Hello, I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! And thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far: Guest(s) X4, zudebaby X2, Alice, rybkakoi, aquarius89 X5, SwordOfTheJedi, SunnyandSidesFemme17, TheHeizeEffect, nighten-gale1720, Ekeifer, KyleeChiara, Edges05 X3, xXxThe Scarlett RoseXxX, Loki Tyv, and Miss Rae Fox
I do not own Transformers or any of the video games named in this chapter.
Chapter 10
"Rin! Not bad! Not bad at all!" Sideswipe rolled up to Erin with his trademark goofy grin. Unlike Ironhide, who would kneel down to be near Erin's eye level, Sideswipe almost always stood at his full height while talking to her. When he didn't, he would lazily plop down on his aft and stretch his legs out. This was not one of those times. His shadow loomed over her as he happily beamed about their victory while Sunstreaker stood menacingly in the background.
Prowl and Jazz had already left to see Ratchet. Jazz seemed unable to transform at the time, most likely because of the punishment Sunstreaker put his through. The pair had left on foot, or pede as they would say it. Erin thought about Jazz's scars, they were different from the marks visible on warriors like Ironhide. While the black mech had obvious scratches and dents on the inner layers of armor, his black outer layers were smooth and shiny like any other truck fresh off the factory line. Jazz, however, was marred with long marks all over his silver chassis. Erin had heard about his major injury four years ago, it seemed he was still recovering. It was odd, she always had the impression that the autobots healed quickly.
Ironhide had also left, claiming he needed to watch Annabelle. Before driving off, though, he requested that Erin see the medic since she was now considered his patient.
"Not bad for our first day, huh?" He never gave her a chance to respond. "Let's go to the rec room, we-or, uh- Sunny and I have some energon with out designations on it!"
Erin paused, regarding the mech. "The autobot rec room? I don't know… I think I should head to the mess hall."
"Nonsense! You can go there later. Don't you want to spend some time with your favorite mech?" Quickly, he brought a hand down and scooped up the unsuspecting soldier.
It took all of Erin's will not to squeak with fright when she was brought up to his chest, cupped securely in his four fingered servo. She couldn't, however, prevent a worried hand from grasping some armor on his chassis while she glanced down.
Unfortunately, Sideswipe seemed to notice her panic. He paused and gazed down at her with a confused look on his faceplates. "Erin…" his voice was filled with a dawning realization.
'Oh, no.' Everything must have clicked for him.
"You're not afraid of heights… are you?"
Erin looked up to be greeted by a wickedly amused smile.
"O-of course not." She immediately felt her stomach drop when he lifted her closer to his face.
"You suuuure?"
"I just don't like being carried around by a frickin' giant!"
"Aw, but I'm harmless. Why would you b afraid of little ole me?" he beamed when she chanced another worried glance to the ground.
"I said I'm not scared of heights!"
Erin thought Sideswipe's smile was evil but…"Is that so?" Sunstreaker's was downright terrifying. She could hear the ground cry as the yellow 'bot stalked closer. Whatever he was thinking, Erin wanted nothing to do with it.
Quickly, Erin's survival instincts beat out her fear, she held her breath and jumped. First she dropped to grip one of Sideswipe's hip components, then allowed herself to fall to the top of his wheel, where she backflipped off to land on sweet solid ground. Without another word, she walked away, heartbeat slowly returning to a normal pace.
Sideswipe tried to pursue her, easily catching up to the much slower human. "Aw, come on Rin. I didn't mean to upset you." Amusement was apparent in his voice.
She shot him a glare, "Back off." Her voice was filled with as much venom as she could conjure. Luckily, it seemed to have worked. The silver mech flinched and stopped following her. She managed to stalk off without his intrusion.
Erin was not in the mood for 'team bonding'. She was so frustrated! She trained so hard just so she could be strong. But even with all her skill, she'd always be weak in comparison to the 'bots. Sideswipe might not have been aware of it, but that was a fact he had rubbed her face in. Erin's fists clentched as she felt her pulse quicken like it had when she was in his hand. She had to calm down.
