Chapter 13

I lay quietly on my back covering the dark green covers of my cot, left arm draped over my eyes.

It was only a few moments ago that I had checked the time on my cell phone, and it told me that two hours had passed since Prowl had dropped me off at my room and told me to stay put. The past two hours he and the other Autobots had evidently been deliberating a plan of action, and quite possibly had already set it in motion.

The thought made me frown. They could have already left, leaving me alone in the base, not knowing how to work any of the communications or surveillance systems, to worry over what could possibly be happening to them. It was just as bad as keeping secrets from me, and I didn't like it. If any of the Autobots got hurt or WORSE I didn't know what I'd do. I was terrified of it.

I sighed, trying to relax, and I drummed my fingers on my phone beside me. Maybe if I just eased off on thinking about it… maybe the whole thing would go quickly and I didn't have anything to worry about.

"Ugh," I mumbled, "I didn't even convince myself with that."

I couldn't stand it anymore. I was not raised to be the good little girl who stayed back and out of the way while my friends were out fighting to protect me and the whole rest of the human race. I HATED it. I just had to do something!

In a single movement I got off the bed and put my phone in my pocket. I crossed the distance to the door in a surprisingly short amount of time; I didn't even slow down when I reached it and it slid open for me to leave. I went through the hall, trying to think about what I could do to help there at the base. Once I set foot in the main room though, I stopped.

Sitting at the giant-sized computer like he always was I saw the tall white and red Autobot, Jetfire. He didn't notice my entrance and was just staring at the monitor, occasionally reaching up to touch it, changing the screen, and typing on the keyboard stretched out in front of him.

I was confused. I thought Optimus had taken ALL the Autobots for the rescue mission.

Maybe Jetfire doesn't like fighting, something in the back of my mind told me. I decided to agree with it. Jetfire seemed more like a scientist or something rather than a fighter, despite his size. He was also so nice and sweet… I couldn't imagine him fighting unless he really had to.

Suddenly, for some reason or another, the image of a huge green Autobot with a large metal jaw popped into my mind. When I tried to think more about it though it was gone and I couldn't get it back.

I blinked. "The F?" I mumbled questioningly to myself.

Jetfire, having apparently heard me, looked from the screen toward the hallway entrance where I still stood. His optics flickered and a smile cracked on his faceplate into a wide grin. "'Ello, spunk!" he said cheerfully.

If I tried I would have never been able to keep a straight face. One of the things that I loved about Jetfire was his thick Australian accent, even if I could only understand him half the time. "Hey, Jetfire," I returned with a smile. I began walking toward him."You decide to sit this one out or something?"

"I just don't like fighting," he told me, turning back to the computer. "Science is more interestin' to me and I ain't one to get into blues like the others." I stopped beside him and the computer and put my hands on my hips.

I was right, I thought to myself. That's kinda weird.

I sighed and sat on the floor, silently wishing there was a staircase or something I could climb up to see my friend better. "Jetfire, I wanna ask you," I began, "is there anything I can do to help the others out?" I shrugged. "I mean… I don't like waiting around for things to happen."

The large Autobot looked at me and smiled. "Sure thing, spunk," he said happily, pushing the stool back to stand up.

He reached down and allowed me to latch onto his fingers. I was swung onto his shoulder and he started going down the hallway to Prowl and Optimus' offices, stopping in front of the security room door. I was worried when it didn't open, but Jetfire reached up and typed a short sequence in a small number pad on the wall and the door slid aside.

Jetfire slightly ducked his head to step inside. Once we were in the room I quietly gasped and clutched to one of the Autobot's wings that were coming from his back.

"Oi, spunk, what's wrong?" he asked softly, glancing at me. I looked at him but then looked back into the room.

Sitting on in Prowl's stool, facing toward Teletraan-One, was Ironhide. He was leaned against Prowl's desk with his arms folded over his chest and his head fallen forward. Though he wasn't moving his mouth, there was a rumbling sound that came from him. It was almost like snoring, so I figured he was temporarily in recharge to conserve energy or something.

