Chapter One

'I'm not entirely sure I should be doing this. I mean, I'm very grateful for your intervention, but I don't know you, and now your truck is seemingly driving on its own.' I failed to add that I was also a lot calmer than I felt I should be, considering what had just happened.

'Rest assured young one, I am driving and am in perfect control.' I heard a smile in his voice. I did not answer, but retreated further within myself. We journey in silence for half an hour, the soothing rumble of the engine making me feel perfectly safe. We pulled over to the edge of a vast cliff, and my door clicked open, so I took this as my cue to get out. I jumped out lightly, the gravel crunching beneath my feet as I landed. The door shut behind me and I turned around to face the truck and was shocked to see its grill split in two, and then I watched the whole thing shift and rise up and up. Gears and metal clanged and scraped together, groaning with the effort. The end result was a strikingly humanoid shape, silhouetted against the glow of the moon. It was so huge that I had trouble comprehending it. The great head turned down to look at me, and it bore no inclination that it was about to attack. I took a step forward, and at the same time the giant knelt down.

'You are the truck...the man?' A single nod answered my question.

'The man you saw was merely an illusion, a holographic image. I must ask, are you alright? I am worried for you after your encounter with those men tonight.' At this, he shifted forward, his enormous hand coming toward me. His massive index finger moved to my chin, and he gently tilted my face up so that I was looking him directly in the eye. His eyes were great Cerulean blue orbs, and I felt that they looked directly into my soul. I shifted back instinctively, slightly uneasy as several tonnes of metal hovered just a few feet above my head. He seemed to notice this, and shifted so that he was kneeling, and then very slowly lowered himself onto his front, so he ended up lying on his stomach (can robots have stomachs?) with his chin resting on his hands. I lowered myself so that I was sitting cross legged on the floor in front of him. Though he lowered himself slowly and gently onto the ground, it still rumbled faintly under his weight. There was an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds before I got the guts to speak up.

'I want to say thank you, for what you did tonight, I really appreciate it.' The great robot responded by smiling at me gently.

'I suppose you must be feeling very confused at the moment. I'll try to make it quick for you. My name is Optimus Prime, and I am the leader of a sentient group of robotic organisms known as the Autobots. We are from a planet far from Earth that is called Cybertron. We are here to protect your planet from the Decepticons.' He stopped here, waiting for me to respond. I took it all in. Extra-terrestrial robots? Deceptiwhats? I was distracted by a movement on the floor, and looked down to see his hand move toward me, palm up. I looked up at him in alarm. 'It's okay, I won't hurt you. You are quite safe with me; one of the most fundamental rules of the Autobots is to safeguard other sentient life forms.' I swallowed loudly, trying to get past the big lump that had suddenly formed in my throat.

'Have you ever held a person before? It's just...I don't want to be dropped.' Optimus chuckled gently and smiled at me again.

'I have, but I promise that I won't drop you.'

'Okay..' I said non-convincingly whilst stepping on to his palm. He waited until I was fully on before he lifted his hand. Automatically I grabbed onto his thumb for support, then let go just as quickly, not knowing how he would feel about me holding onto it. His hand was made of metal, but it looked different to the rest of the metal that covered his body. He raised the hand that I was on to his face and I was able to look him properly in the eye.

'What's your name?'

'Sky. My name's Sky.' I knelt down on his palm and steadied myself with both hands. Optimus nodded and smiled once more.

'That's a nice name. It suits you.' I looked down, embarrassed by the praise. 'Forgive me for saying this, but you are so tiny! I know another human being, and he is nowhere near as small as you.' I couldn't help but laugh.

'Well you're not exactly tiny yourself,' I said with a smile on my face.

'I know, but I didn't appreciate how small you are compared to Agent Fowler.'

'Who's Agent Fowler? And I'm only 5'0" anyway.'

'Agent Fowler is our designated liaison to the outside world.'

'Our? We? Is there more of you?'

'Yes there are more of us. Currently there are five Autobots on Earth, including myself.' I nodded at this new piece of information, looking around. 'Forgive me Sky, but by remaining here I am putting us both at risk from being spotted by both Decepticons and other humans. With your permission, I will take you back to my base and have my medic check you over, for I fear that this evening's events with those men and meeting myself may have put you in shock.' He didn't give me the chance to reply but picked me up in his other hand. He smiled wryly at my startled expression. I held onto his index finger as he wrapped his fingers gently around my body. I thought he would put me back down on the ground, but he started to get to his feet, rising higher and higher.