While keeping an even pace, she took control of her breathing, willing her body to relax. Within seconds, her calm demeanor returned and she continued on, hiding her emotions from the world.
Erin was not feeling very hungry after the event with Sideswipe. Instead, she took the long way to the autobot med bay in hopes the others would have left by the time she arrived. Aside from a few brief encounters, she never had much of a conversation with Ratchet before, or even seen his med bay for that matter. She knew it was in the same building where the twins would be. Not in the mood to see them at the moment, she extended her walk even further, circling several other hangers before she entered through a side door. Of course, she'd have to cut through a giant hallway to reach the bay.
She had never gone in that way, but she knew that going through the first hallway would lead to doors opening up to the second, more familiar one. There was only one door in the short section. It was mech-sized, with no smaller entrance. The plaque near the door had Cybertronian glyphs on it, next to it was a sign in English that read "Humans Keep Out" followed by another sign with huge, handwritten letters, "Please". Erin paused to look at the second sign, she was trying to fill in some extra time anyways. It looked like someone had painted a panel from a wooden crate with a frayed paint brush.
The door itself was different from the mech-sized doors in Prowl's office. This looked like a giant blaster door. The hinges were as thick as her body and the edges appeared to have been reinforced with extra rivets. Overall, the door itself appeared to be relatively new. It lacked the abuse that soft earth metals seemed to receive from the autobots. Beside the door, however, were scorch marks marring the wall on both sides. Erin looked up at the high ceiling and could distinctly see the black marks climbing up and over ten feet. She must have stared at the door for a few minutes, biding her time in hopes Prowl and Jazz would be cleared from the med bay by the time she arrived.
The silent hallway absorbed a tremendous 'boom' as the ground shook slightly. A flash of light appeared from below the giant door. Erin pulled her pistol by instinct, although it was still on a low level burst. The door shook slightly before it was wretched open. Flowing upwards, smoke kissed the ceiling before it was quickly dissipated by thunderous fans.
A blue mech stumbled past the entrance, hand waving away the last wisps of smoke. Hair-like tendrils around his head and neck flashed brightly as he seemed to clear his vocals. Erin returned her weapon to its holster.
"Is everyone out here alright?" The mech glanced around before dropping his gaze to search for the 'vertically challenged', spotting Erin. "Hey kiddo, you ok?" The mech, who's faceplates seemed blackened by soot, dropped to a low crouch to inspect the soldier.
"I'm not the one you should be worried about." Erin couldn't help but stare incredulously at the mech. She had heard about Que before, and seen his image during the first briefing on the plane, but she was already overwhelmed. Besides, a small section of his lighting 'hairs' seemed to be on fire. Erin motioned on her neck where the flames were crackling over the mech. His optics widened a bit before his servo frantically patted the flames out.
"Oh, thank you, dear. I wouldn't want to replace those again." He rubbed at the singed spot, ensuring the flames were all out. "My, what might be year name, dearie?"
Erin managed to regain her composure and straightened. "Private Brook, uh, sir?" She tilted her head to the side as Que dropped even lower, so that his faceplates were a couple feet from the floor as he ran a finger over where the door once stood.
"Hmm, at least it blast wasn't that bad." The 'bot mumbled to himself. "Oh," his helm shot back up, only a few feet from Erin, "Brook, Brook! Year that new Team Prime girly! Great!" The mech's hand swept behind her and ushered her past the blast door with Erin dragging her feet in protest. "That means you are more than welcome in here. I don't get many human visitors."
The mech pulled the blast door close behind them, much to Erin's horror. He ambled over to a giant desk and sorted through a mess of metallic pieces, all of which were around the size of her arm. Erin quickly glanced at her surroundings. The walls were painted with scorch marks. They appeared to have been covered in an off white paint repeatedly; the layers pealed slightly where the blackness was worse. The room had four giant tables, all of which stood several yards from each other. From what Erin could see from the furthest two, they were littered with more pieces of metal junk. Also filling the room were several large machines, some of which the size of Que himself, and none of which Erin could even hope to identify. Notably, the only fragile looking thing in the room was her.
