~Chapter 1~

Maggie's Arrival—One month ago

"And here's the Rec Room."

The two girls entered and Maggie paused to look around. "Oh my gosh, Mikaela, this place is enormous."

Mikaela nodded. "It has to be. Everyone, human and Autobot, likes to gather here in the evenings."

"Who did you say is living here again? You and Sam, and I remember Bumblebee from Hoover Dam."

"Right, and there's Jazz, Ratchet and Optimus Prime, and we're expecting more Autobots to get to Earth soon. There's also Ironhide, but he lives offbase with Will and Sarah Lennox and their daughter, Annabelle. He's their guardian. They come every week to visit and for check-ups. Ummm… well, not so much visiting anymore. Mostly just check-ups. And not Will, just Sarah and Annabelle. Sarah hasn't been doing too well. Neither has Ironhide, and Ratchet keeps a close optic on them. I'm not quite sure what's been going on over there."

Mikaela dismissed the topic with a wave and pointed over to two doors set into the far wall, one extremely large, the other a normal size.

"Those doors lead out to the back of the Base. To the left of them is temporary storage, but we can skip that. Come this way."

Mikaela led her to a small area off to the right.

"The Autobots put everything as close together as possible for us, but it's still a hike to get around. This is the kitchen area. Nice and cozy, with furniture just for us, 'cause they don't eat the same way we do. We take turns keeping the place clean. Sam was thrilled to hear we were getting another recruit. He whines worse than his dog when it comes to cleaning anything. Honestly. Men."

Mikaela rolled her eyes and Maggie laughed.

"And over here…" Mikaela led the way past several huge pieces of furniture.

"Oh my gosh," Maggie repeated faintly, stopping to stare up at them. "How big are the Autobots anyway?"

"They're all different sizes. Here. Check this out."

Maggie joined the dark-haired girl in the smaller seating area with a sigh of relief at the normal-sized furniture.

Mikaela patted her shoulder. "I know. The size difference is a bit overwhelming at first, but you'll get used to it. Take a look at this, our very own home theatre. The Autobots like to watch with us too, but they drag their own chairs over or just sit on the floor."

Maggie's breath caught at the sight of the huge screen on the wall and the equally huge speakers set around the seating area. "This can't be a home system. That's as big as a real movie theatre screen!"

Mikaela smirked. "It is a real movie theatre screen. The speakers are the same as in a theatre, too. And so's the popcorn machine. The candy we keep in the kitchen. There's a stereo, we have tons of movies, and over 500 channels on satellite TV. Oh, and we also have a Wii, Playstation and Xbox, there's computers in that corner over there, and dozens of games."

Maggie let out her breath in a sigh of bliss. "I'm pinching myself here, seriously. But how did you afford all this?"

"Hehe, we didn't. The government did. Optimus told Sam and I to make a list of whatever we needed to be happy and comfortable here, so we did. And the government is willing to do almost anything to keep Optimus happy. Okay, last stop, the Medbay, then I'll take you to your quarters. The furniture came yesterday, and Sam and Bumblebee took care of it. God knows what kind of arrangement they came up with, so be prepared to shove stuff around."

The two girls left the Rec Room and crossed the hallway to another set of large and small doors, both of them standing open. Mikaela waved her hand in a flourish. "And here you are at my new school-slash-workplace, the Medbay, where Ratchet rules with an iron fist. He's the medic and my mentor. I'm in a work-study program under his guidance, with heavy emphasis on the 'work' part. I swear I've never worked so hard in my life."

Maggie pointed up at the large sign hanging next to the open door of the mechs' entry.

"Those symbols are beautiful. What language is that?"

"Oh that's Cybertronian. Ratchet put that up almost as soon as we got here."

"Do you know what they mean?"

Mikaela shrugged and turned away. "No idea, but my guess is either, All Employees Must Wash Hands, or Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here. Let me tell you, every tale of torture you'll ever hear about this place is absolutely true."

Maggie's laughter choked off abruptly; her eyes widened.

"Oh god, he's behind me, isn't he?" Mikaela groaned.

Maggie nodded weakly and started backing away slowly. Mikaela winced and mouthed, 'Shit!' before turning and looking up at the gigantic Autobot medic.

"Oh, hi Ratchet. I didn't realize you were here."

"Obviously," the medic replied dryly. "And you're 20 minutes late for training."

