I do not own any of the Transformers characters. Please enjoy the story!
Chapter 2
Optimus and Will Lennox were both curious about Bumblebee's findings in the Mohave Desert. The transport sent would be arriving soon, and Diego Garcia was on high alert, along with Ratchet awaiting instructions for the new comer. Bumblebee's and Epps' transmission was vague, however, Ratchet could feel the tension as well as excitement that was in the air. Something new had been discovered and everyone was curious about the discovery. Ratchet walked up to the right of Optimus, Ironhide already on the Prime's left, and Will standing just in front of Optimus' enormous feet, and all looked to the sky that would herald the arrival of the transport in the night sky.
"Optimus, do we know what we will be dealing with?" asked Ratchet.
"Bumblebee's transmission was sketchy at best, but I do believe they may have discovered a large human," was all that Prime would say. "Ratchet," Prime turned toward Ratchet, "this may become a delicate matter. I want you to keep on a need to know basis. The end of the week Mearing will be arriving. She will want to inspect all areas of the base, so please make sure that our new patient is in a private area of the med bay.
"Understand, Optimus, besides if she gets too close I'll just send Simmons to woo her away." Ratchet chuckles as he pictures the two fierce humans exchanging quick witted snipes at each other. The twins, already running a betting pool on when the announcement of their marriage would take place, had the entire base in uproar and the gossip mill accelerating out of control.
"I'll keep the twins busy until we figure out what this discovery means. Let's keep Jolt out of this as well. I want you personally to be the primary attending physician, and if you see a potential threat, direct it to me immediately." With that, Optimus turned to head out to the tarmac as the transport arrived with the new patient.
Ironhide kept watch between the two friends, but his curiosity was piqued and he hoped that Optimus would allow him to be a part of the encounter with the new patient. With the transport landing, the base hustled to welcome its passengers and crew; while Lennox ordered his men to stand back to allow the Autobots to come and unload the incapacitated passenger. Bumblebee wheeled quietly down the ramp, only half paying attention with his mind on the unexpected passenger and who she was. Never in the history of the earth had a being of her size existed, and Bumblebee had questions that he could not easily find answers to.
"Any trouble, Bumblebee," Optimus asked.
"No, Prime, and she never once stirred; however, scanners did pick up a slow heart rate and her breathing is progressing at regular intervals."
"So it is a she?"
"Yes, and Prime… she is taller than me by at least 15 human feet. Also, she has scratch marks along both legs, and a severe gash in her abdominal area."
"Ratchet is here now, and I want her quietly taken to med bay. Also, please keep any information to yourself. I do not want this openly discussed until we know where she came from and if she poses a threat to our base."
"I understand, Optimus."
"When do you return to Sam Witwicky, Bumblebee?
"I should be returning within the next week," Bee replied. As Bee answered Optimus saw a form being taken down the ramp. Before he could get closer Ratchet stepped between Optimus and the form thus blocking his view. Prime's only glimpse was of long auburn hair and his curiosity was triggered. He had only seen humans in the standard sizes from 4 feet to 6.5 feet with the exception of major basketball players and small children. Needless to say, Optimus wanted answers to the very complex situation that was developing on the Autopot base.
Once the patient was taken to the Med bay, Optimus resumes his daily duties, and then powering down into recharge. He purposely stayed away from the Med bay to give Ratchet time to perform his medical magic on the patient. Optimus would ask for updates from time to time, but he was also careful not to anger the senior medic for fear of receiving a wench up his aft. Even as long as Optimus had been the leader of the Autobots, he still held a deep respect for the medic; and knew well how the Hatchet would react if he bothered him too much.
"Ratchet to Optimus, the patient is stable. You may come to check on her."
"Optimus here, I'll be there soon."
Optimus gathered up his work and filed it away on his data pad and headed toward the med bay. As he walked, he was joined by Lennox who chose not to comment on where they were headed, but chose instead to keep his thoughts to himself. In the years that he and his forces had combined to work together, Will had seen many disturbing events. The one constant event that had not changed since working with the Autobots was his respect and new found friendship that he developed with Optimus Prime. William Lennox felt very fortunate and honored to have made contact with the highly intelligent race, as well as be able to work with them on a day to day basis. Like Epps had said a few years ago, they had shed sweat, blood, and precious metal working together, and Lennox was humbles that his men so willingly went in to battle with the gentle giant warriors.
Optimus and Lennox walked in together to check on the current status of the patient. Ratchet sat at his monitor recorder data from his latest rounds and doing a final check on all of the monitors in the medical wing.
