Sitting in Ratchet's lab with a notepad, Saphira felt like she was sitting for an exam with all the stuff Ratchet was telling her. He had wanted her to know the written stuff before he had her practice any physical stuff, especially since there was no transformer to work on for the time being, though Ratchet told her he probably would use some kind of dummy or decepticon body for her to practice on. Though, Saphira really was enjoying her time listening to Ratchet as she felt she was learning so much.
"I hope all this information isn't overwhelming for you," Ratchet said as he looked at a monitor and typed information onto a file. "There is a lot to learn in the medical field when it comes to transformers. I am glad to say you catch on very quickly."
"Not at all." Saphira jotted some more notes down as she remembers what Ratchet had said. "I am having fun actually. I think I will make a good transformer medic."
The bot chuckled softly and turned to face Saphira. "It seems that you will. Small hands like your own might prove to be useful."
"So…can I ask you something? What functions your ability to transform?" Saphira asked curiously. "And is it the same as the holoform system?"
"T-Cog is the system all transformers have to allow us to transform. It is a biological system, it can only run on energon and if damaged, we are not able to transform." Ratchet walked closer to Saphira and she heard a hiss of something releasing. "Maybe I will give you a little inside peak of our system." She widened her eyes as he opened his chassis, she blinked in surprise as she saw the various parts of the transformer and the energon veins that were pumping gently in his system. Ratchet points to a circular part with jagged points that had locked the part into the system. "This is the t-cog. If it ever gets damaged or removed, it can be very difficult to rebuild."
"Oh wow…" Saphira stood up from where she was seated, stepping closer to look into the system. "It does look a bit like a car engine, but there is…organic stuff there too."
"That would be the energon veins, along with softer parts for the more sensitive systems in our bodies. What you are also seeing is the protoform of our being." Saphira blinked and looked at him before jotting that information down. "It is the frame of our being, when we are born, we do not have the protective coverings you are seeing now. We are born as naked protoforms, at the time our frame is extremely soft and fragile, it is the reason why we must wear these coverings as you see. It is our armour, and a necessity to survive."
Saphira nodded as she wrote that information down. "So do you grow with your coverings on?"
"Some of it. And the parts you are seeing also grow and mature as we grow, it may surprise you that while we are made up of parts, we do grow a lot of it. Some is built and added to our system, such as our weapons. But as we grow, we get new coverings until we are fully matured." Ratchet lifts his hand and points to several veins. "These veins here are what you would consider as a major artery. If any of these are breached, it takes mere minutes for us to bleed out. These are the veins you will learn how to stop a bleed out."
Saphira nodded, drawing a basic diagram of what she would be expected to learn and writing it down. "Got it. Speaking of…how are sparklings created? Is it similar…to…" She blushed a little as she knew it was awkward to talk about human reproduction. "Um…"
Ratchet chuckled softly at Saphira's stuttering about reproduction. "If you mean direct interfacing, yes, it is one of the ways sparklings are created." Saphira assumed interface was another word for sex in transformer language, but she was not going to confirm it. "There is another way sparklings are creating. After all, the spark is what our bodies form around as we grow. A habloid spark is another option, one created within the system of the sire using this unique chamber…" Ratchet points to a large, cylinder shape part that had vents either side of it. "It takes a lot of energon to create, however, and the spark must be implanted into the gestation chamber of another bot within a short time. It is the less common practice among autobots, but a very common practice among the decepticons."
Saphira nodded, writing down that information because it was intriguing to her. "I suspect because a habloid spark can be forced into another transformer unwillingly, right?"
"That is correct, Saphira. It is also because those sparklings tend to be created from strong mechs in order to create a stronger army." Ratchet exhaled loudly, he disliked talking about that, but she had asked the question. "And it is possible for mechs to carry sparklings as well." Saphira nearly dropped her pen in surprise and looked at him with wide eyes. "Not all mechs can carry sparklings, some can if during their growth a gestational chamber formed as well. As you know, there are not many femme bots left, Chromia would feel a little overwhelmed if she was to be expected to carry so many sparklings to rebuild our population."
"Yeah…she would," Saphira said slowly and wrote down that information. "I suppose I should have expected that. You guys are not from Earth, so I should have guessed a mech having a sparkling was not unheard of." She had no intention of asking which mech could, that information was likely private. "How big are sparklings when they are born?"
