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The Allspark had been pulsating much more frequently lately. Usually, this happens when it senses that a spark will soon return, and thus will bud another one to life. Very seldom does a transformer return to the Well of All Sparks in a time of peace. However, there had been unease amongst robotkind. Factions and divisions were starting to form, but so far, no major action had occurred. However, the Allspark had begun to feel turmoil, causing itself to rise to a hotspot.
When a newspark budded, it would linger in the air until it found a suitable frame to inhabit. Existing bots would be able to sense these newsparks in the atmosphere as a change in electrical currents. As such, the Autobot High Council had ordered their engineers to construct frames with alt modes that could be used to their advantage, with the medics overseeing things to make sure everything went smoothly. However, even with the surge of new sparks, constructing a frame was a long process.
In the heart of Iacon, two frames were made available and awaited life. Although new sparks did not have a concept of thought or preference, by instinct, one wormed its way into an empty frame…
Suddenly, there was darkness.
In the void, it was calm. One could only feel anticipation of what was to come. Movement was light as a feather and fluid as water, but where to go?
How long have I been in here? When did I start waiting?
A thought. That was new.
A foreign beam of light then invaded the abyss. Suddenly, everything got heavy. Warm. What was this feeling?
Feeling?
The light became blinding, and the being tried to control it. But no matter how many times she tried, the brightness was inevitable. A screen with hexagonal patterning filled her newly formed vision.
<< SYSTEMS BOOTING UP >>
The words and the loading bar below it flashed, which startled her even more. Then came noise. The influx of information and sensations was overwhelming. Beeping, whirring, and other strange sounds filled the space. In lieu of that, the senses felt grounded, as if finally settling down in place. However strange it may be, each sound was becoming more and more distinguishable from the next. It was emanating from her frame, rumbling it even.
How could I already know what these are?
“—to finish uploading. Take your time, young one. But don’t take too long. I’ve got other things to do,” came a gruff voice, loud and clear.
Optics shot open, as simultaneously her arm shielded them from the fluorescent lights. Despite the franticness of it all, she embraced the new world. Her new world. She blinked a few times, allowing for adjustment. She watched in wonder at the appendage in front of her, at how the shadows overpowered it under the brightness of the lights, following the stiff movement in her digits.
“Great, you’re up,” came a voice that rumbled near her.
“Where…am I?”
“This is the medical bay. Welcome to Cybertron.” His voice was monotone, as if he had said this to many others before her. A red and white bot walked over to the side of her berth, inspecting the monitor. “Are you aware of what you are?”
“Mmh, a transformer,” she mustered out automatically. Things were starting to click the further the bar progressed. “I…fly, too?” She smiled softly at the newly discovered information.
“That’s right, based on your turbine plates and struts,” he stated, unplugging the many wires connected to her. “You’re also what we call a minicon. And a rather big one at that.” Tiredly walking over to the end of the berth, he tapped the struts. As if on reflex, it slowly powered on. “Hold your horses, not fully. I don’t want you causing an accident or damaging anything in here,” he chastised. “At least we both know your root mode’s systems are normal.”
“This is…so weird,” she commented, getting up and rolling out the cricks from her shoulder joints. She stared up at the towering bot next to her. Impulsively, she reached out to feel the creases and paneling of his arm out of curiosity. “What do you transform into?”
“Watch it, kid! The boundary function didn’t stick? Were you born yester-hmm.” As he snatched his arm away, he pursed his lips, realizing what was about to come out his mouth.
“Go on, finish what you were saying.”
“Alright, you got me. Just know that you wouldn’t be the first one to attack upon wake-up. So, excuse me for being cautious.”
She weakly giggled at his explanation. “So, this is what it’s like. I can’t even remember what happened before I came here.”
“You and countless other bots,” he gestured at the other berth across the room that was occupied by a larger bot. The various sizes of wires were also connected to her unconscious frame with a monitor. The continuous small spikes on the screen indicated she was alive and stabilized.
“Oh…another!” Her optics widened, happy that she was going to potentially make a friend upon awakening. She couldn’t wait to walk out this building with a companion. She then looked down at her frame, analyzing the nooks and crannies. “I really like the colors, they’re so bright!” She wriggled her pedes excitedly, grinning.
The larger and older mech shook his helm and chuckled wearily at her enthusiasm. He was going to have to have similar conversations with future emerging bots. “I’m Ratchet. The doctor here, if you haven’t figured it out already,” he said, a knuckle softly knocking her helm. “Do you have a name?”
