In which Alison makes a promise, tours a base, and gets a bedtime surprise.


The next three weeks were really uneventful. Mikaela and I went back to school amid a lot of gossip about what happened at Burger King, but apparently me being able to drop Trent gave us some street cred, so no one bothered us. While Mikaela still talked with some of the girls of the popular crowd, she spent most of her time with Miles and I. She was even sporting when she heard about Miles "evil jock concubine" nickname, she just switched his ketchup packet for hot sauce on his burger at lunch. After his mouth stopped burning, he admitted it was a good prank and he was wrong about her.

After school, we hung out with Barricade, who Mikaela was able to get into a shop to work on (she told me she called in a favor owed to her dad), so he looked almost new. His T-cog remained non-functional, but I told him it was for his protection as much as our own. Even Ironhide would have to admit Barricade would have a hard time hurting us stuck in alt mode as he was, with Bee on guard and orders from Megatron.

I got a message from Optimus that we would continue our lessons over video messenger, three times a week. We decided Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays at seven o'clock was the best time, so on those nights we'd hang out at my house and Mikaela and Bee would listen in as Optimus gave us COTA updates and then teach me more about Cybertronian history and culture. Miles begged off most of those nights, saying most of that would fly over his head, and that someone should "keep an eye on" Barricade. I half wondered at that, but I didn't press him on it.

Before our third Thursday lesson, Optimus informed us the initial clean up of the COTA base was complete, and that we would be able to come "inspect" the place before Lennox's team moved in the next week. That it happened to coincide with a three day weekend from school was a bonus, so we readily agreed to do so. Mikaela and Miles packed overnight bags that night and we loaded up Bee in the morning. With just a quick detour to my house to pick up some food Mom insisted on sending along ("A home cooked meal will beat out the military rations any day."), we headed to base as fast as we could.

Upon reaching the base, it looked like your typical military base: ten foot tall double perimeter fence with barbed wire on top, with a wood and brick gatehouse at the gate. It was unmanned today, but a signal from Bee unlocked it for us, letting us enter. A perimeter road was behind the fence, while another led to a cluster of buildings around a tarmac. It appeared warehouses and aircraft hangers were on the east side, while barracks and other personnel buildings were on the west, with a large field with obstacle course equipment in the middle. Construction materials were sitting on the tarmac just outside the second hanger from the gate, but we went to the first one, as Optimus had told us to.

As we pulled up, Coppertone walked out of the hanger, grinning when she spotted us. "Hey guys! How've you been?"

"We've been good," I said, climbing out of Bee with Mikaela and Miles. "Tranquility's been, well, tranquil."

We grabbed our bags from Bee's trunk, then he transformed, only to be pulled into a rough hug by Copper.

"You've not been getting soft on me, sitting in a parking lot all day, are you?" she asked, stepping back into a mock fighting pose. "Do I need to whip your aft back into shape?"

"Pu-lease." Bee rolled his optics and matched her pose. "You know I can take you, right here and now."

"Ratchet will take you both down if you hurt yourselves or damage the construction material," Optimus said from the hanger doorway.

"Yes, sir!" Bee and Copper both said, standing straight again.

Optimus nodded and smiled at Mikaela, Miles and I. "Hello Alison, Mikaela, Miles. I'm glad you could make it this weekend."

"Wouldn't miss it," Mikaela said.

"It's nice to meet you in person," Miles said, waving.

"And you as well. Come in, all of you, and see what we've completed so far."

We followed on Optimus's heels into the hanger, which was almost completely on its way to being an HQ. There were a lot of catwalks and platforms for humans, set at about the height of Ratchet and Ironhide's shoulders, just out of the way enough for the 'Bots to maneuver without worrying about hitting someone. The biggest of these was near a large computer monitor mounted on the north wall, set just enough to the side and back to be able to see it even if a bot stood at the keyboard set under it. Extending from it to the door was an elevated area with lots of computers, which looked like it would be Lindsey's domain. Just beyond the monitor was a steel wall, obviously new, that split the hanger in half. In the center of it was in a doorway with a large curtain, so we couldn't see beyond it.

Jazz was standing by the monitor, which was turned on and had what looked like scans of Earth and nearby space displayed. Next to him on the platform was Chief Lindsey and Ella.

