Author's Note: A little behind on the update, but I finished a later chapter before this one so that'll make up for it :)
Thanks to Ryle Culler for the awesome reviews! And yes, that would have been bad! Actually, that would make a pretty good challenge fic for any of you readers who enjoy such things:
Challenge- What if Bluestreak had gone with another human custom of burning the dead rather than burying them? If anyone is interested write up a one-shot and send it to me and I'll add the best one/s as a bonus chapter under your name.
Disclaimer: I don't own transformers
I will apologize in advance for any grumpiness or abruptness displayed during this time. I do have an excuse of course. You see, once all the hysteria over Bee and Blue burying me while I was asleep had calmed down, the whole situation was found to be rather humorous. By everyone except the three of us involved. I myself couldn't stay mad at the two mechs, they hadn't been on earth long and it had been an innocent blunder after all; besides, no one could stay long at them for an extended period of time, well maybe Bluestreak, but not Bumblebee. Ratchet had immediately given the two of them a long lecture on human physiology, particularly emphasizing the location of the heart and listening for breathing. I, on the other hand, was being punished in an entirely different way, and it wasn't even my fault. Every time I was able to drift off into a nice sleep someone would either honk a horn, the autobots, or blast an airhorn in my ear, the soldiers, Will, Rob and Andy to be specific. Then the culprit would make sure I was awake, laugh and make some comment about not wanting me to be buried on accident and run off. I had long since given up on chasing them, and getting a good rest. Consquently I was more or less getting a very bad attitude from my lack of sleep and had started snapping at everyone, including Optimus Prime, who at least had the tact to ignore the snippiness of my voice and let me rest in peace, occasionally even going so far as to allow me to nap for a short time in his office. Of course, the times were very brief as one of my tormentors always seemed to know when I was there and was waiting to drag me out as soon as I fell asleep. I think Prowl was in on it, probably getting revenge for me mentioning he might start collecting dust if he stayed at the monitors for much longer, either that or the others were starting to get unbelievably good at knowing where I was at any given time.
On another note, the Witwickys and Mikaela would be staying with us until we moved out to the main base, and a few days after that they and Bee would be heading to their homes. Sam and Mikaela were pretty neat, though Sam was on my black list for siding with Will and Rob on the sleeping fiasco. Mikaela at least was one my side. At first I wasn't sure I was going to like her, she had that jock whore look going for her, though in truth she was just blessed with amazing genes from her dead mother and was in actuality a pretty down to earth chick with a wicked knack for mechanics. How a dork like Sam ended up with her I will never know; it must have had something to do with Bee.
We would be leaving for the base within the day or so, and meeting more Autobots while we were at it. So far I had met quite a few.
There was of course, Optimus Prime, the leader, whose alt form was a custom Peterbilt semi. He was noble, and kind, and patient, and everything a respected leader is supposed to be. It's actually a bit difficult to describe the mech. He's one of those guys you just have to meet in person.
Ratchet is the chief medic, his vehicle was the yellow hummer ambulance I had seen at camp, and he had several apprentices, one of which, Jolt, a blue Chevrolet Volt. While Ratchet, or Hatchet as Sides so loving called him, is no doubt a suberb medic, he has the worst bedside manner a doctor could ask for. If you weren't seriously injured and were bothering him in some fashion he saw it perfectly acceptable to lob an item at your head, preferably a wrench, of course humans were subject to oversized rolls of bandages that could easily knock you over or knock you out completely, which would only add to his grumpiness. Jolt, on the other hand is far more laid back and highly unpredictable, just as likely to play a prank or head recklessly into a fight as he was to calmly set injuries or save a life. There is another apprentice medic named First Aid, but he stayed back at the main base so I hadn't met him yet.
Prowl is the chief tactician, and second in command to Optimus. He changes into a Police car, and is a strict enforcer of the rules. He is also brilliant in strategy and has more patience than any mech or human I had encountered so far, except maybe Optimus. He isn't entirely fond of the twins, or the younger bots, nor are they of him, but he has a lighter side that he doesn't show often; I did mention his suspected involvement in certain evil-doers harassing me didn't I?
Next I suppose, should be the Lambo twins. Sideswipe is obviously my favorite. He always has a few plans hidden up his servos and is willing to implement one whenever he finds a partner, of course, he has been getting on my nerves lately with his partaking in keeping me awake, but I suppose I'll forgive him as soon as he lets me in on one of his schemes, preferably against one of the other culprits. The golden twin of the duo I haven't gotten to know very well, primarily because I am still avoiding him for fear that he would squish me 'on accident'. Ratchet had already explained that the busted optic was a simple repair and only took a few nano kliks to finish, but Sunstreaker's narcissistic personality makes me plenty frightened of going near him. I swear, every time I see him the stuck up mech is polishing his armor or talking about how superior he is. Even if I wasn't scared to death of him I wouldn't want to be around him listening to him talk about himself anyway.
If ever there was a mech to rival Sunstreaker's ego it would be Tracks. The blue stingray is every bit as full of him self and aware of his 'perfection' as the gold lambo. He does however, have a rather impressive payload, and he can fly, which gives him a tiny bit of a bump up in my book. Of course, that may just be because he doesn't have a grudge against me.