She averted her gaze to ponder. “No…Do I need to come up with it now?”
“That is entirely up to you,” Ratchet shrugged. “You’ll think of something sooner or later.” A groan shot through the room, causing both of them to face the direction it was coming from. “That’s my cue. The upload is still in progress. See that button? Page First Aid when it’s finished.”
“Oh. Talk later, I guess,” she said dejectedly, sad that the conversation ended so abruptly.
Ratchet ignored her and made his way to the bot across the room from her. He quoted the same spiel to the other bot, whose attention seemed to be directed at her new surroundings. This one looked just a smidge smaller than the medic. Pink and purple, too.
She wondered why the femme was bigger than her. It had to serve a purpose, she pondered. She watched the doctor-patient interaction out of boredom and curiosity. It was amusing to see how annoyed Ratchet was getting at her hyperactivity.
The pink and purple femme’s optics were wide with wonder, helm snapping to different directions. She seemed rather focused on her new surroundings and newly found frame rather than listening to the medic, bombarding him with question after question before Ratchet could answer the first one she had.
A squeal of laughter emitted from the minicon’s vocals, which startled the larger femme. Her fit of laughter seemed to irk the medic even more.
“Primus…Okay, we’re done here.” Ratchet pinched the bridge of his nose when he concluded her checkup, with the same instructions to page First Aid.
The minicon covered the faceplate where her mouth would be in an effort to stifle her laughter until the medic left. They both watched him make his leave before the minicon quickly shifted her focus to the other. All that was left was the two of them. She beamed in the larger femme’s direction for a few kliks in silence, which only elicited discomfort from the second party.
“What are you looking at?” The larger of the two furrowed her ridges.
The minicon’s smile fell. Their first ever interaction had her taken aback. “Hey, what’s with the attitude? I just thought we could be friends since, you know, we were born at the same time. I’m older though.”
“But I’m bigger.” The pink and purple femme smirked, crossing her arms. “Anyway—” She waved her off. “What are you gonna do after this?”
“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “It’s something to think about. Ratchet said something about paging First Aid. My guess is maybe he’ll walk us through the process.”
“Huh,” the larger femme nodded.
“I don’t have a name yet. Nothing came to mind. Have you thought of one yet?”
“Hey, mech, I just woke up not too long ago, but…hmm…” She placed a digit to her lips, contemplating. Her visuals roamed, perusing the room for any inspiration. “Room 1,” she muttered.
“Sorry?” The orange and yellow femme quirked a ridge, confused on where this was going. “Room 1?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “RM 001. But I’ll use the M, which can stand for mechanism or machine…or metal, and the number one for the room I woke up in.”
The minicon could only stare at her incredulously. Was she serious? “That’s what we both are. In that case— since I woke up on one of the berths here, I would be called B1.”
“I mean, hey, that’s your choice,” the self-appointed “M1” shrugged. Unbothered by the minicon’s bafflement, she pressed on, optics lighting up. “You know what?”
“What?” The minicon tilted her helm to the side.
“I bet I can really knock a bot out. Hear me out.”
“Uh-huh.”
The pink and purple femme held her servos out. “What if it was M1-K0? The ‘0’ means that no one will stand a chance against me.”
“Alright.”
“You get it though, right?”
”I get it. It’s just that…I don’t know. Don’t you want to have a name that alludes to your nature? Like Ratchet is Ratchet because he…fixes things,” she pointed out. “Even First Aid- he’s-”
“The first to aid?” She snorted, shaking her helm as if that was the dumbest thing she had ever heard.
“Well— Yeah…”
“M1-K0 alludes to me, too. It has meaning.”
“I got that.”
“You sure?” She egged on, amused by her bafflement.
“Oh Primus, yes!” She exclaimed, subconsciously mimicking Ratchet. A blank expression overtook her when a ping then rang in her processor.
<< UPLOAD COMPLETE >>
“Awh, you’re done already? I’m still at forty percent.”
“I wonder why it’s taking so long. I was hoping we’d head out together,” she pouted, pressing the button on the monitor.
“Yeah, me too. It was weird waking up. Just glad that you’re not a hardaft like Ratchet.”
The minicon snickered. “He doesn’t seem so bad.”
They waited in silence for a moment, when another red and white bot came into frame. He was about a helm shorter than Ratchet and sported a visor and faceplate.
The minicon brought a servo to her own faceplate and looked at him excitedly, giddy that someone shared a similar feature as her.
