Optimus POV
I looked up from Mikaela standing in my left hand to see that Autumn was truly frightened. I remembered what both Jazz and Ratchet have told me, that Autumn was terrified of me because of my size and because of my position. I know that I have never tried or even threatened to hurt Autumn, but I can see that she isn't thinking about that. She is thinking of the things that I am physically able to do, but would never have the spark to go through with.
I looked down to see that Ravage was now sitting by my foot while calmly looking up at me. It would appear that Ravage was merely helping Mikaela to prove her point. As I looked at the Cybercat… an idea occurred to me and I decided to follow through with it in the hopes that it might be of some help.
"Go back and stay with Autumn before you end up in the brig for failing to do your job." I ordered Ravage firmly.
"Her job? What's that?" Mikaela asked in confusion.
"Her assigned task is to stay with Autumn and protect her at all times since I can not always be nearby to do so." I answered calmly.
Using my peripheral vision, I could see the stunned surprise on Autumn's face. It's clear that Autumn doesn't expect us to be at all concerned about her safety. She also expects me to behave as her sire did… that will not happen!
"You really think Ravage can protect Autumn as well as you can?" Mikaela asked me bluntly.
"Perhaps… perhaps not. Ravage is known to be an excellent combatant. At the very least she and the bot with Autumn would provide enough of a distraction for help to arrive. When it comes to Autumn's protection… Ravage will not be fighting alone!" I answered sternly.
"While they focus on that cat, I'll just obliterate 'em!" Ironhide grinned.
"Lacks style. I'd prefer to dismember the slagger… slowly!" Sunstreaker groused while examining his paint for scratches.
Mikaela started laughing before she turned to face Autumn. "See? He's a great big softy… nothing to worry about!"
"Ha! Tell that to Megatron!" Ironhide scoffed.
"Can't; he's dead. Sam killed him. Besides, he had it coming!" Mikaela retorted with a smirk.
"Autumn, you need to quit looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Now would you mind giving me a lift to the med bay? Remember, you and I need to talk to Ratchet about something." Mikaela said changing the subject.
Autumn POV
I walked over to Optimus without looking him in the optics. I just can't believe that Mikaela hit him! Maybe she's right about him. I guess she is, because if Optimus was anything like my father, he would have killed her for what she did. As big as he is, Optimus still didn't do anything to her and I don't know why he didn't.
I walked over to Optimus and held my right hand close to his, making sure that I kept my optics aimed at Mikaela, but I was still watching. I was relying on my wings to tell me if he started to do anything. Mikaela stepped on to my hand and sat down.
"Come on Autumn, we need to go to the med bay to talk to Ratchet." She told me with a smile. "Come on Ravage, you're about to get left behind." She added looking down at the Cybercat sitting next to Optimus' ankles.
I stopped just before the sensor would open the door to the med bay. I just knew that Ratchet was going to be angry like he always is and I didn't want a wrench thrown at me.
"Autumn, it's okay to go in. Ratchet isn't really angry, he just acts that way because he doesn't like to see bots get damaged. Besides, I'll be right here with you." Chromia told me.
I'm not thrilled to walk into the med bay, but I know that I am now supposed to recharge in here. I'm sure that Ratchet is really tired of me by now, since I was in here so much when I first came to this base.
"Who ever…" Ratchet began before looking at me hard. "Why is Mikaela in your hands instead of Ravage?"
"Because I asked her to give me a lift. We need to find out something, and you're the only one who can tell us." Mikaela replied before I could say anything.
"And just what is it that I need to find out for you?" Ratchet asked as he crossed his servos over his torso.
"We want you to find out if Autumn can still drink coffee, sodas and other stuff like that." Mikaela answered with a grin.
"What could possibly make you think that Autumn might be able to ingest such things? Bots can't do that because it would clog their systems!" Ratchet complained angrily.
"Well… Autumn was human right? So maybe she can still drink coffee, at least I hope so." Mikaela replied.
"Sound reasoning, but that will depend on her fuel processing systems." Ratchet groused.
"Would you take a look for us? It'd be great if me and Autumn can sit down to a cup of coffee together." Mikaela said with a smile.
Chromia POV
I watched Autumn sit down on one of the berths while Ravage jumped up there to crawl into her lap. Autumn placed Mikaela on her right thigh and with both Mikaela and Ravage there, Autumn's lap was full. Her left hand was stroking Ravage, while her right hand was near Mikaela ready to catch her if she stumbled or fell while standing on Autumn's right thigh.
Ratchet picked up a device that was clearly a more inclusive scanning unit than what was built into his frame, because this was much larger. I watched in silence for over an hour as Mikaela and Autumn whispered to each other and the bright light of the blue scanning beam illuminated Autumn's midsection.
