mbv, Gordon's Planet, Drift
Six months ago...
Snow swirls endlessly through the hazy darkness of another icy Gordon's Planet dawn, the constant scream of the wind erasing all other sounds just as the snow erases most life that dares show itself above the snow pack.
Most life, but not all. In a brief lull or a window in the blowing ice pellets an observer would be able to see three huge forms trundling head down through the storm's fury. As the large forms came closer that observer would be able to see that it is a cow woolly mammoth, her grown daughter, and two year old calf.
But the observer doesn't see this, because he's laying unconscious in the tiny shuttle pod that the cow just stopped to study suspiciously.
Tiny ears flaring, Margaret tries to decide what this strange thing standing here is. But she can't. In all her thirty seven years of life she's never seen anything like this thing. Finally, calling with soft sub sonics to her daughter to take the baby back and protect him, she decides that since the thing is about the size of a brontotherium that she will treat it like one. Giving a vocalization that pierces the scream of the storm like a trumpet, she charges.
Eddie: *shaken awake by Margaret's abrupt movements* John, wake up, Maggie's hunting.
John: *awake!* Where the farfle are my pants??
Eddie: You were sleeping on them.
John: Right. *slips them on carefully, then takes his wife's hand so she can see his smile* I'll be right back.
Eddie: *nuzzles her own smile into his hand, and then nods* Be careful. *rubs her rounded belly as her husband finishes dressing and slips out of the saddle bag*
John: *leaps lightly to the ground, his spear held with both hands. But then stops and stares through his snow visor at the thing that Margaret just knocked over* Um... *sees his dad, mom, and brother rushing forward and does the same* Maggie, stop! Stop! It's not food!
Roger: *looking the little ship over once the puzzled cow has stepped back* It looks like something hit the wing and broke it.
Robbie: What should we do?
Roger: Only one thing we can do. We don't want the pilot to freeze, so we'll have Maggie and Lindsey bring the ship to the hot spring.
Later
Eddie: *gathering carrot seeds and leaves with Anna and John. Keeps shooting curious looks toward the person that they took out of the ship, and who is now laying on the damp ground next to the hot spring* There's nothing in the records about metal people.
John: *cracking a seed and putting it in the pocket he's holding* Yeah, but most our ancestors don't seem to have seen much of the galaxy before they wind up crashing here.
Roger: Lindsey, stop kissing the poor lump. You're probably going to scare him silly.
Lindsey: *small sounds and goes to swish around in the spring with her trunk. She'll soon get bored of being so hot soon and climb the stairs her family cut into the snow layers to leave the hollow where the spring has risen*
Anna: Annie, what have I told you about streaking?
Annie: *big innocent eyes on her round ten year old face* Yes, Mom. *goes and pulls on her inside pants, which look a lot like a leather string bikini* There.
Anna: Good girl. Check under the snow at the edge there for greens.
mech: *slight flicker of light in his optics as he begins to reboot*
Robbie: *glances over from where he's bathing his four year old nephew. Brow quirks as he watches the robot man*
mech: *soft sound*
Robbie: *attention quickly back to little Roger as the boy vanishes under the water* Hey! Don't do that!
mech: *optics flicker again. He can hear people...*
Robbie: *thoroughly schooling his nephew in the gentle not-cusses of his people*
Roger: *laughing at his grandsons good naturedly as he pauses to crack the seeds he's gathered and toss away the fertile ones* You'd think this was you two's first hot spring.
Robbie: *grumble*
Eddie: *laughs and settles down to melt some pemmican in the spring's hot spot and then mix the newly gathered greens into the heated meat and grease mixture* Anyone hungry?
Roger: *cheerfully* Let me finish with these and roast them. No point in eating before it's all ready.
mech: *turns his head to look around. The area's unfamiliar to him, but he can see several small, brown-skinned people, something large and hairy... and walls made of layers upon layers of... frozen water, with more swirling by overhead*
Anna: *drops her pouch in her husband's lap, and then puts a hand on the robot man's shoulder* Easy. Don't try to get up yet. *yup, that's Basic. Only slightly accented from the standard*
mech: *confused* Where...
Anna: You're on Gordon's Planet. The southern end of it. *slight, reassuring smile as the russet eyes that tell her apart from her grey-eyed husband's family sparkle kindly* It looks like your ship ran into something before it hit the planet, but my husband thinks it might have actually survived the impact. *nods toward where the little vessel is standing on its thrusters against one wall of the snow well*
mech: *turns his head slightly to look, soft 'heh'*
Anna: We aren't sure we've got the skills to fix it, so we really hope you do. Unless you want to stay. But I'm not sure how well you'd fit in a saddlebag.
mech: *soft snort* I can fix it...
Anna: *grin* Good. *pushes away the broken wing as it's offered* Not yet, Lindsey. Go to your mother.
