Since the fight was officially over, the Autobots started heading back inside the Ark. All of them talked excitedly amongst themselves, sharing their opinions about the match and who seemed the best combatant, as well as sorting out their wins and losses in the betting pool. Let it be said that Jazz was one very happy mech, since he was the only one who had bet the match would end up in a tie, and thus had no shifts or patrols for the next three weeks. Even so, since he was an officer and he was expected to do his duty, bet or no, he declined his winnings and even cancelled the bet altogether. If was a kindly action, and it was well-received as fair.
"No real loss, then," Wheeljack said with a shrug, walking beside Perceptor, Bumblebee and the three humans on their way back to his lab. "A good thing too. I don't think I'd be able to handle triple shifts for the next two days."
"Perhaps you might consider this as a hint to refrain yourself from gambling again," Perceptor noted dryly.
"Come on, Perceptor. It was just for fun," the engineer replied, raising his palms upwards in a gesture of peace.
"Odd sort of fun," Perceptor said under his breath.
Bumblebee chuckled, something that made the humans look at him in mild surprise. Seeing the question reflected in their eyes, the yellow minibot decided to oblige them with an answer.
"Perceptor is still upset over that whole Lord Gyconi incident a year ago," he said with a smile.
"Indeed I am, and I'm astounded that you can talk so comfortably about it," the scientist said, overhearing Bumblebee. "It was probably one of the most embarrassing, undignified, hurtful, degrading…"
Perceptor didn't have the chance to carry on with his list of adjectives, though. Hoist appeared from around the corner and walked up to the company.
"You weren't all that difficult to locate, I see," the large green mech noted. "Come along, Ratchet needs us at the repair bay."
Perceptor and Wheeljack exchanged a glance, then looked at Hoist again. "Isn't First Aid here?" Wheeljack asked.
"No, I'm afraid not. The Protectobots haven't returned from their patrol in New York City yet," Hoist answered, "That means we shouldn't keep our good medic waiting."
With that, Hoist walked ahead, already on his way to the repair-bay. Perceptor sighed in resignation.
"I suppose it can't be helped; even though it puts us behind schedule," he said.
"Yeah, it sure does," Wheeljack seconded with a sad nod.
"What kind of schedule?" Chip asked, regarding the engineer curiously.
"Oh, nothing all that serious," the engineer replied in a reassuring tone. "It's just that we had promised Optimus that we would finish with Faera's microchip by tomorrow, and we're not even half-way through. I'm sure he'll understand the reasons of the delay, but…" his voice trailed off, since he didn't have to say anything else. He simply didn't want to let the Autobot leader down.
Sparkplug, however, grinned broadly. "You're becoming forgetful, Wheeljack. Spike and I can help Ratchet too."
Spike nodded, a grin of his own forming on his lips. "It sounds like you guys could use a couple of extra hands more anyway."
"I'm sure we will," Wheeljack said, feeling cheerful once more. "Thanks."
"So it's settled. The Dinobots will be fixed in no time, and you and Perceptor can continue with your work undisturbed," Bumblebee noted in a happy tone.
"Speaking of work, I think I should go home and work on the project Professor Johnson has assigned me," Chip declared, "Can you drive me there, Bumblebee?"
"Sure thing," the yellow minibot said, already transforming to his Volkswagen mode and opening the door for his human friend. Once Chip was settled comfortably inside, Bumblebee turned around and started driving towards the exit of the Ark. "See you later, guys!" was all he said before finally turning into another corridor and out of sight.
Spike couldn't help but chuckle. "I guess that was one good day for Chip. Not only did he meet Faera, he even got to see what she's capable of."
"It was quite educational for all of us, actually," Perceptor noted as they all headed to Ratchet's repair-bay. "Sadjens must have been a very interesting race to study."
"I think we had enough studying for today," Wheeljack said wryly, "Ironhide made sure of that."
"YOU IDIOT!"
Both Autobots and the humans stopped on their tracks at once, recognising Ratchet's angry voice reverberating through the door right in front of them; the door of the repair-bay. Wincing, they approached the door cautiously, listening to the long rant that could be summarised to Ratchet's opinion about stupid weapons' specialists and their stupid ideas, and how he already had enough problems dealing with Decepticon-inflicted damages to worry about injuries induced by the Autobot soldiers themselves, thank you oh so very much.
"This is bad," Sparkplug said, actually hesitating to enter the repair-bay.
Still, Wheeljack pressed the enter button, revealing a very cranky-looking Ratchet working on Swoop's injured wing, while Ironhide was focused on removing tar from Snarl's legs.
