literature

Prime and I - Chapter 2

Deviation Actions

Published: Nov 20, 2011

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Literature Text

She's sleeping, snoring lightly on my pillow. I scan her, with the gentleness of a feather floating in the wind, and her stitches are fine. It is the time which the humans call 'the witching hour' – the time when the world is at its most dark. I am glad that she is sleeping now, her belly is full and her temperature is good. I sit down quietly on the berth, watching her. She's shivering slightly, so I reach over and take the blanket from her own bed and cover her with it. I stroke her cheek with my smallest finger, her skin is so warm and soft, the feel of it is beautiful against my own metal skin. There is a light knock at my door, and I sense Ironhide waiting impatiently outside. 'Come in quietly Ironhide,' I say over the comm. 'Cordelia's just gone off to sleep.' He grunts in response as I press the buzzer that lets him in.
'So Shorty's asleep then? Shame, I wanted to see how she was after her operation.' I smile and pull up a chair for Ironhide. He sits down lightly, careful not to make too much noise. Cordelia turns over in her sleep, but does not wake. Ironhide is looking at her, he's always been mesmerised by the humans, but he doesn't know that I know this. 'So how did Shorty get on with Skyfire?'
'She was nervous of him to begin with, but after about twenty minutes or so she gained confidence. I think that she was comforted by the fact that I was there as well.'
'Where is he now then? I was under the impression he would stay in your quarters until something more permanent was figured out for him.'
'That was the original plan; he's with Ratchet at the moment.'
'Why?'
'I sent him to Ratchet to learn some human customs...like what is and isn't appropriate in general conversation.' Ironhide looks confused, his faceplates forming a frown as he processes what I have said. Then he looks at me, his optics wide.
'Oh...what did he say to Shorty?'
'He asked her how she reproduced. Unsurprisingly, she didn't quite know how to respond. Of course he meant no harm, being a scientist, Skyfire is naturally curious about a new species.' Ironhide merely grunts and does not look impressed. Though Cordelia is my charge, and therefore my responsibility, Ironhide and Bumblebee especially have taken it upon themselves to care for her when I am unable to. She and I have the strongest bond, but she is loved by everyone on the base, human and bots alike.
'As long as Shorty's not bothered by it, I don't suppose it matters that much.' Ironhide says rather sullenly, I believe he is in one of the moods which humans call 'sulking'. Ironhide is my more...crude comrade. He would refer to his current mood as 'pissed' – though if I were to ask him at this moment there is absolutely no doubt that he would deny being 'pissed off' as he so fondly puts it. I am interrupted from my thoughts by Ironhide. 'Did you inform the male human about her operation?' he says, gesturing to Cordelia with his head. I curse at myself for not remembering this sooner. Mark and Cordelia are irrevocably close, he is like a father to her. He was once a position of authority in her life, but when she ran away, that stopped, and so now he can be totally involved with her without worrying about getting into trouble with the human authorities.
'I will inform him tomorrow. It is too late now, and besides, I don't want to create any more stress for her. She's had a busy day, and she got quite distressed saying goodbye to Mark.' Saying this, I look over to her. She is still in the state of sleep that she was in half an hour ago, and I hope that she will sleep peacefully through the night. I do not need to recharge tonight, and I will probably spend it monitoring her temperature and making it as comfortable as possible for her. Ironhide stands up and stretches, his joints and bolts clicking as he does so.
'I'm going to recharge now Optimus, tell Shorty I stopped by to say hi, but she was out Sparko,' he says winking one optic at me. He performs a loose wave with his hand, and then is gone through the steel doors. I watch the gentle rise and fall of Cordelia's chest, and I am brought back to the time when we first met.

