Ch 1
[Location: Autobot Base]Timeline: Alpha Omega
Aware more of being moved than feeling it, Elita-One mumbled that she was alright to the murmur of voices as she sat down to rest on some nearby storage crates. "I just took a blow to the head while I was fighting the Insecticon," she thought she had said, "just a slight concussion." As things became less fuzzy, she realized that the others were having a conversation around her, but focused on Optimus. Ratchet's arm readout was open, and she caught her own data on it, but apparently her scans were nothing to be worried over.
The others were happily discussing returning to Cybertron and apparently Elita had missed something extremely important but knew if she listened long enough she would glean enough to know what exactly it was. Then as Bulkhead, Arcee, and Bumblebee slowly realized who they'd have to leave behind it seemed to the Autobot-Human that maybe it wasn't all such great news. "I'm sure they'll be happy," she offered the trio.
Smokescreen, who appeared to be avoiding her now that she had cleared the air of what she really was in a more direct manner, was speaking with Optimus so Elita focused in on their conversation. Omega Keys? Is this what she had missed when she blacked out?
As Optimus worked harder on decoding the Iacon database, the others were busy making plans. The outright need to fight harder to make sure that these last four relics ended up in Autobot hands was unspoken and hung heavy in the air. E knew that she was likely not to have any field work to do, but she would do her best to make sure that things stayed in tip top shape on the home front, knowing full well that the base of operations was as important to success of any mission as what happed in the field.
Having taken the time to clean up her head wound, Elita found herself mostly a wall flower in the base now. She sat in her smaller body on the bench seat of her larger left shoulder, munching on some high-carb cookies she kept on hand, while she looked over the Star Saber. The blade was impressive in its capabilities and beautiful in its design. The urge to hold it was extremely powerful, but she really didn't want to risk making anyone mad.
Ratchet, busy with his plasma welder on his latest project for Optimus, seemed giddy and she was glad that her dear friend was in one of his better moods. Prime only paused for a moment to acknowledge what the medic had said to him, but quickly returned to his duty as he realized that his old friend was more speaking to himself than to his commander.
"I feel funny saying this," Arcee began calmly as Elita joined them, "but I'm not sure I want to go back."
"Who knew we'd get so use to our new home?" Bulkhead asked, feeling the same as the small blue Autobot. They focused on Bumblebee as in his own way gave his lament about leaving his best friend Raf behind. "Yeah," the Wrecker agreed, "I don't think I'd ever want to leave Miko."
"We've made friends here," the blue fem gave a smile to Elita, who returned it with both forms, "Family."
"We can always," Ratchet interjected and had to pause to think of the proper word, "text them." Then he promptly went back to work.
E had turned with the others to focus on the medic, but blinked in confusion as her jaw dropped. How could he sound so callous, so uncaring? She knew that the kids meant the world to Ratchet, why was he acting so coldly about them now?
Apparently she wasn't the only one to find the statement bothersome, but Bulk and Bee just shared a look and went back to their own discussion. Elita couldn't really focus on it anymore, but was watching Ratchet work. The idea of being able to return home was probably why he was so different from the bot she had gotten to know. Her friend was running on some sort of auto-pilot that maybe he wasn't really thinking before he spoke. Feeling as if she had nothing really to offer at the moment, Elita-One retreated further into the base. She had things there to keep her busy and out of everyone else's way.
She had spent the following hours in her kitchen. With steadily moving hands she sliced up quite a bit of her fresh vegetables, browned some of the beef sides she had left over from the last time Agent Fowler had brought her food, and was working on a hearty beef stew in the industrial stand alone cooking pot. Satisfied that it was well mixed, Elita-One pulled down the large lid to cover and let her meal simmer before she walked into the hallway to sit on the bench of her bike. A timer set, her e-book in hand, which she had deregistered and opened up a dummy profile for safety reasons, and settled in as she waited.
This was where Ratchet found her. Elita was smiling down at the small rectangle device in her hands and had not looked up at him as the medic made his way closer. There was something about the smells that came out of the kitchen when she was cooking that made him smile. It wasn't the harsh smell that came from whatever passed as food from K.O. Burger, but it seemed like whenever she was working in her little area it was more pleasant to be around. It was also nice to see her smile.
She was so engrossed in what she was reading that when the timer went off she was on auto-pilot. He watched as her hand reached over to shut off the noise making device and walk into the kitchen, still reading her book. Minding her larger body in its vehicle mode, Ratchet crouched down to watch her through the doorway. She was still looking at that silly device in her one hand as she lifted up the lid to the stand alone cooking pot and began to stir its contents with a large paddle spoon with relative ease with her other. She was like this for quite a while, still smiling as she was doing two things at once, and remarkably well Ratchet observed.
It was as she gently tapped the large spoon on the side of the pan, the solid sound thrumming slightly in the quiet, before setting it off to the side and closing the lid that he realized that she still had not noticed him. When she was walking towards him, the medic smiled before he spoke. "You forgot to set your timer."
