Ep. 1.5 - Trial and Verdict - [Closed]

[Deleted]

Fowler crossed his arms over his chest.

"I know I can," he said. "There's always work to be found for soldiers who need it."

He nodded in satisfaction to Thundercloud. "Report to Tonopah Test Range within the next twelve hours for your first assignment. That's a restricted military installation on the northern edge of the Nellis Range. I'll get you clearance to land there within an hour or so. Tonopah has a twelve thousand foot runway: 14/32. Contact Silverbow Tower upon arriving at its control zone on frequency 124.75. Use the callsign Alfa Bravo 002. That'll let them know who you are. There's a VORTAC on the base for navigational purposes, but you shouldn't need it."

Fowler squinted in thought. "Upon arrival you'll taxi straight to the old F-117A hangers. Just ask Ground on 127.25 for taxi instructions. Either I or Major De Palma will meet you there. We'll get you established and put you straight to work. We'll provide quarters for you on site as well, should you need them. There are empty hangars that should serve that purpose well enough. Got all that?"

[Deleted]

...A week?

Thundercloud could not believe his luck. A week was a slap on the wrist compared to what he thought he was going to get. Which, naturally, meant that this had to be some sort of trap, a test to see whether he would take the easy way out, or what he was owed.

Seeing how he would be damning himself one way or another no matter which option he chose, Thundercloud decided he might as well be ballsy and take a risk, on the off chance he wasn’t actually being set up.

“Uh, yeah, no, that’s fine. A week’s good.”

He leaned back a bit as he spoke, one foot moving backwards slightly, as if he were suddenly uncertain about how comfortable the distance between himself and Optimus was. For all he knew the Prime was secretly livid behind that frustratingly blank expression, and it was in his own best interests to not stand too close to the guy.

Oddly enough, the presence of agent Fowler helped ease his concerns somewhat, when it came to the possibility of Optimus chewing him out then eating him alive. Thundercloud figured so long as the human was in the room, the Prime would want to behave civilly and not, you know, throttle his subordinates into next week for royally screwing up in such a spectacularly stupid fashion.

So yeah, he kinda liked this Fowler guy. He was really saving his aft.

As the man in question began to speak, Thundercloud reluctantly tore his wary optics away from Optimus and down to him, offering Fowler his full attention as he laid out a very specific set of instructions. Instructions Thundercloud only half-remembered, and not very accurately for that matter.

He made absolutely no attempt to hide this, either.

“...Nah, not really. How ‘bout I just show up and stand around lookin' lost till someone who knows where you put your giant flyin' tanks points me in the right direction?”

[Optimus Prime]

Optimus listened to the directions Fowler laid out, while glancing over occasionally to look at Thunder's features. He couldn't tell if the mech was actuality grasping what was said, or if it was slipping through the wires in his processor entirely. He seemed to be paying attention, and the Prime had some high hopes that he would do well for himself...

...only for him to fail spectacularly.

The jet's complete disregard for respecting the other's requests and instructions, was like an entirely new slap to the face. Optimus simply eased his weight back more upon his heels, and peered over at Thunder as if he had just spoken something far more disrespectful than he had done. A second after, a frown crept across his features, a very mild glare.

Optimus had offered an easy way out; he had compromised with the foundation Fowler had set in place. He had essentially rolled over some on his belief on how abhorrent such murder was. But to take such an offer and crumple it up carelessly as Thunder did, was crossing a line that set the Prime's tone to a far more serious and mildly aggressive one. It was all punctuated by a bit of a forceful vocalization of Thunder's very name.

"Thundercloud. Your repercussions are mild all things considered. You will respect Fowler as if he was I, and you will do as he says. Every mockery or act of sarcasm that makes Fowler's, or whomever's assigned to lead you, job more problematic than it has to be will add one day to your sentencing."

There was quite a pointed edge to his words, trying to drive home the point that he did not appreciate Thunder's words to the small human. Even if it was a joke, even if it was meant for a laugh, the fact of the matter was this wasn't supposed to be funny, and Thunder would have to do some work, even if that work was learning how to sit quit and follow simple vocal directions to a new location.

