Mirage grumbled as he stepped into the Med-Bay, rubbing his helm. Ratchet glanced up as the red mech strode in, a scowl on his facial plates as he welded several plates back on Sideswipe's arm.
"What happened to you!?" Sideswipe stared, optics wide. Mirage growled. "You've got so many dents!"
"That slagging femme did this."
"Which one?" Sunstreaker smirked. "We've got a few now."
"Nightbeat. Ow! Ratchet, what was that for!?" Mirage rubbed the dent in his face.
"You shouldn't insult superiors around the medic. It means trouble." Ratchet growled.
"Wait? Nightbeat? The dark blue one?" Sideswipe looked confused. "She's Mirage's superior? I thought he was pretty high up on the food chain."
"You haven't checked the base's news today, have you?" Mirage slunk into a nearby chair. "It's all over."
"What is?"
Sunstreaker snorted, dimming his optics as he checked the news. The constant link was updated frequently by Prowl.
Found: Femme Nightbeat and Communications Officer Blaster.
Promotion: Special Operations Lieutenant Nightbeat; Special Operations Captain and First Lieutenant Nightbeat.
Other News: special night, Friday. Rec room.
"That femme is...the FIRST LIEUTENANT!" Sideswipe shrieked, earning a smack from Ratchet.
"Yes. She is...a lowly femme who does not deserve such a rank."
"You're just pissed because the position isn't yours." Sunstreaker snorted at Mirage, rising as Ratchet finished with his brother.
"I thought I'd find you here." Nightbeat glanced behind her, a smile lighting up her face as her underglow faded to magenta.
"Hey, Ironhide. I haven't seen you for a while." She chuckled, moving herself along the cliff faces so he could seat himself beside her.
"I could say the same about you. You're all grown up now." He grinned, nudging her with his elbow as he sat beside her.
"You're just saying that 'cause you're old."
"Hey, you're nearly as old as me, femme!"
The two laughed, watching as the waves below them crashed against the rocks. Nightbeat was silent.
"Did Jazz...ever mention me?" She asked, drawing her knees to her chassis. Ironhide slung his arm around the femme's shoulder.
"He did. Jazz kept saying how boring we all were, and how you should have been there. He also said you'd like Earth music and how you'd put on a show. He kept bragging about how the humans named a type of music after him."
"He would, wouldn't he?" Nightbeat sighed, dropping her head onto Ironhide's shoulder. "I don't know what to do, Hide. I don't know many bots here, I've just gotten a promotion that puts me above everybot else, except Optimus, Elita, Prowl, and Chromia. I'm not going to be able to hang out with anyone...and now I sound like a whining youngling."
"You're a beautiful femme, Nightbeat. Both inside and out. Jazz was the most friendly of all the officers; a lot of bots were friends with him. You have a similar attitude, so you'll be just fine. And if anybot starts harassing you, come to me. I need a few more targets anyway."
"You're hilarious, Hide. But I don't think most mechs need an angry overprotective brotherly Ironhide coming after them. Besides, I'm a big femme. I can handle myself now."
"I mean it, Night." Ironhide prodded her shoulder, making the femme laugh. "And you're singing on Friday, by the way. That's kind of why I came out here."
"Well, Elita certainly moves fast." Nightbeat snorted, uncurling her legs.
"I know a certain little mech-bot that wants to see you again. He's coming Thursday."
"Bumblebee!? I haven't seen that little sweetspark for ages!" Nightbeat's underglow changed to orange and a smile split across her facial plates. Ironhide laughed, optics dimming.
"I've gotta go. Will wants me to do a cannon demonstration for the new recruits." The big black mech stood. Nightbeat leapt to her feet.
"Well, let's give 'em a real show then. I'm coming too."
"All right, rookies!" The human on the floor tucked his arms behind his back and scowled at the shifting new recruits. "Listen up! This here is Ironhide, the Autobot weapons specialist and Nightbeat, Optimus Prime's First Lieutenant. They're gonna give a demonstrations for us."
"That's a female robot?" One of the men in the line, eyes wide behind his wide-rimmed glasses. "Dude! Female robots are hot!"
Nightbeat lifted an optic ridge, and Ironhide scowled.
"The hot female robot," She shook her head as her underglow flashed several different colours. "Also as an overprotective brother standing beside her."
Ironhide growled, cannons charging up.
"She's your sister, Hide?" Major Lennox blinked. "I thought you didn't have any family?"
"We grew up together." Hide shrugged.
"We're here to give a demonstrations, right? Let's demonstrate." Nightbeat shook her head, winking down at the glasses-wearing human.