“Thanks for being patient. You must be elated to leave.”
“I am. Where am I supposed to go now? Or what can I do at this point?”
First Aid nodded. “That’s what this thing is here for,” he took out an SD card from his subspace and waved it in front of her. He gestured for her to lean her helm down, so he could see the port at its base. “I’m going to upload one more thing. It’s a map to get to your destination. You’re to report to Autobot Boot Camp after our session.”
The minicon nodded. As the loading bar progressed, little by little, she could see the layout of Iacon City, and dear Primus, was it vast.
First Aid chuckled at how her optics sparkled. It was something that made being a medic worth it- to experience discoveries through them. “Pretty cool, right? You’ll get to explore after this…well…if you find the time. Boot camp’s not too fun, but everyone has to go through its training. Think of it as a rite of passage.”
“Training for what?” M1-K0 chimed in.
“It’s honestly a safety protocol above all,” First Aid hummed as he shined a light in her optics to make sure the upload was going smoothly. “It’s basic disciplinary training. And once you complete its program, they will evaluate your skills and prowess so as to assign you to a focal study they see fit. Of course, you will have the option of continuing your desired focal studies elsewhere or just…find yourself a place in the world.”
“That definitely isn’t pressuring.”
“Yeah, but it is what it is,” he shrugged. First Aid held their ensuing silence with consideration. “Sorry, I hate to inconvenience you on your first day online. Your sparks are newly budded, so it’s understandable that it’s a lot to take in.” He exvented and unplugged the last of the wires. Seeing there was no indication of them responding, he left the topic where it was at. He knew it was not ideal, but they were no exception. Everyone had to face this sooner or later. “Say, I heard you’re a flier.”
Her finials flicked in curiosity and nodded, and M1-K0’s optics lit up almost instantly. “Ratchet said I was a minicon,” she said, slightly blushing at the gentleness of his tone.
“What do you know of your alt mode?” The medic asked, returning the nod in acknowledgement.
The minicon turned to one of the screens to the side of her. “It looks like a…pair of wings?”
“A winged jetpack, to be precise,” he corrected. “As a minicon, your model was constructed to give non-fliers the power of flight. That’s called powerlinxing.”
“But she’ll be able to do that on her own, right?” M1-K0 interjected.
“Of course. It is her body, after all,” he assured. “Well then,” his servos landed a loud smack on his lap. “Why don’t you transform for me? I’d love to see it,” he smiled under his face plate. “Not here, though. Follow me.”
The minicon looked over at M1-K0, and the larger of the two gestured to her to leave with him, offering an encouraging smile.
“You got this!” M1-K0 cheered, giving two thumbs up. “I’ll be right behind you soon.”
“You better,” the minicon grinned, hopping off the berth and making her way to First Aid out into the corridors. She stared in wonder at where she was. The hallways were huge to her. She was fascinated by the bots and studied their various patternings, designs, and shapes. She was especially elated to see there were other bots of her size. “So, what now?”
“Now, I need to run a few tests to make sure everything is up to par before you present yourself.”
“Why not run it in the room we were in?”
“I can’t do that because we still don’t know if everything in your alt mode’s systems are normal. We don't want to risk you damaging anything just in case you can’t control yourself. For all I know, you could go berserk and hurt something or someone in the process. And medical equipment is not cheap.”
“Oh,” the minicon’s finials lowered dejectedly.
“It’s nothing personal. Everyone has to go through this process,” First Aid clarified, placing a comforting servo on her shoulder plate. “We’re here,” he stated, walking to the center of the room.
Other than a platform, the room was bare and larger than the last one they were in, enough to fit a bot even bigger than Ratchet. The doors shut behind her, causing her to stumble forward.
First Aid gestured for her to get on the platform, and projected a small holographic touch screen from his forearm. “Ready when you are.”
The minicon vented deeply when she got on the raised surface, nerves getting to her as her engine rumbled.
“Relax your processor, it should be instinctual. Just like when you powered up your struts.”
The minicon closed her optics and allowed her frame to come apart. The plating separated and shifted. Her upper and lower body made up the backpiece, with the wings protruding from it. The shoulder plates spread apart to make up the propulsion system on the ends of the wings. She exclaimed when she was about to fall from the air until her turbines kicked in just a few centimeters off the floor.
First Aid let out an exvent in relief, his servo calming the spark beneath his chassis. “Good job, you’re a real natural.” First Aid watched on as the bot-turned-jetpack got used to hovering off the ground. “Now fly toward me,” the medic extended his arms out. “I’ll catch you.”