"The old bloke fell asleep on the job, eh?" Jetfire asked with an amused tone.

I just continued to stare at Ironhide. I was nearly certain that he still hated me, and I didn't want to be the one that was there when his nap was interrupted.

Jetfire moved and before I could stop him he was already at the weapons specialist's side, his hand on his shoulder and lightly shaking it.

"Ironhide?" the jet asked. "Hey, rise-n'-shine, piker."

The black and silver mech shifted and grumbled, causing me to duck against Jetfire's neck. The robot's left optic turned on and flickered slightly. He turned his head to look at the scientist. "Aw… waddaya want now?" he asked grumpily.

"The sheila said she wanted to help out," Jetfire replied. "I figured she could help me with the security."

Ironhide narrowed his optics. "So mah shift's over?"

Jetfire smiled. "'Course! Ellie 'n I'll take care o' things from here."

The weapons specialist looked at me and I whimpered quietly, pressing myself against Jetfire even more. He blinked, but then shut off his optics and sighed. Silently, he stood up from the stool and went past Jetfire, out the door, and into the hallway.

I was startled when Jetfire moved toward Teletraan-One. Once he stopped in front of the machine he folded his arms over his chest armor.

"G'day, Teletraan," he said loudly.

There was a short trilling of beeps and an automated voice responded: "Hello, Jetfire."

I blinked. I didn't know Teletraan-One could talk.

"Teletraan," Jetfire continued, "I need you to activate your voice command systems; accessible by Autobot Jetfire and the organic Ellie."

Teletraan-One beeped. "Acknowledged. Please produce vocal sample of the organic, designation: Ellie."

Jetfire looked at me and tilted his head toward Teletraan. He wanted me to "produce the sample".

I relaxed myself from holding onto him so tightly. "Well… what should I say?" I asked.

"Voice pattern downloaded and logged," Teletraan stated suddenly after beeping twice, catching me off guard. "When the user is in request of something simply state my name or the word 'command', afterwards stating your request. I endeavor to follow Autobot commands to the best of my abilities."

Jetfire's smile grew. "Great!" he exclaimed happily and he glanced at me. "Now you can use the security stuff without having to worry about bein' an ankle-biter."

I glared at him. "Is that a crack about my height?" I asked. "I can't help being a tiny human, okay?"

The white and red Autobot chuckled, bouncing me as his shoulders shook. "I wasn't makin' fun o' ya, spunky," he told me. "Now, ya want me to explain how ta work with Teletraan?"

I stopped my glare and quickly nodded, remembering what I was doing there in the first place.

The concept of security and observation in the Autobot base was easier than I thought it would be to understand. There were cameras and sensors everywhere and Teletraan-One was programmed to tell us if there was anything out of the ordinary.

The thing that interested me the most though was when Jetfire mentioned we could monitor the battle between Megatron and Optimus Prime if we wanted to.

I was staring at him. "You're kidding, right?" I asked from Prowl's desk where I now sat.

The scientist shook his head with an amused expression on his faceplate. "I'm not, sheila," he laughed with his arms folded. He spun around and faced Teletraan-One. "Teletraan, Wingblast eject."

Teletraan trilled beeps in response, and I almost jumped out of my skin when a panel on the wall by the door to Prowl's room suddenly opened like a cassette player. A thin, blue, cassette tape-looking block of technology flew out and soared through the air toward the desk. As it approached it unfolded with a familiar mechanical whir producing wings, talons, a tail, and a beaked head with glowing yellow optics.

The Cybertronian bird hovered above the desk before gently touching down on the chrome metal surface in front of me. I stared as it managed to flutter its metal wings and folded them against its body. The yellow optics fell on me and the 'bot tilted its head in curiosity, mechanically chirping. It was extremely small for a Cybertronian, only about as big as a Smart Car, but it was still bigger than me.

