Things resumed their establishing pattern. The ravens were not seen near the Autobots again. Warriors continued to guard and build, complaining all the while that they were not designed for construction. Jax helped minimally, but mostly made himself scarce around the developing base, using observations of humans as the excuse for his absence.

There was a small group living near a river that, by virtue of being easy to spot and being fairly active, served as the most interesting and commonly viewed group of humans in the area. It helped that their settlement was backed by mountainous terrain they themselves were disinclined to scale, for that made good cover for watching Autobots, allowing them to see without being seen, and with minimal risk that some venturesome youth would go stumbling into the forest and run into them (this had happened to Bumblebee once, though it appeared none of the other humans later believed the youth when he tried to describe what he'd seen).

Jax could almost always be found here.

"You know," Jax said one day when Bumblebee found him in the usual spot, "I think the group on this side of the river and the one on the other side don't get along too well. I think that other group is why our group looks a little disheveled sometimes. I think that other group raids this one at night. I'd love to see that. I wonder if Axle would let us out at night."

Bumblebee wasn't too fond of that notion. Humans were too low to the ground, too small to hear reliably or see in the dark very well. And, if there was fighting going on, their actions would be more unpredictable than usual. Avoiding contact would be virtually impossible to guarantee. He also wasn't thrilled by Jax's use of the word 'our', as though this particular cluster of humanity belonged to them in some way. There were a lot of ways that kind of thinking could go wrong. But, as per usual, he said nothing.

It was the only way to get along with Jax.

"I don't think our group is in very good shape," Jax continued, "Based on the amount of animal and foliage products they consume in an average day, I'd say their stores are pitiful. You said something about life shutting down for awhile periodically. How close is that?"

{Winter. Based on previous data, I'd say approximately fifty-six days.}

"And what happens in winter? Refresh my memory."

{Animals leave the area. Some of them disappear, but I don't think they leave. I think they hide. Plants die. The water gets so cold it freezes. Frozen water -not necessarily ice- falls from the sky at times, and piles up on the ground. Humans don't seem to like it. I think cold is bad for them.}

"So basically, if they don't have enough food stored, they'll starve? Because they need regular intake, right? They're not like us, able to hold fuel in reserves."

{Correct.}

"They've been residents since you arrived, yes?"

{I don't know. I only encountered them sixty-two days before you and the others arrived. But I'd never been in this area before.}

"So maybe they don't migrate, even if some humans do."

{Maybe,} Bumblebee conceded.

"Don't you think that's relevant? Different varieties, adapted to different locations? That's fascinating."

Bumblebee didn't answer that.

Bumblebee had discovered early in their relationship that Jax needed no encouragement to continue talking. In fact, as Throttle and even Axle had repeatedly been forced to demonstrate, it generally took a significant amount of discouragement to get him to stop talking, especially once he got on a roll. And, when it came to humans, Jax was always on a roll. So he kept talking about how fascinating his discoveries of the day were, and submitting new theories, and revised ones from the day before.

For the most part, Bumblebee was only half-listening. Some of that was due to disinterest, but mostly it was because Jax talked so rapidly that one point would just get buried under another as he continued to babble excitedly. Bumblebee still hadn't fully reintegrated social behavior into his repertoire, and Jax would often be classified by his subsystems as background noise, unnecessary to pay conscious attention to. It didn't seem to matter, because Jax was always happy to repeat himself when asked... or even when not asked. Jax talked so much that it was virtually a give that he would say the same thing again several times in a five or ten minute period.

"You guys sure you saw enough out there?" Throttle asked irritably, "Think maybe there's a shrub out there you haven't inspected yet?"

{I do not answer to you,} Bumblebee spat, brushing past Throttle.

Throttle's eyes narrowed. He didn't like the Scout's attitude. And he'd heard about this Scout back on Cybertron. Loner type, strictly self reliant. Trusting no one and trusted by no one. It seemed like the chain of command was something he thought himself exempted from. That backtalk pretty much confirmed the suspicion Throttle had harbored since arrival.

"I don't know what you're so uptight about," Jax said, interrupting Throttle's line of thought, "The most dangerous thing around is that human camp and, impressive as they are to me, you'd barely feel it if they all attacked you at once. In fact, you're so thick, you probably wouldn't notice them at all. Be sure you watch your step around here. Earth creatures make an unpleasant 'squish' sound when you flatten them."

If Throttle felt distrust of Bumblebee, he felt full on loathing for Jax. But Throttle was not one to lose his composure easily, and his one slip up had led to consequences dire enough that he dared not lose his temper with Jax again. He balled his hands into fists and -angrily but without action- bore Jax's uncalled for mockery at his expense. They were just words, spoken by one who had no rank Throttle was expected to recognize or respect, they had no meaning. This Autobot had no meaning.

Bumblebee glanced back and saw that Jax was having a fine time tormenting bots bigger and stronger than he was. He regretted having responded to Throttle's baiting. Maybe Throttle's words had been inappropriate, but Bumblebee wasn't responsible for what the Warrior said, only how he himself responded. He'd spent so much time training himself not to care about other Autobots, not to get close or to develop anything akin to respect for them. Any one of them could be dead inside of the day. At the least, he could expect to be sent away from any battle. He was a Scout, a messenger. His job was to run.

But not anymore. He had to learn that.