The minicon took his word and tried to steady herself. The engines in her turbine system sputtered as she made her way to him while he walked backwards around the room. She stumbled in flight from time to time, but she was starting to get used to it. “Woooo! I’m doing it!” The orange and yellow jetpack exclaimed, giddy at her new abilities to the point of completely forgetting the goal of the session and increasing the power to fly laps and somersault around the room.
“That’s right! You’re getting the hang of this,” the medic cheered on. “Now try to transform back into your root mode.”
The jetpack tried to follow the medic’s order and found that she could not. “Uh-oh.”
“It’s okay! Just relax.” He kept his servos up and legs apart to stabilize himself. His smile dissolved when the flier came at him at high velocity.
“I can’t stop!” She would have crashed into First Aid if he hadn’t ducked out of the way, just when Ratchet came through the doors to check in on their progress.
With precision, Ratchet expertly caught her wings as velocity pushed him back into the wall with a loud clang. His grip on her tightened until she cried out in pain and transformed back, knees buckling. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?!” The older medic shouted.
She would have fallen if Ratchet hadn’t been holding her up by the shoulders. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It was an accident,” she winced at his volume in her audials.
First Aid placed a calming servo on Ratchet’s arm, to which the older medic sighed in defeat. “Listen, we cannot afford any losses. It’s not your fault, but you need to get this right. And you’re not to leave this building unless you get this down pat. We can’t have you potentially hurting yourself or others. Now—before I let you go, can you stand?”
The minicon clung to his every word and nodded.
“Good. First Aid, I got this. You have other patients waiting for you,” Ratchet pointed a thumb at the door.
“Got it. You’re going to get this, too, okay? Uhm-”
“I don’t have a name yet.”
“Still?” Ratchet quirked a ridge.
“Well, then, I’ll take my leave. Good luck.” The door closed after First Aid, and Ratchet turned to face the minicon once more.
“You can start now,” he gestured his palm to her.
It was an uphill climb, what with the multiple crashes and the newly acquired dents and paint scratches from either the medic or crashing into the wall. She really wanted to get this right. How else could she integrate herself into her peers if she couldn’t? Especially if she had to put her all into battle like everyone else. So much was at stake. At least each time, she was getting better at controlling herself.
Finally, after sixteen attempts, she was finally able to transform back, somersaulting and activating her thrusters to soften the landing. She panted heavily for a klik, and her shoulders dropped in relief when she started laughing. Running up to Ratchet, she beamed at him. “I did it!” She threw her arms out to showcase her efforts.
“You sure did, kid,” Ratchet said wearily as he turned off his holographic touch screen, relieved that part was done. “That completes your evaluation then. You know where to go from here, right?”
“I do,” the minicon nodded. “First Aid uploaded the directions to me.”
“We’re done here then. Be safe on your travels.” Ratchet walked over to the doors and turned to her. “I’ll show you out, and don’t touch anything.”
“I won’t, geez!” She trotted over to him. “Actually, can I wait for M1-K0? I wanted us to leave here together.”
“Who?”
“The other bot I was with when I woke up. That’s what she named herself.”
“What does that even mean?” Ratchet cocked a ridge, intrigued.
“It’s a whole thing. You’ll hear about it,” she shrugged.
“Looking forward to it,” Ratchet replied sarcastically. “And to answer your question—preferably not. The bots in charge there are very impatient, so they’re definitely not going to care just because you want to wait for your friend.” He pushed a button to an available elevator and strode in. “Plus, due to her size, it’ll take longer anyway. We also need to consider how long it would take for her to get her alt mode right.”
“Oh…”
The elevator pinged and its doors opened. Ratchet gestured to the exit around the corner. “Take the sky train. It’s across the pathway from here and should take you near the building. Good luck.”
Stepping out, she turned around to wave goodbye but the doors shut in her face before she could do so. “Rude,” the minicon huffed, arms akimbo.
Striding out the exit, her spark skipped a beat as she looked up in awe. So many like her. The world was so big. And the buildings looked like they reached miles up into the sky and were populated with other fliers and vehicles. The many lights and variety of colors of the bots reflected off the light in her own optics. The hologram seemed so much more insignificant compared to seeing and being in the real thing. She watched as a long vehicle made its way across the sky and stopped where a group was waiting. That must be the train!