"This is our spy 'bot, Wingblast," Jetfire stated, leaning toward me with his elbows on the desk. "She's what we Cybertronians like ta call a Cassette."

I felt a small jolt of pain in my heart and gulped. "Isn't that what Prowl said had attacked Bumblebee?" I asked nervously.

The jet nodded. "Reckon," he replied. "But Wingblast here works with us. Wingblast?" The blue Cassette turned her head to look at him. "This is our friend, Ellie. She's been livin' 'ere for the past few solar-cycles."

Wingblast chirped and she moved her optics back to me. I continued to stare as she slowly came forward, her head brought low to match my eye-level. She stopped close to me and began moving her head around my body, examining me like a foreign object or something. The whole time I sat still and held my breath.

Finally, the 'bot drew her head back and looked at me again, her optics glowing. She let out a low clicking sound from her 'vocal' systems and I gulped, staring back at her. What happened next scared me out of my wits.

Wingblast shot her head forward and knocked me straight onto my back. She got closer and started nuzzling the edge of her beak into my stomach and I screamed.

"Je-Jetfire!" I yelled in desperation. "H-Help me!" I started swinging my arms around, trying to roll over and crawl away, but it was in vain. Soon, though, my screams turned into laughter. She was tickling me. "J-Jetfire – haha – please!" I pleaded, my eyes getting wet. "I-I can't take it! I – ha! – I'm too old for this! Hee-hee! P-please!"

I barely heard the white and red Autobot chuckle over my own squeals before he said, "I think she's had enough, Wingblast. Heh, heh, let 'er go."

I breathed in relief as the Cassette drew back, chattering cheerfully. I set my head back and laughed softly while I panted to make up for lost oxygen.

"Aw man…" I sighed, "the last time anyone did that to me was…" I suddenly stopped, my smile gone.

…the day Dad left for the Philippines, I thought, mentally finishing my sentence. Now I remembered why I grew out of it… nobody was ever around to tickle me. Only my dad did it – it just wasn't my mom's thing to do. It was another characteristic of my dad that I missed… another characteristic that I knew I would never see again.

I was suddenly brought out of my daze when I found Wingblast's face almost touching my own and she let out a worried chirp. I gave her a smile, even though I didn't feel like it, and reached up to pat the side of her head. She blinked, but she carefully took the front of my shirt in her beak and pulled me up until I was standing on my feet. Again, she looked at me and chirped.

I sighed. "I'm fine, Wingblast," I told her. I turned to look up at Jetfire. "So…" I began, pushing aside the memory, "how can she help us with monitoring Optimus' fight?"

Wingblast suddenly made a rattling sound and something that looked like a security camera on a mechanical arm sprouted from her right shoulder. I was surprised when it turned and aimed at me.

Teletraan-One chimed and the large screen flickered, bringing up a life video feed of my face. Labels and info began masking over the image, scrolling up so fast that I couldn't read them all; I was surprised it was even in English.

"'S you can see," Jetfire began, "Wingblast's been mounted with a video system along with other sensors for heat, radiation, sound, and all that stuff. 'Cause o' her flight programming and build she can monitor and observe safely and secretly. Wingblast?" the blue Cassette listened. "Time to get into pozzy."

Wingblast chirped and spread her wings, taking off from the desktop. The door to the hallway opened and she soared through it and out of sight. It wasn't too long before Teletraan's screen showed the aspen forest outside of the base and went into the sky, which was still blue even though it was getting late in the afternoon.

"Shouldn't be too long until she comes on Prime an' Megatron," Jetfire told me. "This way, if something goes wrong, we can send back-up."

I nodded understandingly and sat back down. I folded my arms over my lap and leaned forward slightly to watch for the Autobots and Decepticons through Wingblast's camera feed.

