Jadewing made a thoughtful noise at her question about brands. "Hmm..." he said. "Well, there's usually a little ceremony involved. Brand's heated by plasma torch, then applied to the bot wherever the brand's s'posed to be. Nothin' to numb the plating and no medics; tha's cheating. Gotta tough it out on yer own."

"Bots used to get branded for lotsa reasons, but these days, only ones you see are faction brands, Autobot 'n Decepticon." He indicated the ones on his own wings. "Seekers get four, two on each wing, once we finish training. I's done in fronta all the mechs on base, and ya try and stay silent long as ya can through it. Longer you can go without reactin' to the pain, the tougher you are. Average is makin' it through the second brand, but no Seeker's ever made it through all four without yellin', at least a little. Wings're sensitive."