Secrets of the Groundbound Kind [Part 7]
Mar. 5th, 2009 12:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ante_luceTitle: Secrets of the Groundbound Kind [Part 7]
'Verse: G1 Transformers
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: TF cussing.
The walk back to the med bay was slow, on account of Jazz’s recent repairs, and once more Prowl had to support him as they headed towards their destination. Hesitantly, Jazz formed words in a language he’d long thought he’d never be able to employ again.
“So, I’m guessing we’re not going to have to root through ‘Raj and ‘Bee’s processors.”
“If the cause of their behaviour is the formation of a trine bond on your part, then I don’t see the need, though Ratchet may insist on a scan just to be safe.” Curious at the mech’s use of the seeker tongue, Prowl replied in the same and raised an optic ridge at the saboteur. Jazz didn’t seem to notice.
“Ratchet’s gonna be fragged at me.”
“You were scared at the beginning, and had gotten used to concealment, both by desire and as a necessity as an Ops mech by the time you’d met him. Your current chassis requires no specialised treatment, parts or repairs, unlike a seeker frame, so he can’t growl over that. Programming-wise, however…”
“Seeker programming in a groundbound frame. Frag. Ratch’s gonna want a deep scan for me just so he can make sure my CPU’s on straight.”
“Will you be okay with that?”
“Yeah, I trust the Doc. Can’t hide this from Ratch’, gotta tell my mechs and I won’t object if you tell your trine or Optimus, but can we keep it quiet around the rest of the crew? No telling how they’d react to finding out. Not all of them are you.”
Understanding now why Jazz had chosen to use seeker cant, with its subsonic vibrations and muted tones (and, since they were in contact with each other, the notes could be as subtle as Jazz wished, passing in an almost intimate manner from one frame to the other with no one the wiser of the nature of their conversation, or even its existence), Prowl fell silent, thinking over the matter before he nodded. “… As you wish.”
= = =
“About time you got here.”
Ratchet’s unamused stare elicited a mock wince from the Porsche as the tactician helping him walk into the med bay deposited him on the nearest berth.
“I’ll get Ratchet to bring Bumblebee and Mirage back online, and discuss your situation with him while you talk to your Ops team.”
Jazz nervously ran a hand over his arm where Prowl had held onto him a while ago, wanting the support of that contact again. Chasing away the childish thought, he wasn’t a sparkling, to need such hand holding (even if he wasn’t quite looking forward to dropping this into his team’s collective lap), the visored mech directed a quick grin at the tactician. “Sounds good. Thanks, Prowler.”
A halfhearted glare at the nickname and an unrepentant smirk later, three Ops mechs were shooed into an isolation ward so that Ratchet could keep an optic on them. The medic himself was closing the door to his office, turning to look at the Datsun who was waiting inside, hands clasped behind his back in a patient manner.
“What did Jazz say about the scans?”
“I don’t know if they’re absolutely necessary, but I would appreciate your input.”
The CMO tilted his helm in a considering manner. Prowl wasn’t the type to dismiss these things lightly.
“I presume there’s a good reason for that. A possible hack on one of our mechs, particularly an Ops mech, is no laughing matter to be brushed off with a wave of the hand and a coat of paint.”
“There is. As you recall, we thought their behaviour was similar to that of bonded mechs. However, that was not a likely possibility and we suspected CPU tampering to be the cause, hence the request for deep scans on all three. But there was another option we’d not considered.”
“Oh? And what would that be?”
The SIC sighed, motioning for the other mech to sit down first, before settling into the chair across from the medic’s desk.
“This is a confidential matter.”
“Obviously. Go on.”
“Very well. Ratchet, what do you know of the seeker trine bond?”
= = =
Bumblebee and Mirage were upon him in moments. With a quiet cycle of air intakes, Jazz watched his team eyeing him in concern. Now that all three of them were online and in the same room, they’d dropped whatever blocks Prowl had gotten them to put up and he could feel them over the connection at last. Trying to lighten the mood, he murmured, curious. “You went rabid on the Doc?”
Mirage sighed, sounding aggravated with himself and his odd behaviour. “It’s not like we could help it. This… whatever it is has us reacting in extremes when it concerns one of our three.”
“What did Prowl say, Jazz?” Bumblebee asked, checking over the Porsche like he thought the Datsun might have done Jazz an injury. The visored mech chuckled softly. “S’alright. I’m fine, really.”