"Where did you place her, old friend?" Optimus asked.
"I placed her in the berth in the corner where no one would pay much attention. Bumblebee did come in and check on her earlier as well as Epps. Optimus, it is not going to be easy to keep this quiet." Ratchet replied while never looking away from his screen. "Already there have been several inquiries regarding this issue, and I hate having to lie." Ratchet turned as he said the last to Optimus. With that said Ratchet heaved a sigh through his air vents and waited a moment to let his words to sink in. "Optimus, there is something else you need to know, the patient is biological, but she is also robotic underneath." Ratchet said this looking directly at Optimus.
Both Lennox and Optimus Prime stood still as these words permeated through their systems, then finally Lennox broke the tension by asking, "What do you mean, Ratchet?"
"I mean that she is both robotic and biologic. She has human tissue on the outer parts of her system, but deep underneath she robotic. Prime, it is Cybertronian technology. Her robotic systems are the same as you and I." Ratchet fixed Optimus with a pointed fierce glare watching the Prime's reaction to his news. "I suggest that we keep this very quiet, Optimus. All we need is for the mechs on base to get word of this. We would never be able to keep them under control, not mention how it would be chaos trying to keep them from courting her." Ratchet said this very quietly before he added on his next profound statement. "Optimus, she has a lot of scarring which suggest that she has seen battle; and she has a remarkable immune system. It works very efficiently to repair her damaged systems, both the robotic and the biologic. It is as if she was made for war. If the Decepticons were to get ahold of the information, I would shudder what they would do to her."
"I understand, Ratchet. As I have already said, we need to keep this as quiet as possible. Is there any sign to when she will awake?" Optimus asked.
"All readings are normal. Her blood pressure is even and not elevated. Her breathing is regular, and all vital signs seem normal. On her robotic side, I have stabilized where she was leaking energon and I have both soldered the plating beneath the tissue as well as sewn up her outer tissue. The tear in her abdominal seems to be healing very quickly. All I can say is that all systems seem normal and regular. I just can't answer your question about when she will wake."
"May I see her?" Lennox was the one to ask.
"Like I said, she is in the corner. I have the curtain pulled to block out the curious." With that, Ratchet turned back to his monitor.
Lennox hesitantly walked toward the corner. The light had been dimmed due to the lateness of the evening. Optimus followed behind, his breath hitched in his vents, and his spark pounding in his chest. A femme, who would have thought! Never had Optimus imagined that this encounter would be with a femme, but as he walked closer he could not help but feel the excitement that coursed through his body, but even as he felt his body to respond to fervor received by Ratchet's news, Optimus understood the threat of having a femme on a base full of mechs. The femme having a human outer shell would be distraction enough for the human males; but with the Allspark destroyed, and the Matrix of Leadership still not fully understood, the femme would have to choose a protector or risk being at the mercy of the entire base.
"Will, do you understand what this could imply?" Optimus asked as he pulled the curtain back. Both Will and he looked upon the delicate features of the femme lying asleep in a comatose stage.
"I think I have an idea, but feel free to enlighten me so that we know we are sharing the same page," was Will's reply as he took in the dark red, auburn, long hair; the dark lashes that fanned across delicate white skin, and pale pink lips adorned an oval shaped face that had scattered bruising evidencing the harsh unseen horrors that might have befallen her. Will looked at Optimus, feeling curiously inquisitive, since Optimus facial plating usually would give an indication to what he was feeling. Will could not read the Prime's emotions and this concerned him. Was Optimus affected by the fact that this was a femme or was he holding his emotions in check should she might wake up.
"What is it, Optimus?" he asked.
"This could be a problem, Will. According to Ratchet's examination, she is cybertronium; but if that be the case, then she will be a prize for any mech on base. With the Allspark gone, she will be valued by any cybertronium mech, including the Autobots." Optimus quietly said to Will Lennox.
"You mean that she will be a target? How do we prevent this?" Will asked.
"She will need a protector, a guardian, one that she can trust and will be there for her." Optimus did not add on that usually the parental mech, and then later, when so few of the femmes were left, the leaders of the city or commanders chose to fill this role. Optimus did not want to go into the issue of how femmes were usually used to fill a leading mech's berth or sooth his ego in front of his men. Optimus even had fulfilled his role as a protector on Cybertron before the war had taken its toll, and how having a femme to share the work load dissipated the lonely feeling that came with leadership.
Will, let's not worry about the men until she wakes up. Until we know her background we should not come to any assumptions or premature conclusions."