"Most average about your size at birth," Ratchet responded, making Saphira look up at him curiously. "Some are smaller, others usually bigger. Though the average remains to be about your size."
"Oh." Saphira realized that the possibility of having a sparkling with Optimus could be dangerous for her, but she wrote that down, nonetheless. "What about…um…what if a human were to get pregnant from a transformer?"
Ratchet looked away from Saphira, he had been expecting her to ask that question as he knew that her bond with Optimus had strengthened. "I would be very afraid for you, Saphira." She frowned when he addressed her directly. "I know the reason why you asked me. I am sure Optimus knows the average size of sparklings as well. However, I doubt that our transfluid would even connect with a human egg." She blinked in surprise at what he said, making Ratchet smile slightly. "I have done research about human health and reproduction, Saphira. I am not shy to learn about that." She looked away shyly, it was still embarrassing to talk about. "If you were able to get pregnant by some miracle, I would be very afraid for you. Optimus is a large bot, and you a smaller than the average size human for your age…" She looked at him with a frown. "Don't look at me like that, I am only saying this out of concern. I doubt you would be able to carry the sparkling safely without it doing major damage to your body, especially at birth."
Saphira sighed a little, she knew it was too soon to be talking about sparklings, but at least she knew the information. "I guess I had to know. The topic would have come up eventually."
"It would indeed. Now…shall we continue?" Ratchet gestured to the rest of his parts within the chassis. "This is the holoform system here…" He points to a smooth, flat, hexagon system that was glowing gently close to his spark chamber. "It is a very fragile system. It is actually very easy to damage compared to the t-cog."
Saphira nodded and wrote it down, while drawing the diagram of it as well. "I suppose it needed to be separate from the t-cog. Though, I am surprised you even develop the holoform. What was the original purpose of it?"
"That is a good question. That answer was likely buried deep within the ancient Cybertron archives, but I never got the chance to get close to it." Ratchet looked down at his system. "Alright, this is my tank here. You would probably refer to it as stomach, it's basically what processes the energon we ingest into our system."
Saphira nodded, writing that information down thoughtfully. She looked up as the door to the lab opened and Optimus stepped inside, his optics widen upon seeing Saphira standing on a platform in front of Ratchet's opened chassis. "What is going on here?"
She smiled at him. "Oh, Ratchet is teaching me a little bit about your system." She looked at Ratchet to see him closing his chassis. "Isn't there more you can show me?"
"I had no idea Saphira had taken such an interest," Optimus said as he approached them curiously. "Why are you suddenly interested, Saphira?"
"I want learn about your medical, Optimus," Saphira responded with a proud smile. "I have to say, it is very interesting about your species. Ratchet was kind enough to show me the different parts you have and where they are on his body."
Optimus hummed as he looked at Ratchet with a curious smile. "I saw that. I apologize for interrupting, I was not aware of what you were doing when I was told you were with Ratchet. I had assumed you would have been with Lennox. He has been looking for you."
"Saphira still has much to learn, although I admire her ability to learn what she already has learned quickly," Ratchet said with a smile. "I need to get back to my work anyway. Wheeljack needs my own expertise on that synthetic energon and it's affects on us."
"Understood." Optimus turned to Saphira, holding his hand out to her. "I will take you to Lennox. He's outside the lab currently. I think he wants to get you briefed about something."
She had a guess on what that was, but she climbed onto Optimus's hand, keeping her notepad close to her. "How did it go with the wreckers?"
He groaned a little and shakes his head a little. "It would be best if we did not discuss it right now, Saphira. I have dealt with the situation, that is all you need to know."
Saphira smiled slightly, she guessed it had gone as well as it could by his reaction. She wasn't going to push about it though. "I guess it must be hard when you need to clean-up the mess for another's actions." She opened her notepad and Optimus turned his head slightly. "I must say, a lot of what Ratchet had gone through was very fascinating. Your systems are quite complex, yet I am thrilled to learn more about them."
"What made you decide to learn about our medical, Saphira?" Optimus asked curiously. "You never mentioned it before. It seems rather strange to me that you would want to learn about it."
"I honestly just thought about it when you and I were at the emerald field. I was watching you tinkering with your canon and it made me think that I should learn a bit about your anatomy and medical so I can be of help to you if you ever need it." She glanced down at the bracelet she still had on with a smile. "You all have done so much for me, so I feel I should at least be able to return the favour."
Optimus smiled at her and pulled her closer to him, kissing her cheek gently with his metal lips. "Saphira, I appreciate that is how you feel. Just know, we do what we do for you because we want to."