But while waiting for about fifteen minutes neither Jetfire or I had said anything. I knew I wasn't gonna deal with the quiet very well, and it WAS going to take time for Wingblast to find the other Transformers…

"So… what was Ironhide's job in here?" I asked the scientist, breaking the silence that had fallen over us.

"Well," Jetfire began, "when the divvy van ain't here we each take turns takin' up his security job. When both he an' Big Boomer are gone we shut down our patrol shifts completely and basically put the base in lock-down unless we get orders otherwise."

I blinked. "Then we're breaking rules, aren't we?" I asked. "WE just sent Wingblast out to monitor."

The huge white and red 'bot grinned. "I won't tell Prime if you won't."

I couldn't help but laugh, slightly shaking my head. Who knew I'd be breaking rules with ANY of the Autobots when I first entered the base.

I glanced back at the monitor and it wasn't too long before I noticed what was apparently an aerial view of the old scrap yard. But something was wrong… nobody was there.

"Wait," I mumbled, "Megatron told Optimus to meet him in the scrap yard. Why isn't anybody here?"

"I dunno," Jetfire said, leaning forward and examining the screen. He looked like he expected someone to come out from behind the piles of junk. "Wingblast, give us feed on energy trails." He turned to me. "Maybe that'll tell us where everyone had gone off to."

Teletraan-One trilled a sequence of beeps as it received the information from the Cassette. Soon enough there were what appeared to be more than a dozen sets of Cybertronian-sized footprints leading from the yard. One group was a dark purple color while the other group was a crimson red color, much like the Autobot symbol in the main room. All the while I was looking at it there were labels that masked over for each individual set of prints, but again it moved too fast for me to read.

"They were here," I observed, "but they moved."

"That's not right," Jetfire breathed.

Suddenly, a thought came to me. A thought that I hoped wasn't going to be true.

"Wingblast," I stated loudly, "follow that trail. Keep out of sight, but find out where they went."

I heard the bird-like Autobot chirp a response and the video feed shifted, soaring over the trail as she did as I told her. I watched anxiously. I NEEDED to know what was happening, and I prayed it wasn't a trap like I thought.

The designated scrap yard property ended with a fence, even though there was still trash and junk lying about. However, the trail did not go through the abandoned neighborhoods like I expected. Instead, the area was more of an industrial section. There were some empty stores, and even a storage company, but there were a few warehouses of rusted aluminum roofs and cinderblock sides with all of the windows blown out from some event that happened so long ago.

Probably from a gang war or something, I mused. But even the gangs left this area. From what I was told they were long since disbanded, but their effect on this part of the town of Tranquility was still evident.

"There we go," Jetfire suddenly spoke, snapping me from my thoughts.

Sitting in front of a large door to an especially long warehouse was a Cybertronian. I didn't recognize him at all; he was the same size as Starscream, but he had a lighter tan than him and also had dark purple trimming instead of black. At first I thought he could've turned into some kind of tank because on his calves were tank tracks and on his shoulders were what looked like cannons, but I thought again when I saw jet wings on his back. One thing was sure though… he was a Decepticon.

"Oh no," I moaned. "It was a set-up. It HAS to be a set up!"

"Looks like Blitzwing's only guarding," Jetfire told me. "Under normal circumstances the contest would've taken place out in the open where everyone could see. But if Megatron took everyone to a secluded area and had one of his men to guard and make sure no one got inside, then he's got something planned; something to tip the odds in his favor."

"So he's cheating," I said with a grumble. I sighed. "Great."

"It ain't surprising, spunk," Jetfire stated. "Anytime the 'Cons called one of these things he's dishonored the Cybertronian code of battle in some way. Optimus is well aware of that, but he still insists on playing fair."

"But we can help him, right?"

The scientist nodded. "We can," he replied, "but not with the original terms: a battle between him and Megatron. We can only offside by keepin' the other mongrels off him. He's gotta deal with Megatron himself."

