Mikaela had been upset with her over her attitude towards her chance of imminent demise. Very few people understood those who had the burden she did. If they did it was because they were close to another fate child or were one themselves. She had excused herself after making her apologies to Wheelie and to the young woman in question. It was best to let people be upset until they got over it and not interfere unless you had to. Her mother had taught her that and Kalomel was in perfect agreement with the idea at the moment.

"You caused my apprentice some distress. I do not appreciate that."

"Chief Medical Officer Ratchet. I don't appreciate her calling my Trine Boys 'Monsters' either but while I did call her on it I did not do so rudely. If she is off color about the fact that I have accepted my eventual death then that has nothing to do with me either. I suspect they will not ask her to interact with me again. Fortunately Razors last me about three weeks before they need to be replaced, and the other items and formulations will keep me well for a bit longer then that."

"You do not feel bad that you hurt her feelings?"

"Sorry it happened. Worse things then that happen now and again so as for feeling bad over all… no I'm not."

"You have lived a harsh life to be like this."

"Understatement, that one."

"I'll teach this human 'Con' to behave better then that Ratchet don't you worry about it!"

"Ironhide behave yourself! The Conventions dictate that she shall not receive harsh treatment unless warranted! Optimus has ordered that…"

"I don't care Ratchet! The little slagging, Seeker facing, squishy, whore crashed into me with a fragged to the pits tow truck!"

"Whenever you are ready to attack an unarmed opponent barn burner, then I am ready for you. Come get me whenever."

The mech looked down at her with fury in his face. It cleared a little when he realized that she was unarmed, and waiting, the look on her features clearly displayed her feelings to the gunner. She was expecting him to kill her on the spot.

~*~

Ratchet had managed to calm Ironhide. He knew his old friend was shocked out if it more by the Junior Medic's acceptance of certain death coming at his hands, then anything Ratchet had done though.

"Slagging aft head. I would never lay a hand on a human with intent to hurt or kill unless attacked first. Angry or not. I'm not a 'Con' after all."

"Then how did you intend to get me to behave in some way that you see as more desirable then the way that has until now worked best for me?"

"I've been around Optimus long enough to give a pretty mean dress down without one cruel thing being said. Sorry though about the whole 'Seeker facing whore' thing."

"I am very disappointed in you two, but at least you are talking and trying to work out your differences now. Can you continue to supervise Ratchet or do you need to be elsewhere?"

"Prime. I am finishing some tests that I need to be supervising instead. Have you got this?"

"I can take over Ratchet. Proceed."

Kalomel was quivering. Ironhide had not even tripped one tenth the alarms that were now telling her to run the hell away as fast as her feet could carry her.

"It's command presence Junior Medic. All the Primes I ever met make you wanna shake out your bolts. Thing is they are also the gentlest and kindest of beings in the whole of the universe unless provoked way beyond anything else anyone else would tolerate."

"Thank you Ironhide…I think."

Kalomel could not help it. The look of consternation on her chief captors face was worth a giggle or two, so she laughed. The sound startled the two mechs who had been coming back and forth over her head from what she could tell of their behavior.

"Somehow I doubt that that sound has been heard very often."

"I think you are right Optimus. I for one feel kinda privileged."

~*~

Starscream was anxious over how long it was taking to negotiate with the Autobots for Kalomel's return. The Junior Medic had a presence he found soothing. That and he was also worried that she might not receive adequate medical attention at a base meant for Autobots. Laser Beak was orbiting slowly, much like the animal he resembled, over the Autobot base. He commed the smaller mech and received a reply before he had even phrased a question.

":The Junior Medic is almost completely recovered from what I can determine with my scanners.:"

"The Hatchet would not let her suffer even if he acknowledged her full Decepticon status. He is not one to let anyone enemy, friend, or neutral party suffer when it is a hurt he can mend."

":I have also detected a Seeker signature frequency within the Autobot base but I have detection only no optical confirmation.:"

":What frequency?:"

":Frequency of signature is at 0074679 Confirm Identity?.:"

":Identity confirmed as Decepticon Bright Edge.:"

"What the hell is Bright Edge doing in an autobot base? Wasn't he supposed to arrive a week ago?"

"He must have arrived and somehow injured himself in order to still be there. Inform Lord Megatron that as soon as we have the Junior Medic it might be advisable for him to contact Prime for Prisoner exchange. The Yellow Scout has not been missed yet but soon will be."

"They do not know we have a prisoner to exchange yet and will believe they have an advantage that we have already taken back from them and made our own."
"Fifty barrels says the little scout is not an interface virgin by the time the Autobots get him back."

"Specifications?"

"Two only. First one: Soundwave. Second One: Willingly."

"Soundwave never was one for force. You sure he wants in the scout's hatch though?"

"Positive Sky."

"Then no bet, But I will sure as hell want to plant some recorders around the Nemesis when we get back!"

" 'Cade' is already on it. He bet against me by the way."

"Idiot should know not to bet with you by now Sky. How many barrels have you taken from him to date?"

