Bobbi didn't think it would turn out to be anything like this. But she had to admit… it was amazing. Humans and Autobots were working side by side in rhythmic tandem, occasionally helping one another out in their duties.

It amazed her, to be honest. Two species overcoming their differences and forging a friendship together.

Other than that, her day was mostly normal, if you'll forgive the large robots walking around. It felt nice to fall back into the rhythm that came with training and learning. However, she still couldn't figure out how to shoot that damn gun without falling on her ass. In the end, it only served to amuse Evan, Gabriel and Vladimir. As well as her fellow soldiers and class instructor. By the end of it, her rump was sore and she was still no closer to grasping the technique behind shooting it.

When the closing of the day rolled around, Bobbi was exhausted and sore, but satisfied. The brunette got a shock however, when she walked out the door, and lightly bumped into a blue metal leg. Confused, she pushed her helmet back and moved her gaze upward with squinted eyes and more than a few questions.

There, standing awkwardly outside her classroom door, was Optimus Prime.

"Miss Bellmark." A spark of relief flashed across his face plates before he carefully knelt down before her, extending a hand with the palm upwards, "Would you take a walk with me?"

Bobbi nervously examined the hand for a moment before crawling aboard cautiously. The Prime waited patiently until she was situated.

Once in place, he stood to his full height, and began making his way to the front door.

Down the hall and around a corner, a certain silver saboteur smirked to himself. "Looks like ya' beat meh to it, Prime. Bu' tha's okay. Ah'll get mah turn." The mutter went unanswered, and no one was there to witness the completely awesome 'Poof!' ninja effect he had, leaving nothing but a white plume of smoke behind.

Optimus, meanwhile, had just exited the base with his living cargo in hand.

The mute clung onto his fingers tightly, gazing around in mild awe. She was tall. Taller than all of those soldiers down below that usually towered over her. Tall enough that she could compare them to ants fairly accurately.

She liked it.

"Miss Bellmark." Optimus's soft rumble brought her from her thoughts. He was staring off into the distance, and yet something told her that she had his undivided attention. He had stopped at the brink of a cliff, overlooking the ocean they were next to. His feet were right next to the metal railing surrounding the edge.

Leaning back in the Prime's hand, Bobbi focused her gaze up on his face, her right hand keeping a steady hold on her helmet to keep it from getting in her way. With a wave of her left hand, she gestured for him to continue. For a moment, Optimus hesitated, as if choosing his words carefully. His optics dimmed and his face softened, relaxed in a way. The mute personally thought it made him look a millennium younger.

"What are your thoughts on Ratchet?" The question, spoken in such a serious tone, caught her off guard. Frowning, she thought for a moment, following his gaze outward, towards the ocean. A minute of silence passed as Bobbi considered it; the lulling pull and push of the waves helping her to think.

When she turned back to the Prime, ready to answer, she was startled once again. His gaze, stern yet kind, was focused on her intently. Regaining herself, the mute sighed heavily out of her nose before carefully mouthing her thoughts to him.

'Ratchet is a kind being. Though rough around the edges, I believe his… heart is in the right place.' Did they even have hearts? At the moment, she supposed it didn't matter. Optimus probably understood what she was getting at. 'He's a hard worker, and stubborn to a fault. He's a good person. Why do you ask?' The Prime looked semi satisfied at her words, but his gaze didn't falter in the slightest.

It was honestly making her a little nervous.

"And your feelings towards him?" He seemed to be avoiding her question. Brow furrowing, the brunette studied him for a moment. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she considered his words carefully. What were her feelings for Ratchet? Friendship, certainly. Happiness, joy… but what else? Was there something else?

'I… don't know.' It took some struggling, but Bobbi was able to answer truthfully. The answer brought… relief to her. It was something she hadn't yet admitted to herself. But, now that it was out in the open, she felt… lighter? Free? The mute didn't know. Was she supposed to know? Again, she didn't know. Such answers were out of her grasp, fluttering along like a quick butterfly in a garden.

"I see." Optimus murmured, his gaze returning to the sea. Bobbi wondered if she had answered wrongly. But if she had, what was the point of him asking? If he searched for a very specific answer, he wouldn't have asked, would he? There was simply no point if that was so. Or, maybe, this was a test of some sort. Who knew, with these aliens? She knew very little of their culture or customs.

True, the mute knew more thanks to Ratchet, but her knowledge was still very limited.

Turning slowly, the Prime started for the base, moving carefully to avoid hurting the tiny human. Multi colored light poured over them both as the sun began to set. The warmth was stolen as night crept ever nearer. Thankfully, however, they escaped the chilly air by stepping into the base and shutting the door behind them.

"Thank you, Miss Bellmark. I enjoyed our walk, and our talk." Optimus gave her a compassionate smile before kneeling and allowing her to disembark from his hold. Bobbi waved off the thanks as she stepped off and stumbled back slightly.

With a graceful incline of his head, the Prime bid her goodnight before heading off to his own quarters.

Slightly mystified at the events that had transpired, Bobbi turned on her heel and moved off towards her room. A insistent, slightly disturbing thought began to eat away at her mind and insides. She would have to thoroughly examine her feelings towards Ratchet. For some reason, it bugged her that she didn't know, nor understood, what she was feeling. It was an unknown variable in the equation; and that didn't settle well with her.

Sleep was difficult to achieve that night. It was a surprise that she got any at all, in fact. Still, she somehow managed it.

Bobbi was woken up, quite rudely, by a pounding at her door. It was frantic and urgent. Half blind with panic and sleep's crust, she stumbled over to the entrance of her room, and ripped it open. There stood Lennox.