"Me Swoop sorry," the pteranodon said in a meek manner, hanging his head in shame.
Ratchet, however, smiled reassuringly and patted Swoop on the forearm. "No, it's not your fault, Swoop," he said, only to glare in Ironhide's direction at the next moment. "It's his."
Ironhide huffed and looked back at Ratchet. "You're never gonna let me live this down, are you?"
"No," the medic replied. "Now keep scrubbing; you missed a spot on Snarl's front leg."
Though Ironhide complied and started scrubbing on the spot Ratchet showed him, he was far from done arguing with the medic. "She's a recruit, Ratchet. We needed to put her skills to the test."
"Then next time have her knit something!" Ratchet snapped.
It was Hoist who saved the situation. Still working on the offline Sludge, he cleared his vocaliser and showed Ratchet the newcomers. Ratchet faced Perceptor, Wheeljack and the humans, his frown never leaving his features.
"About time you two showed up," he declared. "Slag still has Snarl's spikes on him, and you will have to remove the tar from his legs."
"We'll do that," Sparkplug offered. "Spike and I have our history with stains like those."
That seemed to appease Ratchet a bit. "Thanks. I appreciate it," he said, a small smile finally tugging on his lips.
The humans didn't say anything else. As Perceptor and Wheeljack started working on Slag's injured side, they started scrubbing the triceratops's legs. No one spoke for some time as they became too focused on their tasks, but a small whimper of pain broke the silence. Ratchet had lifted Swoop's hurt wing so he could check the damage underneath it as well.
"I know, Swoop," Ratchet murmured soothingly, deft hands still working without error. "It will get better soon."
"Okay," Swoop said in a soft tone, feeling reassured. However, his expression became thoughtful and he locked his optics on the medic. "Her Faera good warrior… but strange transformer."
Ratchet nodded almost absentmindedly. "We're all different," he pointed out.
"But why her Faera so different?" Swoop insisted, trying to make sense out of things. "Who make her like that?"
Ratchet looked up in surprise. "No one, she--" he stopped, realising that he was about to state something that wasn't exactly correct. "I mean, she was created, but not in the way you and the other Dinobots were."
"Then how?" Swoop asked.
Ratchet blinked. "Well, I… don't know. But she might tell you if you ask her."
The pteranodon sighed. "Me Swoop not think Faera will say."
That certainly made everyone look at the pteranodon quite perplexed.
"Why would you think something like that?" Hoist asked, unable to help himself.
"Him Grimlock talked bad to her," Swoop replied ruefully. "Her Faera maybe still angry with Dinobots."
"Is that all?" Wheeljack exclaimed with a chuckle. "She isn't angry with you; she never was."
"Really?" Swoop asked.
"Indeed. Didn't you notice her smile when Grimlock confronted her?" Perceptor seconded. "Faera is a creature that enjoys a good challenge, and you Dinobots provided her with one. If anything, she likes you."
"But him Grimlock said--"
"Aww… Don't worry about Grimlock, Swoop," Ironhide said then, smiling. "I bet those two are well on their way to reaching an understanding."
"They'd better be, or I'll make sure they are," Ratchet said, holding up his wrench meaningfully.
------------------
Grimlock grabbed another large rock and tossed it aside with a huff. The makeshift arena was quite large so that all the Dinobots and Faera would be able to fight without any restrictions, but that also proved to have its disadvantages. The sun was well on its way to setting, and yet his and Faera's work was far from over.
Speaking of which, where was she? Grimlock turned around to catch a glimpse of her, and he finally saw her at the other side of the arena. She kept her back turned to him, too busy with her own work as she tried to roll a boulder away but failing utterly; the thing wouldn't budge.
Grimlock snorted. Why the Autobots decided to have a creature like her do a Dinobot's job, he would never know.
"You Faera need help?" he asked. After all, she was slowing them down, and he'd rather get back to his room with the other Dinobots some time soon.
"No," she said quite cheerfully. "Thank you, though."
Grimlock certainly didn't expect that kind of answer. Had he hit her too hard on her head then?
"You Faera sure?" he insisted.
"Positive," she replied, and she placed her hands on the hard surface of the boulder as if about to push it again.
Grimlock shook his head at that, thinking that she was just being stubborn. Deciding to help her anyway and thus show her the proper way to do things, he headed toward her. He had barely taken two steps forward, however, when a very deep cracking sound resonated through the air and the large boulder snapped in two at the Sadjen's feet. Smiling, Faera pushed one piece away, and then effortlessly did the same with the second one as well.