His team didn’t seem too convinced, hovering about him like cyberflies until he sighed and reached out through the nascent trine bond, startling them, both with the newness of it all and his ease with handling the link. A reassuring pulse calmed them enough for scout and spy to quiet, but Jazz could still sense their worry and confusion.
“Prowl and I, we think we know what’s going on with the three of us. Processor scans will depend on whether Ratchet thinks they’re needed. It’s nothing ‘Con related, so we’re safe on that front.”
“Is it bad?” The yellow mech frowned, and Jazz sighed again, looking away. Mirage cast a concerned look at his superior, one that he shared with Bumblebee a sparkbeat later. The Ops head rarely acted so… uncertain.
“I… That depends.” Mustering up his nerve, the Porsche lifted his head and caught their gazes once more. “I got something to tell you two, and I’d appreciate it if you’d hear me out to the end before reacting. Alright?”
Both nodded, and Jazz launched into the same tale he’d told Prowl.
= = =
Ratchet stared at the doorwinged mech before him, before gathering his wits and verifying what he’d just heard. Jazz, a seeker. A seeker who’d taken on a flightless chassis to hide from a Decepticon ex-trinemate.
“You’re not joking.”
“I am not.”
And Prowl was sitting in front of him, calmly awaiting his response as if he’d just told the medic that Jazz’s paint job was primarily black and white.
Fragger.
“I am going to reformat that over clocked glitch into… into a…”
“Toaster?”
A deadly glare was directed at the tactician, who shrugged, doors lifting and settling nonchalantly. Ratchet huffed irritably.
“That’s too good for him. I was thinking, a front porch, maybe.”
“His new trinemates might take exception to that.”
“They can join him then. A front porch needs planters.”
“Of course.” Prowl nodded peaceably, then sat back and let the CMO plot. Best to let him get over this now, before he had to deal with Jazz, Bumblebee and Mirage in person. A tugging on his connection to his trine drew his attention, and he sent a querying nudge back to his trinemate.
~Smokescreen? What is it?~
~Just finished checking my resources, Prowl.~
~What can you give me?~
~The trine bond can be initiated by a lone seeker with two non-seekers, but while the connection links him to them and vice versa, the two non-seekers should not be able to communicate with each other. If our Ops mechs are indeed being affected by a forming trine bond with 'Bee then- ~
Prowl interrupted Smokescreen's explanation. ~I just found out that Jazz is a seeker. Originally of Vosnian make.~
Surprise rippled through the bond to the tactician, and he sent a commiserating impulse back.
~… Well, frag. Then how did Mirage know to come find ‘Bee when he snapped with Bluestreak?~
~… I don’t know. Could Jazz have acted as a relay point?~
~Not while offline. Prowl, this is very odd.~
~I know.~ A thought occurred to the black and white Datsun, and across the bond, Smokescreen stiffened as the notion was transmitted over.
~… All three of them?!~
'Verse: G1 Transformers
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: TF cussing.
The walk back to the med bay was slow, on account of Jazz’s recent repairs, and once more Prowl had to support him as they headed towards their destination. Hesitantly, Jazz formed words in a language he’d long thought he’d never be able to employ again.
“So, I’m guessing we’re not going to have to root through ‘Raj and ‘Bee’s processors.”
“If the cause of their behaviour is the formation of a trine bond on your part, then I don’t see the need, though Ratchet may insist on a scan just to be safe.” Curious at the mech’s use of the seeker tongue, Prowl replied in the same and raised an optic ridge at the saboteur. Jazz didn’t seem to notice.
“Ratchet’s gonna be fragged at me.”
“You were scared at the beginning, and had gotten used to concealment, both by desire and as a necessity as an Ops mech by the time you’d met him. Your current chassis requires no specialised treatment, parts or repairs, unlike a seeker frame, so he can’t growl over that. Programming-wise, however…”
“Seeker programming in a groundbound frame. Frag. Ratch’s gonna want a deep scan for me just so he can make sure my CPU’s on straight.”
“Will you be okay with that?”
“Yeah, I trust the Doc. Can’t hide this from Ratch’, gotta tell my mechs and I won’t object if you tell your trine or Optimus, but can we keep it quiet around the rest of the crew? No telling how they’d react to finding out. Not all of them are you.”