"Uhhh… right. Sorry. I was just showing our newest recruit around the Base. Maggie, this is Ratchet, our Chief Medical Officer. Ratchet, this is Maggie Madsen, our new signals analyst."

Ratchet nodded curtly. "Pleased to meet you." He turned his head and called over his shoulder, "Jazz, you're good to go."

Mikaela's face fell. "Awww. I missed his exam!"

"Yes, you did," the medic replied, his tone completely lacking in sympathy. "Maybe that will help you remember to be on time."

A smaller silver Autobot came to the door of the Medbay, chuckling. "Abandon Hope, huh? I like that 'Kaela!"

Mikaela started snickering, caught Ratchet's optics on her, and tried to muffle it. Jazz bent down, the glow from under his visor brightening. "And who's the little lady with ya?"

Mikaela pulled a reluctant Maggie from behind her, pushing her towards the silver mech. "Jazz, this is Maggie Madsen, the new signals analyst. Maggie, this is Jazz, Second in Command of the Autobots."

"Nice ta meet ya, Miss Maggie," Jazz grinned, inclining his head slightly.

"Just Maggie, please," the girl corrected with a hesitant smile. "And it's nice to meet you, too."

"That's an interestin' accent ya got there. Where're ya from?"

"Oh, she's from Australia, Jazz."

"Australia, huh?"

Ratchet suddenly blew out air with a loud huffing sound.

"If the introductions are over, there are five datapads with new information waiting for you, Mikaela. I suggest you study. I'll be testing you on the material in two hours."

"Two hours! Ratchet, that's not fair! I can't possibly learn all that in only-"

"1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds."

Mikaela's mouth dropped open and snapped shut again.

"Slavedriver!" she accused.

Ratchet looked down at her. An optic ridge hiked slowly upward.

"1 hour and 58 minutes. And counting," he added calmly.

Brown eyes glared, blue optics narrowed.

Maggie watched as student and teacher locked stares with each other for a long, silent moment. Ratchet finally gave a slight snort, and Mikaela relaxed.

"You're impossible," she stated, smiling up at the huge Autobot.

Ratchet's lips twitched. "Go study, Mikaela," he told her, motioning her inside. "I'll be right in to answer any questions."

Mikaela grinned, waved at Maggie, and disappeared into the Medbay.

Maggie looked over at Jazz with a puzzled frown. "What happened? What'd I just miss?"

Jazz shook his head, chuckling. "Looks like 'Kaela got a reprieve. Those two, they have their own private signals goin' on with each other."

"And you." The huge Autobot was suddenly pointing a very large finger at Maggie. She took a step backward, trying not to panic. "I'll see you back here this afternoon at 1400 hours for your checkup."

She gulped and nodded. "Yessir."

The medic turned and went into the Medbay, and Maggie tried to collect her scattered thoughts. They had to be around here somewhere.

"Don't mind Ratch. He's always cranky settlin' inta a new place." Maggie let out a gasp and whirled to see Jazz squatting down beside her, looking almost as huge as the medic. "Hey, ya seem a little tense there, Maggie. How ya feelin'?"

"Small. Really, really small," she blurted nervously, eyeing the very large silver Autobot hovering over her.

Jazz's mouth actually opened in surprise and then he burst out laughing, the sound rolling out from him, rich and full. Maggie half-expected him to lift his visor and wipe away tears. She started giggling herself, the sound was so infectious. Nice laugh, she thought, and relaxed a little as she watched him.

His laughter died down to deep chuckles. "That's not the answer I was expectin' but yeah, I guess ya would be feelin' kinda small around us." He gazed down at her, his visor glowing brightly, a smile still playing around his lips. "Where're ya headed ta now?"

"Oh." Maggie frowned, realizing she'd lost her guide. "I have no idea. Mikaela was supposed to show me my quarters and then I guess I need to report to my new boss, but I don't know where he is either."

"No problem," Jazz told her, standing up. "I'll take ya there myself." He looked over at the Rec Room. "I could use some breakfast first. How 'bout you? Ya hungry? Thirsty?"

"Uh, sure. I wouldn't mind a soda."

Breakfast, Maggie mused, following him into the Rec Room. He eats breakfast. She went over to the small kitchen area and selected a can from the refrigerator, and turned to find Jazz already standing behind her with a glowing cube in his hand. She jumped and almost dropped her soda. Now how did he manage to move so fast? She hadn't even heard him!

He patted the kitchen chair nearest him and waited. Maggie looked from the chair to him and back to the chair again, completely confused.