Grimlock blinked for several moments, trying to figure out what had just happened. All she did was touch the rock, and yet it cracked open as though she had punched it.
She smiled at him, obviously seeing through the Dinobot's puzzlement.
"Thermal energy," she explained. She held up her hands, just in time to reveal a soft green glow in her palms before it vanished completely. "It comes in handy in times like these."
Grimlock nodded slowly, just like he did whenever Perceptor talked to him and the Dinobot acted like he understood at least half of the things the scientist told him. Even so, Grimlock did realise something very important.
"You Faera could do that to us Dinobots too," he noted thoughtfully.
She shook her head at once. "That could have killed you, and that wasn't the point of the fight," she said. "Just as it wasn't your point to try and kill me."
Grimlock let out a loud grunt. "You Sadjen talk like him Optimus Prime now," he said. "Me Grimlock hate that."
"Oh?" she said, amused. "Why is that?"
"Because him Prime not weak. That means you Faera not weak either. Not as weak as me Grimlock thought first anyway," the Dinobot leader admitted grudgingly. Thankfully, the other Dinobots weren't around to hear him, an encouraging thought under the circumstances.
Faera quirked an eyebrow. "Are you actually apologising to me?" she asked.
Grimlock looked down at his feet. "Me Grimlock guess so," he muttered.
She chuckled a bit. "Ironic. And here I was, ready to thank you."
To say Grimlock was taken aback would have been an understatement. He stared down at her incredulously, thinking that his audios merely played tricks on him. "Thank? Me Grimlock?"
She nodded, humming her affirmation. "It was a good fight; the best one I had in centuries, in fact," she said, "So thank you for that."
Grimlock's ego certainly wanted to hear those words. Feeling his spark swelling with pride, Grimlock patted Faera on the shoulder, his visor flashing brilliantly.
"You Faera welcome," he said magnanimously. "But me Grimlock still want rematch!"
She grinned cheekily. "Careful what you wish for; we just might have one."
"Good! Me Grimlock look forward to it!" the Dinobot leader declared.
"So am I," she replied, green eyes bright with mirth.
Red Alert cocked his head, still looking at the monitors with a look of disbelief reflected in his optics. Smokescreen, on the other hand, chuckled softly.
"Well, well…" he said. "I never thought I'd ever see something like this."
"I don't understand it," Red Alert said, watching Faera and Grimlock now working side by side as a team. "Grimlock likes no one but himself, and yet here he is, conversing with her as if they're friends!"
"No, not friends," Smokescreen corrected. "Equals."
"We're still talking about Grimlock," Red Alert said. "He didn't win the match, and that doesn't seem to concern him at all."
"She didn't win either. More importantly, she didn't lose," the blue Datsun said. "None of us can claim that kind of feat; not even Megatron."
Red Alert shook his head in thought. "That only shows how dangerous she can be if she decides to turn against us."
"And how dangerous the other Sadjen will be if the Decepticons intend to use him against us," Smokescreen argued. "So we should consider it fortunate that she's on our side."
"I suppose," Red Alert agreed. He cast a brief glance to a couple of monitors to his left in order to check things inside the Ark, and he spotted Inferno and Blaster conversing in the common room. "What do you think is the story between those two?"
Smokescreen grinned. "Between Inferno and Blaster?"
"No! Between Faera and that Ebon character," Red Alert answered exasperatedly before muttering under his breath something about minds in a gutter. "Why do you think they hate each other so much?"
Smokescreen pursed his lips momentarily. "In all honesty?"
Red Alert nodded.
"I don't think they hate each other," the blue Datsun said. He quickly raised his hand in a gesture of silence when the security chief opened his mouth to speak, clearly in shock. "I don't mean it the way it sounded like," he explained. "He certainly hates her, there's no question about it. But, if Prime's story is accurate, it means she had plenty of chances to kill him and yet she didn't. She preferred to leave him be instead."
Red Alert's optics dimmed slightly as the security chief considered what Smokescreen told him. "She fought him in Santorini."
"Only when she had no other choice."
Red Alert had to admit Smokescreen had a point. He tapped his stylus on the control board absentmindedly. "She did say she didn't want to be the last of her kind."
"And I don't doubt it's true," Smokescreen said. "Still… I can't help thinking that there's something else too."
"Like what?" Red Alert asked.
"I don't know yet," the blue Datsun admitted, "But I might find out."