The thought didn't cause him to turn back and apologize, or to try and distract Jax from harassing Throttle. He couldn't bring himself to be that involved. Besides which, he'd developed something like a bias against Throttle ever since the raven incident. He knew it had been an accident, and had noticed Throttle had gone out of his way not to disturb wildlife since, but Bumblebee didn't like Throttle anyway. He couldn't help it, he was still angry over the raven's death.

Actually, to some degree, Bumblebee was still just plain angry.

He'd had enough time on Earth to work through a lot of stuff, but evidently he hadn't been as successful at doing away with his hostility as he'd thought. The anger was still there, and it wasn't buried all that deep. Robbed of its desired target, it surfaced when he least expected and directed itself towards those who didn't necessarily deserve it.

Tempers flared again over the next week, because it was raining again. Based on new information, the Autobot scientists working on the task (presumably still back at Cybertron) were confident they had developed a new formula for preventing water damage, and it was being shipped this way now. In the meantime, the Earth-based Autobots did what they could to stay out of the rain, and to keep their more delicate equipment from getting soaked. Unfortunately, the Long Distance Transmitter couldn't be moved and they didn't have anything to cover or protect it with, so they would simply have to deal with whatever damage it sustained after the rain stopped. In the meantime, inactivity and cramped conditions in the cliff-side caves were working on nerve wires and nearly everyone was low on tolerance.

From several years of practice, Bumblebee basically dropped into a kind of energy conservation mode. He said little, moved less, and generally let all the minor disagreements of his cave mates wash over him like vaguely irritating background noise. Anyone who'd spent much time in the field knew that a lot of war was just waiting. Huge swathes of time were taken in traveling, and in waiting, only a few minutes at most were devoted to the high speed violence that resulted in death for yourself or the enemy.

The waiting was what drove a bot mad.

Jax didn't make things any easier, by chattering nonstop about humans at anyone within earshot. He talked about their habits, talked about the apparent feud between the two river settlements, and he worried about what would happen to them if the rain flooded the river and the settlements were washed away. Unsurprisingly, there wasn't an Autobot Warrior in the entire system of caves that was interested. And they were even less enthralled the five hundredth time Jax mentioned a given point.

"I honestly can't figure how you can stand it, Scout."

The sound of words meant for him, addressed to his rank and function, spoken by Axle his CO, got Bumblebee's attention where nothing else in recent days had. Bumblebee's optics turned and focused and he looked up at Axle, who was of course much taller than himself.

"The rain, or Jax," Axle continued, gazing out beyond the mouth of the cave at the curtain of falling water, "I guess I'm lucky being a Scout was only a rank when I was coming up, not a full time occupation. I don't think I would have had the patience for it. Not when I was young."

Bumblebee was only vaguely aware that there had been a time when scouting was just something soldiers did at times, there was no special training involved, nor a distinct difference in their written function. Low ranking soldiers got picked for the task primarily because they were the most expendable because they had the least experience and knowledge. It was a matter of pure practicality; more experienced soldiers were not only more effective against the enemy, but they could pass their skills to new recruits. It had nothing to do with favoring older bots, and everything to do with trying to win the war, and to spare as many lives as possible in the long run.

By the time Bumblebee had enlisted, not only was Scouting an occupation as well as a rank, the need for Scouts was great. Bumblebee aspired to be a Warrior one day, but that was a rank distinction. Functionally, he would always have the specialized training, equipment and experience of a long-term Scout. Thus, no matter what rank he one day achieved, he would always be a Scout.

"Five years alone on this rock," Axle went on, oblivious of Bumblebee's wandering thoughts, "I can't even imagine what that must've been like."

{Quiet,} Bumblebee replied thoughtfully, {It was... very quiet.}

Axle gave him an amused smile and asked, "Is that a suggestion?"

{Only an observation,} Bumblebee replied neutrally.

In truth, he didn't mind Axle as a CO. Axle was not the most tolerant of COs, but he was fair. Though he had clearly worked and fought alongside Throttle for many years, Axle did not play favorites. If Throttle came on too strong, Axle would come down on him just as hard as anyone else. Throttle, for his part, did not begrudge this, seeking no special privilege for his long term association with the current designated leader of the Earth-based Autobot forces.

It was doubtful anyone except maybe Throttle was actually fond of Axle, but the only one who had an actual problem with him was, of course, Jax. Jax had a problem with just about everybody one way or another. His primary issue with Axle had to do with the restrictions Axle placed on his research. Though the decision was based on Bumblebee's reports and recommendations, it was Axle who forbade approaching the human settlement at night. He also disallowed Jax from venturing more than a certain distance away from the base. Jax argued that there was nowhere on Earth outside of comm range, but Axle pointed out that it would take time for Jax to get back in an emergency situation, and time for anyone to reach him if he happened to get into trouble.

There was no such thing as a Ground Bridge yet. Not on Earth anyway. Bumblebee didn't know it, but during his time as a POW, he had seen a prototype Space Bridge. It was included in his recorded memories, but he had no conscious recollection of it. Most of the memories from that time were too scrambled to make anything of, but the Space Bridge prototype had made a significant impression. The image of that prototype had gotten around, and there were not a few Autobots not only attempting to replicate it, but to develop from it a shorter-range device, one that would be less expensive in energon to run. If the Autobots could not match or surpass this technological advancement, the war was as good as lost, and the Autobots were sure to be destroyed en masse.

Bumblebee didn't know it, but the Decepticons had nearly perfected their Space Bridge. The time of waiting was going to be over sooner than any of the Earth-based Autobots could imagine.