Que mumbled to himself as he sorted through his mess. Victory in his search was announced by a loud "aha!". The inventor turned on his heels and marched back to where Erin awkwardly was standing. She was not entirely sure what she should be doing, but she hoped nothing around her would explode.
"Tell me, what weapons are those, dear?" he pointed to her holsters.
"Um," entirely uncomfortable with the situation, Erin decided she needed to calm down and just go with it, "An e-blade and a energon pistol."
"Good, good. And how do they work for you?"
At least this was a conversation she could follow. "The blade works well, I can cut through armor if I use enough strength, and it's light enough for constant use." Erin rubbed a hand caringly over said weapon. It was by far her favorite. "The pistol's kick is a bit strong for me. I can hit my target; but while at the firing range, I've noticed my recovery time between each shot is diminished compared to normal hand guns."
"Ah, mind if I take a look?" The mech thrust a servo a bit too close to her, palm open and waiting.
Erin relented and handed her weapon over. The mech's optics scanned over the comparatively small device. Humming, he prodded it with a finger. In a quick motion, said finger burst into tens of small metallic devices, all poking at the hand gun. With Que still crouching low, Erin could watch as his multitool finger clicked, screwed, and buzzed away in a flurry of movement. His finger collapsed back down and he handed the weapon back to Erin.
"Give that a try next time you hit the firing range, dear." He smiled proudly at his work.
Erin cautiously picked it back up, the legend of Que creeping into the back of her mind. "It's not going to, um, you know?"
Unfazed, the mech shook his helm, "Oh, no. Only my prototypes do that. That's how you know it's ready for the second phase of trials."
Erin's eyes must have been the size of saucers. This mech was straight up weird. "Ok." She replied weakly, "Thanks, then."
"Oh, girly, could yea check this out for me?" Que's other hand offered a large gun-like device. It had the girth of a rocket launcher, and its overall shape was like a long rectangle.
Cautiously, she gripped the device. It took a bit of effort on her part to heft it up into her own arms. It might as well have been made of solid iron.
"That is my prototype for a new weapon for the humans on Team Prime." The blue mech stated, waving his hands around as he spoke, "It is a miniaturized version of a shoulder blaster, just what I was working on a moment ago."
Erin's heart dropped as she froze. "This isn't going to explode is it?"
"No, no." The mech laughed and waved off her concern. "This is just a model, there's no power cell."
"Oh, ok." Slightly more at ease, Erin inspected the device. The trigger was the only familiar part of the weapon's body. It was mostly blue with glass-like black indents in the stock. "Well, if you want humans to use this, the weight would be a problem. Most of the men wouldn't be able to carry this for very long."
Que nodded, "As I feared." He reached over and relieved Erin of the model weapon. "I can tinker with the materials a bit." He mumbled on, "Perhaps if I used high density plastic around the middle stock walls, I could reduce the weight enough." The mech glanced back to Erin, "Thanks for your input, dear."
"It's no problem," she waved his gratitude off, "but I believe Ratchet is expecting me, so I should get going." Erin hopefully inched towards the door.
The mech stood and nodded in a friendly manner, "Right, right. I'll open it for yea, dear. Sorry to hold yea for long. Swing by my lab or the rec room some time, I'd like to pick year brain some more, if you don't mind."
"The autobot rec room?" Erin walked over to the door, which Que wretched open.
"Nah, I mean the human one, of course."
"You go to the human rec room?" Erin had never really been there herself. She knew of its location, but she never felt the need to hang out with the other men. She got enough social interaction from Franky alone.
"Yeah, I like to hang out with the soldiers there, get to know 'em." He smiled widely. "Though, I never see yea there. The men are always saying femmes would make it more fun there."
"I'm sure they do." Erin grumbled. This mech seemed a bit 'unaware'. "Well, it was nice to finally meet you."
