscream's desire to eliminate Megatron had always been hilariously obvious. But to do that to one's own trinemates? That was cold, even for a Decepticon.]

He paid for it, though. With Megatron gone, there was an all-out brawl over leadership... inside Astrotrain, which he was understandably kinda fragged off about later. But anyway, it ended up with Starscream getting what he'd always wanted, complete with a coronation and the Constructicons on trumpets.

His reign lasted for all of about two cycles before Galvatron flew in, a pack of new bots riding his contrail. He knew who Starscream was, and even commented on how stupid the coronation was.

Starscream even realized why. Galvatron was really Megatron; he'd apparently made a deal with Unicron to get a new body and new troops. He transformed into this huge-aft canon and blasted Starscream into a pile of charred scrap metal right in front of everyone. Needless to say, nobody questioned him after that, and he claimed leadership.

And then Unicron showed up.

Hmn. Probably figured he could come back for us or something, only it was too late. [He vented a sigh. It'd figure. After everything else, to die abandoned in space somewhere...]

[It made him all the more resolute to stay here in Haven. Where he had a chance at a real life . . . in more ways than one!]

[He listened to the rest of what Jadewing had to say, scowling deeply in spite of himself at the news of his trine leader's demise, but then the last comment had him pulling his gaze back around to look at Jadewing.]

. . . what happened?

[Jadewing didn't comment about that scowl. Really, the only thing that had spared Starscream before that point was that he was too good at his job to replace. With Cyclonus available to take up the position of Air Commander... well, it had really only been a matter of time.

Though if the rumors were true, Starscream wasn't quite as dead as everyone had thought, but that, he didn't plan on bringing up. Mostly because he wasn't sure he believed it.

But then Thundercracker was looking back at him, and it was time to continue the story.]

Well, remember I told you about those Autobot moon bases? Well, Unicron kinda took care of those... by eating the moons. I mean this ginormous, weird-looking planet thing showed up and just... sunk its big mandibles or pincers or whatever into one of the moons and ate it like it was a piece of oil cake!

And then it did the same to the second, only the Autobots on that one were a little more proactive. They set the base, and the moon, to self destruct, and it did. Right in Unicron's mouth. When the smoke cleared? It wasn't even dented. We just... didn't know what to think at that point.

Galvatron was pretty fragged off though and started yelling at Unicron that Cybertron and its moons belonged to him. Only Unicron wasn't having any of it. This... weird red glow surrounded Galavatron, and he reacted like he was in pain, and eventually agreed to obey Unicron before flying off again with the new bots he'd brought with him; Cyclonus- his new Air Commander, Scourge- his tracker, the Sweeps- Scourge's pack of hunters, and one other bot who looked like he was the same model as Cyclonus, but who we never saw again after that.

And while they went hunting for the Autobots and their new leader, Ultra Magnus, the rest of us were left behind on Cybertron. Just... waiting. With Unicron hanging up in the sky like some creepy-aft parody of one of the moons. But even after seeing eat two of the moons as easily as we'd eat energon goodies? Nothing could have prepared us for what happened after that....

Unicron transformed.

[Video] One grumpy Seeker, coming up...

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[Action!] YAY got enough of my computer restored to manage a tag XD;;;

Re: [Action!] YAY got enough of my computer restored to manage a tag XD;;;

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