Chapter 7
The morning broke at last and the new mechs were greeted and hurrahed into the group. Will Lennox and Robert Epps were called in to meet with them and they brought Niall Graham as well, a Lieutenant from the United Kingdom who had become a mainstay in the human contingent. They sat on top of a table in the conference room and waited, the cacophonous sound of electronic chatter outside the door almost painful to listen to as the Autobots caught up with each other in their common language, NeoCybex.
"Ten more mechs," Niall said walking to the edge of the table to look out through the crack in the door. He saw flashes of colors, different types of mechs with their different types of body configurations and heights. He smiled at the incongruous sight of talking mechanical beings, then walked back to sit on his bench. "This will make it all the more interesting to our guys."
"They need to learn to shut their mouths, too," Epps said as he sat in his chair. "These dudes aren't humans and they can't be judged to our standards. What's right for them is just right."
"Johnson and Hedges?" Niall replied.
"Yeah. I'm just about ready to sign off on them to be cut loose," Lennox said, rising as the door opened and the senior Autobots came in for the weekly staff meeting.
Optimus Prime nodded to them as he entered followed by a sad-looking Prowl. Prowl was hard to read but the overall affect was down turned as Niall glanced at the others for a moment. Jazz, Ironhide, Wheeljack, Ratchet and a new mech who was introduced as Springer entered to take their places around the big conference table.
"Welcome, Will and Robert," Optimus Prime said. "We have a new mech with us. Springer, this is Will Lennox, Captain and field commander of the N.E.S.T. soldiers of Earth here on base who work with us and his second, Sargent Robert Epps. Also with them is a member of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, Lieutenant Niall Graham. Springer is a Wrecker and you can find out more about that from Ironhide as well as Springer later."
The new mech, green and yellow with a big grin and a friendly manner nodded, then glanced at Optimus with the strangest expression. It was a cross between adoration and lust.
Epps blinked and Lennox swallowed.
The other mechs at the table, all of them blinking as well noticed it, too.
Prowl swallowed hard as he stared at the datapad in his servos. He was the only one not to watch.
Optimus on the other hand smiled back giving Springer a lingering look of affection.
It was very silent in the room.
"Well, now that introductions are over let us begin," Optimus said. And they did. It was fast, tension-filled and cleared the decks in record time. After it was all over, the humans walked across the tarmac heading for their own barracks and office complex across the way. It was silent as they walked. Halfway across they stopped together to look back at the Autobot HQ.
Optimus was outside standing in the sunlight with Springer. They were talking together head-to-head in more than just a little intimate manner. Springer moved closer, putting his hand on Optimus' shoulder, then he ran it up and down possessively a couple of times. They chuckled over something, then Optimus nodded, watching as Springer turned to go. Then Springer stopped, returned and gave Optimus a light kiss on the lips. That was when Springer left and that was when the accumulated skulls of the three human soldiers exploded.
-0-Med Bay
Ratchet walked to his desk and sat down to consider the strange behavior of Optimus and Springer, a mech he had known since he was hot headed youngling who wanted to slap Decepticon aft. Optimus and Springer were actually flirting and didn't care who saw it. For a moment, he thought the world had gone mad but then he also remembered that Optimus knew about Ironhide's prank. He sat and thought, tapping his fingers on the top of his desk as a slight smile grew on his face.
Nearby looking through the door, wondering where Ratchet had put the datapads from earlier, Ironhide felt an electrical surge of dread flowing through his chassis as he watched Ratchet sitting at his desk with a smile forming on his lips, his fingers tapping on his desk. It couldn't be good but then nothing was actually going too well right now.
Optimus had actually flirted, *flirted* at the staff meeting. It had scandalized all of them and the word had gotten out, *thank you, Wheeljack*. Now everyone was pestering him for the 'straight stuff'. He could probably use some of the straight stuff himself and with the Autobot equivalent of a sigh he walked away hoping that Wheeljack had a stash of high octane in the house of horrors he called a lab.
-0-Ops Center
Prowl sat disturbed, bothered, and bewildered by the show Optimus made with Springer. He looked at the pad in his hand and reread it for the fourth time, the words going in one audial and out the other. Moving to sit at Teletraan II, he considered his life so far. He was a catch, he thought. He had skills and gave a nice appearance. But he wasn't social. If he wanted to be brutally honest and he usually was, he was socially inept. In the milieu of his work he was a god, someone who could adapt and come to the peak of whatever part of himself was needed. He could be cold, ruthless, Machiavellian and dangerous to know. But in the realm of romance and interpersonal relationships he was still a sparkling, a youngling geek, a ...
He halted a moment to consider the fifteen thousand words for failure in English alone that his initial internet search had pulled up. That didn't even count the other language databases available. He was a dork in just about one hundred eighty-nine languages and dialects from this world alone and it was a big, big galaxy out there.
He felt it, too.
Optimus Prime had seemed like he was feeling something for him and now he was schmoozing with Springer like a long lost bond. He felt like slag circling the Pit. He put down the datapad wondering if Wheeljack had any high grade stashed in his lab. He could use a stiff one right now and he almost never drank beyond the odd beer or three. Maybe things would be changing as he stared at life alone, a life that spread out before him probably dead ending somewhere around the bend of Alpha Centauri. Even as out of habit he calculated how many light years away that was, he sat with utter dejection and sorrow for a moment. Then Prowl of Praxus went back to the only true blue lover he ever had.
His job.