"You're right Optimus. She is very beautiful. I wonder if she has green eyes to go with that red hair, or if she will have the blue like so many of your Autobot colleagues do." Optimus guessed that they would be blue, at least let them not be red or blazing like so many of the Decepticon's optics did.
"We will have to hope for the best. Will. I am more concerned with where she came from." Optimus thought for a moment after His admission. "Will, you said that the energy surge was similar to what satellites picked up when Sentinel Prime activated the space bridge, Could she have come through a bridge similar to what Sentinel created?"
"Where could she have come from?" Will asked. Optimus contemplated Will's question carefully. He also pondered Ratchet's words about her core being Cybertronian. Could it be possible that some robots while fleeing their home world achieved a higher state of transformation? It didn't seem possible, yet the evidence was lying on a berth in front of them. By Ratchet's standards Optimus could tell that the senior medic held admiration for their patient's physical abilities. Even Optimus was extremely curious yet cautious at the same time. Would she uphold the same standards that were dear to the Autobots? These were all questions that Optimus wanted to know about.
Lennox turned away to walk back to his office. Optimus lingered for a few more minutes. There was something else that bothered Optimus. He could not figure why, but there was a familiarity about the femme, and it tugged at his spark. Of course she was the first of her kind that the Autobots had ever seen, but as Optimus gazed upon the sleeping femme he could not shake the feelings that enveloped his being.
Optimus crouched down and placed his hand gently upon the femme's hair. It felt so soft and silky to the touch. He allowed it to slide through his fingers. He had felt human hair when he had held Mikaela Banes in his hand, but the femme's hair correlated more to his size where he could appreciate the texture and feel of it. It was a wonderful pleasant feeling. The ends were as soft as the base. Optimus could tell that the femme took good care of it. There were tangles, and he filed this away along with the idea of having someone make her a brush.
Optimus then went to touch the side of her face. He tentatively touched her cheek with the palm side of his hand, and as he did this he felt her shift closer.
"Ratchet, she has shifted." Optimus communicated to Ratchet for fear of disturbing the femme.
"She is moving?" Ratchet quietly asked.
"Yes, I can feel her responding to my touch. It is as if she is communicating to me, but I don't know how I am connected to her." Ratchet and Optimus watched as she slowly turned her head from side to side, grimacing from the pain of the bruising on her face. Optimus instinctively moved closer to cradle her in his arms as Ratchet just shook his head at the primitive display of protection that the Prime display. It seemed that no matter how things changed in their culture some things always seemed to remain the same. Pretty soon Optimus was sitting on the berth and had gently positioned her so that he could soothingly rub circles into the femme's backside.
"Hm…." Was all that was herd from the femme? It sent shudders through Optimus' systems and he could feel warmth permeating through his chest and lower regions. He glanced at Ratchet who was staring back warningly.
"Optimus, we do not know what culture this femme is from. You might scare her," was all he said. He loved his dear friend, but Ratchet was afraid that either bot could easily get hurt.
"She will need protection, and I am the lead Autobot. If she accepts my protection then I will do everything in my power to protect her." Optimus quietly said this, but one could hear the determination in his voice. Optimus watched her face carefully and listened to her even breathing. Her eyes slowly opened although she had trouble focusing. Her hand came up to cup Optimus' hand and she slowly traced the outline of his fingers. Optimus slowly leaned over her wondering what her lips would taste like should he tough them with his own, but as soon as this thought occurred than she started to struggle against him.
Optimus slowly released her and she crawled to the edge of the headboard.
"Easy, we are not here to hurt you. You are safe," Optimus quietly cooed this to her as she fell over the berth and scooted away from him. Optimus never had seen someone so ready to flee. Her breathing became labored, and
Ratchet came around to help her up from the floor. If she could teleport through the floor or the side of the wall then Optimus knew she would flee, but since she could go nowhere, she had no choice but to accept Ratchet assistance as he placed her back on the bed.
"Easy," Prime said again. She only looked at him with wide blue eyes. Optimus could see a glow to them and he wondered if this was from optics that was implanted within the biologic tissue of her eyes.
"Do you have a name?" It was as if she did not understand them, but Optimus never allowed that to detour his assertiveness toward the femme. She did not answer. She only stared at Optimus. Occasionally she would glance at Ratchet and then back Optimus as if trying to read his mind. She just stayed up against the birth as if she was permanent fixture.
"Easy now," Optimus kept saying over and over. "You're safe now."
