For The Race – Prime Protector.
Chapter Nine.
A/N: The games played in the rec-room were thought up by MeowthTwo and I one night. Thanks to Hummergrey for an idea used near the end of this chapter.
"This is the rec-room, Sam. You've seen it once or twice before when I've come in here briefly, but I don't believe you've ever spent a great deal of time in here," Bumblebee said.
"Yeah, cos Ironhide pointed out that with so many big feet tramping back and forth, I might get accidentally squished," Sam replied.
"Well, you're not quite so small now, nor so fragile, so that won't be a risk anymore," Bumblebee pointed out. He pushed open the frosted glass door and ushered Sam in.
There was a low murmur of conversation and foot-shuffling audible, but all that stopped as she walked in. Every head turned to look, every optic settled on her, and Bumblebee standing behind her was the only thing that stopped Sam turning around and getting the heck out of there. There was an awkward pause, and then Cliffjumper looked up from the oversized couch he was sat on.
"Sam, hi, welcome to the rec room. Why don't you grab yourself an energon and sit down. Even better, why don't you sit down and I'll get you an energon." Without waiting for an answer, the small red mech jumped up and almost ran over to the energon dispenser and began drawing a cube. Bumblebee gave a little laugh and ushered Sam over to the couch. She scrambled on to it as Cliffjumper returned with the cube, handed it to her with a little bow, and hopped up next to her as Bumblebee sat on Sam's other side.
"So, how are you finding life as an Autobot?" the red mech asked.
"A bit confusing, really," Sam said, adding mentally 'and in parts, embarrassing.' "It's the whole 'not-being human' thing, and having to learn about being Cybertronian. I mean, not having to sleep every night, that's quite a good thing, being able to private com, that's cool, but I still know I've got a lot to learn, and I bet some of it's gonna be the hard way, I'll probably embarrass myself by not knowing things as natural to you as breathing."
"Well, I'm sure we'll all do our best to try and help you there," Prowl said, coming over. "Then again, we've learned some things off humans too, nothing earth-shattering, but a few games and customs." He brandished the wooden pole Sam had not noticed until then. "Such as the game called 'pool.' As Mirage has just left for duty, I currently have no opponent. Care to indulge me?"
As Sam got down and followed Prowl, she reflected that the Autobots all seemed to be trying to put her at her ease.
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Optimus had been giving the Sam issue some thought. He was willing to give Sam a certain amount of leeway due to her unusual and unexpected change, but the pace was excruciatingly slow. Optimus was, after all, a mech, a mech with needs, and although he would not force the issue, he felt he could not be blamed for looking at ways to speed it up. Which is why he was now trawling the human Internet, looking for ways to do so without freaking the new femme out.
It didn't take him very long to narrow the possibilities down, and to find that the one most likely to succeed would involve something he was not well versed in – sneakiness. It was not a deception as such, but it would mean being devious, and being more well-versed in human anatomy, Cybertronian anatomy in general, and Sam's current anatomy in particular. It would involve knowing how to stimulate without making it obvious, and it would mean that Optimus would have to be extra-careful. Optimus knew very well that forcing another was wrong, and intended to do no such thing, but if it was Sam's own body that would betray at an innocent touch, where was the harm in that?
Comming all that he was not to be disturbed, Optimus set to some serious studying.
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"Well, you're aim's not bad, but I'd say it'll improve with practice," Sideswipe told Sam as he picked the three darts back out of the dartboard (and the picture of Starscream that was pinned up on it.)
Sam was feeling more relaxed than when she'd come in, and slightly smug, having trounced Prowl at pool, winning two games out of three. "You've grown up playing this, I should have expected it," the tactician had stated, and had been about to challenge Sam to a rematch when the Twins had pulled her aside with an offer to play 'hit-Starscream-in-the-Spark' with the darts.
She was about to ask Prowl if he wanted that rematch – personally she thought she had just got lucky – when she got a com from Ironhide, asking her to go to his armoury, as it was time for weapons practice.
Promising Prowl the rematch when she was next there, she and Bumblebee obediently walked down to Ironhide's armoury. Bumblebee said he'd wait with her until Ironhide was ready for her. The black mech had finished building the generator, unless he found out the one he'd made didn't work, there was no point working on it further. Prowl had asked Bumblebee to accompany Cliffjumper on a recon patrol, once again the Decepticons were quieter than anyone was comfortable with.
She watched Ironhide as he gave himself a quick workout, because poring over plans was enough to cramp anybody's cables, and she admired the big mech's economy of movement.
She had been told about Ironhide's almost-unbelievable somersault in Mission City, when he had shot at Starscream with both cannon blazing and then done a one-handed handspring to avoid a cringing human. She had not actually seen it, being too busy running and watching where she was going at the time, but watching the Weapons Specialist dodging, feinting and lunging, she could believe it. Twenty-four foot of heavily-armoured 'bot he might be, but he had obviously worked on compensating for his armour's weight by making sure his agility kept pace.