I sighed. "In any case, I think we're entitled to go out to help. We've got to do something!"

"Too right," Jetfire agreed. "Let's muster up the others and get goin'."
***

"Are ya crazy?" Ironhide roared. "Optimus ordered us ta stay here, d***it!"

I swallowed and shrunk back against Arcee's leg in fear, even though the black and silver Autobot was yelling at Jetfire and not me.

There were only five Autobots left in the base; Jetfire, Ironhide, Arcee, Ratchet, and of course Bumblebee. Bumblebee though wasn't quite ready for action, so we decided to let him and Ratchet stay in the medbay while the rest of us discussed what to do in the main room. But, naturally, Ironhide was being difficult.

"Now, that's interesting, mate," Jetfire remarked calmly. "I thought you'd jump at the opportunity ta scrap some Decepticons."

The weapons specialist growled loudly. "Ye just don't get it!" he yelled. "We can't leave the kid here ta go help Optimus! Ratchet's busy an' he don't have time ta babysit an organic!"

Arcee knelt down and scooped me up in her arms like a puppy or a little kid.

"Too right," Jetfire replied. "She said she's gonna come with us."

Great. Why'd he have to tell him THAT?

Ironhide turned his glare to me, his optics glowing with anger. "What're ya thinkin'!" he demanded.

I folded my arms and tried to look stubborn, even though I was being cradled like a baby. "What makes you think I would do as you tell me?" I asked him, my voice shaking slightly. "You're not my dad."

For a tense moment Ironhide and I just stared at eachother. But then the weapons specialist broke it off when he shut off his optics and folded his arms, sighing angrily.

"I ain't gonna argue with ya," he told me, opening his optics. "But I want ya ta listen ta me and stay here, d***it!"

"Hey, she can come if she wants to," Arcee growled. "Just because she's a girl doesn't mean she can't have the same opportunities."

Ironhide let out a grunt. "Fine," he said, waving his hand. "LET 'er come, see if I care. Don't blame me if ye get yerself hurt kid."

"Don't worry," I responded darkly. "I won't."

"So then we're all going?" Jetfire asked. No one said anything and I guessed he took it as a 'yes'. He smiled. "Alright! Off we go, then!"

"Just wait a moment," Arcee told him, slightly shifting me in her arms to where I sat in one arm and held onto her left shoulder. "I've got something for Ellie, and then we can go."

Jetfire Dictionary help (in order of appearance) :
spunk: a good-looking purpose of either gender - Jetfire uses the word as a nick-name for Ellie
blues: fights, mistakes
bloke: an adult male
piker: someone who doesn't want to fit in with others socially (describes Ironhide perfectly, huh?)
sheila: a woman
g'day: a greeting
ankle-biter: young child
reckon: You bet! Absolutely! Affirmative
pozzy: position
divvy van: Police vehicle used for transporting criminals. Named after the protective 'division' between the driver and the villains. Nick-name for Prowl, obviously.
boomer: a large male kangaroo. Nick-name for Optimus because he's the leader of the Autobots
offsider: an assistant, helper
mongrel: despicable person
too right: definitely
muster: round up, like sheep or cattle
mate: pal, friend, etc.

Author Notes:

First time I've actually done an author's note aside from what's on DeviantART. I'll just put up the original comments from forever ago...

Nye... Took a bit to write this up. Action coming up, I swear! And more history-revealing stuff about the Autobots and Ellie's father and all that stuff. Those of you who know who her dad is by the hints I've been dropping, keep it to yourself please; I kinda wanna keep it a surprise for those who haven't figured out yet.

And yes, she is thinking of Bulkhead though she doesn't know it.

Wingblast was pretty fun Autobot to come up with. I tried looking around for a Lazorbeak-like Autobot, but couldn't find one to use. Lo and behold, I decided to make up my own. Wingblast's also a femme... there aren't enough of those if ya ask me. I am thinking of having other femmes come later, but MUCH later.