Sideswipe shook his head in disappointment at Brawn as the smaller ‘Bot headed off. Some mechs have no sense of adventure.
He quickly shook it off, then turned to the others. Most continued about their business, not paying him or his previous question any mind. Not that it mattered. He was used to having his ideas questioned, but Prowl had given him permission to work with some of his troopers. Just because they haven’t stepped forward and volunteered didn’t mean anything.
A sly smile played across Sideswipe’s faceplate as he gave Prowl an exaggerated salute that only exemplified his playful side. Of course, those that knew him would realize it generally wasn’t a good thing for one’s peace of processor.
Turning, he headed to where a small group of Autobot troopers stood chatting among themselves. His smile widened as he approached them. “Ready for some fun, guys?”
One of the troopers groaned and glanced skyward before replying, “I don’t think we’re interested in your ideas of fun.”
Sideswipe continued unfazed, “Sure you do. What would be better than flexing out joints in some good natured combat.”
“Combat?” another trooper asked. “What kind of combat?”
That’s right, you can taste it, can’t you? Sideswipe thought as he tried to appear nonchalant by shrugging. “Nothing too serious. Wargames, more than not. To keep it simple, we split up and attempt to track each other down. Strictly on the downlow, otherwise Prowl will blow a gasket. Physical or stun weapons only.” He leaned in and lowered his voice in a conspiratorial manner. “Just think of how fast you’ll rise through the ranks if your skills are superior to your fellows. It’d be great to give the orders instead of taking them for orns, am I right?”
The four troopers slowly came around, exchanging glances and a couple of shrugs. Even the first one that spoke looked interested as he said, “If you want to keep it simple, why don’t we try to find you?”
Sideswipe tried not to smile too broadly at that. Since first approaching Prowl, his idea had morphed several times. His initial thought of testing the city’s defenses had morphed into them pushing their personal abilities, and he couldn’t be happier. Truth be told, he hadn’t wanted to openly offer himself as the prey in this exercise. Somehow, he knew his fellow Autobots would line up for that one.
Even he wasn’t crazy enough to do that.
Well, crazy was a strong word.
In the end, he merely shrugged. “Sure, if that’s what you four would prefer. Nothing like a challenge, am I right?”
The first trooper nodded, a smile giving away his glee at the idea.
Do I know him? Sideswipe wondered. It was a look he’d seen on several mechs, but especially Sunstreaker’s faceplate more than a few times.
“Then it’s agreed.” The trooper motioned to the armory. “Once we’re rearmed, we can begin.”
“Sounds great,” Sideswipe said, wondering what he’d gotten himself into.
A spark of sympathy wormed its way into Brawn’s energon pump at leaving Sideswipe hanging, but stumbling around the jungle hunting fellow Autobots wasn’t his thing. Now, had it been an actual fighting scenario like a tournament or something like that…
He shrugged off the thought as he weaved along the narrow jungle road he’d spent a good part of his time on Earth exploring. Had he stopped to think about it, he would’ve questioned why he, of all mechs, felt the need to explore the jungle. It was something he never really thought about as it was standard for him whenever they landed on another world.
What could be better than testing one’s skills in the wildness of a new, unknown world? Sure, chances were he’d eventually stumble across some indeginous lifeforms, but what were the odds humans were around here?
Unless the genius that scanned the area had a glitch.
He had to admit the thought had merit. How else would a pathway wide enough to become a road come about? To his knowledge, there weren’t that many large organics in the area to make it. Still, what fun would it be to think too much? In his thinking, the best discoveries came when one didn’t think too much.
On whim, and following his current train of thought, Brawn suddenly turned right and drove into the thick foliage. He only went a few meters before he had to transform to make his way through the thick vegetation.
It was something he couldn’t put an actuator on, but this felt right. Maybe he’d stumble across a new energy source of something. Nah, he thought. I’ll probably find something worthwhile. There’s got to be something around here to test my mettle.
He pushed a vine aside and ducked under a low-hanging tree when the ground beneath him gave way and he crashed through the vegetation, bouncing off a few rocks before coming to a stop in a depression flat on his back.
Sitting up, he put a hand to his head. “Ow, should’ve watched that first step.”
This wasn’t how he intended his test to begin.