Ultra Magnus sighed. The humans were arguing again. They seemed to always be arguing. He opened his optics and gazed in their direction. They were playing a racing game on the tv, and Miko was accusing Jack of cheating. He laid on the medical berth and looked down at his servo, or at least where his servo had been. In its place was a claw. The doctor had done the best with what he had. It upset Magnus. He thought back to the event that had cost him the extremity. He and Wheeljack had crossed paths with the Predacon after destroying the other Predacon clones. They had fought valiantly, but the beast proved too powerful. It was only Optimus Prime's arrival they saved them from certain demise. They survived, but not without damage. He looked at the hook again before laying his head back onto the berth and offlining his optics.
He turned his audials towards the humans, still in the midst of their argument. Magnus didn't interact with them much. He didn't understand why Optimus allowed them such a presence at the base. They were under Autobot protection. That he understood. But they always seemed to be causing problems, Miko most of all. They were small, undisciplined, and served no useful purpose. So he avoided them. When he wasn't on patrol, he worked on his ship, or spent time in his quarters writing and reading reports. Prime assured him that doing so wasn't that necessary, but old habits die hard. Besides, it allowed him to keep his distance from the others. He wasn't exactly greeted with open arms by team Prime. To most of the Autobots his arrival was a beacon of hope after the destruction of the base and the assumed death of Optimus. But he was also an outsider with a reputation, and had a most unpleasant history with the former Wrecker whom had almost offlined with him. The return of Prime found the others distancing themselves. His style of leading didn't go over well with Team Prime. It was looser, almost undisciplined here. Magnus was out of his comfort zone. And now this. An injury that had put him out of commission. He was useless to the team, and would be for quite some time.
"Quiet down over here, guys. Better yet, get ready to go home. It's late, and you all have school tomorrow. Let's get your stuff together. Ratchet, can you open the ground bridge?" Magnus focused on the voice. It was the other human female who had spoken. He turned and watched watched as she turned off the tv and help the children gather their belongings. She walked to the now open groundbridge and said goodnight to each of them as they entered. When the last one left, she turned to Ratchet and sighed. "I'll never understand why people have kids." Ratchet nodded his head in agreement.
"Well, it's time for me to get going too. I have a long drive and I'm tired. Hopefully I don't fall asleep on the way home." the woman said. Ratchet responded, "Why don't you stay at the base, Kerri? We've all had a long several days. It will save you a drive tonight. I'm going to recharge soon myself and the commander is resting. It will be quiet."
At the mention of Ultra Magnus, Kerri looked in his direction, and his optics met hers. "Good evening sir. I didn't know you were awake. How are you feeling?" Magnus said nothing for a moment before answering.
"I am well, considering the circumstances. I would very much like to not be in medbay. I can recharge better in my own berth."
Ratchet shook his head and explained to Magnus that he WOULD remain in medbay for the immediate future. "You're more stable now, but not completely out of the woods, and I want to keep an eye on you. And I'm not marching myself to your quarters twenty times a day!"
Kerri chuckled and looked at Ratchet. "Why don't you head for bed, doc? I'll take this watch tonight. The Commander will be in good hands," she smiled as she glanced at Ultra Magnus. Magnus began to protest, but Ratchet took no notice, or at least he pretended not to. He assured the woman that Magnus wouldn't give her any trouble, and with a goodnight and a servo wave, headed towards his quarters.
Kerri watched him leave before turning back to look at Ultra Magnus, who was facing her again. She had climbed down onto Ratchet's table and was eye level with the commander.
"Well sir, if you don't need anything, I'm going to get some sleep. Try to get some rest." His brilliant blue optics were trained on her, but he said nothing.
"Goodnight, sir," she said, before climbing down from the table and heading to the rec room. She was almost out of the medbay before she heard Magnus voice a gruff goodnight.