"Right. Ironhide and Nightbeat are going to show off their cannons, and if we've got time, maybe they'll spar a bit." The Major herded the rookies off to the side and lifted a remote from his pocket, clicking one of the buttons while pointing it over his shoulder.
Several moving targets sprang up on the far side of the room.
Ironhide and Nightbeat shared a grin, both subspacing large cannons. Nightbeat only had one, but both of Ironhide's arms turned to the large deadly guns. Nightbeat's took both her arms and hands to control, as it was rather large.
"I thought you were the Special Ops Captain?" Ironhide teased, as he fired several shots to the targets. Only one missed. "Isn't that a bit flashy?"
"Just like my underglow?" Nightbeat grinned, and all the colour shining from her armour and wheel wells vanished. She took aim and fired; the cannon surprisingly quiet. The plasma blast that came from it spilt into several smaller balls, and all of them crashed into their respective targets, completely obliterating them.
"If you leave your mouth open, you'll catch Cyberflies." Nightbeat subspaced her cannons with a grin, underglow appearing again.
The rookies clapped.
"Show off." Ironhide snarled, whirling on the targets again. Nightbeat watched as he shot them all down, and then subspaced the two blasters she had.
She also hit all the targets once they'd been set up again, and she struck a pose; hip jutting out, guns lifted as she blew the small amount of smoke from the top.
"Again. Female robot is hooooot~!"
"They're called femmes." Lennox glanced back. "And the guy robots are called mechs."
Ironhide glanced down at him, and then subspaced his cannons away.
"A sparring demonstration then?"
"You're one, old mech!"
::Arcee to Chromia and Elita:: -Arcee
::What's wrong, Arcee?:: -Chromia
Elita-One is listening in
::You've gotta see this! Come to the training room!:: -Arcee
Chromia stood, bringing the cube of high-grade in her hand with her as she skated down the hall on her single wheel. Elita met her at the corner and they ducked through the crowded entrance of the training room. Elita turned to where Optimus was standing near the wall, and he nodded to the two Autobots that were currently sparring.
Elita lifted an optic ridge, observing the two.
Nightbeat smirked, spinning around Ironhide's upper cut and returning it with a punch of her own. The large black mech caught her fist, which was careening for his face, and he swung her up and over his head in an attempt to throw her.
Nightbeat caught his shoulder with her pede, and using his back, threw the larger Autobot to the ground, before subspacing her Cybertanium blades. They slid easily into her hands, one held backwards and the other forwards. She had another blade hidden on the side of her arm, and one hidden in her right wrist, but the femme wouldn't reveal those yet.
She lowered the backwards blade in her left hand to Ironhide's throat, only for him to throw her across the room in a simple movement. Her right wheel caught on the lighting panel, and the impact plunged the room into blackness.
Nightbeat scowled, shutting off her underglow and sliding down the visor all Special Ops bots were given, hiding all glows that she had, before assessing the situation.
Ironhide was big, not very quiet, but he was black and so was the training room, which also echoed horribly.
However, she had the advantage here. She was the Captain of the Special Operations Corporation, used to working in the dark, and she knew how to absolutely silent. She also had a neat trick up her sleeve.
Ironhide grunted, optics searching the dark. A sudden flare of amber caught his optic, and he grinned, pouncing on the femme in her momentary lapse of concentration. His helm hit the wall and the lights flared back on.
Nightbeat had vanished. He growled, helm turning this way and that as he searched desperately. He vaguely noticed Mirage, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker appear in the doorway before a weight dropped onto his shoulders and he was on the ground.
He felt more than saw the blades that pressed against two sides of his throat, and Ironhide fell still, helm turned slightly to gaze at the smirking femme seated on his shoulders and back.
"Well?" She asked, amusement in her tone.
"You win." Nightbeat grinned, subspacing the blades and sliding her visor back into her helm. Her underglow lit up again, and she extended a hand to Ironhide as she stood.
"Well done, Nightbeat." Optimus smiled, stepping forward. "I was right in my decision to promote you."
"Sure thing, boss bot." She grinned, giving a lazy salute. "But I think Ironhide's getting soft in his old age."
"Hey!"
"I told you not to strain your leg." Ratchet growled, stomping forward to scan the wound.
"Ah, Ratch. It doesn't hurt." He gave her a Look and smacked the wound sharply. Nightbeat flinched and then gave a sheepish smile. "Much."
"Stupid femme." He cuffed her over the head, and chucked a wrench over his shoulder at a whispering Arcee and Flare-up. It ricocheted off Arcee's helm and hit Flare-up's.
"I may be old, but I'm not soft and I can hear you!"
"Sorry, Hatchet!"
Two more wrenches smacked them and the femme-bots whimpered.