She stepped forward and didn’t pay attention to where she was going until she almost fell off the platform. The minicon flailed her arms to secure her balance, to no avail. Falling back, she clawed at the edge until a bot grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up before realizing she could have activated her thrusters. Now back on the surface, she fell to her knees, clutching at the sporadically beating spark under her chassis. Looking back, she had seen how even the area below her was populated. If she didn’t make it, she would’ve crashed into another flier. Or multiple.
“You good?” The mech asked before pulling her up and dusting off her shoulder.
“Thanks, I’m new here,” she smiled awkwardly, embarrassed at her carelessness.
“I can see!” The mech was a similar size to her, except his build was bulkier and yellow. “Name’s Bumblebee.” He held out a servo.
She took his servo to shake it. “Oh! I’m uh-”
“Still thinking of a name?”
Her optics lit up. “How did you know?”
“We all started off somewhere,” he reminisced, winking. “Where are you headed to?”
She mimicked what Ratchet and First Aid did to activate a hologram and- “Oh! It worked!” -the map to her destination appeared.
Bumblebee whistled. “Whaddya know- I’m headed in the same direction.”
“Are you taking the train, too?”
“Nope, I’m not going that far.” Seeing her raised finials lower in disappointment, he sighed. “But I can accompany you if you’d like. You gotta learn to use public transportation at some point.”
Her face lit up. “Thanks, I could use a friend. Everything feels so strange.”
“That’s normal. When did you bud?”
“Bud?” There’s that word again. “Hmm…” She tapped on her faceplate. “I think today. That’s when I woke up,” she said, following him and a bunch of other bots into the train. The minicon squeaked when she was pushed into him by several impatient ones. Looking up, she locked optics with a very gruff, weathered-looking mech. The air expelled from his nose was felt on her faceplate.
“You got a staring problem?”
“Maybe. You got an attitude problem?” She spat back, instigating some scattered chuckles from his cohorts, and full-blown laughter from Bumblebee.
The much larger mech was fuming. “Watch what you say.”
Bumblebee squirmed in between them to stop the argument in its tracks. “Okay, now, let's cool it. She’s obviously new here. We need to stand together -figuratively and literally- remember?”
The larger mech snorted and shook his helm, preferring to just leave the conversation overall.
“Seems like I’ve saved your aft twice now. No need for thanks.”
The minicon chuckled. “Thanks, anyway.”
“What did I just say?”
She grinned under her faceplate. Shifting her helm, she looked over the bots sitting on the benches to watch the moving landscape, taking in the new sights and sensations. The lights that filled the coach darkened from time to time whenever they went through a tunnel or another vehicle passed by. It wasn’t until she noticed an orange and yellow bot in the window’s reflection- the reflection was subtle, but she knew it was her. Her servo roamed up to feel the finials atop her helm, taking in how she looked and what she felt like.
Bumblebee took notice. “Are you happy with your build?”
She turned to him and gave a slight nod. “I like the colors. Just wish I was bigger, though. No offense.”
“That’s not nice.”
“I’m just saying! I have to worry about getting crushed now.”
“How do you think I feel?” Bumblebee retorted. “Listen, you just gotta work around that. You seem smart. Just use your wits and speed…What do you transform into again?” He asked, pointing a digit at her.
“A jetpack, apparently. Ratchet told me that meant I could attach myself to non-fliers.”
“That’s neat! We gotta try that out together sometime then,” he grinned.
“I’d like that,” she returned, elated that she had made not one but two friends in one solar cycle. And upon waking, too!
“You mentioned Ratchet. How is the old bot?”
“Cranky and rude,” she huffed, remembering how he’d ignored her.
“Very on brand,” he nodded.
“What about you? What do you turn into?”
“You’ll see.” The doors opened soon after, and he looked over his shoulder. “Wanna race?”
Gleaming with excitement, she jumped in place. “Would I-”
Before she could finish her sentence, Bumblebee transformed and took off, leaving dust particles and smoke in her direction.
“Hey!” She coughed profusely, swatting away the smoke from her visuals. Now filled with determination, she transformed and followed suit. Activating her propulsion, she was able to catch up to the yellow speedster. “That’s not fair!”
”Not bad, you caught up at least. I’m faster, though.” And with that, he reached the building first by a couple of feet before transforming back.
The minicon caught up soon after, energon pumping before going back to her root mode. She brushed off any remaining dust that smattered her.
“There you go.” He turned around to face the minicon and spread out his arms. “We made it! Excited?”
“I guess. We all gotta start off somewhere, right?” She mimicked what the yellow speedster had said.