"Same here, Optimus." She kissed his lips with a smile. "I want to be able to help you in your time of need to."
Optimus hummed gently as they step outside the lab and lowered his hand slightly. "I suppose my untimely death is part of the reason for you to want to help us if we need to. I am proud of you, Saphira. Just don't find yourself having too much on your plate."
"Ratchet said the exact same thing." Saphira did not feel like she had a lot on her plate, though it might look that way to others. "I won't do anything more, I promise. I don't want to get myself so burnt out."
"I hope not, I would hate for you to end up in your own medical facility for it." Optimus was aware humans can burn themselves out with so much work on their plate, and he did not want Saphira to do that to herself.
Saphira appreciated Optimus's concern. She was taking on college, being a defensive driving instructor and now, learning to be a transformer medic, it did look like a lot. Though she felt that the medical side of transformers would be a casual thing for her to learn, even though she wanted to learn as much as she could in a short period of time. Saphira looked around as Optimus carried her from the lab and hangars, and she saw he was taking to her what appeared to be a large track. She smiled, realizing that she was likely going to be briefed about her work here.
Optimus lowered her to the ground and she jumped off his hand with a smile as she saw Lennox. "Hi Lennox!" She walked over to him, holding out a hand to shake his hand. "I hope your last couple weeks have been okay."
"Aside from cleaning up some mess, it has been pretty good," Lennox responded, glancing up at Optimus who rolled his optics. "How was your last couple weeks?"
Saphira smiled dreamily as she thought back to those weeks. "It was…it feels like a dream now. But it was amazing. It was so nice to slow down and just…disconnect and be with Optimus."
Optimus was smiling as he listened to her. Lennox was grinning as he listened to her response. "I hope it wasn't too dreamy. If you know what I mean."
She blushed a little and shakes her head. "No…not to that extreme. But it was still beautiful." She looked up at Optimus, still blushing as she smiled at him. "I am just the luckiest girl in the whole world."
"I have no doubt." Lennox placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention and gestured for her to walk with him. "Anyway, I am afraid we have to pretty much get down to business almost right away. I know you only just got back and you probably want to see the house you will be staying in…but military business is a tight ship."
"Yeah, I am starting to feel that," Saphira said as she walked with him towards the track. "So…what are we doing today?"
"I know the training field has not been fully finished, but I was asked to test your driving abilities today." She was surprised by that, though she knew Lennox has not seen her skills and he pulled her towards a garage. Optimus walked behind them listening to the conversation. "As such, I have to assess your abilities as a driver by putting you behind the wheel of a few cars and trucks. I hope you won't mind."
"I guess I don't, if I have to prove it I will." Saphira was not worried about her ability with cars, it was the trucks she was not so sure. "What kind of cars are we talking about?"
"You will see. I will have Optimus here just in case you lose control, he will be able to stop you before a crash happens." She smiled knowing that Optimus would get to watch her skills in action, and it was nice to know he would stop if things were to get out of hand. "I would advise you to be careful, even if you're used to going crazy with driving."
"Oh, don't worry. I know how to handle a car." Saphira smiled at him, though Lennox still seemed worried about her. "Really, I know how to handle a car."
"And soon a truck, hopefully. Just so you know, if you don't get it, that is okay. I can find you some work in the administration area of the base. That way you won't be out of a job." Lennox looked ahead and points ahead. "And here are your chariots, milady."
Saphira looked ahead, widening her eyes to see the kind of cars she would get to test. A red BMW M4, silver Porsche Carrera GT, dark blue BMW Z4 sDrive35is, light blue Ford Shelby GT500 Supersnake, forest green 1995 Nissan GTR, a black Peterbilt and a blue Freightliner, all were sitting in the garage for the test.
"Ooh, I've already wanted to drive one of those!" Saphira exclaimed, running over to the Carrera and ran her hands along the hood. "It is so beautiful, I always have a lot of respect for cars with a lot of power. If you brought me a Ferrari, Lamborghini or Koenigsegg, I probably would be a little terrified to drive them."
"You would?" Lennox raised an eyebrow curiously.
She nodded. "Yeah, mostly because they can get airborne very easily. I would be afraid of that mostly more than spinning out the car."
"At least you aren't testing them out, for now. You have some Hummers and Jeeps as well, but they have not been brought over for you just yet. Even a Bentley…" Saphira looked at Lennox with wide eyes, making the man chuckle at her. "Yes, even a Bentley."