Elita jumped as she made a muted sound that came out more as high pitched squeal, her arms up and quaking as if the muscles had locked up on them. When she finally calmed, her smile blossomed more at seeing him in the doorway. "How long have you been there?"
"I had arrived just shortly before your timer went off and you walked into the kitchen," he answered as he got back up to his feet to let her out. The human body walked past him, pressing a couple buttons on her little noise making device before she settled on her bike bench again. "What has you so distracted?"
She held up the device a bit, "The e-book Momma got me for my birthday a couple years ago."
"A very thoughtful gesture."
Nodding, Elita smiled lovingly down at the device. "I always loved to read, but wasn't always able to carry the books around with me that I wanted."
"So what is your current choice of reading material?" her red and white friend asked.
"Edgar Allan Poe."
"Anything in particular?" When she shook her head, he only nodded. After a moment of quiet between them he began to quote:
"Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning- little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door-
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore.""
"That was a beautiful quoting."
At seeing her eyes glowing brighter, her jaw dropped in appreciative awe, Ratchet shrugged it off a bit, looking around the hallway for anything else to focus on for a moment. "I had rested outside of an outdoor theater for a while during my search for energon before the Decepticons had started to renew their attacks. I had actually come to check on your head wound."
As if reminded of it, Elita's right hand brushed the bandage that was along her hairline above her right eye. "Oh, well I guess we better get to it." Calmly she held onto as her larger body transformed into its bi-pedal mode and followed the medic to his work area.
They were at the end of the hallway when the urgent call from Arcee came through the medic's comm-link. The pair ran the rest of the way, Ratchet's feet skidding across the metal floor as he slid sideways at the ground bridge controls. Quickly imputing the data, he turned to focus on the opening ground bridge. Everyone watched tensely for the return of Arcee and Smokescreen, Optimus even pausing in his work to help guard the opening to the base.
When Arcee was the only one to walk through and Elita, both parts merged, rushed to her side, the blue and pink fem looked crushed. The bots cleared the path as the fems made their way over to the medical area. Ratchet was quick to begin treating her, but there are some things that all the tools in the universe cannot fix. It took her a while, still in shock over what had happened, but eventually Arcee began her terrible story. Another Autobot was gone.
Elita, kneeling down next to her friend as she held her hand, looked up at Bulkhead as the Wrecker powered up his weaponry, revenge for their fallen comrade forefront on his processor, and the scout was quick to second the motion. Both halted by Optimus speaking a single word.
As Prime prepared to leave the base, Elita-One gently patted Arcee's hand with her larger ones, her smaller body resting inside its larger shell, "It's going to be alright. You're not alone, Cee."
It was here she stayed, never leaving her friend's side as they waited for Optimus' return. It could have been minutes or hours that passed, she didn't know or care, but when their commander made his request for the ground bridge there was a weight, heavier than they would have admitted, lifted off of their shoulders.
As Optimus was escorted to the medical area by Ratchet, the four others that were waiting were surprised to see the 'dead' walk in behind the Prime. Watching from beside the ground bridge controls, the Autobot-Human hybrid had to smirk. The new kid had a streak of good luck so far. She just hoped it lasted.
As the reality of what was gained and lost set in, the Autobots began to prepare themselves for possibly darker battles. The loss of the Star Saber along with Megatron wielding the Dark Star Saber only made any upcoming confrontations all the more dangerous.
[Location: Alden Military Base]
Agent Fowler had finished up one of his latest reports on the Autobots for General Bryce and was packing his brief case to leave for the night when there was an urgent knocking on his office door. "Come in," he said calmly, moving his thumbs over the latches to lock them in place.
A new Private First Class that had been recently stationed at the base rushed through the door and handed Agent Fowler a file folder that was stuffed full of paperwork, the outside stamped 'Classified'. With a sigh Fowler took the folder and dismissed the soldier. The chair squeaked in protest as he sat himself back down behind his desk. The Autobots apparently had their metallic hands in something again.
As he read over the information the military man realized something was off. There were scorch marks that were found at all of the Cybertronian scuffles, but the place had been cleaned up rather well by the time the nearby base had sent it's on hand clean-up specialists. Prime was careful, but even the most careful of his team always left something behind, mostly Decepticon parts.
With a groan, Agent Fowler got up out of his chair, tossed the folder into his brief case before locking it shut again, and headed out of his office. The report had stated that explosives were used, but Wheeljack always needed the 'maids' after he fought. Either Prime had gained another in his ranks and had not yet updated Fowler, or there was something else going on.
Author's Note: I don't own the show. "Nevermore" is written by Edgar Allan Poe, all rights belong to his estate.
Yes, I have been doing more voice actor and came across Jeffrey Combs playing Poe. The geek in me took over for a bit. The apparent misspelling of "marveled" is in Poe's original text.