He looked almost… crazed. Hair sticking up in every direction, eyes wide and wild with something that made a chill run down her spine- it instantly woke her up fully and completely. "Get suited up, quickly!"

At her responding confused look, he snapped, "No time to explain! Just get ready and hustle to the main hanger! FAST!" And then he was gone, hauling ass down the corridor.

Bobbi didn't question him. Didn't even think to prod at the man that seemed half insane. Instead, she ripped her uniform on, buckled her helmet on, and grabbed her military backpack filled with necessary supplies.

Something told her she was going to need it.

Slipping out the door and shutting it behind her, Bobbi raced towards the main hangar. Her bag bounced ever so slightly against her back with the motions. The gravity of the situation weighed down on her heavily. Was this a new mission? Were they under attack? What exactly was going on? Question after question raced through her mind.

But not one answer was in sight.

Stumbling slightly as she skidded to a stop, Bobbi came to a halt at the entrance of the main hangar, chest heaving with exertion.

A group of Cybertronians stood, gathered near the center of the room. They seemed to be discussing something amongst themselves. Ratchet, Optimus, and Wheeljack were amidst them, however and it brought comfort to her. Swallowing her anxiety down, Bobbi moved and joined them.

There were a few other soldiers, but not many. More continued to arrive however, joining their growing group. Finally, after a minute or two, Lennox arrived with her teammates in tow. Gabriel looked annoyed and was scowling, as was the norm.

Evan looked like he was asleep on his feet. And Vladimir? He just kinda blinked ahead owlishly, like a placid sheep. It was a little disturbing, Bobbi would have to admit.

"Alright. Let's boogy! There's a Decepticon squad in Florida; and we're going to take 'em out! Everyone load into Skyfire!" Lennox pointed ahead after yelling instructions. The Cybertronians were the first to react.

Transforming down into their vehicle forms, they immediately drove out the door and towards the huge white jet that had taken Bobbi and her prior teammates to that other place. Speaking of which, what ever did happen to that damned briefcase that caused her so much trouble? What was even in it?

The brunette didn't get a chance to think on it much more. Lennox was calling her and the other soldiers over to another black jet insistently. Reporting as she was told, Bobbi stood at attention, calmly awaiting orders.

"This is our ride. Autobots in the other one, humans in this one to avoid getting squished. Ready? Let's fly!" Grabbing a sleeping-on-his-feet Epps, Lennox excitedly dragged him inside the metal death trap.

Grudgingly, the other soldiers followed.

Once inside, they found seats along the sides and buckled in. From there, there wasn't much to do besides wait. And wait they did.

Sitting in her seat quietly, Bobbi allowed everything to sink in. Decepticons. She was being sent on her first fight with the huge aliens she had been told so much about. A cold, icy sensation gripped her insides in a tight, clenching unyielding hold. Would she die on this mission? Would they kill her?

Bobbi felt the beginnings of a cold sweat breaking out over her flesh.

Comfortingly however, her fellow soldiers seemed just as hyped and nervous as her, if not more. Some fidgeted worriedly in their seats, others began talking nervously with their partner. Thankfully, none tried to talk to her. Bobbi thought that if she should open her mouth to mouth something, she would vomit.

Never before had she felt this sort of nauseating fear during her job. Ever. It was more than a little disconcerting.

Lennox went down the row, seeming to be checking to make sure everyone was buckled in and ready to go. As he passed, he shoved a gun into each soldier's hands. When he got to Bobbi, he gave her a comforting smile as he gave her the weapon and checked her restraints. To be honest, she didn't feel very comforted by it.

Five minutes later, the major was also buckled in and they were taking off.

Bobbi gripped her gun just a little tighter with a clammy, fearful hold.

They rose higher and higher into the sky, leaving the ground far behind. Her stomach rolled in response. Never before had she suffered from air sickness- she just didn't. Now, however, nerves were doing God awful things to her insides and making her feel every move the jet made. She leaned back in an attempt to alleviate the feeling.

It didn't help.

Outside, 'Skyfire' swooped alongside them easily. Bobbi wondered what Ratchet was thinking about, inside that craft. Was he as nervous as her? Or maybe he was calm and ready? Maybe he was worried? Licking her lips, the field medic's gaze darted around in a anxious fashion. It was still dark out.

She guessed the time to be around three in the morning. That was just a guesstimate, however.

Evan was asleep with his eyes open. Staring ahead as he snored very softly. It made Bobbi snicker weakly. Beside him, Gabriel was fingering his sniper rifle whilst giving Lennox the stink eye. No doubt he was planning the major's unexpected, 'accidental' death for waking him up so early in the morning.

Finally, Vladimir was staring ahead blankly, occasionally blinking slowly. That… actually disturbed the mute a little.

The last time he was in such a state, he had berserked on the battlefield; killing thousands of their enemies. Just… one moment he had been blinking ahead blankly, tiredly; and the next? The next, there was death. Just death. It was as if Vlad had simply lost his temper. Tearing into the enemy like a war machine.

Afterwards, he had told them that he couldn't remember a thing. In fact, he didn't even remember waking up. The doctor had confirmed that Vlad had, indeed, been 'asleep' the entire time, so to speak. Horrifying, but effective.

Bobbi could only hope that it was just as effective against the Decepticons as it had been against their human enemies.

(AN: Guys, I'm sorry. Really, I am. Most of this was written after I'd been up for over 24 hours. In my current state of mental capabilities, this was probably not a good idea. Pretty sure this is mostly rubbish. Oh well. I'm tired. I'm losing my mind. It's all good. You know why? Cause fucking coffee.

That's good shit man.

Also; fuck your description. I'm too tired to explain myself any further. So fuck it. Fuck it all. Fuck life, fuck the world. I can write dammit. And I'm gonna write.

So fuck it.)