"I see Saphira is about to take a car for a spin. Should have told me Prime, I could have offered to allow Saphira to give my own wheels a test." She looked up as Dino approached, the autobot winked her and she rolled her eyes. "I would say that is a good thing, that way she won't get hurt."
"Saphira will be fine without your input, Dino," Optimus said to him sternly. "You are welcome to watch and assist if something does happen." He looked down at Saphira with a kind expression. "I will be watching over you Saphira. Show them what you can do."
Saphira nodded and looked at Lennox. "Is there any particular order I need to follow?"
"Not really, no," Lennox said, shaking his head with a shrug. "The keys are all in the vehicles, so pick one and get rolling. Make sure to try out one of the trucks too, I need to assess you on how you drive them as well."
She glanced up at the two trucks, she knew she would need to drive one of them. She looked at the Peterbilt, she knew she would likely drive that before the other truck mostly because Optimus's alt form is a Peterbilt. She looked away from the truck and opened the door to the Porsche, the key was already in the ignition, and she stepped inside. She felt herself get nervous as being behind a powerful engine like this really was something special. She started the engine, hearing the roar of it ring in her ears and she smiled, revving the engine a little before putting it into gear and driving forward towards the track. She glanced out the window and saw Barricade, Ironhide and Sideswipe approaching, they too had come to watch and assist in case there is an accident. She doubted there would be any, though it was nice to know they would be there in case.
She reached the main track and turned the car onto the road, taking deep breaths to keep herself calm before pushing her foot down on the throttle. She gasped as she felt the power of the car lurch forward and she speeds along the track as carefully as she could for the time being to get used to the car. She was not used to such a powerful vehicle. She did feel her nervousness get replaced with excitement as adrenaline filled her veins, and she giggled a little as she continued to speed until she reached the first lap.
Once she completed the first lap, she began to test the drifting of the car. She speeds towards the first corner before turning the wheel and tapping the break gently, feeling the car swerve into the corner and the wheels squeal as she drifts around the corner. She speeds out of the drift onto the next corner very quickly. She giggled again, the car moved so beautifully, and she was having a lot of fun. Though drifting was only part of what she needed to show.
She reached the stretch again for the second lap, only this time she pressed her foot on the break and turned the wheel, the tyres burn on the road as she car turns, putting the car briefly into reverse and turning it back around, she gasped when the right-side lifts slightly and slams back onto the road. She took a deep breath and straightened the car, speeding it towards the corner again, only to turn the car around suddenly, causing the tyres to burn smoke as they spin on the tarmac as she pressed her foot on the throttle, jolting the car forward to speed back the other way, showing how quickly she could get the car to turn around.
"Alright Saphira, I think you can move onto the next car," Lennox's voice spoke through the radio, making her jump and looked at the speakers in surprise. "You've shown off enough. Maybe show what you can do with the truck now."
Saphira sighed deeply, slowing the car down quickly and turning off the track to bring the car back to the garage. She was feeling very happy and energized at the moment as she pulled the car up in the garage. She shut it off and stepped out of the car with a smile on her face.
"Whoo! That is a lot of fun!" Saphira exclaimed with a giggle. "So much power under that hood. I love it!"
"You did appear to be having fun. You're one crazy driver though, I can see why you're good behind the wheel." Lennox wrote down some notes and pointed towards the black Peterbilt. "And here is your next challenge. Though if you can drive like that with that Carrera, you should have no trouble with a truck."
Saphira looked at the truck and grinned at him. "They are different to cars, Lennox. They are not streamlined or light like cars are. But, I will see what I can do. I probably will need a lot of practice with driving one of these."
She climbed up to the door and opened it, Lennox huffed a quick laugh. "I wonder how Prime will feel when he sees how you drive one of these."
"I think he will be impressed," Saphira responded with a shrug. "Though I am not sure on that answer of course." She closed the door, sitting in the seat and getting herself comfortable. "Alright, time to take you out for a spin."
She turned the engine on, feeling the cab shake as the engine roared to life. She did wonder if this truck had been modified at all, though she did not ask about it. She put the truck into gear, driving it towards the track. She knew trucks took longer to speed up, so she pressed her foot on the throttle to speed up the Peterbilt to the track and turned it onto it once she reached the stretch. The truck rumbled as she held her foot down, feeling it increase speed slowly, though a lot quicker than she had expected. She knew when a truck was not pulling a trailer, they were rather quick.