"Hey, Lil' Lady and friends," Jazz said with a wave. "How's it going."

"I love how I've been demoted to 'and friends'," Bee said flatly.

"We've been fine, Jazz," Mikaela answered as we climbed the stairs to join them. "School, homework, hanging out, nothing much."

"Everyone, this is my best friend Miles," I introduced. "Miles, this is Chief John Lindsey, in charge of communications and tech, and Ella Halton, she's basically our ambassador."

"Nice to meet you, sir, ma'am," Miles said, holding his hand out for a shake.

"Good to meet you too, son," Lindsey said, accepting it. "I'll admit, I'm surprised you were let in on the secret so easily."

"I saw Bumblebee materialize out of thin air, and I'm Alison's best friend, I know when she's lying." Miles smiled a bit. "Honestly, she's kinda bad at it, you always know when you catch her in one."

"Hey don't spill all my secrets, Miles," I said, shoulder checking him.

"Actually, that cue would be important to know," Ella said as she and Miles shook hands. "If I know your reaction, then we can train you so it's not so obvious, if not get rid of it entirely. Trust me, nothing is uglier than a politician who can't cover being caught in a lie."

I considered that, then nodded. "Good point." I took an exaggerated look around. "So what's this place supposed to be, Mission Control?"

"Close, it's HQ," Jazz said. "Comms, Briefing and Prime's office back that way," he motioned to the doorway. "We'll eventually get a proper door there, but that works for now."

"For now, it is also our common area, until we can get that hanger completed," Optimus added. "Our current concern is getting medbay and the science lab up and running."

"That's where Ratchet, Ironhide and the Rangers are at, in case you were wondering," Copper added.

"Communications is over here," Lindsey said, presenting the rows of computers like a proud parent. "They've gotten us a good set up, equivalent to one on any ship at sea. Maybe even better, with Jazz adding Cybertronians software to them."

"I honestly am just glad it didn't explode," Jazz said. "Most of your material can't handle the strain of the power, but we managed to find some that worked."

"Expensive though," Ella said, shaking her head a bit. "It ate a fair chunk out of our budget, which I'll have to review with you later, Alison."

I nodded. "Sure, maybe we put our stuff away and a tour?"

"I'll lead you!" Copper said, shifting into her alt mode and driving to the door, Bee following her lead as Miles, Mikaela, Ella and I headed down the stairs.

We crossed the tarmac to the first residential building, which was one story and had a plaque by the door that read "Officer's Quarters".

"This is where the three of you will be staying," Ella told us, "along with the other COTA leadership - that is, myself, Lindsey, Lennox and Simmons. There's also guest rooms, for Secretary Keller, General Morshower, and any other important guests who might come."

The barracks were rather nice, in fact. The main doors opened into a small common area, with a couple couches, a TV, and a bookshelf. In the back corner was a small kitchen; a stovetop, a sink with a short counter next to it, a couple cabinets, a microwave, and a small fridge. There were two short wings of rooms leading off the main room, and the back held the showers and bathrooms. Those were definitely a step up from the military standard, being actually several individual ones, two with bathtubs, but considering who would be living here, it made a lot of sense.

The left wing was already full, so Mikaela, Miles and I took the first three rooms in the right wing, Miles across the hall from us girls. Before I went into my room, Copper asked "Hey, can we talk for a minute?"

I tilted my head, but said "Sure, come on in."

The room was not a bad size, with a single bed, a small dresser next to a just as small closet, and a small desk. My room was on the front side of the building, so it had a small window overlooking the tarmac. I'd have to ask about getting blinds, else the lights would keep me up. Or maybe a sleep mask.

Copper closed the door behind her while I put my bag on my bed, then perched herself on the edge of the dresser. Her EM field was fluttering slightly, and I could tell she was nervous.

"The AllSpark…" she started slowly. "When She healed me, She called me a Sire and Mate. Do you…?"

"Know about your family?" I finished for her, and nodded. "Yes, The AllSpark showed me the four of you together. She also told me no one knows about the bonds, except Ratchet of course."

"Of course he knows, he just doesn't pry." Copper crossed her arms over her stomach. "And good thing too, I really don't want to deal with the distrust and fall out of the others finding out my conjunx is a Decepticon."