Ratchet pressed a button to activate the drawer where he usually kept his medical tools, then cast a brief glance in Swoop's direction. He couldn't help but smile to see the pteranodon in his robot mode, still recharging in spite of the noise the medic just made. Nevertheless, Ratchet didn't intend to disturb his patient any further. Swoop needed the rest, so Ratchet would just put his scalpel and wrench back in their place and then he'd retire to his own room.
He frowned when he heard a light tapping sound on the door. His first instinctive thought was that one of the Twins, or even both of them, had scrapped themselves yet again, and Ratchet's fingers clenched around the wrench, holding it so tightly that it was a miracle it didn't break in two. But then, as another short tap cut into his musings, Ratchet realised that no one in the Ark ever knocked on the door to his medbay; they would just press the call button, or simply rush inside if there was an emergency. Unless…
As a new suspicion formed in the back of his processor, Ratchet pressed the enter button to let Faera inside. Sure enough, the girl was on the doorstep, green eyes darting in every direction to check the room that was revealed before her. Finally, she caught sight of Swoop on the berth and regarded Ratchet apprehensively.
"Am I intruding?" she asked in a soft tone.
"Not really," Ratchet replied, shaking his head. "I was about to call it a night actually."
"Ah," she said, understanding. "I should go then."
"No, it's alright," the medic said reassuringly, stopping Faera as she was about to turn on her heel and walk away. "I take it you and Grimlock are done with the cleaning up?"
She nodded. "We finished about ten Earth minutes ago." She shifted on her legs, contemplating on her next words. "Grimlock went to find the other Dinobots, so… I was wondering if I could check on the one that stayed here."
Ratchet didn't expect that, truth be told. "You didn't have to. He's resting," he said.
"So he's not in any danger?" she asked.
"None." Ratchet smiled a bit as he took in that subtle tone of concern in her voice. "He wasn't hit that badly."
She sighed in relief, and a wan smile flicked on her lips. "Good," was all she said before she turned around, ready to leave again. But Ratchet stopped her anew, red fingers curling around her arm.
"You can stay with him for a while if you want."
"Really?" Faera asked.
Ratchet nodded in a friendly manner, and he beckoned her inside. Faera seemed hesitant for a few moments, but she finally walked all the way inside. Her step was light and cautious, and Ratchet couldn't help but watch her move with the air of an organic creature walking through an unknown territory.
"You haven't been in here before, have you?" the medic asked. He knew the answer, of course, but he figured it would only be polite to engage her in some kind of conversation.
"No," she answered. "We just passed by here with Jazz on my first day in the Ark, while you were working on Mirage." She stood over Swoop and fixed her eyes on the young Dinobot's face. "Is he sleeping?"
Ratchet nodded again. "We call it recharging, actually."
"Yes, I suppose it makes sense," she mused in a soft tone.
Ratchet paused for a moment, looking at her closely. "Jazz told me your kind has a sleep mode, too."
"We do," she replied with a nod. "But we call it dormant state," she added, her lips tugging upwards in mild mirth.
Swoop twitched a bit, something that made Faera tense quite visibly.
"Don't worry. It's normal," Ratchet reassured her.
Sure enough, Swoop kept recharging, and the Sadjen relaxed once more. Ratchet wasn't really sure how long they stayed like that, Faera watching Swoop and Ratchet watching her. But then, the medic saw something that took him by surprise. Faera extended her hand forward, as if wishing to touch Swoop's face, only to remember herself in the last moment. Feeling suddenly very self-conscious, she drew back at once.
"I'm sorry," she murmured, looking at Ratchet apologetically.
"It's fine," Ratchet said. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"Nevertheless, I should go," she replied, and made a small bow in Ratchet's direction. "Thank you for letting me see him. I'm sorry for any inconvenience I might have caused."
With that, she walked out of the medbay without looking back, leaving Ratchet alone with his thoughts. Indeed, Ratchet felt one thought after another filling his processor after noticing the look Faera gave Swoop as she reached for him. It was kind and even… tender.
Ratchet understood. She wanted to comfort the young one. Just as she had tried to comfort and help Bumblebee when the minibot was damaged back in Santorini. That made Ratchet realise that, though she described herself as a soldier who destroyed her home planet because her race found any form of weakness unacceptable, she didn't disregard life. If anything, she seemed to value life more than ever precisely because she was forced to destroy her home planet and every living thing on it. And though Ratchet didn't think it was possible, he was glad at that notion, for he deemed that he could consider Faera a worthy part of the Ark crew now. Primus permit, perhaps even consider her a friend in time.
He would just have to wait and see.
TBC...