"Same to yea, dear." The mech waved before gently closing the blast door behind him.
'Well that was… odd.' Erin thought as she moved forward through the set of human sized doors leading to the other hallway.
Erin had been there once before. Ironhide had taken her to Prowl's office so she could get approval to receive her E-blade and pistol. The hallway she was trekking down first contained Prowl's office, then a few storage rooms before cornering on Prime's office space. At the turn was another stretch with only two doors, one was for the med bay. Only, Erin was not sure which. There were no signs and the massive front sliding doors were identical, each with a much smaller, human sized, door to the side. Marks were the plaques once hung were still present on the walls. Sideswipe probably hid them. One on either side of the hallway… left or right? Taking a gamble, she turned right.
It only took a second for her to realize it was the wrong door. Stretched out before her was another hallway lined with several giant sliding doors. Curiosity taking over, she strode down the hallway. Unlike the other rooms, there were no adjacent human-sized doors and none of the plaques were written in English. Instead, foreign glyphs were laser engraved on them. Erin realized that she must have stumbled upon the cybertronian private rooms. Not wanting to be caught snooping, she headed towards the exit. Unfortunately, off to her right, a door slid open.
"Rin!"
'Oh, no.' Erin looked up to see Sideswipe's goofy smile.
"If you wanted to join us in the wash racks, you could have asked." He waggled his brows suggestively.
Erin could not stop the pink tint that graced her cheeks at his comment. He was just trying to get a rise out of her but mortification set in as she realized that she was giving him just what he wanted. Behind him, Erin could see a large room with what looked like oversized, retrofitted, shower heads several yards above the ground. Four drains lined the floor. It seemed to be a communal shower place with no curtains. Would the even need curtains? Could 'bots get even more naked than they already were?
"Shut up, fragger." Sunstreaker pulled Erin out of her musings as he pushed his twin through the threshold. "Out of my way, squishy." He briskly walked by, leaving Erin and Sideswipe as he turned into another door.
"Well," Erin grumbled, "isn't he a ray of sunshine."
Sideswipe heartily laughed, his voice filling the hallway. "He's not as bad as he seems." He crouched down toward her. "Just between you and me, there's not a 'bot with a bigger spark than Sunny, he's just good at hiding it behind all that glossy paint."
"I'll take your word for it." Erin mumbled back, not quite believing the mech.
"What brings you here anyway? Aside from wanting to see your favorite mech of course."
"I was heading to the med bay and took a wrong turn. Besides," Erin added with a smile, "Ironhide's out with Annabelle."
"That burns femme."
Not knowing what else to say, she turned to leave, waving goodbye to the mech. "I gotta go, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Hey Rin!" Sideswipe pointed at a door on the far end of the hallway. "The rec room's down there if you change your mind. The offer still stands."
She turned back to him, scanning his optics. He wasn't going to prank her, was he? "I'll… think about it."
"Oh, and Rin…" Sideswipe returned to his full height. "I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to scare ya."
She wanted to snap back and say she wasn't scared. Instead, she calmly replied, "I'll see you around, Sideswipe." She turned again and headed out the human sized door and into the med bay.
The bay was not as large as Erin expected it to be, not to say that it was small in any way. The room consisted of two giant bed-like slates- devoid of any Second or Third in Commands- and two oversized desks with various pieces of equipment neatly laid on top. Another pair of doors was in a corner, the plaque next to one in both glyphs and English read, "Ratchet's Office". The other one read, "Private Room".
Just as Erin closed the door behind her, the larger door on the opposing wall opened. "You better be either human or have a good reason for not comming me!" a rather angry Ratchet, or simply Ratchet, stopped short of what could have been a long rant when he saw who had entered. "Ms. Brook, sorry about that." his voice changed to something much calmer, "I'm glad you came to see me. Please, step over here." He motioned to the autobot-sized beds.
Erin noticed a stairway lining the foot of one of the beds. 'Great' she thought sourly. Ratchet waited patiently while she trecked up. Once she was seated in the middle of the cot, far away from the edge, Ratchet presented her with a glass-like object, about three inches wide and five inches long.