"Ladies first," Jazz said, his tone smooth and inviting.

Maggie gaped in disbelief and then blushed. "Oh, sorry!" He waited politely for her to take a seat, before lowering himself to the floor next to her.

She took a small sip from her soda and watched, fascinated, as Jazz raised the glowing cube that contained a swirling, luminescent liquid. Half the contents vanished in one swallow. She heard a long blow of air like a sigh, followed by a low hum.

"Mmmm, that's good." His look was sheer bliss, his voice a velvety purr of contentment. The liquid swirled and glowed and his visor brightened to match it. "How's your soda?"

Maggie shook her head, feeling the urge to pinch herself. A large silver robotic alien who had better manners than most men she knew, who drank his breakfast from a cube that contained a strange glowing liquid, and then inquired solicitously about her ordinary, everyday soda.

"Unbelievable," she murmured.

She looked up at his deep chuckle. "Never heard a soda called that before. Must be really good."

Maggie laughed at that. "No, I meant… here… all of this… everything..." She gestured around, her hands fluttering. "It's just so…

"Weird?"

"That too, but I was going to say, amazing. It's like a dream come true for me, too," she confessed with a shy smile. "I feel like I've stepped into a science fiction story. I've always wanted to go to other worlds, meet aliens and learn all about them. I used to bury myself in those kinds of books when I was younger."

She heard a deep hum and looked up at the large silver mech. His visor glowed a soft blue.

"That's somethin' we have in common then. Likin' new worlds and wantin' ta meet aliens. And now ya have."

"I sure have," she smiled. "Although I wasn't really expecting the aliens to be so big."

"Just give it some time. You'll get used to us," Jazz assured her. "So, when we're done here, ya wanna go check out your quarters first or your workplace?"

Jazz watched the smile slip off her face. "I guess I should go meet my new boss and make sure I actually am staying," she said slowly.

His head tilted to the side. "And why would ya not be?" he asked curiously.

Her eyes flickered up to him and back down again. She turned her soda can around in little circles, her cheeks coloring. "I'm afraid I don't fit in too well with normal people. My best friends are geeks and computer hackers, and I'm one, too. I love signals analysis, but I get very wrapped up in my work. I'm too intense about it, really. My brain just takes these flying leaps and then things come out wrong. I got fired from my last two jobs for telling my bosses they were wrong—in front of everyone. I'm not sure why Secretary Keller thinks I'm perfect for this job when it's not even up to me, but to my new boss."

She shrugged. "I'm just going to tell him everything, right up front. Then he can decide whether he wants to deal with the hacker-geek, or tell me not to bother unpacking. I really would like to stay though," she added softly.

Jazz took another swallow from his cube, studying her. She didn't look or think or even sound like the other two humans on the base. This little femme was a walking, talking culture all her own. Intriguing.

Maggie stopped fiddling with her soda can. "You know my new boss, don't you, Jazz?"

"Well, yes-"

"He'll listen to me when I try and tell him something, right?"

Jazz nodded. "Sure, and in fact-"

"And hopefully he isn't as stubborn as my last boss. That man was the absolute worst when it came to insisting on doing things his way."

Jazz looked at her and started to smile. "Nah, he isn't stubborn. He's the laid back type, easy ta get along with."

"Tell me he isn't a complete idiot."

Jazz's smile got a little bigger. "Not completely, no."

"That's a relief, then. Okay, I guess I'm ready to meet him now."

Jazz grinned. "Good." He placed his empty cube on the kitchen table and inclined his head to her. "Hi Maggie. It's a pleasure ta meet ya. I'm Jazz, your new boss."

He watched Maggie's eyes grow round and her mouth drop open. Her cheeks turned a bright red color. "Oh. My. God."

"Relax, Maggie," he chuckled.

"Oh my god," she repeated with a sigh. "Are you going to show me to the exit, or should I just find my own way out?"

"Nah. I'm actually gonna show ya ta your quarters now, then later on you and I can get ta work."

She looked at him doubtfully. "Really?"

Jazz nodded and smiled. "Really."

He flipped up half his visor with a finger. One optic dimmed and brightened again in a slow wink. "I think you and I'll get along just fine. Welcome ta the Autobot Base, Maggie."

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A/N: Next chapter will be posted after I get back from vacation, in about 2 1/2 weeks. And to everyone who has reviewed, fav'd and alerted, a million thank you's!!