"Would it really be so bad?"

"With Optimus's team, no." Her fingers started tapping on her hip. "But there are other 'Bots who wouldn't be so understanding. I mean, it's not like I traded Autobot secrets for interface, I'd already asked N Sync to bond with me before the War broke out. Family loyalties just split us apart." She looked down with a frown.

"Hard to go against your own brother, especially when he's one of the top lieutenants." I went to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I promise, no one will learn your wife is a Decepticon from me, and if it's in my power, I will do what I can to reunite you."

Copper looked up, then wrapped her arms around me, pressing her head into my shoulder. "Thank you. That means a lot."

"What are friends for?" I hugged her back, and kept my hand on her arm when she pulled back. "I really hope we can be friends, not just Director and 'Bot."

Copper smiled. "Of course, I would love that."

We left the room and rejoined the others, then Ella led us around some more. Besides the officer's quarters were the barracks, which were two stories tall, with about fifty rooms each, meaning about a hundred soldiers doubling up could live there. Behind the barracks was a garage for civilian cars, most would be government issued, but some of the staff would be allowed to bring their own, depending on some factors Ella would explain later. Next to the barracks was the base hospital, mess hall and recreation hall. These were bare, but the furnishings were supposed to be coming in the next week or so. The hospital was being heavily rewired and prepared for the new medical equipment. The rec hall would have a small library, several game tables of different kinds, and even a couple game consoles. It would also be the location of the base's bar, but everyone was to be tasked with drinking responsibly, and there would be a cut off much lower than most places, which made a lot of sense to me (I honestly didn't get the need to be drunk to have fun, but I did enjoy watching the aftermath).

Next to these last two buildings was the training field, which took up most of the stretch of tarmac on that side. Plenty of room for humans and bots to practice maneuvers together, as well as just regular PT. Across it and opposite the tarmac was the family housing I had seen on the map. Opposite the mess and rec halls was the gym, also currently bare, and a watchtower that would act as both look out and air traffic control. The gym also had a pool attached to it, but that was still a couple weeks from completion. On the other side of that was the armory and gun range, then the 'Bot's own training course. It extended about two miles into the desert, and while there wasn't much out there currently, Copper assured that they'd get it up to shape relatively soon.

Finally, some actual aircraft hangers sat on either side of the end of the tarmac, again currently empty, but we'd be getting some carriers when the main body of troops arrives. Next to the hangers were a couple warehouses for storage, then we reached the bot's personal quarters. Once warehouses themselves, they were sectioned off into rooms for the bots, four per building, and with halls between the rooms to try and increase privacy. The rooms were all about the same, boxcars acting as seats and berths, with an elevated platform for any human visitors, or just storage space. Bee told us he was planning on getting a small bedroom set, so sleepovers could happen if we wanted. Copper and Bee had rooms in one hanger while Optimus, Ratchet, Ironhide and Jazz took up another.

"They all together as a leadership thing?" Miles asked, making Coppertone laugh.

"Oh no, it's so that they don't bother Bee and I with any interfacing after their conjunx get here," she said.

"Conjunx?" Mikaela asked.

"It's our word for spouse," Bee explained. "Bondmate is another one, and the terms are basically interchangeable, except to grammar sticklers."

Copper nodded. "Optimus is bonded to Elita One, one of our top commanders, Ironhide to her sister Chromia, Ratchet to our top scientist Wheeljack, and Jazz to Prowl, our tractician."

"Wow! So wait, that means interface…" Mile grabbed his head, palms pressing into his eyes. "Unneeded mental images!"

Mikaela, Copper, Bee and I all laughed, and Ella smiled and shook her head at his antics. "And that is another reason to be glad the barracks are across the tarmac," she said.

"Oh I don't know, 'Hide and Chromia can be-"

"Copper, don't traumatize them!" Bee punched her shoulder as she just laughed some more.

After the 'Bots quarters, we passed their rec hall, wash racks, and lab buildings, stopping in at the medbay, where we found Ratchet, Ironhide, Will, Epps, and Burke. Ratchet was going through a crate, while Ironhide and the soldiers were chatting before Will noticed us and called out.

"Hi there!" he waved for us to join them on the catwalk. "Giving the grand tour, huh?"

