For The Race – Prime Protector.
Chapter Three.
As Ratchet and Bumblebee came back into the Medical Bay, they saw Mikaela standing on the shelf she'd bedded down on waving to them.
"What happened? I woke up to the sounds of shooting and screaming and I couldn't get down!"
"The Decepticons attacked, they'd somehow found out about Sam," Ratchet told her as he took down packets of metal sealant and solder patches. "Once I've finished, I'm sweeping this medbay for bugs!"
"Get me down and I'll have a look, maybe from that low down I can look under stuff," she suggested. Then she looked around wildly. "Where is Sam? They didn't take her, did they? Ratchet, you can't leave her in Decepticon hands!"
Ratchet's face broke into a grin. "No, Starscream tried but Prime came to her rescue, and almost tore Starscream into several pieces in the process. I think he's got worse injuries than any of our soldiers, I'll mainly be applying patches and repairing torn lines. No, Sam begged Optimus for protection so he took her into his room."
"He what? I thought Sam had three months!" Mikaela said.
"By asking Prime's protection he made his choice, albeit unknowing, but relax, I don't think he's pushing it, the readings from the medical sensor I attached to Sam earlier indicate that he's in recharge. Don't worry, I will continue to monitor, and if Sam gets too stressed I'll be pounding on Prime's door. If need be I'll cut it open with my saw," he said "but I don't think that will be necessary, Prime has assured me he'll be delicate about this."
As Ratchet turned to the doorway he saw Cliffjumper, Hound and Prowl coming in, all with blast marks on their armour and scratch marks and other injuries apparent. The medic ran an appraising optic over them and lifted Mikeala down to the other table.
"Cliffjumper, over here. Mikaela, you take stock of the other two and make sure nothing is more serious than it seems." Mikaela, well accustomed to assisting Ratchet, waved the two mechs over and got them to turn in front of her so she could check for injuries as Ratchet sat Cliffjumper down and used a moist pad to wipe away scorch marks and energon from a ragged tear across his chest.
"That'll need welding but then it'll heal just fine, it's stopped leaking already," Ratchet said, pulling out the welder from his foot and firing it up.
"Hey, Ratchet, there's rumour circulating that the Decepticons had come after a femme, but we don't have a femme, do we?" Cliffjumper asked.
"Well, it certainly looked like a femme Starscream was trying to abduct. Looked like a femme when he dropped her and she lay curled up and screaming on the ground too," Hound replied from where Mikaela was inspecting him for damage.
"I should weld shut your mouth, Hound, then you wouldn't be so eager to tell everybody what you saw," Ratchet said tetchily, "but to answer all your questions -because most the Base must have heard her screaming - yes, there is a femme on the Base. I was going to let her have some time to adjust and then inform you, but it seems this attack has put a stop to that. We don't know why and we don't know how, but it seems that the human Sam Witwicky had some AllSpark energy trapped within him, and it turned him into a femme."
"Ooh, is she pretty?" asked Cliffjumper hopefully, wincing slightly as Ratchet began to repair his chest. "Ouch, be careful!"
"I always am careful, Cliffjumper, if you let me dull your sensors it'd hurt less," Ratchet said "and yes, she's very pretty, but she's also Prime's Owned, so you'd better get permission before you go sniffing around her. Remember, too, that having until recently been a human male, she's still getting used to the idea herself, so be careful what you say to her and how, the last thing you want is Prime banning you from being near her because something you've said or referred to has freaked her out."
"Drat," Cliffjumper groused, "the first femme we've seen in vorns and Prime's claimed her already."
"As is his right as our Prime," Ratchet said sharply. "Anyway, even he's got to be careful, if he freaks Sam out he'll have to deal with me, because I'll have to deal with her and it won't be pretty."
"I know, I know, but I hope we get a chance someday," the red mech said.
"And that's the sort of talk you don't make within Sam's hearing," Ratchet said as he finished, turning Cliffjumper and cleaning two small holes which he then patched. "Well, that's you done, grab yourself an energon from the dispenser, then make yourself useful and tell the other mechs what I have told you. We may as well make Sam's new status officially known, as by now everybody will have heard the rumours."
As Cliffjumper drew an energon and left, Ratchet waved over Hound asking "What does he need, Mikaela?"
"He has three holes and a set of scratch marks, I'd say soldering and patches" she said. Sighing, Ratchet picked up some patches and set to work.
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Sam stirred, unshuttering her optics, then recalled the earlier events and woke completely. She could feel a warm metal form curled around her, could feel a metal hand holding her just above the waist, and one metal arm over her, the other under her, the hand resting just below the other one, on her stomach.
Looking down and then behind, she realised it was Optimus Prime himself curled around her, and as she recalled the attempted abduction and the confusion she'd experienced in the aftermath, she began to worry. She remembered Optimus had said that she was now Prime's Owned. Did that...did that mean she would be expected to...now? This soon?
She began trying to ease herself out of Optimus' hold, but as careful as she tried to be, her movements woke him. He sat up, and Sam scrambled back. However, he made no move to retrieve her, but sat and watched her, a gentle smile forming across his faceplates.
"Are you feeling better, Sam?" he asked. "You seemed to need the rest."