It was a cold wet evening and the temperature was at nine degrees Celsius. I had been driving around the local human residencies looking out for anything suspicious or anything to do with Decepticons. There had been nothing of a suspicious nature, so I had driven up the one track road and rolled to a stop on the hill overlooking the lake. Unfortunately, my conspicuous form attracted the attention of the human authorities, and I was forced to leave my tranquil spot. I drove to the busiest part of the city, hoping to lose them amongst the cars and buildings. I weaved in and out of the traffic, but to no avail. There was nearly always a police car close behind me. I didn't want to show myself to the humans, but I was going to have to transform if I was to get away from the human authorities. I drove into a secluded alley-way and transformed. Crouching low and using the cover of the buildings, I made my way to the main traffic bridge. Once there, I slipped below it and proceeded to wait until the police helicopters had gone. After about an hour, I heard a helicopter approaching overhead. I intercepted its radio and heard,
'Chief, I think we should leave it. Probably just a coupla kids out joy-riding.'
'Affirmative,' was the reply and the helicopter's noise faded and then was completely gone. I waited, just to be certain that there were no other human authority vehicles in the vicinity. I scanned the immediate area for any authority figures, and found none. I cycled air through my vents in silent relief, chastising myself for nearly being caught out. I loved to sit in park and observe the sunrises and sunsets that graced the Earth every twenty-four hours. Suddenly, I heard a scuffling noise and a shocked gasp. I turned my audio receptors up to their full capacity and directed their range in the direction that the scuffling noise had come from. And then I heard a whistling of air, and another sharp intake of breath. My scanners detected something falling through the air. I stuck my hand out to catch whatever it was, and sure enough, something landed with a soft 'thump' in my hand. I closed my fingers around it and brought my hand to my chest. I opened my fingers slowly, and was shocked to see a tiny human female nestled into a ball on my palm. She was a very young female, of no more than seventeen or sixteen years of age. She was cold, shivering and visibly frightened. She was murmuring, but I couldn't make out the words that she was saying. I closed my fingers gently around her, and moved from my current position. I jumped lightly from support to support, quickening each jump so that the supports did not collapse under my colossal weight. Once I reached the end of the bridge, I jumped off onto the cliff face, sending rocks cascading down the sheer drop. I thought for an astro-second about the drop. To me, at my forty feet, it was not a problem, but to a human, it was treacherous. If a human fell from this height, at least a hundred feet, it would mean certain death. This thought past through my processor rapidly, and I clutched the young female to my chest. Once I reached the top of the cliff, a remote area with no traffic, I proceeded to transform into my alt-mode. I managed to transform with the female still in my hand, and she ended up on the passenger seat. I activated my holo-form and pulled the seat-belt across her. She had fainted; I presumed it was from the shock of encountering me, and being carried underneath a busy traffic-way bridge. Within half an hour, I had reached the Autobot headquarters. I drove straight to the med bay, having informed Ratchet about my arrival and the guest I now carried within me. As I drove into the med bay, Ratchet was waiting for me. I rolled to a halt and clicked open my passenger door and Ratchet gently pulled the young female from my inside and walked over to the table with her. I transformed and quickly followed Ratchet to the table. She started to thrash and cry out, clawing at her arms, her nails ripping the skin off, causing blood to ripple to the surface of her shredded veins. Ratchet injected her with a sedative, and slowly her thrashing ceased, her body became heavy, and she started to slump backwards onto the table. I put my hand behind her as she fell back, and gently lowered her head to the table. Ratchet shot me a look, and I found myself annoyed at his judgement.
'Ratchet, I sense something about her, I feel an attachment to her.'
'How can you feel an attachment to her? You've known her for barely an hour Prime!'
'Ah Ratchet! Put your natural instinct before your scientific one!' Ratchet sighed and scratched the back of his head.
'Alright, alright. I'm sorry Prime. I just don't want you to get too close to humans; you know how fragile they are.' As the hidden meaning of his words hit me, I burst into surprised laughter.
'Oh Ratchet, I would never be so stupid as to put a human in danger, I managed to get all the way here without anything happening to her, I think I'm capable of looking after her without letting anything endanger her life.' He nodded, and turned back to the young female.
'I'm going to dress her wounds, if we don't they are at risk of becoming infected.' I nodded and watched Ratchet as he set to work on her arms, gently wrapping the appropriate amount of bandage around them. When he finished, he stepped back and looked her over. 'That should do it Optimus. Listen, I hate to ask this of you, but I need the med bay, Ironhide is coming in for a maintenance check, and I can't do it with this young female here, so would you mind taking her back to your quarters?' I smiled and nodded.