-0-Cleared to land at Diego Garcia
The plane was circling around for a landing as Sam jolted awake, swaying in the harness that passed for seating on the transport plane. Bumblebee had picked him up at college and drove to the airport and the commercial transport. Good old United Parcel Service, 'Brown', had taken them to Dulles where they caught this army plane for the long haul to Diego Garcia. He was bone tired but Bee wasn't. Bee was actually extremely happy, perhaps even hyper and ready to be among the others at Diego.
"Hey, Bee," Sam said. "We're coming in for a landing."
The Camaro tied down under a net flashed his lights, a happy tune popping up on the radio.
Sam smiled feeling glad that Bee would be around his kind again. He obviously needed the time.
"Sam."
"What, Bee?" Sam replied.
"There's going to be new mechs at Diego."
"Who, do you know?" Sam asked.
"I hear that Springer and Kup are there."
"Who are they?" Sam asked.
"Wreckers," Bee replied. "And Springer, you'll like him a lot.'
"You'll have to introduce me when we get there," Sam replied grinning with pleasure for his car. "I'm glad for you, Bee," he said as an airman strolled back to tell them they were going to be landing. They hunkered down and when the plane taxied to a stop the airman removed the bindings on Bumblebee as Sam climbed in. The Camaro rolling down the ramp when it was down.
Diego Garcia was sunny and warm, the monsoon season almost past when Bee rolled to a stop.
Sam stepped out onto damp asphalt and the greetings of Optimus Prime, Ironhide and a tall green and yellow mech.
Bee transforming with a holler ran toward the mech Sam deduced was Springer, jumping into his arms in his intense joy to see him. The mech laughed and spun Bee around while Optimus beamed as if he had invented the mini-con himself.
Ironhide glancing from Springer to Optimus to Sam and back to Springer had a baffled expression on his face.
Optimus gestured for Sam to step forward and without any hesitation made the introductions. "Sam, this is Springer. Springer, this is Sam." He then switched to Cybertronian a moment. {Sam is the Allspark} "And I believe you know Will Lennox, Robert Epps and Niall Graham, Sam."
Sam nodded, grinning at the soldiers who were sitting on a hummer close-at-hand.
Springer hearing Sam's name and being aware of events in the past became serious instantly as he held Bee like a baby on his hip. He gave a solemn nod. "My pleasure," he said with a nice modulated accent-free masculine voice.
"Nice to meet you, too, Springer," Sam replied. "Bee's been in a tizzy to come here and he's been happy about more mechs arriving. He even mentioned you."
Bee looked at Sam, his optics glowing as brightly as the big mech who held him. Then Springer smiled looking at Bee like his mother. He kissed Bee on the head.
Sam looked from a beaming Bee to an equally beaming Prime.
Ironhide standing between everyone looked as mixed up as Sam.
Springer smiled at Optimus, his gaze lingering as he did. "It's good to be here with Bumblebee."
"Yes," Optimus said nodding in agreement. "It has been too long. Sam, Springer is Bumblebee's genitor."
Bee hugged Springer's neck as Sam looked at them for a moment without comprehension. "Bee is your youngling, your sparkling then, your son?" Sam asked sputtering through designations as he looked at Springer.
Springer nodded as he kissed Bee's head once again. "Yes, Bumblebee is our son," he said.
Three other mechs stepped from the hangar drawn by the lure of Bee's return and the added mystifying spectacle unfolding before them. Two new mechs and one old one, Hound, Kup and Ratchet stepped up. Another new Autobot, the only femme on base at the moment, Arcee, already was standing behind Optimus. She stepped up with a smile. "Bee's whole family is here, Sam. I'm Arcee."
Sam looked at Arcee dazzled by the idea that Bee who didn't talk about his family much, if at all, had them around him now. "So let me see if I understand you. Springer, you're one of his genitors, his parents."
Springer nodded.
"Who else is family here?" Sam asked closing the loop and putting the cherry right on top of the fragmentation grenade.
"I'm Optimus' sister, Arcee, Bee's aunt. This is Hound, Optimus' and my own younger brother."
The green Autobot smiled at Sam.
"This is Kup," she said. "He's our great grandfather if you will, Springer's grandfather."
Kup grinned as hilarity circled like a comet around his head. "Good to meet the Allspark and any friend of my little great grandson is a friend of mine."
Optimus struggled to keep himself in check as he watched Ironhide's incredulity rise with each revelation.
Ratchet who was standing behind Arcee watched first with surprise, then an almost feral sense of glee. He moved behind Ironhide, stopping to catch him if he glitched which he looked like he would.
"Wow, Bee! Your great grandpa, your aunt and uncle," Sam said genuinely happy for the smiling little mini-con held in the arms of one of his genitors. "Who's your other genitor?"
Optimus gathered himself then moved to stand in front of Springer, positioning himself so that Ironhide could see his face as well as the soldiers. He cleared his throat, a thoroughly dramatic and physically nonessential action. "Why, Sam, all his family is here. I am the other genitor of Bumblebee."
The shock on Sam's face was matched only by the shock on the faces of the three soldiers. It was dead silent, then Optimus dropped the coup de grace. "And Bee's grandparents, my own genitors or parents actually are also here." He turned toward Ironhide whose optics were as big as steering wheels. "I know you know them. Meet my mother if you will and father, my genitors, Ironhide and Ratchet."
You could have heard a pin drop. Or better yet you could hear Prowl drop nearby as his processor glitched and he fell over backward to the concrete floor below.