"I don't really remember Thunder but I would say over a thousand by now."

"Hah. Idiot indeed."

~*~

"Would you care to have contact with your comrades Junior Medic?"

"It's allowed?"

"Prime approved it this solar early on while you were still in recharge. I told him the Seeker 'Cons' would appreciate assurances that you were well beyond our word."

"I would like to talk to them very much since it's now a permissible thing to do."

"Contacting them now."

Kalomel sighed softly and thought carefully about what she could say without getting herself into trouble with her present captors. She supposed they might not want to even talk to her beyond hearing her report on her well being. She was sitting in her fated brother's alternate shape while he patched through the comm unit to Starscream's frequency. The light on Prowl's dashboard lit and blinked before turning red to indicate a frequency of comm used by a Decepticon. Two parenthesis appeared , one on each side,and blinked. The channel was open now.

"Air Commander do you receive me?"

":KALOMEL??? Yes I am receiving you! How are you contacting me? It showed an Autobot frequency!:"

"I'm sitting in the chassis of an Autobot, so that would make some sense. I am permitted to initiate contact and reassure you of my being o.k. right now. Other then that I don't know if I am allowed to talk to you for a bit or not."

":I do not mind. She may continue to converse with you for another twenty minutes by local time standards Air Commander.:"

":Tell me about how they are treating you Kalomel. Are your injuries being adequately seen to? What has occurred since you arrived there?:"

"They have been nice enough considering that I work for their most dire enemies. Ironhide returned yesterday and we had words, not all of which were nice ones either, but we did resolve our issues fairly well. Chief Medical Officer Ratchet has been seeing to my damage with all due care and concern. I am mostly mended at least as far as my ribs are concerned thanks to his formulations."

":Hey Mel! Whatcha doing?:"

"Hi there Sky. Honestly all I have been doing lately is practicing my languages in between eighteen hour naps. That is what a badly injured human usually does is sleep until we get better."

":Kalomel. I will take care of that sorry aft head Sheriff at your request anytime you know that right?:"

"Of course I know that Thunder. Prowl here hit him sufficiently hard that I doubt he's even out of the hospital yet if he did not up and die of his wounds all ready. After all I had all ready kicked his can around quite a bit ya know!"

":I know. I had to watch remember.:"

":We all had to watch. It is not a thing I wish to see repeated Kalomel. You will not be leaving the Nemesis for a while once we reacquire you. You will also take up the Seeker Martial arts training as soon as you have fully mended. I suspect that with the proper training you will be capable of defending yourself and not ending up defeated by such a…such a slagging pit spawned insect!:"

"Calm down Starscream. The Sheriff is an evil bastard but he is far less important in the scheme of things then one would think. Let him and all thoughts about him fade from your mind for now. I know I performed badly in the fight though. I'm sorry about that. Until this last month I have never had to fight so much as a scuffle with my cousins let alone contend with a law man who has all the training and forty five percent more muscle mass then I do."

":Bigger should not mean much unless it means that one combatant has more intellect then the other.:"

"Say that if Optmus Prime was intent on slagging you Thunder."

":True enough Junior Medic. Any bot in existence could easily terminate you and many of your species's males could as well. I wish you to be careful while on the base of the Autobots. While I suspect that none of them would even think to terminate you, your affiliations not withstanding, the humans might well make you wish that they had if they don't do so automatically.:"

"We call that being sent to Guantanimo Bay here in these United States. The modern fate worse then a thousand deaths. I just don't ever want this to happen in China or something like that. No way no how. I would commit suicide on the spot before giving myself over to the authorities in a country where human rights mean utterly nothing no matter how they say otherwise. "

":Isn't that the country where they once ran over unarmed learners barely past sparklings in age with tanks?:"

"They were mostly still sparklings by our consideration Sky, and yes it most certainly was."

":We have twelve point oh four minutes remaining. Let us have a more pleasant exchange with our fourth from this moment forward my mates.:"

":Yes Starscream.:" Both of his Trine mates agreed over the open channel.

Kalomel for herself simply sat there stunned for a moment before giving her own soft affirmative.

":Don't damage the human your own self Air Commander. Her heartbeat fluctuated just now. That is normally a sign of a very overly stressed human. Especially since this one has no defects of heart or respiratory system that Ratchet could detect with any of his scans.:"

"They just finished deciding is all Brother Prowl. I was not expecting them to have finished with the pros and cons yet, let alone having finished deciding."

":Was our idea in the first place 'Mel.' What makes you think we would change our minds on it?:"

"Timetable issues might have made it unfeasable. Or you might have got up from recharge on the wrong side of the berth at some point and decided that since I am biological and not mechanical I was very disgusting or some such thing. Any number of things could have gone wrong but I think we should do what Starscream says and not talk about unpleasant stuff."

":We DO want you as our mate Kalomel Nichols. I suspect that it will be very pleasant for you most of the time. Despite how annoying these two can be.:"

":US!?!?!?! Try YOU, you condiscending, crazy, pain in the aft! :"

"They have been together for a long time little sister. Do you think that their Trine can really stretch to include you?"

