Transformers Prime: Triage

3. Gaurdians

"Where is she? Lemme out, Bulk!" Bulkhead popped open the passenger side door and Miko Nakadai jumped out, electric guitar and all.

She looked around for an unfamiliar face and when she saw Chris she gasped.

"Hi! I'm Miko, and you are?" She said, bounding over.

"Chris..." Chris gasped, taken aback by Miko's energy.

The boy riding Arcee took off his helmet and came over as Miko offered Chris her hand.

"Nice to meet ya!" Miko exclaimed.

Chris started to take her hand when the dark-haired boy warned, "Careful, she has a grip."

Miko rolled her eyes and shook Chris's hand. Chris flinched, but she was smiling.

"I'm Jack." Jack greeted, rubbing the back of his head. Chris could tell he was shy, but it made him look cute.

The last boy was the youngest, climbing out of Bumblebee. He came over, looking even more shy than Jack.

"Hey there, I'm Raf."

He looked no older than twelve! Chris waved to him, "Hello."

"So, you're British, huh?" Miko nudged her.

Chris nodded. No doubt her accent gave her away.

"I am, and you're Japanese?"

Miko punched the air, "Yeah, bro! Hey, have you seen the place yet? Want a tour? I can give you a wicked awesome tour! Who's your bot? Did they stick you with DocBot?"

Ratchet turned around, "I'm not deaf you know."

Chris laughed, "What do you mean 'Who's my bot'?"

"Dude! They haven't assigned anybody to you yet? Lame!" Miko exclaimed, "You could get Optimus!"

Chris blinked, "I'm confused."

Jack stepped in, annoying Miko.

"When we first came here Optimus assigned each of the Autobots to look after us, like guardians, to protect us from the Decepticons."

Chris shook her head, "They haven't given me anyone yet. I guess Arcee is your guardian?"

"You could say that, yeah."

"She's nice, I like her."

Jack laughed into his hand.

"What?" Chris asked.

Jack was careful about answering, "She...has her ups and downs."

Chris shrugged, only to be grabbed by an eager Miko and dragged across the base.

"Come on! Let me show you around!"

By the end of the tour, Miko and Chris were fast friends. Miko did most of the talking, while Chris would listen and nod, occasionally laughing at something Miko would say. She definitely wasn't Miko's type, but it was her occasional witty remark that made Miko laugh.

Before long they came into the main control room, Miko chatting away and Chris grinning at whatever it was. Ratchet was there as usual, and shook his helm with a groan when they came in.

"Must you humans always talk so loud?"

Miko rolled her eyes at Chris.

"Do you always have to have an attitude?" She said with a smirk.

Ratchet sent her a warning look. Sometimes there was nothing he wanted more than to step on the outspoken girl. 

"Let's see," Miko mused, "You've seen the Iacon Relics, the control room, the roof, the 'berthrooms', Jack's totally weird stamp collection..."

Jack leaned over the rail, "Miko! I said that was our little secret!"

Miko ignored him, "What else...? Oh! We were going to talk to Optimus about giving you a guardian!"

"Who though?" Chris asked. The three warriors were already taken, which left only Optimus himself, and of course, Chris and Miko both looked at the grumpy fellow at the computer.

Ratchet.

"No way." Chris whispered, hoping Ratchet wouldn't hear, "He hates humans! He'd never agree to it, and neither would I to be honest."

"Yeah, but your only other choice is Optimus," Miko said out loud, "And he's too busy fighting Megatron all the time."

Ratchet stifled the urge to snort. Optimus wasn't always occupied fighting Megatron, though he was detained on urgent business more often than naught. Their leader wouldn't have the time to babysit a human.

"You think he'd squish us if we asked him?" Chris looked at Ratchet, still keeping her voice down. She didn't want to offend him, or make him throw a wrench at her.

"Probably." Miko said jokingly.

Chris smiled briefly, then she sucked in a breath and climbed the stairs of the catwalk where she was eye level with Ratchet.

Clearing her throat she said, "Excuse me? Could I talk to you for a moment? Please?"

Without looking at her Ratchet replied, "I already know where this is headed, and my answer is no."

"Aw, come on, DocBot! Chris isn't so bad. Quiet and reserved, yeah. But she's still awesome!" Miko stuck up for her, sort of.

"Thanks? I think." Chris said before turning her attention back to Ratchet, "I'm not obligating you to do anything. I just thought I'd ask."

Ratchet looked at her this time, something besides cynicism in this optics.

"I appreciate that, thank you." He answered with some faint reluctance.

Miko's mouth gaped and remained that way as Chris came down the stairs. Chris's brows went up at her expression.

Before she knew it Miko was leading her off, "Dude! Ratchet said thank you! To you!"

"Wow," Chris said sarcastically, "Really?"

"Do you even know how huge that is? Ratchet never says thank you to a human."

In a smaller voice Miko added, "I think he hates us to be honest."

"Well, we are kind of loud."

"Dude, no excuse. He's just rude."

Their conversation faded, leaving Ratchet to the silence he enjoyed, but something now plagued his processor. The new human was different from the others, even Raf, who was generally the quieter of the three of them. How she hit it off with Miko so well he couldn't fathom.

He didn't hate them, but there were times when he wished the Autobots had never met them. Other times, he could add, he was extremely grateful.

A part of him was relieved Miko had said that, to make Chris wary of bothering him. But on the other hand he wished she hadn't. She was wrong. Somehow he felt he could never hate Chris, but, he stopped himself. He had only known the human for more than a day.

"In time," he muttered to himself, "she will show her true colors."

Then they would see what kind of a person Chris really was.