Ep. 1 - Shooting the Breeze

Jack knew about the spot he was at, and its significance to his partner. The reason he hadn't tagged along prior times was he wanted to give Arcee her space. Things had changed though, even if he was just a junior partner, he was still her partner now, and he felt proud of the title. Proud that he had earned it, and proud that Arcee was willing to bestow it on him. Since she had been opening up to him like that, he was going to stick with her. With the influx of Autobots showing up it was getting a little harder to find a place in the base to just hang out in.

"Schools going alright I guess." Jack said as he reached for another loose rock on the ground to throw. His mom would probably have a panic attack if she saw how close to the edge he was. He wasn't that close to the edge, there was still a few feet of distance. If Miko were here she'd probably be at the edge wondering how high she could get a superball to bounce. "There's a school dance coming up pretty soon that everybody is excited about. Just about all the kids are talking about it. I also have a math test coming up in a few days and I'm supposed to work the late shift every day before it too. I think my boss and teacher are conspiring against me."

Since Jack wasn't legally an adult yet there was a limit on how late he could work, and there were weeks where his boss had him work to that time every night. It meant that once school was over he'd have a couple of hours to study before hopping on shift, and then he'd have an hour or so to himself once he got home before having to sleep. Idly he wondered if he'd have to work the night of the dance. He really didn't have any intention on going. Jack wouldn't go alone just to see what happened, and lately he hadn't been too sure on how he felt about a certain head cheerleader. Trying to impress Sierra had gotten him into a lot of trouble more than once, and recent reflection on the subject had given Jack a good amount to think about. At least she knew his name now, and she had been the one to find him on Facebook. Whatever was going on in his head, he knew one thing: it was complicated.

"Hey, I've gotten better at that last part though." Jack said with a smirk. He gave the rock in his hand a gentle toss upwards gauge its weight and get a feel for it before throwing it off of the cliff with a practiced throw. Jack was quite aware of his mortality, and Arcee's track record of partners. Tailgate had been killed by Airachnid. Cliffjumper had been killed by Starscream, turned into a zombie, cut in half, then blown up. Tailgate may have also been turned into a zombie when Megatron threw a chunk of Dark Energon through the Space Bridge, and also possibly blows up in the explosion of said Space Bridge. Death, undeath, and redeath via explosion was a possible trend there. It was something he would never bring up to her though.

"Hey Arcee, can you tell me what Cybertron was like before the war? Did it have high schools like we have here on Earth? What did you do before the war, if you're that old? Not to say that you're old like Ratchet or anything, Just the way you talk I get feeling that you know what it was like that far back. you still seem younger than Optimus though. I'm... just going to shut up now." The teenage quieted down. He didn't know how Cybertronians viewed age. Correction, how Cybertronian FEMALES viewed age. For all he knew being perceived as older could be a good thing for them.

The change in subject had quickly derailed his mind away from Arcee's past partners, and moved it elsewhere. Thinking of the Autobots in high school was less mind scarring. His mental image of some of them began to change for a moment as he pictured them in various stereotypes. Optimus in a sweatervest with thick rimmed glasses, a nerd. Bulkhead in a football jersey, a jock. Bumblebee looking young and impressionable, a freshman. Then he thought about Arcee and what high school stereotype she might fit into. It didn't last long though, Jack had to wipe the image from his head. Imagining Arcee with pom-poms and a metallic skirt was wrong. So very wrong.

Jack took in the information and began to process it thoroughly. As much as similarities as they had, there were a lot more differences between Cybertronians and Humans. Speaking of similarities, it was surprising to hear that Arcee was considered an equivalent of his mom in terms of age. The less he thought about their similarities though, the better. Arcee was Arcee, and mom was mom. One thing about Acree's answers was the fact that today they just seemed to bring up more questions.

"So... hows a spark made then? All Cybertronians do have a spark right?" Highschool biology did NOT cover Cybertronian biology, and this was one of several topics Ratchet hadn't told him about. Jack's general knowledge of their biology came from watching Ratchet do minor repairs and asking him questions. If he was going to go out in the field with Arcee, he was going to be more useful than a second set of eyes. At the very least he could treat a wound.

Arcee's explanation boiled down to two things: Magic, and Ratchet was definitely the one to bring all biology questions to. It did cross his mind that it could be one of those things that were just hard to explain to someone of a different species. There were probably tons of facts about the human body his mom knew that would go over the head of the Autobots. Just the fact that their lifespans were so different from each other probably meant that certain human qualities and traditions probably seemed odd to them.

"Can I see your spark Arcee? I've seen blades and blasters pop out of your arms, and your whole body contort into a motorcycle. Is it another part of your body that transforms, or is it something that's sealed up tight to stay protected since its a vital organ? If it can be called an organ." Being human, and not knowing everything there is to know about Cybertronian biology and lifestyles, Jack had no clue as to what exactly he was asking of her.

Jack observed Arcee's body language as his question sank in. He might not have been able to pick up on a Cybertronian's EMF, but judging by the way she was reacting his simple question was probably a lot more complex than he thought. There were the tell tale signs he had come to recognize from his mom. First there were signs of 'what the hell did he just ask' followed by 'he's just a kid, he didn't know better'. Now was going to come a calm, but awkward explanation of things.

Or not.

At Arcee's words Jack immediately threw his hands up defensively and began backing up away from the giant robot lady and cliff edge. "Whoa whoa whoa! I didn't- I mean- I wasn't-" Jack's face flushed red, and words were coming out of his mouth quicker than he could get the idea out. He did NOT know that he had just asked Arcee to show him her lady-bits, and now was wishing he hadn't been so curious. All questions about biology should be handled by Ratchet, and Ratchet alone. Eventually the initial shock wore off and the teen was once again coherent. "I did NOT know I was asking you something like that Arcee. The way it sounded made me think that it was just another part, not, not.... you know. Can we change the subject? Lets change the subject? What did you used to do for fun before the war?"