Bluestreak, of course, I have spent a lot of time with. His alt mode is a Datsun, and aside from his shoulder cannons and coloring he looked a lot like Prowl, though I was assured they weren't related by both mechs. As I'm sure I've mentioned he talks, a lot. In fact, it's very rare that you can get him to shut up. He also doesn't take offense when someone get snippy with him and yells; he just keeps on jabbering. Bumblebee, on the other hand, rarely talks, and when he does it's thru the radio, which is a nice relief from Blue.
Ironhide is the weapons specialist and is always more than willing to bring out his large cannons to show off. Sideswipe likes to make comments about him compensating for something since they were so large, often starting a tussle between the two, which is more often than not settled by Chromia. Even for a femme her size she could keep up with her mate's temper and explosives. That's what they were called. Bondmates or sparkmates are the equivalent of husband and wife, though the connection was even stronger. Apparently they were somewhat in each other's minds, could hear their thoughts and feel their emotions. It seemed like an interesting idea, though a bit of an invasion of privacy.
Hound is probably one of my favorites. He's a scout who transforms into a jeep, and will drive thru absolutely anything. He can also make these really life-like holograms into anything; it's the same technology their holoforms are based on, just not as advanced or real. Hound likes to talk to the humans, and he's probably the most at home with us. He sometimes let me go out on short drives with him, giving me the opportunity to sleep a bit before one of the others finds out where I've gone and wakes me up.
And then there's Mirage. His alt mode is a blue and white Ford GT. According to Sides he had grown up in a place called the Towers, sort of the elite cybertronian aristocracy. He had been wealthy and spent his life in leisure before the war began, and though he had sided with the Autobots there were several who didn't trust him for various reasons, one of which being that he didn't appear to care too much about the war and was more concerned with returning to his former lifestyle. He does, however, have a unique gift that made him invaluable to the Autobots and perfect for the position of spy. He can turn invisible. It's actually really neat and handy, not that I'd admit that to his face. I tried convincing him to let me sleep inside him for a bit while he was invisible; he refused and left me to the mercy of Will and Rob. We've been rubbing each other the wrong way since we met, and I see no reason for that to change. He ignores my existence, and I ignore his, which was easy to do since half the time I couldn't see him whether he was there or not.
Jessie yawned as she made her way down the long hallway. They would be leaving soon for the main base, their ride, an enormous Autobot named Skyfire, had arrived earlier that morning and everyone else was busy packing their things and some equipment. Of course they had still found the time to prevent her from getting more than a few hours sleep.
She and Andy hadn't been given anything to do, seeing as they had few items of their own until they reached the base, and they were exempt from duty for a couple of days.
"-ess! Jessie! Jessica!"
She looked up at hearing her name being shouted. A rather exasperated looking major was standing in front of her; it appeared as though he had been hollering at her for some time.
Major Lennox took note of her slow reaction and the way she swayed on her feet, feeling a twinge of guilt for keeping her from sleeping. It had been a tad immature, though Epps had started it. Besides, it would give her some experience.
When she continued to stare at him owlishly he decided to take matters into his own hands, bending over and catching her around the waist to throw her over his shoulder.
"Will!" She exclaimed, struggling weakly to release herself from his strong grip as he marched down the hallway, his shoulder digging into her stomach.
Will carried her all the way into Skyfire's belly, plopping her down on a tarp-covered crate of equipment.
"We leave in a bit, you might as well get some rest, you look as though you could drop dead on your feet." He told her, grinning when she swatted at him half-heartedly.
Jessie snuggled into the not to comfortable tarp, dozing off as his clanging footsteps faded away.
I missed the entire ride to the main base, and somehow ended up sleeping inside Optimus' alt mode mid trip, therefore I was slightly disoriented, though very rested, when I woke up.
I returned to the waking world as we drove up to the base. Boy, I'll tell you, I had thought the base at Diego Garcia was huge. This place was enormous! There were several large hanger-type buildings, and even a runway for Skyfire, though apparently he tended to land out in the desert. Optimus informed me that the base extended further underground, the hallways and rooms, aside from in the human barracks, were tall and wide enough for even the giant leader to walk around. Poor Skyfire could only walk around in his hanger, since his size was so massive, but according to the others he preferred to be left on his own, unless he was collaborating with Wheeljack on something.
The metal gates swung open as the convoy approached, a red and white mech who I was informed was named Red Alert, was standing behind them watching us. We stopped just inside the gates, most of the soldiers jumping out of the humvees and Autobots and heading off to their quarters. Optimus stopped Andy and I to introduce us to the security director. Red Alert was a bit, paranoid. His optics were narrowed as he scanned the both of us, finally greeting us with a stiff hello before turning to inspect some of the cargo that Skyfire was carrying in.
"Don't mind him." Sides said, coming up behind us. "Red's always like that, his CPU's a bit screwy, thinks everything's going to attack him."
"I heard that, Sideswipe." Red Alert called as the red lambo led us towards the buildings.