"This is your new data pad, every member of team prime gets one. You'll be able to connect to any autobot or human member of the team using this device." Ratchet gave her a second to look at it questioningly, turning the opaque blue object in her hand. "To activate it, swipe a finger over the screen. To call someone, all you have to do it speak their name while holding it in one hand. You can unfold it into a larger pad by squeezing both sides."
Erin obeyed the last piece of advice and the data pad unfolded and seamlessly clicked into place. Somehow it remained the same thickness as before. Curious, she squeezed it again and it unfolded into an even larger pad. A third time seemed to be the limit, though. Once the medic's patience ran out, the now larger screen blinked into a document. Erin looked up to Ratchet.
"You'll have time to play with it later. For now, I would like to run a basic scan and fill in any gaps in your medical history. The pad shows the information I need. Once you are finished I will run a quick, painless scan."
Erin looked down and read the questionnaire. It already had some spaces filled with her documented medical records.
'Family history', she put 'unknown'.
'Injuries during military service', Erin thought about this. Erin saw on the form that under 'Other Injuries' was a description of a window accident, causing severe scarring on her back and ankles. Since the medic was going to do some kind of advanced alien scan, he would probably see all her scars, she might as well be forward coming. How much should she write? 'Lacerations on abdomen and forearms, November 2007. Broken arm, February 2008. Concussions, April and June 2008. Lacerations on abdomen October 2008. Bullet wound in lower back, July 2009. Broken leg, laceration on hip, January 2010. Bullet in left shoulder, June 2010. Broken hand, fractured hip, laceration on shoulder and abdomen, concussion, August 2010.' Her bones ached as she documented her major injuries since turning 18. Was it really that many? While the scars under her clothes were unsightly, she never thought much about the damage under the skin.
She continued to fill out basic information while the autobot medic thumbed through one of his desks.
"I'm finished." She announced. The screen in her hands flashed and the document disappeared.
Ratchet turned to her, optics slightly dimmer than before. "So it seems." He paused as his optics brightened back, regarding the girl before him. "Tell me Ms. Brook, why are most of your records sealed?"
"Prior to joining NEST, I was in an experimental military training program. All participants had their personal histories sealed or removed."
"And you cannot divulge any more information, even with your medical officer?"
"No."
"Can you tell me who your former medic was?"
"No."
His tone became dangerous, "That's too bad."
Erin flinched. "Why?"
"Because, I was hoping to find him and beat him with every medical text I could get a hold of." He explained simply, anger seething through his calm exterior.
"Wha-"
"Only a medic from the pit would approve of a human going on dangerous missions in quick succession after such injuries! What makes you think I would approve of you joining Team Prime considering your medical history?!"
"I passed my physical without any prob-"
"Do you think I care about a fraggin' human physical?" I knew there was something wrong when you challenged Sideswipe!" Ratchet was looming over her. His fist smashed down on the table next to her, barley causing a dent on the presumably strong metal. Erin began to fear for her safety.
"Why don't you just scan me and see for yourself?" 'Great idea! Have the angry giant robot shoot you with his scanning laser thingy.' Erin thought sourly.
"Hold on," Ratchet seemed to gain a bit of control over himself. "I am going to do a deep scan." Erin did not like the way he said those last two words. "This may be uncomfortable." A deep blue light emanated from his optics and traced over Erin.
The scan felt like acupuncture gone wrong. With her teeth grit, and eyes shut, she bore through the 'uncomfortable' feeing. As the light disappeared, Ratchet made a disappointed grunt. Erin took a moment to reorient herself.
"What the frag did you do to yourself?" he questioned.
"Training?" Erin was not sure whether she was answering him or asking.
"Training my aft. There is still a bullet in your shoulder." he said plainly, hands on his hips.
This caught Erin by surprise. 'What the fuck? I thought they got it out!' Apparently that 'successful surgery' she had did not include the removal of the bullet. Why hadn't they at least told her?