Ironhide turned to her and waved her into the open area, and Bumblebee took his leave as the Weapons Specialist took Sam through some moves to get her own joints moving and lubricated. Having what was a new body meant that she herself could stiffen up at times if she wasn't careful. New joints needed the stiffness often associated with new parts worked out of them, AllSpark-created or not.
"Prime'll be joining us for the last three breems, he wants you to know a little about dodging or damaging a larger opponent close to," Ironhide explained. "For now, however, I want us to concentrate a little on your shoulder cannons. They are the most powerful ranged weapon you have at your disposal, and when you're as small and attractive as you are, you don't want any big ugly like Starscream getting too close."
Sam gave Ironhide a sharp look, that comment could be taken as flirting, but Ironhide didn't try to wink, grin or anything else that might confirm the impression, so Sam let it drop. "I guess not," Sam said slowly. "I've never really had cause, I mean I've practiced once or twice in here, after I first got changed, but they're so powerful I'm scared of blowing the wall out. Also, I've only just got used to balancing with them concealed, I'm scared that deploying them might affect my balance."
Ironhide nodded. "You'll get used to it if you practice enough. I suggest you go out with Bumblebee for an hour or two a week to do so. I'll ask Optimus to contact Lennox about giving you access to one of the Armed Forces firing and testing grounds so you can practice in the open air, which is where you might need to use them." He nodded. "Deploy them, and I will explain."
Sam did so, and Ironhide pointed one delicate silver finger at one of them. "If you are out and the Seekers – or any others – come at you from a distance, these are what you will use to warn them off. You want to be able to hit them, or at least let them know that you can and will fight – from as far away as possible." He pointed at Sam's knuckles and then her chest. "You don't want them to get so close you have to use your blades and knuckles, and certainly not close enough to use your EMP generator. Those are for use if the launchers don't work."
"Okay, I guess that makes sense," Sam replied. "So you want me to practice with Bumblebee? Not shooting at each other I hope!"
"Of course not," Ironhide rumbled. "As he has the same armaments he can demonstrate the different ways in which they can be used, both in robot and in alt form. He can be your instructor in this."
He then instructed Sam in moving with the cannons deployed, and then got her to practice deploying and retracting them while moving, and told Sam to practice doing so when she could.
She was kept so occupied doing this that she didn't notice when Optimus arrived, she just suddenly turned, and he was stood there watching her. As her optics made their inevitable shift to his crotch-plate, she forced her optics to continue travelling upwards to his impassive face.
"Sam, I take it that Ironhide has told you that I shall be instructing you in close combat against opponents larger than yourself?" he asked her.
"Yes," Sam replied.
"We hope that the need to use these techniques will be limited, or preferably never needed, however it is best you know them just in case. Many of these moves and actions are designed to give you time to move out of close combat range or to give you time for help to reach you. Some are disabling in the short term, and a few are disabling in the long term, but all have their benefits. And their disadvantages."
Optimus moved to stand in front of her.
"Now, one of the biggest advantages to you can be your size versus theirs, and this is for two reasons. First, a bigger opponent can often underestimate their smaller foe. Secondly, you may be able to manoeuvre your large opponent into overreaching themselves, and then there are several things you can do..."
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Some time later, Sam knew about several ways to unbalance someone of Optimus' and Starscream's size, and the location of several vulnerable chinks often present in a mech or femme's armour – particularly around the joints – that she could take advantage of in a close-combat situation. Her lesson ended, but she stayed, for lack of much else top do, to see what would be happening next, and it turned out to be Optimus' own practice time.
He, it seemed, was practicing switching from alt to robot and back again, and she couldn't help but admire the smooth transformation he effected from semi truck to powerful robot, all smooth polished metal and big armoured torso. The Prime had always cut an impressive figure as far as Sam was concerned, but seeing it while several feet higher, and having time to watch the transformation without having to worry about running and dodging gave her a whole new perspective.
She could see now how smoothly he twisted and shifted and unfolded into his bipedal form, and when he unexpectedly deployed first his cannon, then changed to his swords, and then switched them for his fighting hooks, Sam felt a strange current of warmth run from the middle of her chest straight down to her crotch.
She watched as he put the hooks away, transformed back into truck, and then back to robot, managing to pivot a hundred and eighty degrees in the process. Once again, the Prime deployed his cannon but this time crouched, aimed at the target wall of the armoury, and let off a volley of fire. The racket was deafening, but Sam felt that warm feeling increase, and then – oh heck, why did her crotch region just feel like she'd just wet herself?
As she slipped out, embarrassed, she didn't notice first Optimus and then Ironhide turn their heads and notice her leave. She didn't look back as she hurried to Optimus' room, so didn't notice Optimus look back at Ironhide, convert his cannon back into a hand and arm, and then quietly move out and follow her.