Understanding now why Jazz had chosen to use seeker cant, with its subsonic vibrations and muted tones (and, since they were in contact with each other, the notes could be as subtle as Jazz wished, passing in an almost intimate manner from one frame to the other with no one the wiser of the nature of their conversation, or even its existence), Prowl fell silent, thinking over the matter before he nodded. “… As you wish.”
= = =
“About time you got here.”
Ratchet’s unamused stare elicited a mock wince from the Porsche as the tactician helping him walk into the med bay deposited him on the nearest berth.
“I’ll get Ratchet to bring Bumblebee and Mirage back online, and discuss your situation with him while you talk to your Ops team.”
Jazz nervously ran a hand over his arm where Prowl had held onto him a while ago, wanting the support of that contact again. Chasing away the childish thought, he wasn’t a sparkling, to need such hand holding (even if he wasn’t quite looking forward to dropping this into his team’s collective lap), the visored mech directed a quick grin at the tactician. “Sounds good. Thanks, Prowler.”
A halfhearted glare at the nickname and an unrepentant smirk later, three Ops mechs were shooed into an isolation ward so that Ratchet could keep an optic on them. The medic himself was closing the door to his office, turning to look at the Datsun who was waiting inside, hands clasped behind his back in a patient manner.
“What did Jazz say about the scans?”
“I don’t know if they’re absolutely necessary, but I would appreciate your input.”
The CMO tilted his helm in a considering manner. Prowl wasn’t the type to dismiss these things lightly.
“I presume there’s a good reason for that. A possible hack on one of our mechs, particularly an Ops mech, is no laughing matter to be brushed off with a wave of the hand and a coat of paint.”
“There is. As you recall, we thought their behaviour was similar to that of bonded mechs. However, that was not a likely possibility and we suspected CPU tampering to be the cause, hence the request for deep scans on all three. But there was another option we’d not considered.”
“Oh? And what would that be?”
The SIC sighed, motioning for the other mech to sit down first, before settling into the chair across from the medic’s desk.
“This is a confidential matter.”
“Obviously. Go on.”
“Very well. Ratchet, what do you know of the seeker trine bond?”
= = =
Bumblebee and Mirage were upon him in moments. With a quiet cycle of air intakes, Jazz watched his team eyeing him in concern. Now that all three of them were online and in the same room, they’d dropped whatever blocks Prowl had gotten them to put up and he could feel them over the connection at last. Trying to lighten the mood, he murmured, curious. “You went rabid on the Doc?”
Mirage sighed, sounding aggravated with himself and his odd behaviour. “It’s not like we could help it. This… whatever it is has us reacting in extremes when it concerns one of our three.”
“What did Prowl say, Jazz?” Bumblebee asked, checking over the Porsche like he thought the Datsun might have done Jazz an injury. The visored mech chuckled softly. “S’alright. I’m fine, really.”
His team didn’t seem too convinced, hovering about him like cyberflies until he sighed and reached out through the nascent trine bond, startling them, both with the newness of it all and his ease with handling the link. A reassuring pulse calmed them enough for scout and spy to quiet, but Jazz could still sense their worry and confusion.
“Prowl and I, we think we know what’s going on with the three of us. Processor scans will depend on whether Ratchet thinks they’re needed. It’s nothing ‘Con related, so we’re safe on that front.”
“Is it bad?” The yellow mech frowned, and Jazz sighed again, looking away. Mirage cast a concerned look at his superior, one that he shared with Bumblebee a sparkbeat later. The Ops head rarely acted so… uncertain.
“I… That depends.” Mustering up his nerve, the Porsche lifted his head and caught their gazes once more. “I got something to tell you two, and I’d appreciate it if you’d hear me out to the end before reacting. Alright?”
Both nodded, and Jazz launched into the same tale he’d told Prowl.
= = =
Ratchet stared at the doorwinged mech before him, before gathering his wits and verifying what he’d just heard. Jazz, a seeker. A seeker who’d taken on a flightless chassis to hide from a Decepticon ex-trinemate.
“You’re not joking.”
“I am not.”
And Prowl was sitting in front of him, calmly awaiting his response as if he’d just told the medic that Jazz’s paint job was primarily black and white.
Fragger.
“I am going to reformat that over clocked glitch into… into a…”
“Toaster?”
A deadly glare was directed at the tactician, who shrugged, doors lifting and settling nonchalantly. Ratchet huffed irritably.
“That’s too good for him. I was thinking, a front porch, maybe.”