"Let us hope that you find it within yourself to ever make your way back here."

If Thunder wanted to snark and sass his way through the day? That was his decision, but it would end with him having to serve weeks more than the initial sentencing. If he couldn't hold his tongue well enough, or miss hitting the humor of his leading officer, than he could be trapped there for quite some time.

"Go, and collect enough Energon to serve forty eight hours. The rest will be transported to location once gathered."

There really wasn't any discussion open to this statement, it a direction, one meant to be followed with the respect his rank demanded. Thunder could get away with much honestly, but he had to learn when he could take such swipes, and when they would not be tolerated in the slightest. Right now was one of those moments in which being respectful and not falling back on puns or jokes or lewd comments would be in his best interest.

[Deleted]

At the mention of flying tanks, Fowler chuckled.

“Well, it sounds as if the matter has been dealt with,” he said. “I’ve got an appointment to meet. I’m closing the book on this one for now. Thundercloud.”

As he turned back to the elevator he glanced at the jet. A cell phone was already in one of his hands.

“Tonopah. Twelve hours. Silverbow Tower. 124.75. AB002,” he said. “Just follow those instructions. Someone will figure out who you are and steer you in the right direction. Don’t cause a mid-air collision, don’t set off a TCAS RA, don’t step on the ground personnel, and don’t get in anyone’s way. That’s all you need to worry about. If Air Raid could figure this stuff out when he first arrived, then I feel confident you can too. Consider it part of the punishment if you want.”

The big man sounded amused. He offered them a wave as he stepped towards the lift, his phone already held to his ear.

“Seems like you’re in Prime’s hands until then. I’ll see you when you arrive at the base. Good luck.”

[Deleted]

One of these days, Thundercloud was going to have to learn when to keep his mouth shut. The damn thing had gotten him into a lot of entirely avoidable trouble over the years, and learning how to keep it from making bad situations worse would probably save him a lot of grief, in the long run.

If only he didn’t have such laughably weak impulse control - impetuous as he was, it would be easier for him to teach Bolo how to breakdance than it would be to try to develop a verbal-filter strong enough to halt all of his errant (troublemaking) thoughts from being said out loud. As it was, he could only remember to bite his tongue on the odd occasion, and never when he really needed to.

By contrast, Bolo was pretty damn good at downrock moves, and not just because he had four feet at his disposal.

That said, Thundercloud at least had enough sense to refrain from mouthing off a second time, after the Prime tersely laid down the law in that “I’m not angry I’m just disappointed” voice that mecha used when they wanted to make people think they weren’t actually righteously pissed off. Contrary to popular belief, Thundercloud actually could behave when he wanted to, and with the Prime himself giving him a very discomfiting look, the former convict suddenly found himself wanting to be on his best behavior.

You know, because he liked not being thrown over the edge of canyons and something in Optimus’ stare told him that was precisely what would happen if he didn’t cut his slag out.

When the Prime finished chewing him out, Thundercloud raised up his hands before himself, as if to placate a testy animal.

“Right, got it. Don’t gotta tell me twice.” He paused, his gaze turning distant as a thought occurred to him, then frowned. “...Third time. Sorry, math’s not my strong suit.”

“Neither is not jumpin’ out of the smelter and into the fire, apparently.” He added under his breath, more to himself than to anyone else in the room.

Thankfully, Fowler didn’t seem quite as phased by Optimus’ displeasure as Thundercloud was, and the man was quick to get back down to business. He repeated his instructions once more, and Thundercloud tried his best to actually commit what he could to memory. He had the feeling he would forget half of it by the time he actually had to show up for punishment duty, but he figured he’d at least get credit for making the effort.

Then, Fowler bid them both farewell and wished Thundercloud good luck, before turning and taking his leave. As Thundercloud watched him go, he couldn’t help but feel the tiniest bit uneasy. Without the human, it would be just himself and Optimus in the room. Together. Alone.

