These Paths We Tread (Autobot x OC)

XL. Where'd All the Time Go?

(**This is a prose-heavy chapter, unfortunately. Had to get through a long time skip from APRIL TO AUGUST. Pretty decent time skip, so be aware.**)

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Catherine didn’t know how or why, but once Marissa had gone, time started to fly by. She supposed it could have been because she was just busy along with everyone else, but it was like there was suddenly less time every day. It wasn’t because she was swamped with work, either—in fact; there was a distinct decrease in paperwork for her to do as the days became months. There were fewer requests for technology; less request for items from the Autobots; less problems from the monkeys in D.C. It was nice, to be honest, and it helped a little that no more new recruits were being spotted besides the four that had arrived, which always meant less paperwork.

It also helped that the four were fitting in rather perfectly. None of them were causing problems with their groups—not even Beachbreak, whom Smokescreen and warned would have the most potential to do so. Apparently his group was keen on sticking to routine, so she was glad she chose correctly. Hound was doing well, and the reconnaissance team appreciated his tracking abilities which literally made their job infinitely easier. When tested, his range could reach essentially ten times the distance their own radars could, and he could detect Energon signatures, so that helped even more. The engineers were having a fun time asking him about how it worked to fix their own creations, and he was glad to help.

Normally, she might have made a fuss as that was, in a way, sharing Cybertronian technology, but after having a discussion with both the tracker and Prime she learned he was just giving them advice and explaining what his sensors were detecting, so it was fine. She didn’t know how the politicians didn’t raise a racket, but whatever the reason, she was glad nothing had come up.

Warpath was one of the better additions, and not just because of his immense firepower. The guy was a blast—and not just in the literal sense. Many of the soldiers enjoyed his personality, which was rough and demanding for action, which was almost an exact copy of many of the soldiers. Catherine also suspected the troops loved how he added a “boom” or “kablam” or some explosion-like sound to everything he said. There was always a chuckle or two when the mech spoke, and he was, thankfully, very happy to work with the humans and found their weaponry fascinating, although lacking greatly in comparison to his own, but no one could really argue—he did have a tank for a chest.

And then there was First Aid. Oh, First Aid. Smokescreen hadn’t been kidding about him. In fact, he may have been understating the fact the medical mech was the complete opposite of Ratchet. While the Chief Medical Officer was brash-venturing-on-rude, essentially angry all the time on the outside, and deprived of any patience, First Aid was a complete and utter saint! The mech never got annoyed or angry with anyone. It was almost insane how easy going and kind the mech was. He was rather soft spoken, too, and she even dared to say shy, especially around humans. He was definitely more interactive with them than Ratchet, but his best quality came with the fact he made their CMO happy. It was scary—even Jolt thought so— but the day the red-and-white mech had begun working in the Medbay, Ratchet almost always had a smile on his face and the atmosphere of the Medbay was almost sickeningly uplifting. There were definitely less wrenches thrown and tempers run, and suddenly everyone wasn’t so afraid to enter the room.

All in all, NEST was very lucky to have gotten who they received, although there was one mech who had been disappointed. Sideswipe had hoped to learn something of his brother, but while Warpath and Hound could remember seeing him, it was Vorns ago on some shipyard planet. It was disheartening, of course, though he refused to show it even to Catherine. However, he kept his hopes up knowing his brother was still alive and he would arrive eventually. It was inevitable the mech would come to where he was—it was a Twin thing, he had said—and his brother would get Optimus' call eventually, too. She’d still tried to cheer him up, and spending some time just talking about random things had helped even if only a little.