And now we hit the episode Human Factor.
Blurr walked into the living space to the sight of a meeting, though they were one head short. Wheeljack was gone, dealing with some other business, but promised to be back when he was needed. Bulkhead and Optimus were the only ones to acknowledge his presence as well as an unfamiliar human face. Optimus nudged his head, requesting that Blurr come closer, which he quietly followed.
This new human was older than the others Blurr met. He also seemed to be important given his stature and clothing. The human seemed curiously concerned about Blurr's appearance. It was like he wasn't expecting to see Blurr. It was like he didn't even knew that Blurr was even there to begin with. Which wouldn't be a surprise since Blurr hadn't even seen the man before.
"Who's this?" Fowler gruffly asked. "And why haven't I seen him until now?"
"This is Blurr." Optimus introduced, resting a servo on Blurr's shoulder strut. "He was a prisoner of the Decpticons up until about month ago. He doesn't get out much. Though that's mostly because we've been keeping his presence a low profile as we try to sort out his capture and if he's safe. If he's not on the track or with Wheeljack, he's usually in his room, which is where he's been when you were here last." Optimus briefly turned to Blurr so he could introduce Blurr. "This is Agent Fowler. He is our ally and the first human we partnered up with. He's here to help us."
"Nice to meet you." Blurr greeted, nodding his helm.
"Nice to meet you too, son." Fowler greeted. "I hope you can help us out and that you're enjoying the planet."
Fowler turned his attention back to Optimus. He relayed news about a Decepticon, Breakdown, supposedly working with a human named Silas, who was thought to be dead. He told a tale of how they were stealing tech from a military based that Silas had created. A satellite that could destroy everything if in the wrong hands. It had to be dealt with. Destroyed. Because if it fell in the Decepticons' servos, there was going to be a load of chaos just waiting for them.
Optimus, Arcee, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen were sent to take care of and distract the satellite. They were able to find the satellite's home base, but getting to the code was going to be an issue. The Decepticons were able to get access to the satellite and using it against them.
To help combat that, Fowler, Miko, and Jack went to get help from a currently grounded Raf. This left Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Blurr were the only ones at the base for monitoring, recovery, and concealment respectively.
Bulkhead started to get restless, pacing around the living area. He even started to beg Ratchet to let him go, much to the dismay of the medic. With Breakdown back, he wanted to get in on the action, and he didn't want to take no for an answer.
"I release you for duty." Ratchet finally agreed.
"Yeah." Bulkhead cheered.
"A duty of my own choosing." Ratchet turned to Bulkhead. "You will monitor Rafael's home so that nothing gets to him while he hacks the satellite."
Bulkhead groaned in annoyance. That wasn't exactly the mission he wanted. He wanted to fight. However, after taking a moment to think about it, he realized that the choice was probably for the best. If something went wrong and he got hurt, there was no stopping things from getting worse.
"Fine." Bulkhead agreed.
Ratchet opened a ground bridge leading to an area a few blocks from Raf's house. Bulkhead approached it as Blurr came to a conclusion. He enthusiastically approached Ratchet.
"Let me go with him." Blurr requested.
"Out if the question." Ratchet denied, aggressively turning to the speedster. "We still don't know if the Decepticons are monitoring for you."
"Please. Wheeljack said that I could go on the next mission."
Ratchet mentally scoffed at the declaration. It shouldn't have been a surprise that Wheeljack would promise something like that given Wheeljack's more relaxed approach. Though the context could have been different. In fact, it probably was.
"If he did, he probably meant with him." Ratchet stated.
"Probably, but I'm starting to feel a little stir crazy. Besides, it's curbside duty. I think I can handle it. Plus, if something happens, which I doubt, Bulkhead will have backup."
Ratchet really wasn't comfortable with Blurr's begging. And he wanted to be assertive about his decision. However, he wasn't Optimus or Ultra Magnus, so any semblance of a firm stance with Blurr wasn't going to happen.
"What do you think Bulkhead?" Ratchet asked, turning his attention towards the Wreaker.
"I mean I guess it's okay." Bulkhead shrugged. "It's not like it'll be an eventful evening and I could use the company."
Ratchet looked back at Blurr, stress lining his optics. He mentally bounced between the positives and negatives of letting Blurr go. It was true that it was unlikely that anything would happen, but he wasn't entirely comfortable with letting Blurr out. Nothing could happen, but if something did, Ratchet knew he would be to blame. But giving the added precaution to Bulkhead's observation, and that's what Ratchet decided to work with.
"You can go." Ratchet caved. "But if anything gets out of hand, I expect you to get out of sight."
"Deal." Blurr agreed.
The next chapter will get a little more action and revelation.