'Whoa!' I exclaimed, my grip tightening on his finger. He chuckled softly.

'Easy Sky. I'm not going to drop you.' When Optimus was on his feet, he gently lowered me back toward the ground. 'I'm going to transform back to my vehicular mode now.' I nodded and stepped back, not knowing if he needed a lot of space. His body began to fold in on itself, and the sound of metal scraping against metal rang in my ears once more. A perfectly ordinary looking big rig truck stood before me again, looking as if it had just rolled fresh off of the assembly line. The passenger door swung open and I climbed in. Optimus started the engine and rolled onto the smooth tarmac, heading westward. I watched the mountains roll quietly by bathed in the silver light of the moon. I wondered idly what Optimus's medic would be like. Would he be a robot like Optimus? Optimus had said that there were currently five Autobots on Earth including himself. Would his medic be male or female? I racked my brain trying to think back to my childhood, thinking of the cartoons I had watched as a child. None that I could remember had ever been of the sci-fi genre. I decided to ask Optimus.

'Optimus?'

'Yes Sky?'

'What's your medic like?'

'Ratchet? He's..' Optimus paused for a moment, seemingly struggling to find the right word. 'Ratchet is unique.' I smiled at his diplomatic response to my question. I responded with another.

'In what way?' Optimus gained speed as we pulled onto the freeway.

'What you have to understand about Ratchet is that he's seen a lot of war. With war comes death and devastation. You have to keep in mind that he wasn't able to save every one of our number that was wounded. Ratchet comes across as stern and cynical, and to a certain extent he is – as we all are. But he is also a most trusted friend. His Spark has always been in the right place.' It was clear from Optimus's voice that he greatly respected his medic, and I decided that I would do the same. After a brief silence, Optimus spoke up again. 'I suppose I had better tell you about the rest of my team so it won't be..so overwhelming when you meet them. You know about Ratchet, the medic. Next there is Bulkhead. He is a fearless warrior and will always fight for those who need it or request it. He is not always the most thoughtful of individuals, but he always does the right thing in the end. Then there is Bumblebee. He is my scout and a highly capable one indeed. He is stealthy and agile, with one of the purest Sparks it has been my pleasure to know. His voice box was permanently damaged during battle, so he is unable to speak. Lastly there is Arcee. She is the smallest out of all of us, and also the fastest. She is lethal in combat and is fiercely protective of anybody that she works with. She is also my Second in Command. I think you'll like her.' There was a smile in his voice, and I smiled in turn.

'Are we nearly there?' I asked hesitantly, not wanting to sound like a whiny child.

'Not far now. I'll come off at the next exit and then it is 3.6 miles from there.' Don't worry Sky; you'll be quite safe with me I can assure you. Though it will probably be best if I carry you at the base so you don't accidentally get underfoot...' His voice trailed off uncomfortably and I was sure we both had the same mental image in our heads at that moment. I swallowed loudly.

'Are the others as big as you?' I practically whispered the question, not wanting to offend him. Optimus surprised me by responding with a light chuckle.

'No, I am the biggest, tallest – however you want to put it. Though I might add that you are exceptionally small for a human.' I had to smile at that. Charlie was always teasing me about my height, or lack of it and Dad liked the fact that I was small because...

I stopped myself there, taking in a sharp breath. Optimus noticed and decelerated slightly. 'Sky? Are you alright?'

'I'm fine Optimus' I replied, though my voice was wobbly. I had been so wrapped up in my thoughts I hadn't noticed that we had left the freeway. It was dark outside, but I was able to see from Optimus's headlights that we were on a dirt road. Looming in front of us was a huge tower of rock, and I thought childishly if I stood at the top then I could touch the moon. I was about to say something as Optimus drove past a stop sign without slowing when I realised he was headed straight for the huge rock in front of us. Instinctively I reached over and grabbed the wheel but it didn't budge.

'Don't worry Sky' Optimus said as the cliff wall in front of us came down to reveal a tunnel going into the rock itself. I couldn't help but gasp. Taking a deep breath, I readied myself to meet the other Autobots.