Disclaimer: I only own Updraft, Tailspin, Nosedive and Sideswiper. Everything else belongs to their respective creators.
Definitions:
Trinemate: Seekers move in a 'Trine', or flight group of three. A trinemate in a member of a trine and is like a mix of wingmate and sibling. The seeker Trines are usually related in some way, but not always.
Sparked Warrior: Naturally aggressive Cybertronians literaly 'sparked' to be warriors and fighters. Usually aggressive and the Grounder equivilent of Seekers. My creation, but I have read some similar things.
Grounder: Flier slang for non-fliers. Often derogative.
Sorry its's ben a while, but I kind of lost my way for a bit there. It's pretty short but I should have the next chapter up soon.
Angels, pixies, faerie dust
Treading love and living lust.
~Jaesse Tyler
In addition to the five Autobots who had accompanied him to a small human base about a quarter-joor from the landing point, Skyshadow could sense an additional three Spark signatures outside the 'tarp' covering him.
One he knew from the grumbling to be the Autobot CMO, Ratchet, the second he identified as Autobot Tactition and SIC, Prowl, and the third was of a similar signature to Soundwave, leading Skyshadow to believe the bot was the Cassette-Carrier Blaster.
As soon as the tarp was off and the chains gone, the Seeker transformed while still on the truck bed, ending up straddling the trailer and looking around.
Ratchet was of slightly above middle-weight size, compact and in shades of lemon and lime (which sent Harry-aspect off into cackles about something called 'qwiditch' and a Team called the Gabriel Ratchets (who were, apparently, uniformed in lemon and lime). Harry-aspect was so weird sometimes.)
Blaster, being of the same model-type as Soundwave, was quite tall, probably in the lower heavy-weights, and slim, having forgone the bulkier armour favoured by Soundwave. He was very eye-catching in primary-colour red and blue, his vectors pulled in close to the chassis and camouflaged between armour plating.
With the third bot, Skyshadow initially mistook SIC Prowl for a military aerial bot of some kind with the wings and some impressive spikes, before realising he was actually a Praxian with large sensory wing panels. The spikes were uniform to an Enforcer Officer from Praxis, Skyshadow's recognition programming put forward belatedly.
Somewhere deep in Skyshadow's processor, a program switched on and conferred with his Spark a moment, before the two came to an agreement reminiscent of a pair of Warner Brothers with a sister named Dot.
'Hel-looh, French Nurse!'
Harry-aspect noticed this little program, which had begun to rapidly affect the other programs around it, but, oddly enough, Skyshadow didn't.
Harry-aspect made a note to keep an optic on the program, but ultimately decided to leave it alone. It likely started for a reason.
To most Cybertronians, Prowl was really quite plain, though intimidating, in appearance, made for function rather than aesthetics. Even amongst the other Enforcers, Prowl had always been nothing special in the looks department. However, it was a closely guarded and guilty secret that Seekers found the seemingly bland Praxian Enforcer models incredibly, distractingly, fly-into-a-wall attractive. Most especially the officers with their rising spikes of office...
Two clicks after he lay optics on the Autobot SIC, Skyshadow's cooling fans kicked into high gear with a loud squeal, causing the little Seeker to cringe in mortification.
Picking up on the new arrival's apparent distress and seemingly dangerously spontaneous over-heating, Ratchet burst into movement, dragging the new bot into the warehouse-turned-medbay before anybot could get so much as a 'hello' out.
A few moments later, a certain Sparked Warrior realised what had probably happened to the little Seeker/Sparked Warrior hybrid and fell over laughing, more entertained than he had been for vorns.
(space)
Skyshadow kept twitching in discomfort as Ratchet gently welded together a few gashes in his left wing after recalibrating the solar panels there, the last set of repairs he had to fix.
The pair of radio receivers on his audio receptors twitched periodically as the white noise and distorted beeping continued to ping on his sensitive systems in a most irritating manner, even Ravage was shifting in annoyed confusion.
Deciding that enough was enough, Skyshadow just turned off his long-range communication receivers. If the noise was still there later, he would come back and have his filters upgraded.
"Well," The medic began. "I can't find anything that might have set off your cooling systems, but everything else seems to be it order. If you have any more issues with your fans, come back immediately. Understood?"
Skyshadow nodded distractedly, listening to the Harry aspect urging him to mention the glitch in his communication systems.
The Seeker vented in a manner he had picked up from his other half. And gave in.
"Sir?" Skyshadow called the attention of the Medical Officer back to himself. When the Officer looked over in question, Skyshadow continued. "Since I passed the planet's satellite, I have been receiving odd sounds amongst the white noise of my long-range communication. They sound deliberate."
Ratchet hummed, blue optics narrowing slightly, before moving back to the Seeker. "Let's see then."
Skyshadow tilted his helm to the side to grant the medic better access to his communications port and switched on his long-range communications.
The sounds were still there. A steady, repetitive series of clicks and beeps.
He felt Ratchet listen for a few clicks before the medic started swearing and commed Blaster and Prowl while still connected, allowing the Seeker, and thus Ravage, to eavesdrop.
:Both of you to the me-bay immediately. We may have a situation. And for frag's sake, turn on your long-range communications! The youngling's been receiving a peace-time distress signal since he passed the slagging moon!:
(space)
Soundwave paused momentarily in his work as he received Ravage's early report.
He paused his work and jacked into a communications amplifier.
As he registered the signal, all he could think was a surprised and embarressede '...huh.'
(space)
A large dark shape deep under the ice continued, desperately, hopelessly sending out his distress signal, trying to ignore how much time had passed since he'd been trapped.
Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed and even those who haven't reviewed. Ya'll're much appreciated.