Lindsey: *soft sad sound as she puts the wing down in the edge of the spring, then turns and heads out of the well*
mech: *raised brow ridge as he watches Lindsey, a hint of curiosity visible in his expression*
Anna: That's Lindsey. *settles down on her haunches* And I'm her great aunt, Anna Clarkson. These are my son and grandson, Robert and little Roger, and my husband big Roger. My daughter little Anna, my son John, and my added daughter Eddie.
mech: ... *and now he's confused by the unfamiliar terms*
Anna: *quietly* What's wrong?
mech: I don't understand....
Anna: *concerned frown* Don't understand what?
mech: What does 'daughter' mean?
Anna: *face clears* Girl I gave birth to.
mech: *blink blink, small nod as he files the information away* And son?
Anna: Boy I gave birth to.
mech: *another small nod. He'll ask about 'gave birth' another time... maybe* Husband is the same thing as mate, right? *he did pay some attention when talking to the IGP, at least*
Anna: *slight frown, turns toward her husband* Do you know if they ever used mate for a husband?
Roger: *lifts his head and combs through memories, then nods* Yeah, but we haven't used it that way in a long time.
mech: *expression clears a bit* Well, now what I learned from the IGP makes a bit of sense...
Anna: Who is the IGP?
mech: *attention on Anna now* They came to Cybertron when Megatron started killing off femmes and some of the Decepticons...
Anna: *leans her arm on her knee* Cybertron's your planet?
mech: It was...
Anna: *brows draw together with concern* Was?
mech: I'd be killed if I went back... *slight shrug, isn't concerned about that*
Anna: *frown deepens slightly* You sound male... so you're a 'Decepticon'?
mech: *slight frown* Not anymore, I'm not. Not after some of the things I saw...
Roger: Do you know the starmap coordinates for that planet? *battered pan made from metal that was part of a ship before his great great grandfather was born holds the seeds over the bubbling water of the hot spot*
mech: *thinks for a moment before reciting the coordinates*
Roger: *ducks with surprise and then looks at him again* Are you sure?
mech: *puzzled look for Roger as he nods* Yeah.
Roger: *quietly recites the coordinates he's been taught belong to his world, which put it right on the edge of the galaxy*
mech: *optics flash with surprise*
Roger: You traveled a long way.
mech: I don't... I wasn't even aimed this way...
Roger: *gently shaking the seeds as they puff and hiss softly* What's the last thing you remember?
mech: Trying to navigate a debris field...
Roger: *checks the seeds and nods* I bet that's when your wing took that hit.
mech: *slight frown, nod* Probably.... I don't even remember getting hit, if that's what happened....
Roger: *rubs his nose, and then grins and dumps the seeds into the sizzling mixture that Eddie's got in her pot. Turns back to the robot man* Well, at least you landed somewhere nice.
mech: ... Nice? *turns his head to look around. Well, compared to Cybertron, it isn't half bad...* Huh...
Anna: *surprised grin* What's wrong with it?
mech: It is nice... Especially compared to where I was... *slight smile that makes his face look almost friendly, if not for the purplish tint to his optics*
Anna: *chuckles, then tilts her head and quirks a brow while wrinkling her forehead* You haven't told us your name.
mech: *expression falls a bit flat* *quietly* I gave up my name when I left...
Anna: Oh...
Roger: *chuckles* We can call you Drift till you decide on something.
mech: *raised brow ridge for Roger* Why 'Drift'?
Roger: Because we found your ship in a big one. *watching the food*
Eddie: Robbie, get little Roger out of the water. It's time to eat. *sets the sizzling pot against the ice wall for a moment to cool it, and then sets it on a flat rock that's blackened from generations of encounters with this pot and others*
mech: *considering look, before he's chuckling and nodding* Alright, that makes sense... *attention going to Eddie, curious about what is in the pot*
Eddie: *as the human members of her family gather around after grabbing forks from the pile she'd set down* ...Well flargle. What do robot men eat?
Drift: *going to try sitting up* There should be a couple cans of fuel in the hold...
Robbie: *standing from where he'd hunkered to join the gathering around the pot* Will I be able to bring one?
Drift: Unless the cans leaked, they should be safe... the hold opens on the outside of the ship...
Robbie: *runs over to the ship, his gate slightly awkward gait showing that he's not used to level surfaces. Close study of the side of the little shuttle follows*
small panel: *there, with a catch*
Robbie: *moves to one side of the opening and then fiddles with the catch*
catch: *pops open and a few sealed cans fall out. If Robbie checks the hold, he'll find it's not very big, and that there are another two or so sealed cans*
Robbie: *does peek, checking to see if he can put some of the cans back into the little compartment. Deciding that he can if he stacks them carefully, he agilely sets to work doing so before hopping down, closing the hold again, and lifting the can he left out*
rest of the family: *waiting to eat till Drift has some too*
Robbie: *hauls the can over and offers it, grinning*
Drift: *thanks Robbie as he takes the can. Doing a bit of quick calculation against what his fuel levels are at current, he figures that he can survive long enough to get the ship repaired, pointed to a station, and arrive at said station if he's careful*
Roger: *grins* Ready now?
