Throw Us Away

Air Raid can be found stalking out of his quarters, scowling and muttering. Looks as if he'd got himself a very quick patch job at the med bay, from all the gray paint on his chest and wings.

Silverbolt is on his way back to his own hab suite for a much-needed rest cycle after multiple aerial patrol rounds. But he immediately notices Air Raid stalking about, looking angry. A brow ridge goes up. "Air Raid? What's wrong?" he asks, stopping in front of him.

Air Raid beelines right up to Silverbolt. He peers up at him indignantly, then looks away, folding his arms. "...We were made for war, right boss?" His broody expression softens. "That's what we were built for by the Autobots. Yeah?"

Silverbolt vents a sigh, nodding slowly. It wasn't something that he often liked to dwell upon, but it was true. It was one thing that was different about them--they had been given life in the midst of millions of years of war, while most others had experienced at least a short period of peacetime on Cybertron before the war changed everything. The truth of it was, the Aerialbots were a product of the war, made by the war, for the war...even Silverbolt wondered about it at times--what purpose did they have beyond it? What would happen to them if the war ever did end? Would they be forced to think like Shockwave, convinced that without something worthy to contend against, they would be directionless, bereft of purpose and unable to see their greatest potential realized? "...yes, that is true." But where was Air Raid going with this? Could he be struggling with the same thing?

Air Raid has turned away, prodding absently at a nearby gunrack. "I was talkin' to that femme. She... She said that after the war, us warbots are gonna' be useless. Just... scrap, thrown away." He turns back to Silverbolt, glaring at the ground. "I don't know anything else. I mean... Anything other than war. What's it like? There ain't no battles? What do we do? Th'... They ain't gonna' throw us away, are they boss?" His tone is quite genuine, even a bit shaky.

"I...." Silverbolt just stands there, staring at Air Raid's back. To be fully honest, he's not quite sure how to answer that in a way that would actually comfort Air Raid. Especially since that's something that he himself struggles with. An awkward moment of silence passes, before he finally continues. "To be perfectly honest with you, Air Raid--I don't know. I've always been aware of the fact that we were a product of the war. Made by it, and for it. When it's over, if we're somehow still alive in the end...I guess we can only hope that we'll be able to find our place in a post-war society. That is...if the Decepticons don't overpower us."

Air Raid doesn't appear very pleased with that answer. If boss don't know, it can't be known. He's silent for another moment. Then enough emotions swell up for him to kick the gunrack over, scattering the rifles. "Then I don't want it to end! Frag that! We'll fight forever, yeah?" His heated voice turns to one of slight desperation as he faces Silverbolt again. "The glory of battle, it ain't so bad, yeah? Heh!"

Silverbolt grimaces. He'd feared that they'd fall into that sort of thinking--but he can't see any way around it. He watches Air Raid kick over the rack, then sits down at a workstation heavily. As much as he hated to think about it, it was true. At least a small part of him always hoped that the war wouldn't end in his lifetime. "Well, again to be honest with you, I've always hoped that we'd see our end before the war did. Preferably we'd go out with a bang--die with honor, saving mechs who'd have lasting purpose in a post-war world..."

...Depressing, yeah, but he wasn't about to give Air Raid some kind of false engex-coated hope that he knew would just disappoint him.

Silverbolt sure ain't engex-coating anything. Raid gazes down the hall, distantly. Saving mechs who'd have lasting purpose. "Yeah... That does sound noble..." He looks up as it dawns on him, "/You/? You're always so damn up-beat. M'... Maybe it's better that way. Yeah? I-I mean, heh, I can't even go a coupla' cycles without feelin' that fire, hearin' the guns." He vents a sigh. "Sorry, I guess I'm being dramatic."

"Me too, Air Raid...me too..." Silverbolt stands up and puts a reassuring hand on Air Raid's shoulder. "We may be a product of the war. But our war is not just about defeating our adversaries. It's about preventing them from destroying sapient life. It's about preserving that life as much as we possibly can. That is our highest priority--what we aim for above all else. Dying for that...would be an honor greater than any other."