"Sideswipe, you're on patrol duty, I'll show Ms. Lindon and Mr. Bates around the facilities." Prowl cut in just as we reached the nearest entrance. Sides shrugged and transformed into his alt mode before roaring off in a cloud of dust.
"Now, if you will follow me." The tactician ordered, entering the building.
Prowl showed us a lot of the buildings, both human and Autobot. There was a gigantic rec room with the biggest tv set I have ever seen along the far wall. It was used by both humans and mechs, counters and chairs available for both sizes, an energon dispenser for them and a small kitchen area with snack food and sodas set in one of the corners for us. There were beanbag chairs, game systems and games, loud speakers, and a huge collection of cds. It certainly looked like fun.
The med-lab was also for Autobots and humans, Ratchet, Jolt, and the other apprentice named First Aid, another red and white mech who was soft spoken and completely devoted to being a medic. There were human and Autobot sized examination tables, and medical tools for each. Ratchet and his helpers were equally skilled, thanks to the internet.
Each of the mechs and femmes, excluding bonded pairs, of which there was only one currently, had their own room with a berth and whatever tools, weapons, decorations, or items the bot decided to have in it. The human men, excluding the highest ranked officers, were thrown together in a few large barrack-style rooms with the traditional bunks and chests for belongings. Will had a room with a large bed and a crib for when his family came to stay, and Rob had his own room as well. As a female, I was bit better off. Since there was a small number of full time female staff, there hadn't been need to construct a barracks for them. Each woman had her own room, they were more like large storage closets, but at least there was some semblance of privacy. As far as bathrooms went, there was one large shower room for every resident. The bots had several showerheads with cleansing solution inside; they didn't care much about privacy since they kept their armor on at all times, but for us it was a little different. The men and women rotated schedules for the showers, and it was always a good idea to shout into the room just in case so that you didn't get an unpleasant surprise upon walking in.
There was a larger, separate kitchen for the humans, the fridge, freezer, and pantry partially stocked with breakfast, lunch, dinner and other foods. The security and surveillance rooms were in the lower levels, full of high tech earth and cybertronian equipment. There were also offices and meeting room and a gym, once again for both species, though the cybertronian part was surrounded by reinforced metal and training drones while we had regular gym equipment. There was even a lap pool under the gym, it had a reinforced glass roof, which was a little weird, but the fact that it was there was amazing. Turns out having Autobots as allies really helped with the money, plus they were more than willing to help with the construction.
Last we were shown the labs, merely so that we wouldn't get curious and end up there on accident. The science labs were Wheeljack's domain; he's an awkwardly adorable white and grey mech with fins on either side of his helm that lit up when he talked and turned colors depending on his mood. Prowl warned us several times to never go near the labs; apparently Wheeljack's creations had a penchant for blowing up, the scientist fins flashing pink in embarrassment at his words.
Our brief tour ended at Optimus' office; it was time to receive our assignments. I waited out in the hall as Prowl showed Andy inside. The discussion took a long time and I was reduced to counting floor tiles as the minutes dragged on. Finally the door slid open and Andy walked out, a fairly pleased look on his face when he passed me. He gave a thumbs up and nodded towards the door before heading off down the hallway towards the barracks. I breathed in deeply and collected myself before walking into the large room.
"You're joking." Was all Jessie could say to the mechs in front of her.
Optimus Prime, Prowl, and Ratchet were all staring at her with surprised looks in their optics.
"Ms. Lindon, we are not prone to 'joking' about important matters such as this." Prowl stated formally.
"But, me and Mirage?" She asked, still hoping that they were going to start laughing and say, "Surprise!".
"I don't see a problem with the assignment. You've shown skill in intelligence gathering and spying, and your small stature will be helpful in sneaking around, making you a far more likely candidate than the men around the base."
"So, you're sticking me with him because I've come up with a few good ideas for evasive actions and because I'm short?" She asked, sounding unimpressed.
"Ms. Lindon." Optimus began.
"Jessie." She interrupted him with a glare.
The Autobot commander sighed. "Jessie, while Mirage's capabilities make him an excellent spy there are some occasions when he could not use his ability, and his form is far too recognizable to the Decepticons. On the other hand, having a human partner, particularly a female as we do not have many femmes of your species amongst our ranks, would throw off suspicion. Espially since the Decepticons know of Mriage's aversion to allowing humans to ride-"
"Which is exactly why I want to know why I have to partner up with him! He doesn't even like me!" She exclaimed.
"Ms. Lindon." Prowl said, ignoring her glare. "We feel that this is the best course of action and will benefit us the most. Could you at least try to work with Mirage?"
Jessie really didn't want to, she wanted so badly to say no and demand another position. But wanting to say no to Optimus Prime and saying no to him are two different things entirely.
"Fine." She said, exhaling sharply in annoyance. "I'll try to work with him, but if squishes me or something for having to ride in him don't say I didn't warn you."
She turned around with a huff and headed back to her small room, quite content to sleep the rest of the day and perhaps the next and avoid coming anywhere near her new 'partner'.
It just had to be Mirage.
