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Small sparks, when forged, tended to become minibots. Once they are set in a frame, they needed an infusion of energy for a short amount of time before they became independent, but eventually they could live separate from any other mech, just like larger ones. The size of the spark doesn’t determine the toughness of the mech, of course… Some of the toughest mechs around are minibots.
Very small sparks presented a problem. They needed constant infusions of energy for the first several hundred vorn of their activation, or else they would fade. When forged, very small sparks did best when they became cassette bots, or something similar, so that they could be nurtured naturally. By the time that mechs were being constructed, very small-yield sparks were either discarded or were automatically made into cassettes.
Enter the host mechs. While there was no legal requirement for host mechs to nurture cassettes, it was an instinctive need that most of them had. At some point, they would want to feel a cassette in their deck, and all that came with it.
When a new cassette was forged or constructed, a call went out for a host mech to foster the cassette. When one was found, the host mech would take the cassette home and care for him. The new cassette would recharge in his host’s deck, feeding on the energy from the larger spark and growing stronger with each vorn.
As a result of sharing spark energy in this way, a strong bond would form between the host and the cassette. Eventually, most cassettes’ sparks became strong enough to be independent, and they no longer needed the regular infusions of energy from their host. When this happened, they usually moved out of their host’s home and establish their own. They would go on to form their own relationships and become independent mechs. But occasionally, a cassette would want to stay with his host, even past when they could live independently.
Regardless of either the cassettes moved out or not, the bond created between the cassette and the host would remain for both of their lives.
(Referenced in my fic Swipe Right.)