He shiftily glanced over at the Prime out of the corner of his optic, unsure if he was going to need that good luck Fowler wished him after all.

[Optimus Prime]

Optimus was annoyed, though he did well to school everything back into a calm and even demeanor after he had pulled the metaphorical choke chain on Thunder. He didn’t really feel good about it, and the jerk on the chain wasn't that hard all things considered to set the mech in line, but it still felt wrong at times for him to assert that he was in charge. He was Prime, and before that had served as a makeshift general for a spell while Sentinel was still functional. But despite his experiences he would always be that librarian at his core that didn't really wish to do such things.

Alas, it had to be done, and he was not above having to push others onto the correct path, it just disappointed him that they strayed in the first place when he didn't ask that much of his followers. He was rather lax all things considered, and just needed everyone to pull their own weight, and get along to some respects. They didn’t have to have the entire team best friends, but to be on civil terms was a necessity. They couldn't have individuals wanting to throttle others.

Optimus watched Thunder with a focused gaze as Fowler relayed the instructions again in a watered down format. It seemed the jet was actually on board with trying to remember things now, as he didn’t snap out another retort, or get the completely glassy eyed look of one who had the words floating out the back of their processor. This placated what remained of his annoyances, attention turning over to Fowler.

"Notify me if there are any issues."

The Prime spoke in that regulated even tone of his, inserting a bit of kindness into the words to return back to his normal state of being. It wasn't Fowler's fault for any of this, and he need not show frustration at the human while he departed. Nonetheless, once Fowler was gone, he turned back to peer at Thunder, becoming quite aware at the shift in the other mech's mood at the human's departure.

Time ticked by at an eternity's pace, the tension and partial anxiety practically radiating off of the jet as if he was anticipating something that simply was not there. Optimus stared back, cyan optics flicking over the other's features as he became gradually aware that... there was fear in play? Did Thundercloud fear him?

Optimus' mouth opened slightly, as if he was going to speak, but nothing really came out, closing a moment after as he tried to process this thought. This only caused the silence to run off longer, compounding things, before he gradually rotated into a turn in order to start a gradual walk away from Thunder. An attempted retreat to defuse the situation.

"The same statement applies to you Thundercloud. Notify me if there are any issues."

[Deleted]

For a long, tense moment, Thundercloud met the Prime’s disapproving stare head on. He was unsure if he was supposed to look away, to break eye-contact as a show of respect, but even if that was what the situation called for, he didn’t think he would be able to do it. Not out of a sense of stubborn pride, (well, not entirely at least) but because in that moment he felt very much as if he were a deer and the Optimus’ optics were the headlights of an oncoming truck.

All he could really think to do was stand there and brace for the eventual collision, and hope Optimus didn’t decide to mount his head on a wall after it was all over and done with.

And so he waited, unblinking, as the silence stretched on and the seconds ticked by at an agonizingly slow pace. The longer the silence drew on, the more uncertain Thundercloud became of the Prime’s mood. He began to doubt his look of calm, wondering if perhaps the mech’s outward appearance was simply masking his true emotional state, which then lead him to wonder what said state might possibly be.

The immediate suggestions his mind so helpfully supplied did nothing to lessen his growing apprehension.

When the Prime finally opened his mouth to speak, Thundercloud couldn’t help but shift uneasily, watching him closely as he seemed to think better of his words and pause to reconsider them. Then, much to Thundercloud’s surprise, Optimus simply turned his back to him and began walking away with little more than a terse order by way of goodbye.

Thundercloud blinked slowly, struck dumb by the fact that the Prime was just...walking away.

“Uh...yessir.” He replied lamely, his voice not carrying well as he struggled just to find it.

He continued to stand there long after Optimus’ departure, simply staring dumbly at the space the mech last occupied as he digested everything that had just happened. After a few moments of standing alone in the wide open room, the jet shook himself, then rolled his neck and shoulders as if that would somehow help him rid himself of the sinking feeling that, despite the other mech’s words, his business with the Prime wasn’t completely over yet.




Fin~