A new arrival

Chapter Four

Ghosts of the past


Guest writer for today's chapter is Michael-656. He wrote the introduction.

Starting from Bulkhead doing a slam dunk, the rest of the writing is mine.


Rivet sighed, and stretched his servos. It was just another quiet and peaceful day at the base.
"RIV! WATCH OUT!"
Four nanoclicks later he found his dental plates kissing a metal ball made of assorted pieces of scrap metal.
How his fellows talked him into playing a game of 'robo-ball' was beyond him.
Salvaging what little was left of his dignity he picked himself up. There were four players, so it would be a fair game. He and Arcee against Bulkhead and Bumblebee. So far Arcee's quickness was making sure they didn't lose. Rivet felt totally out of place.
"Guess that makes it our ball."
Bulk rumbled. The kids and even Ratchet and Optimus were standing by as crowd and fans for both. Special Agent Fowler claimed he was just waiting for a report, but he was easily rooting for Bulk's team. Rivet didn't hold it to him; they were all probably playing favorite. Some just more than others.
Arcee grudgingly handed it off to him. Rivet took it as his cue to guard the post. Bulkhead chatted a little with Bee, and then the game continued.
Bee faked a rush to the hoop, distracting Arcee. Bulkhead raced to Rivet, and suddenly he jumped up. Yelling as he dove.
"Time to wreck it!"

Suddenly Rivet found himself frozen to the spot. Bulkhead slammed the ball into the hoop, performing a perfect slam dunk.

Bulkhead's heavy chassis landed back on the floor with a heavy thud.

The jarring sound started Rivet, making him lurch and fall to the floor.

His head hit the floor hard. A few gasps were uttered and the players crowded around Rivet, to see if he was alright.

The three Autobots running around the court, the sound of their feet clanking against the floor and the constant change of direction the ball was taking was a sensory overload for Rivet.

It reminded him too well of his harrowing experience with the Decepticons.

Memories came back to Rivet, memories he wished he could bury away for ever;

The crew running around the ship trying to evade the Decepticons, the sounds of feet and bodies hitting the floor, the constant stream of fire from the weapons of both sides.

The memories soon stopped flashing.

Rivet's vision blurred, his optics only able to register grey and white static.

His audio receptors only able to hear muffled sounds.

"I can't see!" Rivet cried out in distress and rubbed his head with his servo.

"Alright everybody, timeout. Give him some room." Ratchet brought the game to a halt, making the players disperse.

Ratchet's head turned towards Arcee.

"Arcee, can you please help Rivet to his feet and guide him towards the medical bay?"

Arcee nodded and took Rivet's servo and lifted him up to his feet.

"Hang on to my servo OK?"

"OK." Rivet replied with a hint of uncertainty. Everything had happened so fast that he barely had time to register what was going on.

Arcee guided Rivet slowly towards the medical bay, as he took small, slow steps.

Arcee and Rivet soon arrived at the medical bay. Arcee then led Rivet to an observation table.

"Sit down here, Rivet" Arcee addressed Rivet.

Rivet then complied.

"Thank you Arcee." Ratchet thanked Arcee as he gently took hold of Rivet's shoulders legs and lay him down on the table.

Ratchet scanned Rivet's body with his medical scanner. The red beam analyzing Rivet's condition.

"Your sparkrate is unusually high but other than that, you seem to be functioning within normal parameters." Ratchet declared.

Rivet said nothing, Ratchet's words somewhat alleviating his anxiety and distracting his troubled thoughts.

"So you said you couldn't see anything?" Ratchet asked for confirmation.

"Kind of. I can see static, but no clear images." Rivet acknowledged.

"Did you hit your head during the game?" Ratchet asked as he examined Rivet's face.

"No I didn't! Look it doesn't matter, so don't make a big fuss about it. I probably should have rested a bit longer and recovered from the crash that's all." Rivet made an excuse, feeling frustrated.

He really didn't want to talk about it all, let alone now.

"Rivet, it's my job to 'make a big fuss about it' and I know you're hiding something and I'm going to find out what it is." Ratchet informed him.

"I'm not hiding anything, I've told you all that I know." Rivet lied.

"Very well, you've left me no choice. If you don't tell me what you're hiding, I will never declare you fit for duty." Ratchet gave his ultimatum.

"WHAT?! Oh... that is very well played Ratchet. Fine I'll tell you." Rivet sighed.

"When Bulkhead shot that goal it triggered memories of when I was aboard the energon ship the Decepticons attacked. It shocked me more than I realized.." Rivet admitted, his head dropping down.

Ratchet said nothing for a while. Despite years of experience, Ratchet was stumped.

He was always good at healing people with his actions, but not often with his words.

How was he meant to reassure a victim of something as traumatizing as war?

Ratchet placed his servo on Rivet's shoulder.

The touch brought a smile to Rivet's face.

"I know it's hard at first, but you've got us now and we'll do all that we can, to make sure nothing like that ever happens to you again."

Rivet's smile remained on his face.

"Thanks Ratchet." Rivet thanked the medic and closed his eyes and fell into recharge.


Hi guys, thank you very much for reading this chapter.