"It does not seem to cause any risk to you, I would not recommend surgery for its removal, it would add to the scarring already built up and impede your upper body movement."
"O-ok." Erin still did not like the thought of having a foreign piece of metal stuck inside of her.
"The bottom half of your latissimus dorsi… you lower back hurts, right?" he questioned, already certain of the answer.
Erin decided to nod in affirmation.
Ratchet reached his hand towards Erin, she could not help but feel apprehension. A small part of his finger unfolded and three pills lifted up. "Take these for the pain. I recommend heating it before training and icing it after."
"Ok."
"By recommend, I mean that if I find out you aren't taking care of yourself, I will hunt you down. Ask anyone here, no one can hide forever."
"Uh…"
"I've sent a memo to the base's physical therapist, he'll be expecting you tomorrow at your earliest convenience."
"Um, than-"
"Tonight, of course, you will refuel immediately after you leave here. Your blood sugar is low, it is obvious you have not eaten enough today."
"Well I-"
"I expect you to get more recharge. I can tell you have not been resting your body enough. I should have expected this, considering exhaustion leads to poor judgement."
"I'm just-"
"Malnutrition and sleep deprecation with impede your body's healing. It seems all you humans forget this." His voice gradually began to rise.
"Isn't that a bit unfa-"
"You may have impressive capabilities, from what I have heard, but keep this up and the physical toll will put you out of commission within the next five years!"
Erin gave up on trying to speak and resigned herself to what would become a very, very long lecture.
Erin stumbled out of the med bay, mentally exhausted from Ratchet's lecture. 'These 'bots are crazy' she thought, worried for her own sanity. Erin decided to head straight for the mess hall. The last thing the wanted was another malnutrition talk.
Erin was already planning out the healthiest possible meal that would get the medic's seal of approval as she not so slowly headed for the exit. She'd have to find something not processed that still had a bit of sodium. It seemed that they never salted the hot food and there were no salt packs anywhere on the base.
Behind her, she could hear the clanking footsteps of a cybertronian. The long strides quickly caught up as a shadow loomed over her. The footsteps stopped practically on top of her as Erin also halted. Slowly, she turned to stare into the azure optics of a very pissed off yellow front liner.
"Can I help you?" she asked, trying to hide her uncertainty.
"Stay out of my way." The mech growled. He didn't have to say anything, though. The disgust in his optics said it all.
"Well there's plenty of room," her hand swept out towards the large hallway, "I don't take up much space."
"You know what I mean!" He took a threatening step forward, nearly crushing her feet under his. "Sideswipe may think it's fun to play 'pet' with you humans, but I want nothing to do with you! You're weak, disgusting creatures! Look at yourself, you're just greasy meat sacks!" His hand gestured wildly as he started to pace across the hallway, mumbling various insults.
"Primus below, what was that half-clock thinking?" With each turn, his pace quickened. Erin got the distinct impression that he may have forgotten about her presence, or just no longer cared. "That malfunctioning, two-bit, knock-off. Glitching out for a fleshy."
Erin couldn't help but mutter, "Why don't you tell me what you really think." She was under no delusion that, if Sunstreaker wished it, he could easily squish her. However, she was hardly one to stand down.
He turned on his heels to fully face her. "Look squishy," his tone calmed eerily, "if you have any survival instincts, you'll quit while your meaty insides are still intact." Deciding that their little chat was finished, Sunstreaker turned on his heels and headed to the door leading to the berth rooms.
Erin felt as if her blood was boiling from the way he talked down to her. It was what she expected coming from a supposedly 'superior' race, but hearing it from that pompous jerk, she just felt pissed.
"Hey!" She ran after him, choosing to go through the human sized door as he wretched the giant sliding one closed. "Have I not proven myself already?" She had to jog alongside him in order to keep up. "How many humans do you know of that can take on a 'bot one on one?"
"Sideswipe may be an idiot, but in a real fight, you would've been a smear on the ground." Sunstreaker never even glanced at her as he continued stomping forward. "The only thing that's kept you alive these past couple of weeks is Prime's order not to harm humans." He quickened his pace, forcing Erin to run.