"Uh...yeah, I mean thanks, you...you rescued me, right?" she asked. She had a vague recollection of seeing Starscream desperately trying to field off Optimus' furious blows as Sam had crawled off to curl up. "Um...I'm sorry about that, you must think me an awful coward."
"No, Sam, under the circumstances, not being able to walk and not knowing what weapons you possessed, or knowing how to use them, you did the right thing. You struggled, slowing your kidnapper down, and you drew attention to your plight. Once Starscream let go of you, you got out of the way. Would you be happier if I took you to Ironhide? He can help you find out what weapons you possess, give you additional ones if you wish, and teach you how to use them, and how to maintain them."
"Uh, yeah, if that would be okay," Sam said, relieved that Optimus didn't seem to be expecting her to cuddle up to him and wasn't making any obvious moves on her. Optimus nodded and stood, picked Sam up gently around the waist, then transferred her to one arm, holding her sideways on his hip like a human might hold a child.
"Hey, wait, what are you doing?" Sam fretted.
"As you cannot walk, I assumed I would need to carry you. Or would you prefer to be cradled in my arms?" He began shifting Sam as if to do just this.
"Uh, no, no, but I can actually walk, just I might need a bit of support now and then. I was learning just before the Decepticons attacked." He shuddered at the too-recent memory. Optimus made no comment, but set her on her feet and then offered his arm as support. Sam caught hold of one of the edges of his wrist guard, and Optimus took small steps so that Sam did not have to run to keep up.
Five minutes later, they arrived at the door of Ironhide's armoury, and Optimus commed to indicate they wished entry. Ironhide looked them up and down and said "Prime, if you don't go to Ratchet to get those dents seen to, he'll be down here sooner rather than later and we'll never hear the end of it!"
"That can come later. Sam needs to know what weapons she has, how to use them, and what options for extras she has open to her."
"Well I can do that while you go to Ratchet," he insisted. "You know how he goes on about you not getting yourself repaired." Optimus looked like he was about to argue, then nodded.
"You are right." He took one of Sam's hands and placed it on one of Ironhide's. "I charge you with Sam's protection while I am gone. Keep her safe until I return."
"For Primus' sake, Optimus, we're in the Base, you don't need to go all formal on me as if we're on the battlefield, what harm could she come to with you a few minutes away in the medbay?"
"She nearly did come to harm in the medbay earlier!" Optimus said sharply. "I am asking you to protect her in my absence. Do I have your agreement?"
"So the rumours are true, she has accepted your protection," Ironhide said. "Very well, Prime, I will protect your femme, sacrificing my own Spark if it becomes necessary, until you return to take her back into your charge."
Ironhide's formal pledge seemed to satisfy the big flame-patterned mech. "Sam, I will return once Ratchet has done anything he needs to." With that he turned and exited the room.
"Right, let me see your arms and your back. With your frame, that's where any weapons are likely to be..."
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When Optimus returned, Sam had plenty of weaponry.
"Her original weapons were two cannons, one in each arm, but they weren't very powerful." Ironhide explained. "I put in a bigger power unit so any adversary will actually feel it, and have discovered she has concealed shoulder launchers, it won't affect her balance too much when they are deployed. In addition, I've bolted on extra armour to her forelimbs that won't interfere with her cannons, but she can use them to deflect blows, and they contain a surprise she can deploy for close-quarters fighting. Show him, Sam."
Sam twisted her hands at the wrist as Ironhide had taught her, and two sharp blades flicked out either side of each wrist, and another further up on the outside edge of each arm from the thick arm-bracers Ironhide had attached to the top surface of her arms. Then she raised both fists clenched to show Optimus the electro-shock knuckle-spikes the big specialist had carefully installed. Ironhide handed Optimus a small blue unit.
"Ratchet should install that somewhere in her chest. It's a mobile electro-magnetic pulse generator, to be used if all else fails. It can kill a smaller mech, but should even be able to faze a larger one long enough to give her a chance to escape. It's too delicate a procedure for me to install it, it needs a medic's touch."
Optimus nodded, and extended his arm. "Come, Sam, we will get that done now. Ironhide, will you arrange an hour a day for Sam to practice using her weaponry?"
"Certainly, Prime. Come here at two 'o' clock tomorrow, Base time, and we'll get you started, Sam," Ironhide said. Sam nodded, actually looking forwards to learning how to fight. Then she and Optimus turned and together went up the corridor, Sam now having the confidence to run alongside Optimus while holding on lightly to his arm to balance, so he didn't have to walk so slowly.
Optimus gave Ratchet the EMP generator unit, and Ratchet nodded. "Sam, go and wait with Mikaela and Bumblebee. Optimus, I accept your femme into my care and will defend her if the need arises." Sam was able to walk over to the berth where Bumblebee and Mikaela were talking without support, and Optimus smiled to see her progress.
"You may as well leave, Prime I'll be putting Sam into another recharge loop after the operation, her body is still getting used to storing energy for future use. You can see her again tomorrow, let her spend time today with those she's more familiar with," Ratchet said. Optimus nodded, turned to leave, and then turned at the waist to look back at Sam.
"Sam, after your weapons lesson with Ironhide, I want you to come to my room and spend some time with me. We need to talk."
He turned and left the room, not noticing the worried look on Sam's face.