Drift: *nods*
Roger: *bows his head as his family does likewise, and then murmurs and tells somebody called God thank You for the food, and for the spring, and for Drift and his safe landing*
others: *murmur agreement, and then grin and reach for food*
Drift: *small nod, opens the can* *will ask about God later...*
Annie: *crunching roasted seeds and giving the greens funny looks even as she happily eats what she knows is her portion* This looks weird, but it tastes better than the gut greens.
Robbie: Dunno, I like the pickled kind of taste.
little Roger: *baby bird impression*
Drift: *small sips of his fuel, is only going to consume about a third of the can's contents*
Eddie: *frowns over at him as she notes his caution. One hand absently rubs her very round belly* Do you have enough?
Drift: Yeah... I'm not sure how close the nearest station is, or how long it'll take me to fix my shuttle, but as long as I don't go empty, I'll be fine.
Eddie: Ahhh. And that's the one thing we can't tell you. Our last newcomer was about fifty years ago. People don't come out this way very often.
Drift: *small frown as he nods* Well, like I said, as long as I don't go empty, I'll be fine. *and since the damage to the shuttle looks fairly easy to fix, he likely won't be too long in getting to space again*
Eddie: ...Can you eat coal? Tar seep?
Drift: I don't think so... I've never tried anything other than energon...
Eddie: Farfle. Ouch. *pokes belly and then eats the food her husband pokes at her mouth*
Drift: *slight headtilt* Something's hurting you?
Eddie: I'm nine months pregnant, and expecting to give birth any day now. The calf's just a little cramped and protesting it. *turns so he can see the surface of her belly move*
Drift: *surprised expression is a go*
Annie: That's how we get our human calves. From moms. *grin* And the mammoth calves come from mammoth moms.
Drift: *blink blink* Huh...
Annie: *nods and starts to talk, but then murfs as her young uncle stuffs food in her mouth*
Drift: ... *blink blink*
Roger: Eat your supper, Annie. *chuckles, and then gives his youngest son a stern look* And you eat yours. *glances at Drift* Are you alright?
Drift: Yeah... *more sips of fuel*
Roger: *finishes his part of the meal, which would be small by most modern Earth humans' reckoning, and then comes over to sit by the Cybertronian* I know a little about machines. I can help with your ship if you tell me what to do.
Drift: *small nod as he moves to get to his feet* There's a toolkit in there somewhere...
Roger: *looks over at the little ship* I think I'll let you get it. *slight grin* I may have the old data memorized, but that's actually the first ship I've ever seen.
Drift: *soft 'heh', moves to get the toolkit and study the damage a bit more closely*
Roger: *he and John and Annie have the wing and are looking it over, intently discussing dents and the texture of the torn edge in their quiet and unhurried way*
Drift: *checks the part of the ship that the wing was attached to and compares the damage on the wing to the damage on the ship, so he knows where to begin putting things back together*
Roger: *looks over* We don't think any pieces are missing. What do you think?
Drift: Looks that way to me too... So it's just a matter of getting the wing hooked back up and secured, I think...
Annie: *looks from wing to ship and back* ...Glue?
Robbie: No, I don't think that would work. Dad says coming down to a planet from space is even hotter than a hot spot in a spring, and glue melts in hot spots.
Annie: Oh. *surprised*
Drift: *going to check the contents of the toolbox* Maybe welding or bolting it into place....
Roger: Do you have something that will heat the metal enough to weld it? *comes over to hunker down and peer into the toolbox as his oldest son uses a pair of heavy leather gloves to try unsuccessfully to straighten a few bent edges on the torn side of the wing*
Drift: That's one of the things I'm looking for... *rummage rummage rummage*
Robbie: *wanders over and hunkers by his grandpa* What's it look like? Are you sure this is where it would be?
Drift: *describes the tool he's looking for* As for whether I'm sure this is where it should be, I have no idea... *slight grin*
Robbie: *gets up and opens the hold, then clambers up to peer around the cans* It's on the wall in here. In a box with a clear front.
Roger: Cabinet with a glass door.
Robbie: Cabinet with a glass door. Yeah.
Drift: Oh... Heh... *moves to get the tool he was looking for* *will carefully unstack the cans and move them aside in order to clear a path to the tool*
Annie: Here's a rock, dad.
John: *doubtful* I don't want to break anything.
