RULES: Pick a 5-8 letter word and give an excerpt from your manuscript that begins with each letter. When you’re finished, tag some friends and give them the same word or a word of your choosing.
Thank you @novafire-is-thinking who gave me the word "Aperture." These all come from a Transformers WIP currently labeled "The Meddler", the next installment in my "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" series. I had a lot for some letters, so I used a random number generator to spice it up.
A small yellow bat flew above the streets of Iacon, her gaze never leaving the small yellow car that traveled the streets in a systematic, grid pattern. She watched as the car drove and drove and drove some more until Iacon returned to regular business hours and the small car turned and left his grid pattern for a more concrete destination. She’d watched him drive for the last four nights without rest, and done her best to keep him safe in his search, but whoever he was looking for, she didn’t think he would find like this.
“Please, Soundwave, I have to know.”
Soundwave sighed. “Soundwave: busy. Quintessa: must wait.”
“Even if I understand the value of not causing a panic, he did just downplay the order as a token to satisfy a delusion,” Red Alert grumbled.
::Which it is!:: Ultra Magnus stated emphatically. ::Indulging Red Alert in such a rumor will only serve to destabilize the vulnerable among our crew.::
::Sparkeaters are real,:: Drift stated.
Ultra Magnus blew steam from his vents. ::Your opinion on what is reality is also unreliable.::
There was a cold glint in Drift’s eye, the look he got when he was about to stand up for someone else’s honor. ::Dai Atlas would tell you they’re real,:: he wrote. ::And even if he didn’t, many Autobots would still be alive if you didn’t dismiss Red Alert’s concerns. Rodimus and I don’t intend to make the same mistake.::
“Rodimus?” Red Alert’s voice came over his internal comms, and how had Red Alert managed that? “Can you slow down just a clik? I know you want to rush out there and find everyone, and I agree sending flyers out to catch falling bots is a good idea. But once they’ve crashed, it’s a different game. I’ve got the crewmember profiles pulled up; let me organize a search party. A search and rescue mission works differently than you might think.”
Rodimus noticed Drift slowing down and slowed down as well. They both came to a slow stop and transformed.
“He’s a lot quieter than I expected,” Drift said aloud and not over comms. Apparently he was on the call too. “Usually there’s more yelling involved.”
“I should be out there,” Rodimus told Red Alert.
“A lot of mechs feel the same way,” Red Alert said. “But we don’t even know what planet we’re on. The last thing we need is someone else getting hurt or lost or trampleing clues they didn’t even know to look for.
“Let me lead this. I’m not ideal, but I honestly believe I’m our best shot at finding everyone.”
The black-and-white mech’s grin turned smug.
“People always say that,” he said.
Arcee’s smile faltered. “What? That they won’t be used by you?”
The black-and-white mech blinked languidly and shrugged. “That too. No, what I meant is that they say they’ll help.” He looked Arcee in the eye with the confidence of a lounging Predacon. “I have found they never do.”
The black-and-white mech’s smile lost its smugness, the genuineness shining through. “That’s why I like you,” he said. “You don’t tell me that I just haven’t met the right people, or go on about the intrinsic goodness of mecha. Yes, Arcee, you will help me. I can’t force you, but you’ll still insist I left you no choice.”
Ultra Magnus smiled, which was honestly chilling.
“I take the chain of command very seriously, Smokescreen Prime,” he said. “And you are currently butchering it.”
Rodimus zeroed in on the minibot. “Powerglide, right? You’re Brawn’s friend. Well, you should give a frag because Cyclonus was the guy who convinced Strika not to let Blackout kick Brawn to death or to let any of her other cronies torture us. So yeah, Cyclonus is going to die without medical care-
“You’re welcome!” Whirl shouted and Rodimus glared at him
“-because one of us picked a fight with him, not the other way around. And the two newbuilds with him aren’t even a stellar cycle old.”
“Excuse me?” Arcee said in disbelief. “War is over. Omega did his duty.”
“According to this,” CT-21-0408 said, holding up his datapad. “They argue the government owns all the experimental ‘mods’ he has, but um, that’s everything except his spark. They want it back if he isn’t going to serve.”
Tagging @gaeasun @prankprincess123 @quietbluejay+ any other writers who want to do this