'Is there anything I should or shouldn't do?'
'Not particularly, just keep her quiet and don't let her hurt herself again. Be gentle with her when she comes around, she's bound to be frightened. After all, we're hardly...' his voice trailed off as he gestured at our height, and then compared it to the tiny human female. I walked over to the table and gathered her up in my left hand, and exited the med bay. Once we got back to my quarters, I placed her on my pillow and ripped some of the fabric off, placing it over her so that she wasn't too cold. I brought the chair over from my desk to the berth and sat down, waiting impatiently for her to wake. After half an hour, she started to stir. Her eyes snapped open and her face displayed a shocked expression as she took me in. She swallowed loudly and pushed herself away from me. I drew back myself, so as not to frighten her further. My movement startled her, but she maintained her composure.
'Who are you?' she said in a voice so quiet, I had to lean forward to catch her words.
'My name is Optimus Prime, I am leader of the Autobots, and I should let you know, no harm will come to you whilst you are with me.' I waited for her reaction, studying her face carefully, watching every tiny movement that she made.
'Okay. My name is Cordelia. Would you mind if I asked how I got here?'
'I saved you, on the bridge. You were falling and...And I caught you.' I saw her eyes flash down to look at my hand. Self-consciously, I took my hand and pinched the bridge of my nose.
'I didn't fall. I jumped.'
'What? Why would you want to do that? It goes against all basic human survival instincts.'
'I know, but I had a reason for doing it. I wanted to kill myself.' Before I could stop myself, I took her in my hands gently, and she seemed surprised but not frightened. Her small body was quivering, but she was in full control. She remained still in my hands, gazing intently up at me, her eyes asking silent questions. I felt hugely protective of this young female, and I knew already that I would fight if necessary to preserve her life. 'It seems you are against that idea,' she said quietly, finally breaking away from her gaze and looking down at her own hands. I wasn't sure of what to say. 'I want to thank you Optimus Prime. I am glad now that I did not die, and I feel I have found a friend in you. I sense that you are perfectly safe.' My processor went blank for an astro-second before I composed myself again. She remained still in my hands, gazing intently up at me, her brown eyes asking silent questions. I felt hugely protective of this young female, and I knew already that I would fight if necessary to preserve her life. 'It seems you are against that idea,' she said quietly, finally breaking away from her gaze and looking down at her own hands. I wasn't sure of what to say. 'I want to thank you Optimus Prime. I am glad now that I did not die, and I feel I have found a friend in you. I sense that you are perfectly safe.' My processor went blank for an astro-second before I composed myself again.
'You're welcome Cordelia, and you don't have to call me Optimus Prime, Optimus will do just fine,' I said smiling at her, and she smiled back. I brought her slowly up to my face, so that I could study her features properly. She had soft auburn hair, and brown eyes so deep you could sink in them. She shifted, embarrassed by the close proximity. 'Forgive me Cordelia; this must be all very strange for you. Are you hungry? I can fetch you something to eat if you like.' She shook her head.
'Could I just have some water please? I'm not sure I could stomach eating something at the moment.' She looked at me once more, eyes skimming up and down my body. Suddenly I sensed a change in her body temperature, it had risen by an eighth of a degree, and there was a faint flush of blood present in her cheeks. She seemed to notice this too, and buried her face in her hands. I returned her to the pillow and walked over to the area where I kept the water. It suddenly occurred to me that I had nothing for her to drink the water out of, the barrel I had was at least as twice as tall as her, and three times as wide. As I set it down on the berth, she seemed to think the same thing. She smiled at me, and got up and walked over to the barrel.
'Its fresh water, it won't hurt you.' I assured her. She merely nodded and gripped the top of the barrel with both hands, and somehow scrambled up the side. The sight was extremely amusing, and I laughed softly at her. She grinned at me and struggled to drink the water from the barrel. I pulled her off the barrel and set her down on the berth. 'Hang on; I've just had an idea.'