Ratchet huffed and growled softly to himself while he worked at transferring the results into a large diagnostic computer. Although not quite sentient, that computer system was far more advanced than anything the humans could build at this time. I don't know the full capabilities of that machine, but I know Ratchet. He wouldn't trust that system if it wasn't fully able to perform as needed.
An hour and a half after Ratchet first picked up the scanner, Mikaela's stomach growled; Ratchet straightened up and turned to glare at the young woman.
"Go eat."
"No. I'm not leaving until I find out if Autumn and I can share a glass of tea or something." Mikaela said firmly.
"Chromia, send a comm to Elita and ask her to bring the girl something for lunch, and give Autumn a cube of energon while you're at it." Ratchet snapped at me while still glaring at Mikaela.
I sent the message as requested while I stepped over to the supplies and retrieved two cubes of energon. One was already mixed for Autumn and I knew that by the color of it; the other was a cube of mid-grade for Ravage. Just as I was handing the two cubes to Autumn, Elita walked through the door.
"Mikaela… I'm not exactly sure what types of food you like, but I brought a couple of tuna salad sandwiches and some V-8 to drink." Elita said as she walked over and handed the food to the young woman still sitting on Autumn's thigh.
"Elita, even if I didn't like what you brought, I would still say thank you for bringing it. But I do happen to like tuna salad, so you hit the nail right on the head with that one." Mikaela answered.
Autumn tore the top off of the cube for Ravage and placed it down on the berth while she sipped on her cube. She was busy watching Mikaela eat, Ravage drink her energon, and Ratchet run his equipment. Another hour passed with those two talking quietly, and I could see that they were trying not to disturb Ratchet while he worked.
Ratchet finally turned around and deactivated the scanning unit that was aimed at Autumn. He crossed his arms over his chest and fixed Mikaela with a hard look.
"Autumn's fueling systems are a lot different than those of any other bot I've ever seen. It seems that she can actually eat eight ounces of human food in a twenty-four hour period. I know that isn't very much, but she can also drink one cube of non-carbonated fluids! The carbonation would have detrimental effects on her fuel systems where sugar or other sweeteners wouldn't. I don't fully comprehend why that's the case, but it is." Ratchet informed her.
"Wait… just how much is in one of those cubes?" Mikaela asked.
"Just a touch over five gallons. Why?" Ratchet answered.
"Five gallons!?" Mikaela demanded in apparent shock. "That's a lot of coffee." She added in an awed whisper.
"If Autumn were human, there is no way in the slagging pits that I'd let her drink that much coffee! That much caffeine would kill her." Ratchet growled. "Strange thing is, it won't have any affect on her as a bot."
Mikaela started nodding her head with a thoughtful frown on her face. Then she leaned back and looked up at Autumn. "You said you tried a Starbuck's once. What flavor did you get?"
"Vanilla." Autumn answered softly. "One of my fa… creator's tramps left it in the fridge, so I took it."
"Did you like it?" Mikaela asked.
"It was okay. I… I don't really like vanilla though." Autumn replied.
"That's okay. Mocha, caramel, mocha coconut, dark chocolate… there's a lot of flavors you can pick from."
I followed Autumn to the rec room. She had Ravage in her arms while Mikaela was sitting on her right shoulder. They looked so natural that way, like they belonged together.
Autumn sat down at one of the tables and promptly lifted Ravage up to place her on it. Mikaela stayed where she was and I thought that was endearingly adorable. I knew that Autumn didn't have very many friends but she seemed to be very accepting of those she did have. I think she would even go out of her way to accommodate those that she liked.
"Animals don't belong on the furniture!" A human voice snarled.
I looked over and saw that it came from the human Galloway. I guess he noticed me looking at him because he turned his attention to me.
"Why are you just standing there, you useless piece of junk? Get that damned thing off the table!" Galloway ordered angrily.
Before I could respond, I heard the distinctive sounds of a transformation in progress. Looking at the source, I saw Ravage standing on the table with her missiles aimed straight at Director Galloway!
"Well? Do something you stupid toaster!" Galloway snapped at me.
"Actually… I'm not going to do anything after the way you've just insulted me! My assigned task is to make sure that Ravage doesn't attack Autumn, since she has no weapons or combat experience. Therefore, I suggest you speak to the Decepticon that you've been calling an animal on your own! I certainly have no intention of risking my life by taking her on in your defense after the way you've insulted me! You may deal with this Decepticon yourself… and be very glad that I am under orders not to hurt you… because even so, I am very tempted to see just how little of you is left after a couple of shots from my cannons!" I snapped before deliberately turning my back on him.
