Chapter 13 (Part one)

Marie was unsure what to make of the mech standing before her. He loomed over her in an overly proud and obnoxious manner, yet his demeanor led her to believe there was more to his story. In her eyes, his bravado seemed like nothing more than a facade. Tilting her head to the side, she looked at him again. There was nothing outwardly obvious about his false pomposity, yet there was something about him that made her feel that this mech was a poser; a fake. Perhaps it was some sort of instinct? A mech such as he could easily overpower her, so was there really a need for such acts? She shook her head. It must be the environment, she thought. Everything around her is still so very foreign.

While Marie was caught up in her own thoughts, Sideswipe took the opportunity to truly analyze her. Her shoulders were pointed inward and her back was slouched forward. Helm cast slightly downward, she looked as if she were trying to shield herself from the prying eyes around her. Everything about her posture exuded insecurity. Sideswipe was surprised when Marie casted a wary glance towards him. As his optics met hers, he was surprised how familiar they truly looked. They gleamed a sharp cobalt blue with dazzling specks of gold. In this moment, however, they were dull. It was a look that Sideswipe had seen many times before. She was fearful of him, though he did not fault her for it. She had every right to be. His behavior was off-putting to many of the other mechs as well, especially to those who had seen both him and his brother on the field of battle. He took a moment to mull over his own actions; there was no benefit in intimidating the femme. It was time to ease off a bit, he thought.

Keeping that in mind, Sideswipe had decided that they had taken enough time mulling over their own thoughts. It was time to speak.

"If you don't feel comfortable," He spoke first, drawing Marie's curious gaze. "We can delay the tour for another day."

"What?" Marie questioned.

"I said that if you did not feel up to going on a tour yet we could head back to the med bay to let you rest." Sideswipe said.

Carefully, Marie decided to weigh her options. On one hand, she could escape from reality for perhaps a couple of hours at best. On the other hand this could finally be her chance to take the initiative and become acquainted with some of the other mechs. It was in her best interest, considering these were the individuals she will be staying with indefinitely. Marie's heart was set on the former.

"Let's continue the tour." She said, trying not to sound as nervous as she undoubtedly looked.

Sideswipe grinned at the response as he asked, "What did Ironhide show you?"

Marie grinned sheepishly, "I really wasn't paying attention to what he was showing me."

Sideswipe snorted at her response as he waved his hand for her to follow him as he made his way down the hall.

"The absolute first thing I have to show you would be the Rec room. Everyone hangs out there and if you ever need to find a mech they would most likely be there." Sideswipe said as he turned down a hallway to their left.

Marie pondered for a second before finally asking a question that has been bothering her from the first moment she realized that aliens existed.

"How many are there?" Marie asked

Sideswipe turned his helm to peer at Marie before turning back to face the front. Before shrugging his shoulder pads.

"How many are there what?" Sideswipe asked.

"How many are there … of you?" Marie questioned.

"Do you mean Autobots?" Sideswipe asked.

"Yeah!" Marie chirped.

"There are ten autobots stationed here at NEST and there are four that are stationed at NASA." Sideswipe responded.

"That many? Why are some of them stationed at NASA? I mean isn't that kind of ironic? What are you going to tell me next? That there are aliens stationed at area 51?" Marie said.

Sideswipe quirked his lip plates into a smirk as he let out a snort. He shook his helm as he turned to face Marie as they made it to the entrance of the rec room.

"I don't know about you but I think that it fits perfectly. We made it to the Rec room. If you get overwhelmed at anypoint you let me know and we will get out of there. Alright?" Sideswipe asked.

"Yeah." Marie muttered.

Sideswipe sent Marie a look before continuing into the entrance of the rec room. Marie stood there for a couple of minutes debating if it really was worth it. She knew at this point that if she walked past the threshold she would be accepting of what she was and what was going on. She would be the one initiating it this time.

Marie took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. She stepped through the threshold and entered into the room. The sight that greeted her was unlike any she had ever seen. Cybertronians stood sporadically throughout the large room, and all of them differed in appearance and height. Each and every one of them was unique. Towards the front of the room, there was a group of them sat down in front of the largest television Marie had ever seen. She counted six mechs in the group, four of which were probably more than enough to take up all of the room on the metal-made couch. The other two leaned on the back of it as their attention became absorbed in the video game that the others were playing. She watched curiously to see what all of their hype was about. They were playing some kind of first-person shooter. Upon closer inspection she deduced that the game was likely one of the more recent games from the Call of Duty franchise. Marie lost interest and quickly moved on.

It was another group of mechs sat at a sturdy-looking table nearby that drew Marie's attention. Many of them held glasses in their hand, periodically sipping at the blue liquid within. It had somewhat of a shimmering glow to it. Before she could ask herself any more questions, she felt a heavy hand rest onto her shoulder, which elicited a timid jump from the femme. Upon sharply turning her helm upward, her shoulders eased. Sideswipe looked down at her with a worried look in his optics.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly.

"Yeah," Marie uttered with a nod, "I just feel a bit overwhelmed."

Sideswipe nodded his helm in understanding. He paused for a moment before gesturing the femme to follow him further into the room.

"Did you see anywhere in particular that caught your interest?" He asked over his broad shoulder.

It took Marie only a moment to glance over at the mechs crowding in front of the television. The mechs were so transfixed on their game that their optics were practically glazed over. She felt that it would be highly unlikely to engage with such a group. They would definitely not be her first choice. Instead, she was drawn back to the group that had been sitting at the table. They continued sipping their strange-looking drinks and talked more pleasantly among themselves. They gave off a much stronger sense of maturity than the other group, which made the choice very obvious for Marie. She nodded to herself, "This way," she thought, "I can figure out what it is that they're drinking while I'm at it."

Sorry for the short chapter! But this is only part one of a two part chapter! In the second part she will be meeting a lot more mechs and learning more about what it means to be a Cybertronian. Also in part two she will be having a meeting with Optimus because she is finally healthy enough to 1.) Start training and 2.) meet the human soldiers. Also just going to add in that she meets the soldiers in chapter 14 and she just might know one of the soldiers.