Bumblebee smiled softly. “Knock ’em dead, kid.” With that, he transformed and drove away.
The minicon looked on. She was sad that the two friends she’d made weren’t there with her. She didn’t even know the next time they would meet. Taking in a deep intake, she pulled herself up by the boosters and rang the intercom system to announce her arrival.
The minicon stood in front of the looming building and waited. It was not as impressive as the view from the train ride. How can such a clean space still manage to look so dark and dingy? Definitely seen better days. She waited a bit for a response and shifted from her struts to the tips of her pedes.
Silence.
She tried buzzing again, this time introducing herself. The response consisted of more silence. “Impatient, my aft! Pretty sure I came on time…” Growing impatient herself, she buzzed again…and again…and okay, one more time…and another, until-
Static and sputtering rang from the intercom before a voice was finally transmitted. “Would you quit that insistent buzzing?!”
The gruffness of his volume reverberated through her audials, which caused her to jump. “I rang the first time, and no one answered!” She cried into the intercom camera, stomping a pede with arms akimbo. Some more staticky sputtering came about before the doors opened for her. Peeking in, she saw a lone red minibot occupying the front desk.
“Well? Are you going to stand there gawking like a buffoon, or are you going to come in?”
The minicon furrowed her ridges and made her way in. “Geez, what crawled up your tailpipe? The medics told me to come straight here.”
The red minibot rested his chin on his knuckles, unperturbed by her annoyance. “Medic? You must be freshly budded then.”
“Thanks, uh,” her optics fell to the nameplate on his desk. “Cliffjumper.”
“Yup, don’t wear it out,” he huffed. Pulling out a datapad and stylus from the drawer, he handed it to her. “Fill this out and head to the first room around the corner when you’re done.”
Taking the items from him, she looked him over and tilted her helm in curiosity. “Do you know Bumblebee? You kinda look like him.”
Rolling his optics, Cliffjumper snorted and ignored her.
She frowned at how long the form was, so she took to skimming it quickly to get to the bottom of it. The questions had the usual name, date of budding, and signature of consent categories under the terms and conditions. “What do I put if I don’t have a name yet?”
“You can’t leave that blank because we gotta call you something. You can always change it later on when you find something that fits you.”
“Hmm…” The minicon furrowed her ridges and thrummed the datapad in contemplation. “What exactly is it that happens here?”
“Basic training and schooling that’ll prep you for battle and search-and-rescue missions. Ultimately, it depends on how you do that’ll determine where it’ll land you.”
“And I need to think of a name now,” she stated to confirm.
“Yes.”
She slouched over the datapad and sighed in defeat. “If it’s something temporary, I guess it wouldn’t matter…” If she was meant to contribute to their cause, might as well allude to it. She immediately thought of M1-K0 and Bumblebee and smiled. “SaR-1,” she thought out loud, writing it down.
“Are you implying that there’s going to be another one of you?” Cliffjumper quirked a ridge.
“Nope,” she shook her helm, thumb pointing at herself. “I’m one of a kind. There’s only one of me.”
“There’s one of everyone.”
“Exactly,” the newly-dubbed SaR-1 beamed as she pointed the stylus at him.
“That’s your choice?” He asked, shaking his helm and taking the stylus and datapad from her.
“Aren’t you gonna ask what it means?”
“Don’t know, don’t care. Door’s around the corner,” Cliffjumper rebuffed her question, holding a servo out to stop her from further explanation. “Welcome aboard, Cadet.”
SaR-1 crossed her arms and huffed, making her way to the room. He’s crankier than ole Ratchet! She kicked at the nonexistent pebble and pouted. M1-K0 would’ve wanted to hear it.
This time, the doors opened for her as soon as she approached its entrance. She had expected there to be chatter and clamoring, but it was completely void of bots. The room wasn’t too big, but the layout was efficient. Instead of the horizontal positioning of the berth she had woken up in, these ones were standing pods lined up against the walls with small lockers overhead so that bots could respond to drills and be on the move in an instant. In the middle of the room were pull-out benches and tables for leisurely activities.
As the minicon walked down the room, she saw that each of the berths had personal stylings as well as names, indicating they were occupied. The only empty one left was the last one at the end. There appeared to be some wear-and-tear, but overall it was spotless. Her digits traced its internal lining to get a good feel of it, before stepping in to make herself comfortable. Suddenly, a layer of light shot from the inside of the pod and ran over her frame. Then came a ping that indicated that the scan was complete.
This was her home now.