Two minutes later, Bumblebee strode into my quarters carrying a selection of human sized glasses. I watched Cordelia's reaction as Bumblebee came into view. Her eyes widened, but she did not show any sign of fear. Bumblebee questioned me with his faulty voice, and I gently shepherded him back toward the door. 'Later' I promised, and he left with rather a sullen expression on his face. I carried the glasses over to Cordelia, they were rolling around in my hand and I walked with great care so that they did not fall and smash on the floor below. I held out my hand to her, showing her the dozen or so glasses I was holding. She picked a tall slim one, and walked back over to the barrel. Whilst she wasn't looking, I gently scooped her up in one hand and held her to the barrel so she didn't have to climb up again. She filled the glass with water and brought it to her lips, drinking quickly, draining the glass of all of its liquid.
'Thanks' she said, grinning up at me, her eyes shining with gratitude. I placed her back onto my pillow, and she hugged her knees to her chest. After a few moments of silence, she spoke. 'Optimus, may I ask you something without offending you?' I smiled and nodded, showing her that I would take no offense to her questions. She took a deep breath and thought about what she wanted to ask. 'Why are you..' I looked on, nodding at her in encouragement. 'Why are you so big? I mean that's the first thing that I personally noticed about you. Forgive me for saying this, but you're simply huge!' I chuckled gently and sat down next to her on the berth.
'If you have not already guessed this Cordelia, I am not from your planet. I am from a planet far from Earth, called Cybertron. It has become nothing but a barren wasteland, and the Autobots and I have come to this planet seeking refuge. Your government knows that we are here, and we have an alliance with you humans. We protect you from other members of our race who are not as..' here I paused, looking for the right words. 'Who are not as civilised as ourselves. The first thing that struck me about the natives of Earth was that you are all so tiny! You are by far the smallest human I have encountered. You are a Little One.' Cordelia didn't reply straight away. She was digesting all that I had told her, chewing it over slowly so that she understood everything.
'So that would make you.. Cybertronian?' I smiled and nodded. I slipped my hand toward her, and she looked at it.
'You'd better get used to it Cordelia, it'll be the only way to move around effectively' I said this and grinned at her. 'I've already promised no harm will come to you whilst you are in my care. You are my responsibility now.' She stood up and stepped gingerly on to my hand, and I brought her up to my face. I curled my fingers lightly around her tiny body, and lay down on the berth, placing her in an upright position on my chest. She looked rather startled.
'You don't mind me sitting here?' she gestured to my chest, which was vast compared to her tiny mass.
'Little One, I would not have placed you there if I minded you sitting there. I would rather have you where I can keep my optic on you.' She smiled and relaxed.
'Who was that who came in just now?'
'That was Bumblebee; he is one of my scouts.'
'And you're all...you're all robots?' I laughed, and the motion caused her to fall a little down my chest. 'Oh I'm sorry Cordelia, are you alright?' she nodded, looking a little dishevelled.
'Yes, we can all take the form of Earth vehicles. Mine is a Peterbilt 379.' I saw from the puzzled look on her face that she had no idea what I was talking about. 'You'll find out soon. Anyway, enough about me, what about you?' Her calm mood shifted abruptly, I sensed the moisture pricking at the back of her eyes, and the way she no longer met my gaze.
'I'm eighteen. I ran away from home, my father would abuse me. He hit me. He forced me to have sex with him.' For the first time since I had arrived on Earth, I felt a surge of hatred to this human. Not the race as a whole, but to this one human whom Cordelia called her father, who had caused her so much pain. Saying this, she tapped my hand and I pulled it away slightly. She lifted up her top to reveal her belly. Turning around, she kept it lifted until her back was facing me. Splattered across her back in a strategic pattern was a variety of different coloured bruises. The most recent was a deep black-purple, and it was on the small of her back, about the size of the tip of my smallest finger. There were older yellowish ones, tinged with green around the edges. The biggest covered half of her back, finishing just above the most recent one. My audio receptors rotated furiously, a trait I had acquired since arriving on Earth, a sign that I was angry or frustrated. She lowered her shirt again, and turned around to face me once more. I lifted a finger to her face, and stroked it with as much gentleness as I could manage. She lifted her hand and held it to my finger, and it was like that that she fell asleep.
Through the window I see the soft light of the rising sun, telling me that a new day has begun.