"So Sideswipe, Prowl, Jazz, and Ironhide all let me kick their asses?"
"Beginner's luck."
"I didn't become a soldier two weeks ago. I've been doing this for a while!"
The mech stopped abruptly and turned to Erin, kneeling threateningly close. "I've been fighting 'cons since before your ancestors were forged from whatever goo you squishies are made of. So when I tell you that you won't survive, I'm speaking from experience." A cynical smile grew over his faceplates. "Don't take it as a threat. It's a warning from the brightness of my spark." The last words came in a growl
"Rin!" Erin barley suppressed a sign as the jovial giant himself wheeled up to her "Everything, uh… ok?" Sideswipe asked cautiously, eyeing both Erin and his twin.
Sunstreaker grunted, "Fine. The squishy was just-"
"'Accepting your invitation from earlier." Both mechs stared down at the human with mixes of shock and either excitement or anger. She smiled at the yellow front liner. "Teammates should get to know each other after all."
"Great!" Sideswipe ushered her into the rec room, leaving a silently fuming Sunstreaker in the hallway.
Erin did not know what to expect from an autobot rec room but she did think that she would see something at least remotely alien. Instead, she entered a large room with mech-sized furniture that seemed to be made of either concrete or metal. There were two 'couches' sitting in front of an oversized screen. Hanging to the ceiling was a projector that let out a faint glow. On the other side of the room were three tables with benches lining either side. Sitting on one of the benches, each with a glowing blue cube in hand, were Jazz and Mirage. They did not seem to notice Erin and they most likely ignored Sideswipe and Sunstreaker as the twins headed towards the couches. Erin was sure to give Sunstreaker a wide berth after he nearly stepped on her in passing.
The slabs of concreate were stacked to reach higher than her head. She jumped and caught her hands on the edge. Erin swung her legs to the side and used the momentum to heave herself up. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Sideswipe looking slightly put off, still holing out a hand he had apparently offered her. She, however, was not in any mood to be carried by the silver mech, or any 'bot for that matter. Erin made sure to sit far from the edge of the couch, not that there was much of a fall, but still.
Sunstreaker nonchalantly sat as far from Erin as physically possible while being on the same couch. Sideswipe fumbled around a case by the projection screen. He pulled out two hunks of… something. When they came closer, Erin recognized them to be giant game controllers. He handed one to Sunstreaker and sat close to Erin, she scooted over slightly to get some room. He reached down and presented her with a wireless human-sized game controller.
"I don't think Sam would mind you borrowing this."
She hesitantly took the device. "You mean Sam Whitwicky?"
"Yeah, it's his. Only he and a few other humans ever enter the rec room." He explained.
Erin knew that the Whitwicky guy was a close friend of the autobots, maybe not all of them… But he only visited while on break from college. His autobot guardian, Bumblebee lived with him at all times.
"So! What do you want to play? We can download any game you can imagine. Halo, World of Warcraft, Mario cart…" Sideswipe looked down at her expectantly, optics shining.
"Uh, well…" Erin could not believe how surreal life had gotten. Playing video games with aliens. "I-I don't know. I've never plated a video game before."
"WHAT!" Everyone seemed shocked by Sideswipe's sudden outburst. Jazz and Mirage raced over to see what was going on, both gave questioning looks to the human seated uncomfortably close to a very animated mech. "How could you have never done this before?" he waved the controller around.
"Well, my foster parents were kind of strict and never really allowed them." She quietly added, "Is it such a big deal?"
The silver mech's head dropped as if he was grieving. "I'm sorry, you must have had a depraved childhood."
"What?" Her voice cracked. Was a refugee from dead planet really calling her childhood depraved?
He suddenly perked up, shaking the furniture under both of them. "Well, no more! I'll teach you everything you need to know." Yup, life was surreal.