“His new trinemates might take exception to that.”
“They can join him then. A front porch needs planters.”
“Of course.” Prowl nodded peaceably, then sat back and let the CMO plot. Best to let him get over this now, before he had to deal with Jazz, Bumblebee and Mirage in person. A tugging on his connection to his trine drew his attention, and he sent a querying nudge back to his trinemate.
~Smokescreen? What is it?~
~Just finished checking my resources, Prowl.~
~What can you give me?~
~The trine bond can be initiated by a lone seeker with two non-seekers, but while the connection links him to them and vice versa, the two non-seekers should not be able to communicate with each other. If our Ops mechs are indeed being affected by a forming trine bond with 'Bee then- ~
Prowl interrupted Smokescreen's explanation. ~I just found out that Jazz is a seeker. Originally of Vosnian make.~
Surprise rippled through the bond to the tactician, and he sent a commiserating impulse back.
~… Well, frag. Then how did Mirage know to come find ‘Bee when he snapped with Bluestreak?~
~… I don’t know. Could Jazz have acted as a relay point?~
~Not while offline. Prowl, this is very odd.~
~I know.~ A thought occurred to the black and white Datsun, and across the bond, Smokescreen stiffened as the notion was transmitted over.
~… All three of them?!~
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-04 05:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 04:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-04 05:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 04:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-04 05:57 pm (UTC)Although, really, at Prowl's line “… As you wish.” all I could think of was The Princess Bride, and how that sentence really meant "I love you" there. ^_^;; Not quite the image you intended, I suspect. Though Jazz certainly wouldn't mind if it was.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 04:34 pm (UTC)*sighs at 'nother bunny bite* Later plz?
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-04 06:40 pm (UTC)*snickers*
Somehow, I think Prowl and Bluestreak are gonna have to sit on Smokescreen to keep him from plunging into even more high stakes gambling after this. I mean, the odds of all THREE of them being being seeker-kin...
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-04 09:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 04:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 04:38 pm (UTC)Smokescreen might just up and give up gambling altogether, since he's apparently lost whatever luck he had with predicting odds.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-04 07:21 pm (UTC)LOL @ Ratchet's line "A front porch needs planters".
Totally loving this story so far!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 04:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-04 08:21 pm (UTC)Prowl, I decide, is huggable. HIs whole trine is huggable. Jazz's trine? *¬* HUGGABLE TOO!! I hope that Mirage and 'Bee can understand. So? The three of them are seekers in hiding? OH, THE MYSTERY!!
Here, take your cookie! ^O^
TAKE CARE!!
MISAO-CG
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 04:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-04 08:21 pm (UTC)This entire set of lines was good: “That’s too good for him. I was thinking, a front porch, maybe.”
“His new trinemates might take exception to that.”
“They can join him then. A front porch needs planters
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 04:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-04 11:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 04:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 12:08 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 04:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 01:01 am (UTC)There's just so many things to love in this part. Jazz and Prowl speaking to each other in Seeker Cant. Ratchet threatening to turn Jazz into a front porch, with 'Raj and Bee as his planters. And Prowl and Smokescreen just realizing that all three of them could be seekers, or at least former-seekers.
I'll be counting the minutes until the next part of this wonderful fic!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 04:41 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 02:30 am (UTC)Thanks! Keep going!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 04:41 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 05:08 am (UTC)yeah. that about sums it up. *unashamedly feeds groundbound bunnies bribes*
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 04:41 pm (UTC)Eep! *avoid the bitey bunny dance*
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 05:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 06:44 am (UTC)Also, don't look now, but I think that people are fattening the bunnies behind your back.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-05 04:51 pm (UTC)Heh, they're always doing that. *le sigh*
<s>toooooooooooasters!</s>
Date: 2009-03-05 09:43 am (UTC)Although, you know, I think a matching set of toasters would be more easily portable than a front porch? Just saying...He's so...frighteningly calm XD Also I agree withRe: <s>toooooooooooasters!</s>
Date: 2009-03-05 04:53 pm (UTC)I know ^_^ And I haven't even watched the movie. *resolves to go find it*
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-10 09:24 pm (UTC)Ratchet's threats also mean 'I love you. You drive me crazy, but I love you.' Don't they? It's how I always read them.
This was a wonderful chapter with another wonderful question at the end. I really like how you're doing this story and I'm intrigued to see what happens next!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-11 07:26 am (UTC)