She eased the truck into the corners first, she wanted to be sure she got used to the added size and weight of the larger vehicle before she would try any kind of manoeuvre with it. She speeds the truck around the track, taking each corner carefully at a time. She goes around the track like this twice until she felt more confident behind the wheel. She decided to attempt drifting the truck into the corners now that it was at a high enough speed. She did know to be weary as the weight of the truck could swing very easily.
She speeds towards the corner and turns the wheel, pressing her foot on the breaks briefly to swing the truck into a drift. She smiled as she truck drifts into the corner, the bumper of the truck was inches away from the inside corner. Thankfully, there were no walls of the track, so Saphira did not have to worry about any damage to the vehicles due to hitting the walls. She smiled as she turned the truck straight after finishing the drift, feeling happy she was able to drift a truck. She drifts the truck again and giggles loudly in excitement as she does so. She never knew it was a lot of fun drifting trucks, now she knew.
She continues to drift the truck, pushing more and more speed into each drift to see how far she could push it. Optimus watched closely, he was impressed at her ability to drive the truck, it made him feel a little guilty that he did not allow Saphira the chance to practice with him. Though, he knew that it was different when it came to human vehicles. Transformers were different to human vehicles, even if they look almost identical to the vehicles of this world.
Saphira speeds towards the final corner, and she figured she would try some other manoeuvres once she finished this drift. Though as she swung the truck into the drift, she felt the weight shifting. And she realized she went into it too fast. She felt the truck's left wheels leave the ground and grabbed the wheel, turning it sharply which caused the truck to jolt and the wheels land on the ground, saving herself from tipping the truck.
She slammed her foot on the breaks, causing the tyres to screech as she slowed the truck down. She could see out the window that Optimus had almost ran towards her to stop the truck from tipping, though she was lucky she managed to save it. However, she needed to stop. She skids the truck to a halt in front of the garage, breathing heavily as she tried to calm her racing heart. She put the truck into park and opened the door, realizing her hands were shaking.
"Are you okay?" Lennox asked as he ran to the door. She nodded and began to climb out of the truck. "That was somewhat impressive, Saphira. You saved yourself from tipping this truck."
"Uh huh…next time…I won't be using that much speed…" She jumped to the ground and placed her hands on her thighs, taking deep breaths. "I hope I didn't fail my test."
Lennox shakes his head at her. "Of course not. You proved what you needed to. I was going to say you should try the other cars, but I think you've had enough for today. I'll make sure you have the job, you show the correct intuition in how you handle situations, and that is why I am going to make sure you get the job."
"Thank you." Saphira smiled at Lennox and he puts her shoulder gently. "What about the house?"
"Oh, well, I think the bots have the honours of showing that to you." Lennox looked up with a smile. "Maybe you should take her there Prime."
"I will follow the other autobots to the house you have prepared. I will hope that it is suitable for her." Optimus dropped down to one knee, looking at Saphira with a concerned expression. "Shall we go?"
She nodded, walking away from the truck towards Optimus. "Yes. I need to slow down anyway, we only have been here for a few hours and we are already busy."
He chuckled softly at her. "I would love to return to the emerald field right now, to get away from all of that. I am sure you are already feeling the same way too." She nodded at him. "Would you like to travel with one of the other bots?" She looked at him in surprise. "I am unsure if you would want to travel with me after you almost…"
"Optimus, that was my fault. I pushed the truck too far and nearly caused an accident for myself." She placed her hands on her hips, looking at him with a smile. "I feel safe with you. Just because you can transform into the same kind of truck, doesn't mean I feel unsafe. You'll be driving anyway."
"If that is how you feel." He transformed into the Peterbilt and Saphira smiled, running up to him and climbing up to get into the cab. "I too am curious about the residence you will be living in."
"We can show you the way, Bee will meet you there since you gave him the suitcases," Barricade said, transforming into the Challenger and driving ahead of them.
Dino, Sideswipe and Ironhide transform to drive with them. Saphira was curious about her new home. She doubted it would be anything too special, after all, she was only there for a short time essentially. She assumed it would be comfortable, Optimus would not have to worry about that. She relaxed in the seat as Optimus followed the other autobots, she smiled as Bee meets up with them to drive with them to her house. She almost felt like she would have a party at the house, though she somewhat hoped not even though it probably would be a lot of fun.