"This place is great," I said, looking around as we went up. The med bay was fairly barebones, but it had a computer monitor, some boxcars for berths, some scaffolding that seemed to serve as tables, and a curtained off area that I could see large shelves in, meaning it was probably storage. "You've done a lot in just three weeks."

"Helps we don't need as much recharge as you fleshies," Ironhide said. "One night out of five days, we're fine."

Miles whistled. "Dang, the most any of us have done is Alison went thirty-six hours without sleep once, and she crashed out the minute she got home. Didn't even take her shoes or coat off."

I laughed. "Yeah, not doing that again any time soon, trust me. Once was enough."

"Don't guarantee that," Burke said. "Even stateside, we've had forty-eight straights, and I don't think they'll exclude you for duty."

"Actually, being the Bearer of the AllSpark, Alison should be able to stay up almost as long as a cybertronian, provided she has been getting the right nutrition." Ratchet stood from the crate and ran a scan over me, which I couldn't help wiggling under, cause it tickled. "You've been keeping up your diet?"

I nodded. "Mom's been packing my lunches to ensure it, and she's making Dad follow it too. Dad wanted to say you created a monster, but she's always been like that."

Epps laughed. "She and Monique would get along great. She might ask about that diet plan herself."

"That's right, you families are supposed to be coming to live here," Mikaela said. "How'd they react to all this?"

"Sarah took it pretty well," Will said. "She actually sat and had a conversation with Ironhide after we explained everything. Annabelle seems excited mostly, she always waves whenever she sees Ironhide outside."

"Monique's always been able to roll with the punches," Epps said. "Her main point is that my chances of getting shot here are a lot less than they were out in Qatar. The kids are excited as hell, especially my youngest, Fred."

"How many you have?" I asked, though I knew the answer.

"Five. The other four are girls."

"Lizzie, my wife, was a bit apprehensive, 'til Copper talked to her," Burke said, then an affectionate smile crossed his face. "Now Meghan, our daughter, she just about ran Copper ragged asking for stories about the 'Bots, and is begging for new toy cars and robots for her birthday so she can act out all their amazing adventures."

Coppertone smiled. "She's a cute kid. She's gonna be a firecracker when she gets older."

"You say that like she's not one now."

"When will they get here?" Bee asked.

"The weekend before opening. Sarah and Monique are furniture shopping in the meantime," Epps said.

"How's work and school going to work out?" Miles asked.

"The kids will be going to school the next town over, and Monique's going to try and find a job there," Will said. "Sarah will stay home with Annabelle, as well as managing the running of our ranch from out here."

"Lizzie's an independent editor, so she can work from anywhere," Burke said. "She's also glad for the free babysitting Sarah's offering, so she can get some more work done."

"What about you guys?" Miles looked up to Ironhide and Ratchet. "Any of you got kids?"

"Only Ratchet, and they're adopted," Ironhide said. "With our lifespans, and the AllSpark, we don't have the same drive to reproduce like you do."

"My children were hatchlings my conjunx and I found abandoned, and we adopted them," Ratchet explained. "They grew to adulthood before the War, and were sent out as their own team searching for the AllSpark. Last we heard they were a few dozen lightyears away from here, so they'll be a while in showing up, if they do at all."

Bee snorted. "With Grim-'Me definition of lead horse to water'-lock leading them, they'll probably be doing their own thing until you send them a wrench threat, then they'll come home."

"One can hope." Ratchet shook his helm. "In any case, wrangling you lot is like having kids all over again, so I could do with a bit of peace for a while."

"What? Why, Ratchet, we're practically angels," Copper said, shooting him an innocent smile.

"Don't make me wrench you." Ratchet lifted a servo holding said wrench, which I swore wasn't there a second ago. Subspace?

We chatted for a while longer, during which I was able to properly introduce Miles to everyone. Mikaela and Bee also reminded me to tell Ratchet about the powers the AllSpark had given me. This prompted another round of scans as he looked for any physical signs of them, and the promise for me to come in the next day to run some tests on my ability to use them. By the time he let me go, it was dinner time, so we all trooped to the mess, where Mom's food was very happily received. After that Ella dragged me away to the office to work on reports and look over the budget like she'd said. There was also the first hundred files of incoming personnel, which needed my review and okay. None of the names jumped out at me as familiar, and they all had good records, so I passed them all, getting to use my own official COTA stamp to do so.

