A Soldier's Will (Transformers Prime Fanfiction)

Fear of Losing

It would be a couple of days since Optimus had sent Smokescreen out on that mission. Claire started to get worried, and she walked over to Optimus.

"Optimus, sir," she said. "It's been a while since you sent Smoke out and the search started... Is he even going to be found?"

Optimus looked down at Claire, then kneeled down to get a better look at her. He could see that the young soldier was worried for Smokescreen. He would reach his servo out to the girl, allowing for her to climb onto it before lifting her up. Claire looked at him, her expression filled with worry.

"Surely he will Claire," he stated. "We have everyone looking. He'll come back to us soon enough."

"I hope so..." She said gently. "I just... I don't want to lose a good friend."

"Just like you lost your brother?"

Claire nodded. She found Smokescreen to be a good friend, and a true ally. She also found him to be like her older brother, despite being a giant robot. It... Felt nice. Even so, she really wanted to make sure Smokescreen was alright.

She began to do her part by calling Agent Fowler and having some assistance in the search. Her studies were put on hold, and she was practically searching for hours non-stop. It was good that she wanted to help, and everyone was happy about it at first. However, Team Prime would soon see a completely different side of Claire when she was working... Along with its price.

Claire was in the base, working with Ratchet and a small team within the U.S. military. She kept in touch with the team via calls and occasional meetings in a private location. She worked hard in trying to find Smokescreen, but it was also difficult. With every lead she got, the search went on. When the leads had no results, she got frustrated. That frustration would make her snap.

"J'en ai ral le cul!" Claire yelled before slamming her hand on the table.

Ratchet quickly turned to see her angry. He also noticed something else; she had dark bags under her eyes. Did she get any sleep during this search? He wondered about that. He may have been guilty of not getting any sleep, but he was an old man. Claire, on the other hand, was young; she shouldn't be doing this to herself. He was probably going to be a hypocrite for saying this, but he had to do something. He stopped his work and switched to his holoform before walking over to Claire. He placed a hand on the teenage soldier's shoulder.

"Sergeant," he said. "You should go and get some rest. Rafael and I can handle things from here."

"No Ratch," Claire said with a frown. "You need all the help you can get, and I'm not losing a friend."

"While I appreciate your help, you shouldn't be doing that at the cost of your health. You aren't like a Cybertronian, sergeant; you are more fragile and-"

"La ferme."

"...Excuse me?"

"La ferme, Ratchet."

The room became eerily quiet as Ratchet stared at the girl in shock. The way she spoke was cold, but it also felt like there was an edge to her voice. The way she even said his name was rough, and it had some venom to it. Claire continued her work, her expression focused on the screen as she tried to follow the leads. However, she got angry and threw a wrench and broke something of Ratchet's. This made him angry.

"Claire!" He said, calling her by her name. "I needed that!"

"You know what I need, Ratch?!" She angrily asked. "I need a lead that won't fall apart on me! I need leads that won't send me on a wild goose chase! I need to not lose anyone else! I need my partner back!"

"That's enough, Claire!" A voice yelled.

Claire turned her head to see Agent Fowler walk in. Her anger faded, but she still felt frustrated as she looked down.

"S-Sorry sir..." She said, her voice stuttering a bit.

She eventually got back to work, despite Ratchet's concerns. He sighed, knowing that it would be a long day of dealing with her behavior. He rubbed his temple as Agent Fowler spoke.

"Where's Prime?" Agent Fowler asked, frowning.

"He's out on a search with Arcee," Ratchet stated. "Bumblebee and Bulkhead are on a scouting mission for Energon."

"Figures," he looked over at Claire before looking at Ratchet. "Is... Is she alright?"

"To be honest, I am uncertain," he said. "Sergeant Chevalier seems to have not been sleeping since our search for Smokescreen began. Her emotional state has become-"

Ratchet got cut off as Claire yelled and cursed in French. He and Agent Fowler could hear her frustration, along with a slam on the table. Ratchet sighed.

"... Angry and irrational," he said, finishing his sentence. "I've tried to get her to stop working, but she broke something of mine with a wrench..."

Agent Fowler looked over at Claire, seeing what Ratchet had meant. She was working really hard on the search, but she would become angry and frustrated. He even noticed that she did not get any sleep. He sighed, then made his way over to Claire.

"Claire," he said. "Ratchet's been telling me you haven't gotten any sleep since the search effort began."

"The Bots need all the help they can get," Claire said. "I also have to make sure that this team I'm leading helps as much as possible. I'm not letting any lead go. I'm not losing my partner."

"Claire... I know you want to find Smokescreen; we all do, but you need to rest. You're wearing yourself thinner than a thread..."

"I'm not resting until he's found."

"You won't find him if you are exhausted, sergeant!"

Agent Fowler was seeing the same thing he saw when he met her: impatience affecting judgement. He remembered what happened, and he had to try and stop her from doing something to endanger her health.

"I know you're missing Smokescreen; we all do," he said. "But you can't endanger yourself while you're searching."

Claire could hear Agent Fowler talk more, but the words slowly started to not make sense. Her work even seemed blurry. Dr. Fowler would notice, and he got concerned.

"Claire, are alri-"

Before he knew it, the girl collapsed. Agent Fowler quickly ran over, immensely worried.

"Claire!"

He kneeled down, checking on her before looking to where Ratchet was.

"Ratchet!" He said. "I have a sergeant down! She suddenly collapsed!"

"Bring her here!" Ratchet said, then looked at Raf. "Call Jack and have him bring Nurse Darby here. I'll need her assistance!"

Raf worked on calling Jack while Agent Fowler brought her into the medbay. How was going to explain this to her mother? He really hoped that Nurse Darby could help. Like how Claire feared losing Smokescreen, he was afraid of losing her.

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Translator Notes:
J'en ai ral le cul - I'm fucking fed up
La ferme - Shut up