Prowl had spoken inside his own chassis, with the open channel muted. Kalomel thought hard prior to carefully forming her reply.

"Like they said, it was their idea or to be more accurate Sky's idea, but I think they can since it seems to be something they want so badly. They and I will simply have to work our ends towards the middle of things."

":Sorry about that Kalomel. We should not verbally 'scuffle' in front of you so.:"

"More like not in front of the Autobot I would say. As far as in front of me goes, well you can always be who you are capable of being at that time. I will not hold that against any of you."

":I have some news. We did retrieve the comm unit you were issued by Soundwave. It is inside the chassis of Skywarp for when we retrieve you. Also your Caretaker's sibling has begun construction on a new barn that meets your specifications. Many neighbors and local personages have committed some of their own free hours to assisting with this project. Your Caretaker's sibling did say that this was not uncommon in a farming and growing community.:"

"Yeah Starscream. People usually do turn out with every adult, minor, and small child that can be found to carry a hammer for those sorts of things. My community and I may not mesh well but I am still considered a part of it. They would not fail me in this. That and Auntie is a force to be reckoned with all by herself. If anyone thought ill of me enough to spike the works they would be dealing with her in a flash. I hope she does exactly what I asked with the barn. I have different requirements for that space now then I used it for when I inherited it."

":Oh and what might those be?:"

"Sorry Thunder but not in front of my big brother Prowl. O. K.?"

"Understood."

":Decepticon Communications Officer Soundwave requesting permission to deliver vital intelligence to Junior Medic Kalomel Nichols. Please confirm.:"

"He is asking nicely for him Prowl. He doesn't want to cause me trouble before the Trine gets to take me home either."

":Autobot Second in Command Prowl confirming permission for limited intel delivery. Proceed Lieutenant Soundwave.:"

": One of the other humans in your region video recorded your conflict with the local law enforcement. He said many things in clear audio which cannot be later denied as not having been spoken. Rather then submit this in the traditional fashion to other law enforcement, this individual placed copies of this footage where it could be seen by millions of your kind upon the internet site called You Tube. The resulting stripping of rank of the sheriff and suspension of all of his subordinates pending later investigations has already commenced. The local frequency which reports current events on the television networks has reported it as such as well. A recording of this broadcast was also posted at the same internet site and many very vocal opinions in your favor have been expressed in video and text commentary and responses.:"

"Make me a tape would you please Soundwave? I would like to review this footage at a later time during my free periods."

"Request confirmed. I will comply."

"Thank you Soundwave. Oh and regarding your guest you favor so highly?"

":You may proceed Junior Medic.:"

"Nicely and gently with not a trace of mean to the whole thing no matter how much you want to shove him up against a wall. If you treat your guest well things will go better later when the predicted political shift occurs. I doubt his fellows have been giving him any lately if ever. Gut instinct says VIRGIN territory. Do you understand?"

":Intel has been confirmed regarding my guest Junior Medic. The only damage that he will return to his fellows with is I believe referred to as a 'Popped Cherry' in your tongue's slang.:"

The grin in Soundwave's voice was obvious to all the mechs on the wide band frequency. Thunder's laughter could be heard in the background and Skywarp was making a crack about leaving some lubricant in the tanks for them when they needed it for its 'normal' use.

":Frequency being returned to Air Commander Starscream. Safe Return Junior Medic.:"

~*~

Prowl Sat and listened to the rest of the conversation between the Trine and the human in his chassis. Half his attention was spent on the convo going on but not all. Since it was being recorded anyway, he was able to think more on the implications of the end of her convo with the communications officer. Who did they have? Everyone on earth had lately been accounted for. He knew at least seven confirmed virgins in the ranks who were among those that had yet to reach earth from the far corners of the universe. But that did not make him feel well in his guts anyways.

Soundwave. Who was it that said Soundwave had not interfaced with anyone in an extremely long time? Ah yes Bluestreak had commented on it recently. He said that he had known Soundwave from before the war on Cybertron and had considered the mech his, very odd, but also very true friend.

//He is waiting for one he has wanted for forever to be within range of his hatch before he acts on it. He did not say what mech it was only that said mech was very much too young yet to interface with so he had to wait. Patience is one of Soundwave's virtues.//

Obviously the wait was over. Being too young to interface before the war and an Autobot now meant only one Mech. Prowl Sincerely hoped that the Witwicky boy was well.

":*Prowl to Optimus Prime. There is no nice way to say this sir, but the Decepticons have 'Bee.':"

{AFN: hehehehehehehe *evil grin* anyone who wants to actually get the side story of Soundwave/Bee link send me a message or drop me some kinda line cause I am going to write it sooner or later and post it as a side story for this fiction. Hugs and junk food of choice treats to: lostneo, Raven Wolf1, FluffysBiJin05, Wicked Falcon, Alec Weston, fishy, and the new reviewer KrystalKlear1. Reviewer list is as of chapter 7. Thanks!}