"You chunks of junk are supposed to be protecting humans!" He protested loudly.
I turned around and knelt down to slam my fists into the concrete floor hard enough to pelt him with some of the chips.
"I am not risking my life in a fight against Ravage simply because you are so incredibly stupid as to provoke her! We have not been told that we have to protect you from your own stupidity!" I snarled before standing back up and turning again towards Autumn.
I turned back just in time to see Mikaela jump down from Autumn's shoulder. She sprawled on the table and got up to limp to the edge.
I watched as Mikaela pointedly looked over at Ravage who was snarling as she aimed those missiles at Galloway. "You know something? It takes a really dumb idiot to expect someone to put their life on the line after you call them things that are not only racially provocative, but with the hate crime laws in place, criminally prosecutable as well! Now I strongly suggest that you take your suicidal ass somewhere else to get killed, because don't want your messy corpse ruining my appetite, and I will happily be a witness against you in any hearing!" She said with a vindictive smile before trying to limp back to Autumn.
"Hey Ravage… can you give me a little help here? I think I sprained my ankle when I jumped off Autumn's shoulder." Mikaela asked nicely, although her voice was a bit strained by pain.
Ravage gave a menacing growl to Galloway before she put her missiles away and went over to Mikaela. Autumn was reaching towards Mikaela when Ravage got there first. The Cybercat acted like she was going to put her muzzle against Mikaela's stomach, but picked her up by the front of her belt instead.
Mikaela let out a yelp of surprise and leaned forward to place her hands on top of Ravage's head as she was carried back over to Autumn.
"Mikaela… are you okay?" Autumn asked worriedly.
"No." Mikaela answered with a wince as she hopped on her left foot while holding the other in the air. "But I will be. Especially if that bastard stays gone!"
"I don't think anyone will disagree with you about him. I think you should see Ratchet about that ankle though."
"I'll see him later. Right now, I want something to drink, and a Starbuck's sounds really good. What do you think Autumn?" Mikaela replied.
"I would love one. Can… can I have a flavor besides vanilla?" Autumn asked hopefully.
"Sure can! We'll both get a large mocha coconut, but I think you're going to need at least four of those things so you'll at least be able to taste it." Mikaela said with a grin as she climbed on Autumn's hand.
I watched as Autumn carefully deposited Mikaela back on her right shoulder. There was a sound of heavy breathing as Galloway stormed out of the rec room. Good riddance if you ask me. That little slagger isn't good for anything, and he certainly isn't a suitable liaison for us.
"Chromia, would you grab us five large bottles of mocha coconut Starbuck's please?" Mikaela asked me.
"Sure. Be right back."
From the way that Ravage had carried Mikaela, I was sure that she wasn't going to attack Autumn without being highly provoked. I have no idea why she didn't kill Galloway since she isn't under standing orders not to harm humans. After the insults that were directed at me, I wanted to kill that annoying slagger myself!
I walked over to the dispenser while thinking about different methods of arranging an 'accident' for Mr. Galloway. I knew that anything I actually tried would be investigated by humans and bots both, so it would have to be perfect!
I grabbed seven bottles of that Starbuck's Mikaela wanted, three cubes of energon and a container for Autumn to put the fluid in so she could drink it. I walked back to the table and sat down. Mikaela and Autumn were laughing at a joke that Mikaela had told. That was surprising to me, because I knew Autumn to be very withdrawn around those she didn't trust. Perhaps Mikaela becoming injured in behalf of Autumn, Ravage, and myself had earned Autumn's trust. I hoped so, because I could see that Mikaela was going to be the kind of friend that Autumn needs.
"Mikaela?" Autumn asked softly.
"What Autumn?" Mikaela asked still chuckling.
"Can I ask you something?" Autumn asked timidly.
"Sure Autumn. In fact… you just did. Somebody once said that the only stupid question is the one you don't ask; so go for it!" Mikaela replied with a smile.
"Are there really porno pictures of Medusa?" Autumn asked doubtfully.
"Yes Autumn… there are. I hate to say it, but there's a ton of perverts out there. Sam showed me something called 'Rule 34' of the internet. That rule says… 'If it exists, there is porn of it; no exceptions!', and it's true. Have you ever seen 'The Empire Strikes Back'?" Mikaela responded seriously.
"I saw that at my Aunt's house one time, but I never watched much TV." Autumn answered in a sad tone.
"Well then you'll remember those giant four legged walkers that looked kind of like dogs. Sam showed me a picture of two of them having what looked like 'doggie style' sex. Underneath that was a caption that read… 'Rule 34… No Exceptions!'. There's Rule 34, and then there is Rule 34a, which says 'If no porn of it can be found, then just wait, it is being made somewhere overseas right now'." Mikaela told her.