My stamp was the official COTA symbol, which has designed during the negotiations. It consisted of a planet on a shield, one half showing the western hemisphere of Earth, the other the Iaconian half of Cybertron. Two ribbons arched over the planet, with COTA written in both English and Neocybex on the top, and my titles of Director and Bearer on the bottom. It was the same emblem that would be on the uniforms and painted on the walls of HQ, except those would have "Usque omnes unum sint" - the Latin of "'Til all are one" - across the bottom, and be colored with white ribbons and a blue, green and silver planet on a light blue badge.

Once the files were sorted out, Ella hustled me off to bed, insisting I get plenty of rest. I let her fuss, and didn't bother reminding her what Ratchet had said earlier about my need for sleep, especially since it wasn't entirely accurate. Since I started getting proper nutrition from my diet I did need less sleep, but I still needed six hours to be fully rested. When I got to my room, I was surprised to see Mikaela there, sitting on my bed.

"Hey Alison," she said, standing, which let me see the cute tank top and shorts she wore for PJs.

"Hey, Mikaela," I said, with only a slight crack in my voice on seeing her. "What brings you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you, and to give you something." She walked over to me, and I felt a bit like a juicy morsel in the sights of a predator.

"Give me what?"

She didn't answer verbally, just put her hands on either side of my face and pulled me into a kiss.

Mikaela. Pulled me. Into a kiss.

has stopped running. Hard reboot and try again.

Once my brain caught up with reality, I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her back. And damn, it was incredible, I was seeing stars and it wasn't from lack of air (breath in and out through your nose kids, it'll last a lot longer).

When we finally pulled apart, I smiled dopily. "Is that revenge for the kiss in Mission City?"

"Maybe," Mikaela smiled. "And to tell you I want to be your girlfriend. I've waited three weeks, and I like Alison, not the hero aura or whatever you said might be affecting me. So, what do you say?"

Well there's only one answer I could give to that. "Yes. Yes, absolutely yes!" I pulled her back and pressed a softer kiss to her corner of her lips. She laughed and tilted her head for another kiss, walking backwards and pulling me with her. When we hit the bed she pulled me down with her, and I just barely avoided squishing her under me by catching myself. We broke apart to laugh and I looked down at the beautiful girl under me. And she actually chose me.

I pressed a soft kiss to her nose. "I love you."

She kissed my nose in return. "I like you."

And that was perfectly fine.


AN: This was a fun chapter to do, and hopefully I have you a clear layout of the base so you know where everyone is at in relation to the others. However, anyone asking for a proper scale will promptly be answered with "Scale? What scale, i can not do math." Just trust me when I say everything is close enough together that vehicles aren't needed to get around (much), but far enough apart the Bots aren't risking damage to themselves or the buildings.

Guest Review Replies

Guest (CH 8): How about Milla Jovovich for Coppertone?
While lovely, and I think I know which role you are referencing, Milla is too old for the role, and aside from Leeloo, she doesn't have any redhead roles.

Duder (CH 9): Tomboy, huh? Then possibly Bella Thorne, in the Adam Sandler movie 'Blended' she played a tomboy, just use that hairstyle and her adult proportions.
Unfortunately and conversely to Milla, Bella is too young for my needs. She's only 21 (my age, which is weird to think about), and Coppertone is in her mid-twenties mentally, so her holo needs to reflect that.

Guest (CH 9): Hayley Williams for coppertone?
Honestly, I would love to use Hayley, and her orange is almost exactly how I picture Copper's hair and plating color. But I also rp as Copper on tumblr, and there aren't enough icons of her with her short orange hair, nor are they as varied as I wish to use over there.

I do have some other tentative options for FCs (I'm leaning towards Natalya Rudakova per her role in Transporter 3), but I'm still open to suggestions if anyone wants to offer any. And *spoiler alert* I am also looking for FCs for Prowl and Wheeljack, so if anyone wishes to help out, their holo descriptions will be in the reviews for you to check out.

I'll see you all next week, same Bot Time, same Bot Channel!