Chapter 44 - A Bit More Understanding

(OPOV)

Morning hit, Optimus onlined to find Mikaela already puttering around in the pre-dawn light, digging the built up sand out from beneath tires and shaking the irritating, powdered rock off of the tarps.

"Optimus, check your systems," she murmured softly, walking over and running a gentle hand down his fender. No sense in denying that order, he obediently did a systems diagnostic. Hmn.

"Everything is clear," he rumbled after a moment, "thank you."

She smiled and gently untied the tarp from him, he backed away slightly and transformed, surreptitiously blowing a bit of sand out of his nose. Okay, now he was clear of any sand.

Mikaela snorted and shot a wry glare up at him, brushing away the sand that had rained down on her.

"Sorry," he rumbled quietly.

She laughed softly and waved a hand at him, puttering off to continue her self-appointed tasks straightening up the camp. Bee onlined a few minutes later with a start, transforming with the tarp over his head. Mikaela shot around and began laughing as Optimus steadied his scout.

"No, you are supposed to let us get this thing off before you transform," he teased Bumblebee lightly, lifting the tent to look at his scout's face. "Systems check, any of this Primus damned sand get into your joints or air systems?"

"No sir," Bee grinned, wrestling with the tent. Mikaela ducked around and climbed onto Bee's foot, rapidly scaling his leg to his chest and delicately untying her knots. The light breeze caught the tent and swept her off of her brother's shoulder.

She squeaked and caught the tent cords before Optimus could move. Parachuting down to the ground and landing easily.

"Where'd you learn a proper landing by the way?" Lennox asked in surprise, staring at Kae as she stood lightly beside him, bundling up her tent.

"Um, skydiving with friends," Mikaela stated quietly.

"How'd they pull that off?" Epps asked with a grin. Mikaela snorted.

"We were neutral, but we had a biker gang that gave us a lot of business. Good men, a couple of them were enthusiasts for danger sports. Dad always sent us off with the warning 'you kill my girls and I'm not building you anymore bikes.'"

"Your dad sounds awesome," Epps grinned.

"That he is," Mikaela chuckled, "what was your family like?"

"Gone most of the time," Epps shrugged, "more or less raised by the bloods from six."

"That's harsh, I'm sorry," Mikaela stated gently.

"Eh, there were good times," Epps shrugged, following her as she moved toward her next task, lightly waving for him to follow. "I remember Marta always being there, took care of a lot of us..."

::. She slipped again.:: Bee stated musingly. ::. we're going to have to watch my sister, she might realize how comfortable she is with us and start pulling away...::

::. Why would she leave a comfortable place?.:: Ratchet asked curiously. Optimus looked back at his Kae.

"Yeah, it was a tough way to live," Epps shrugged as Kae followed him to the next of the tasks they'd begun sharing amidst the rest of the soldiers.

"You learn quickly to not get comfortable in any one place," Mikaela agreed with him. "It's easier to get out and away if you aren't leaving anything important behind."

"Amen to that," Epps nodded, "bad habit though."

"I dunno," Kae laughed, "it's a good way to not become materialistic."

"Hah! True," Epps laughed. "Just don't pull back on us hey? We sure as hell aren't gonna let you run off on us!"

"Who says it's you lot that would be making me run? I mean-" Mikaela clapped a hand over her mouth.

::. That's terror in them optics!.:: Ironhide announced in shock.

"Don't worry about it," Epps grinned down at her, "you're family now, when it comes down to it you got my vote for you to stay, and I'd imagine the intently listening big guy over there will probably insist on going with you if you have to pull a runner."

"True," Optimus rumbled, onlining his holoform beside his Kae. "Although I would more likely ask that you stay, so that whomever decides to come after you faces us down, on our terms."

"Fuck yeah," Lennox added with a grim smile.

Mikaela looked around at the soldiers and holoforms grouped casually around her with wide eyes.

"Why the hell would you risk your lives and careers to come to my aid," she asked with a frown. "Especially since I can't even tell you the who or why?"

"Eh, I figure you'll tell us twenty minutes before they show up," Jacobs rumbled easily. "and we'll do it because you just gave us the bloody option, now didn't you?"

"Although," Lennox stated musingly, he turned to Optimus. "With all the information locked up in her mind, we could technically classify her as a potential weapons threat that should never be allowed to get into the wrong hands, couldn't we?"

"Moreshower would definitely add her protection to our assignment, that's like, two signatures, nothing," Jacobs grinned.

"That will look good on the paperwork," Optimus rumbled with a broad smirk. "Although we should leave it as a backup plan."