Sideswipe was a dedicated mentor. He excitedly taught her the ins and outs of how the controllers worked and took her through a demo of Halo, Mario Smash Bros, Lego Star Wars, and Mario Cart. Sunstreaker sat in his corner, occasionally huffing to himself or snickering whenever Erin's avatar died, which was often. Erin could not say she enjoyed the experience, but she did not hate it either. She was not very good, but every time she showed a hint of improvement, Sideswipe would get excited. Of course, he was also ecstatic every time he beat her. He was just a rather energetic mech altogether, although a part of it seemed forced. Erin did not fail to notice the duo of spectators that had gathered around them, not watching the game, but the interactions between the odd trine on the couch. Jazz and Mirage both stood behind the new Team Prime members, gazes drifted to each of them. They seemed rather star struck. After a couple of hours with neither of them uttering a single word, Erin began to worry that they were malfunctioning. She had heard something about one of the 'bots having some kind of glitch. She was aware that Cybertronians could speak through internal comms, but their silence still caught her attention.
Just as her ghost-character-thing fell off a cliff, much to Sunstreaker's amusement, Erin heard the loud steps of yet another 'bot who most likely came to watch the oddity before them. She was going to ignore whoever it was, until she felt a trademark tingle overtake her body. At the same moment she realized she felt rather hungry. She'd forgotten to eat. 'Oh, No.'
"Well, Ms. Brook, it seems that in the short amount of time you've been acquainted with the twins, you have already developed their habit of ignoring my medical advice." He sounded calm. Too calm. After hours of lecture from the 'bot, she knew he did not do calm. " Did I not tell you to refuel after your checkup?"
The spectators whom had gathered around the couch dissipated. Meanwhile, Sideswipe and Erin were frozen, backs straight, controllers still in hand. Erin's first instinct was to give an excuse. Her second instinct was to kick her first one into the atmosphere. She turned to face the angry medic who was wielding a very large wrench. In the two weeks she'd been on Diego Garcia, two things were often repeated. Watch out for the twins, and watch out for flying giant wrenches. 'Crap.'
"I'm sorry sir," she quickly tried to gain her composure, "I have no excuse. I'll head over now."
Ratchet seemed a bit taken aback by Erin's short and appropriate response. "Well… I… just- don't do it again."
"Yes, sir." Erin jumped off the couch, praying the 'bots did not see her close her eyes as she did so.
"Wait." Sideswipe jumped up as Erin quickly stepped back, not wanting to be crushed. "Let me drive you there, I'm the one who distracted you after all."
His sincere look almost made up for the uncomfortable position he had inevitably put her in. She really did not want to ride inside of Sideswipe but she did not want to display her nervousness in front of the 'bots.
Behind her, Erin heard the clanking of a wrench on Ratchet's hand. "I knew you'd leave a negative influence on her. If she comes back to the med bay malnourished or otherwise injured because of your antics, I'll reformat you and your pit-spawned twin into a car wash! At least then you'd be of some use."
Sideswipe put up his hands in a placating manner, "Now, now Hatchet, take it easy." Ratchet threateningly raised his prized weapon, making Sideswipe step back. "Runaway!" Sideswipe yelled as he transformed into his alt-mode.
His passenger door raised over Erin's head and swung over her back to push her into his cab, head first. She curled her legs to avoid getting crushed by the closing door. Erin had no doubt in her mind that everyone watching could hear her scream the offending 'bot's name as he peeled away towards the exit.
Unfortunately for Sideswipe, cars can't open doors. He turned sharply and swung around the couch again. Erin was pulled down by the motion, unable to straighten herself on the seat as she laid over the center console. Sideswipe narrowly dodged a large wrench aimed for his bumper as Ratchet pulled another one out of God-knows-where as Sideswipe made another attempt for the door.
Meanwhile, Erin's string of horrified curses never ceased, apparently much to the amusement of Jazz who was doubled over with laughter. During Sideswipe's second attempt at freedom, Sunstreaker had casually walked to the exit, where he wretched the door open. Sideswipe happily honked his horn as he made his getaway, with Erin still captive.