Eddie: *over there beside her husband now, and also studying the torn edges as she absently rubs her obstreperous belly*
Drift: *searching for a catch to the cabinet* Heeey, there's a ring... *will try pulling on the ring*
Roger: *looks up at the click* Got it?
Drift: Yeah. And a fire extinguisher. *will pull both the tool and the fire extinguisher out*
John: *looks over, then to his dad* Fire extinguisher? What's that?
Roger: *blinking* Er... I don't know. I never learned that one. I know what fire is.
Drift: I think it's supposed to keep fire from getting where it's not wanted.
Roger: Makes sense, I guess.
Eddie: Not that any of us have ever seen fire. We've smelled smoke though, so the girdle must have them sometimes.
Drift: *small shrug, sets the extinguisher where it can be easily reached if needed*
Annie: So what do we do? *looks up at Drift with her grey eyes squinted against what is to her a bright light*
Drift: Well... *looking* The wing's gotta be held level....
Annie: *looks to her elders, then moves over to join them in conferring*
Drift: *reading the instructions on the torch*
John: *roars Margaret's name, and then watches as the cow mammoth picks her way carefully down the stairs. Goes to meet her and lead her over, then gives her the wing and shows her where it's supposed to be. When she doesn't hold it quite properly he firmly pushes it against the torn area on the ship*
Margaret: *small sounds and holds the wing properly. Doesn't even twitch as she acquires two children on her back*
Eddie: *grins* There you go, Drift.
Drift: *looks up, and chuckles* Thanks. *moves to begin welding*
every set of eyes in and around the well: *watching this with utter amazement and interest. Except Margaret's calf. He's drinking milk while Mom's too busy to swat him for it*
Drift: *careful as he welds, though he's not exactly skilled at welding*
family: *knows not to look at the fire, and Margaret doesn't want to because it hurts, but they're sure looking at the parts that are already welded*
John: *gets the rock and uses it to smooth the welds, his feet braced easily between Margaret's forehead and the side of the ship*
Drift: *makes it to the far end of the wing before he's nearly falling off as he tries to get around to the other side*
An hour later
Drift: *hanging upside down and finishing the last of the welding. Once he's got everything done to his satisfaction, he's moving to get back upright. It's then that he's noticing how dark it's gotten, and how loud the wind is*
John: *standing on Margaret's head as he smooths welds, but then pauses and looks up at Drift* You stopped? Oh, is it done?
Drift: Yeah... Was it this dark earlier?
John: No. This is night. *starts working again, though very few organics of his type can see in these light conditions. He can't either, but he's used to a lifetime of doing things by touch*
Drift: ...Huh. *double-checking everything*
John: *climbs off of Margaret and onto Drift, then continues with his cosmetic work where the welds are still warm enough* We've got a thirty one hour cycle at the girdle, so that means where we are here it's dark more often than it's light.
Drift: Oh. *careful as he moves, so as not to dislodge John*
John: Okay, that cooled off fast. *pulls off a glove and runs his fingers over the welds* Does it look alright, you think?
Drift: Yeah. Should be sturdy enough to get me to a station. *slight grin*
John: *moves his face against Drift's arm and grins* Good. So now what?
Drift: Well... For now, it might be a good idea to rest.... I don't have anyplace that I need to be...
John: Ohhh. You're tired? *scrambling down skillfully and lands on Margaret's back with a soft grunt*
Lindsey: *in the well now, standing close to her mother so that she doesn't take up much space. Her baby brother is somewhere in there*
Drift: Yeah... Besides, my luck might be better if I leave in the morning. *smile*
John: *looks up* Really? Oh right. You can't see either when it's this dark.
Drift: Not very well... *at the moment, anyways. He won't admit that the beatings he had at Megatron's hands damaged his infrared sensors*
John: Well, I think I'm out of your way if you want to come down. *standing now on Margaret's rump and looking toward where the humans of his family offloaded the saddlebags* ...I just heard someone yell.
Drift: ... *moves to climb down* What direction?
John: *listening* It's alright. It's just Eddie. No wonder Maggie and Lindsey are so restless.
Drift: *frown* Is she alright?
John: Oh yeah. *leaps down and lands in the spring*
Drift: *moves to sit near his shuttle, still frowning*
John: *comes over, draped now in a skin blanket, and leans against the Cybertronian* I thought so. The new calf's coming.
Drift: *worried expression*
John: *absently spreads part of the blanket over the part of Drift that he can reach, and then puts his face against the Cybertronian... and he's grinning broadly*
Drift: *a bit puzzled by the blanket*
John: *looks up, and sees Drift's expression by the light of the robot man's eyes* What's wrong?
Drift: What is this? *carefully touching the blanket*
John: A blanket. We use them to keep warm with inside the saddlebags.
Drift: Huh. *curious, but for now, he's going to power down and rest*
John: *pats him, and then settles down to wait to meet his new grandchild*
((co-written with random_xtras))