dunmurderin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dunmurderin) wrote2006-11-19 07:11 pm
dunmurderin) wrote2006-11-19 07:11 pm
Fanfic: Homework (Book-Reading Pipes)
Title: Homework
Word Count: approximately 659 words.
Characters/Pairing: Kup, Pipes, implied Huffer/Pipes
Rating/Genre: PG/Gen, with slash references.
Author's note: Takes place before "Tokens", in roughly 1992-1993, shortly after Pipes and the others in Magnus's team arrive on Earth. Written for Book-Reading Pipes.
Kup stepped into the quarters he shared with his teammates only to find the room's Teletraan-1 terminal on. Text and pictures were scrolling by slowly as the part of Teletraan-1 connected to the terminal provided color commentary.
"Facet was best known for his use of materials that combined strength and beauty. His bridge work helped connect various levels and hemispheres of Cybertron, making free passage across the planet possible," Teletraan-1 said to the seemingly empty room. "But it was his masterwork, the Crystal Gardens, that won him the most acclaim and insured his position in history."
"Can I see a picture of that?" Pipes asked, his voice muffled by the chair he was sitting in. "Of the Gardens, please?"
Kup chuckled. "Tailgate's rubbing off on you," he said as he walked over to lean against the back of the chair. "It's just a terminal, you don't have to talk to it like it's alive, lad."
"I know but. . .." Pipes's cab squeaked as he shrugged his shoulders. "Feels wrong not to."
"History lessons?" Kup asked, changing the subject.
"Not exactly," Pipes said.
"File not found," Teletraan-1 said. "Records are not available in my data banks."
"Oh. That's okay," Pipes said. "What else can you tell me about him? Can you tell me more about the bridges? Maybe that'll be enough."
"Searching files," Teletraan-1 said, sounding almost relieved by the subject change.
It was the lack of disappointment in Pipes's voice, the simple expectation that files would be missing that made Kup frown. "Since when are you interested in architects?" he asked.
Pipes shifted in his seat, looking down at his hands again. "Well, I was delivering some supplies to one of the labs -- y'know, helping out and stuff like Magnus and you said we were supposed to do -- and one of the guys on the Ark's crew was in there talking about this Facet mech and I just kinda got curious about him."
The too-careful way that Pipes spoke about the encounter told Kup all he needed to know about Pipes's sudden interest in architects. "Who was it?"
"Huffer." Kup wasn't surprised by the tender way Pipes said the name. He'd said more than a few names that way himself. It was the who rather than the how that made his optics widen. They hadn't been on Earth long, but he already knew that Huffer had a deserved reputation for being a cityformer-sized pain in the diodes.
"I see." Kup kept his voice neutral, if friendly. "You like him, eh?"
Pipes hesitated. "I don't know," he said. "Yeah, kinda. I mean, yeah. Yeah, I do."
"It's alright," Kup said, gently. "But lad, I have to ask why him?"
"I don't know," Pipes said. "I guess it's how he talks about Cybertron. About how it was before the Ark left, in the early days of the war. He just loves it so much and I love hearing him talk about it."
Kup had heard more than a few monologues from Huffer on the subject of Cybertron and its glories and, in his opinion, the little orange mech was suffering from a bad case of high-noise interference as far as his memories went. Still, he and Magnus had hoped that their crew would find ways to blend in with the Ark's group. This wasn't exactly what they had in mind, but it would do. "Does he know?"
"No," Pipes said. "But, I'm hoping I can talk to him. Y'know? Show him I know something about what he's talking about and then, maybe something more will happen."
"Good plan," Kup said.
"It was Tailgate's idea," Pipes said. "He helped me get Teletraan-1 to do the right searches."
Kup nodded. "Well then, I'll let you get back to work," he said, turning to head to his bunk. "And Pipes? Good luck."
"Thanks, sir."
Kup drifted off to the soft murmur of Teletraan-1 describing the wonders of Facet's Bridge of Sighs.
Word Count: approximately 659 words.
Characters/Pairing: Kup, Pipes, implied Huffer/Pipes
Rating/Genre: PG/Gen, with slash references.
Author's note: Takes place before "Tokens", in roughly 1992-1993, shortly after Pipes and the others in Magnus's team arrive on Earth. Written for Book-Reading Pipes.
Kup stepped into the quarters he shared with his teammates only to find the room's Teletraan-1 terminal on. Text and pictures were scrolling by slowly as the part of Teletraan-1 connected to the terminal provided color commentary.
"Facet was best known for his use of materials that combined strength and beauty. His bridge work helped connect various levels and hemispheres of Cybertron, making free passage across the planet possible," Teletraan-1 said to the seemingly empty room. "But it was his masterwork, the Crystal Gardens, that won him the most acclaim and insured his position in history."
"Can I see a picture of that?" Pipes asked, his voice muffled by the chair he was sitting in. "Of the Gardens, please?"
Kup chuckled. "Tailgate's rubbing off on you," he said as he walked over to lean against the back of the chair. "It's just a terminal, you don't have to talk to it like it's alive, lad."
"I know but. . .." Pipes's cab squeaked as he shrugged his shoulders. "Feels wrong not to."
"History lessons?" Kup asked, changing the subject.
"Not exactly," Pipes said.
"File not found," Teletraan-1 said. "Records are not available in my data banks."
"Oh. That's okay," Pipes said. "What else can you tell me about him? Can you tell me more about the bridges? Maybe that'll be enough."
"Searching files," Teletraan-1 said, sounding almost relieved by the subject change.
It was the lack of disappointment in Pipes's voice, the simple expectation that files would be missing that made Kup frown. "Since when are you interested in architects?" he asked.
Pipes shifted in his seat, looking down at his hands again. "Well, I was delivering some supplies to one of the labs -- y'know, helping out and stuff like Magnus and you said we were supposed to do -- and one of the guys on the Ark's crew was in there talking about this Facet mech and I just kinda got curious about him."
The too-careful way that Pipes spoke about the encounter told Kup all he needed to know about Pipes's sudden interest in architects. "Who was it?"
"Huffer." Kup wasn't surprised by the tender way Pipes said the name. He'd said more than a few names that way himself. It was the who rather than the how that made his optics widen. They hadn't been on Earth long, but he already knew that Huffer had a deserved reputation for being a cityformer-sized pain in the diodes.
"I see." Kup kept his voice neutral, if friendly. "You like him, eh?"
Pipes hesitated. "I don't know," he said. "Yeah, kinda. I mean, yeah. Yeah, I do."
"It's alright," Kup said, gently. "But lad, I have to ask why him?"
"I don't know," Pipes said. "I guess it's how he talks about Cybertron. About how it was before the Ark left, in the early days of the war. He just loves it so much and I love hearing him talk about it."
Kup had heard more than a few monologues from Huffer on the subject of Cybertron and its glories and, in his opinion, the little orange mech was suffering from a bad case of high-noise interference as far as his memories went. Still, he and Magnus had hoped that their crew would find ways to blend in with the Ark's group. This wasn't exactly what they had in mind, but it would do. "Does he know?"
"No," Pipes said. "But, I'm hoping I can talk to him. Y'know? Show him I know something about what he's talking about and then, maybe something more will happen."
"Good plan," Kup said.
"It was Tailgate's idea," Pipes said. "He helped me get Teletraan-1 to do the right searches."
Kup nodded. "Well then, I'll let you get back to work," he said, turning to head to his bunk. "And Pipes? Good luck."
"Thanks, sir."
Kup drifted off to the soft murmur of Teletraan-1 describing the wonders of Facet's Bridge of Sighs.