I was baffled by this conversation until I used the web to learn what was being discussed. As soon as I did know, I wished I had chosen to remain ignorant. Mikaela wasn't joking. There really is porn of Medusa out there! I found it to be very disturbing to know that humans would turn even their monsters and nightmares in to sex objects!
Mikaela opened the five bottles that I had obtained for Autumn and poured them into the container for her, before she opened one for herself.
Elita POV
I walked into the rec room to see Mikaela perched on Autumn's right shoulder. She was sitting there as if she belonged on Autumn's shoulder! Autumn was drinking a container that held some kind of fluid that I knew wasn't energon and a quick scan told me that it was the same thing Mikaela was also drinking.
:Did Ratchet give Autumn permission to consume human fluids?: I quickly asked Chromia over the com system.
:Yes, he did. She is limited to one cube of non-carbonated drinks in a 24 hour period and eight ounces of solid food. Her fueling system is different from normal, so she can have those things where we can't!: Chromia answered.
:Good! It means that Autumn still has some connection with her previous humanity and it isn't completely gone. If she starts lamenting the loss of who she used to be again, then that will be something we can point out to her. Show her that she hasn't completely lost all that she was, she has simply become something more.: I sent back.
I stepped over behind Autumn and began to gently stroke her doorwings. I knew that doing so would help relax her, and it was clear that she needed such relaxation. The sparkling femme in front of me is too timid and way too tense right now. Making her see and more importantly understand that she is not disposable won't be something that is quickly or easily accomplished, but we will succeed!
I chose to remain silent and let Mikaela and Autumn talk to each other for several hours. I could see a developing friendship there and I didn't want to interfere with that. Autumn needed friends, she needed someone that she could trust, someone to confide in. Small, confident, brave, and smart… Mikaela seemed as if she just might be that someone. I could only hope so.
I noticed Mikaela tense up when she shifted her position.
"Mikaela… is something wrong?" I asked from behind Autumn.
"I think I twisted my left ankle when I jumped off Autumn's shoulder earlier. Now it's starting to hurt." Mikaela answered.
Autumn turned her head to the right to look at Mikaela for a moment. Then she grabbed Ravage in her left hand and got up from the table.
"Autumn, what are you doing?" I asked at the sudden action.
"I'm taking Mikaela to see Ratchet. She needs a medic now." Autumn answered in a surly tone while not pausing or even hesitating in her actions.
I stood there gaping for a moment because that was not the Autumn I was familiar with! Autumn was usually a very timid femme, but I am not sure that I want to see her like this. There was something very determined in the way she moved.
Mikaela looked back at me sort of helplessly from her seat on Autumn's shoulder and shrugged her shoulders. I could sort of sympathize with her since she was being taken to see the medic whether she wished to go or not.
As soon as Autumn entered the med bay, Ratchet was throwing a wrench and bellowing about how he did not want to be disturbed. Autumn never paused in her stride. Her left hand simply flashed up and caught that wrench before it could hit her.
"Mikaela's hurt because of that slagger Galloway!" Autumn growled as she went to one of the berths and sat Mikaela down on it.
Ratchet stepped away from the large frame that Autumn was in the process of constructing and stepped over to see about Mikaela. Suddenly Autumn struck the medic in his head with his own wrench!
"Don't you ever throw a wrench around her again! Understand? I'll kill you if you do!" Autumn snarled softly but with intense anger.
:Don't say anything! I'll try to get her to calm her down.: I sent to Ratchet quickly.
"Autumn… relax, okay? I'm not hurt that bad. Besides that wrench wasn't heading at me." Mikaela said firmly.
Autumn instantly focused on Mikaela and fixed her with a glare. "That wrench could have bounced off my helm and hit you. As big as it is, you'd be dead, and I'd be left without a friend." Autumn retorted angrily.
"Maybe. But that didn't even get the chance to happen, now did it? You caught that wrench before it could hit anything… hell you caught that thing before I even saw it coming!" Mikaela replied with a grin.
"Maybe I did catch it… but what if I hadn't?" Autumn demanded in a desperate sounding whisper. "I… I don't want to lose the few friends I have." She added in distress.
"Like I said… relax! I'm not going anywhere… and neither is Elita. Chromia, Arcee, Jazz and Ravage aren't going anywhere either. So I don't think you have anything to worry about." Mikaela returned with an easy confidence.
I guess Autumn accepted that statement as a fact because she simply nodded her head and stepped back to allow Ratchet room to examine Mikaela.