"Either way you're stuck with us big sister," Bee's holoform grinned.

Mikaela walked toward Optimus' holoform and buried herself into his chest.

"Thank you," she whispered softly. Optimus wrapped his holoform's arms around his Kae, pulling her in tight and burying his face in her hair. She pulled back after a few moments and smiled up at him.

"I'd best make sure the jeeps made it through the storm alright," she stated calmly.

"That's my girl," Ratchet grinned. She wandered toward the jeeps, leaving the group of humans and holoforms intently watching her.

"Good call, Epps," Jacobs rumbled quietly. "She's close to it."

"Mmn," Epps hummed softly. "S'not the streets she's running from though."

"No, definitely bigger than a petty street gang, she mentioned our careers..." Chance murmured with a frown.

"I'm in," Jacobs announced with a grin.

"Agreed," Chance stated firmly, "anyone with a brain can tell her moral compass points due north. If it hurts my career to help her, I don't even want to think what the boss men have against her."

"That, is an excellent friggen point," Lennox growled softly.

"You know I can still hear you guys, right?" Mikaela called out calmly, not even looking up from maintaining the jeeps.

"Well, are you going to be offended if we put together a pool on how this all turns out?" Jacobs rumbled at her with a grin.

She straightened for a moment with a frown.

"I suppose not," she shrugged after a moment, bending back to her task. "Just, keep it among the immediate family? Please?"

"Done!" Jacobs grinned. "Now why the hell are you fixing those jeeps? We're getting on the plane in two hours."

"Well, unless you want to walk to the plane, this jeep needs to run," Mikaela laughed. She pulled out an air filter and promptly banged it against the side of the jeep, dislodging a great deal of sand.

"Here's one for you Kae," Lennox stated suddenly, frowning. "What the hell were you doing last night? When the wind blows you get under cover!"

Optimus stayed silent, she had been caring for he and his unit.

"I was covering the bots," Mikaela stated calmly, she scooped up a small handful of sand and walked to Lennox. She took his hand gently and rubbed her finger over the back. "The auto-bots have a similar sensory setup as humans do, they process tactile information in much the same way." She stated calmly, soldiers gathered around her in fascination of the new lesson. Kae lightly sprinkled the sand onto the back of Lennox's hand, and pressed the back of her own hand against it. Lennox's hand was trapped in hers now, he stared at her in shock.

"They are made of steel, but sand is stone," she stated in a firm tone, rubbing her hand against Lennox's, grinding the sand into his skin and her own. Optimus winced in sympathy. Powdered stone was truly dreadful.

"Our skin is soft, more giving than theirs," Mikaela continued, never ceasing to grind the sand into Lennox's hand. "but if a single grain of sand can cause this much irritation after a few passes, think of every grain of sand that could get into a joint. Into a piston, every pass, thirty five thousand rubs every minute. They take care of us, watch our backs. I will gladly risk my own life to make sure that my brothers, my sisters, my friends don't have to deal with the mechanical equivalent of gout."

She gently released Lennox's hand as the soldiers stared up at Optimus in shock once more, lightly brushing the sand from her hands and returning to the maintenance of the jeep.

"Why the hell didn't you say something before?" Lennox demanded.

"Kae's been taking care of us," Ratchet shrugged genially.

"Kae's only been around for a month!" the major growled.

"This is the first time we have been fighting in sand," Optimus rumbled patiently.

Will clapped a hand to his face, he looked frustrated.

"Major?" Optimus rumbled curiously.

"So you guys know all of our weaknesses, but you don't see fit to share yours?" The major asked in a tired voice.

Optimus stood, confused.

::. It's an indicative of mistrust, to not share weaknesses among soldiers.:: Mikaela's voice murmured gently on the primary ::. When soldiers fight, they rely on each other's strengths to carry each other's weaknesses.::

"I apologize, Major, that show of trust did not occur to me," Optimus rumbled immediately, crouching down. "Forgive a faux pas?"

The major snorted and grinned at him.

"Aw hell, why not, you've forgiven me a few, anything I should know?" Will chuckled.

"I hate sand, and I hate going under water," Ratchet immediately grumbled.

"Anything else?" Will grinned at the medic.

"High heat rounds, plasma, extreme cold, encoded virals-"

"-Chihuahuas-" Ironhide interjected.

The camp froze, the proverbial pin could not have been heard, it would be landing in sand and lost. Mikaela snorted over the jeep she was tending to, looked up at Ironhide and burst out laughing.