Transformers Short Story

Blip on the Screen

Rose dodged Nightspot's wings as he unfurled them threateningly in her direction. His sharp denta clicked together harshly and Rose narrowed her optics, picking up her stance to put space between the two of them. Blackswitch was circling behind him, his claws kicking up a storm of dust as he paced just out of reach. Rose lunged to her right, blocking Nightspot's tail as it came crashing toward her, and stumbled off to his left, watching them both from her scanners. Nightspot ground his denta together in frustration before barking something at Blackswitch, whose calculating gaze was swapping between the two haphazardly. Blackswitch's ear-like fins flattened against his head and he hissed something back at his companion. Nightspot grunted out an order and stalked toward Rose, his tail swinging in agitation. Rose took a few steps back watching them both carefully as they started to circle her. Her vision switched from black to dark blue as they veered into her personal space with warning chuffs before circling out of reach once more. Nightspot made the first move in her direction, checking her back struts as she leaped to avoid his attack. She twisted in the air, the weight of his claws adding more pressure than she was prepared for, and she over-rotated; landing painfully toward Blackswitch. Blackswitch raised onto his hind pedes before bringing his servos to each side of her helm, pinning her to the ground. Rose narrowed her eyes before pounding his spark chamber with her pedes, earning a thrill screech from him as he retracted his form. Rose recovered quickly from the ground but was soon overtaken by Nightspot, whose heavier build kept Rose in place. Nightspot sniffed her helm, before blowing smoke lazily onto her form with a simple chuff. Rose rolled her eyes and pushed at his chest lightly, signaling to him that the match was over. Nightspot quickly released her before transforming into his alt-form, stretching his neck cabling with a sigh. Blackswitch sniffed before retracting his Predacon form, watching Nightspot with an easy-going smile, "I almost had her this time." Nightspot furrowed his eye ridge at the younger of the two, "Had her? I think she had you Switch." Blackswitch snorted, "I guess you could say that!" Rose chuckled, "Your training has come a long way since Ultra Magnus, that's certain." Blackswitch puffed out his chest plating, glowing at her praise, "No one fights quite like you though Rose...human and Cypertronian tactics aside, you have your own style." Rose shrugged, "It's worked for me since I started...if this were a real fight I wouldn't lose." Nightspot nodded his head in agreement, "We almost lost again...what's the score eh Switch? 10 to 1?" Blackswitch shrugged and chuckled sheepishly, "I stopped counting after five." Rose shook her head in amusement, "Alright you two...I've got some things to go over with Ratchet...you've got the rest of the day off, starting now. I've got a meeting first thing in the morning with the council and a training session booked with the Gaurd School in the evening. I don't think I have anything else tomorrow planned." She went over her digital calendar with an affirmed nod, "You don't have to attend the Guard Session but I'll need both of you for the council meeting tomorrow...they want to do your 5-year assessment." Blackswitch smiled, showing off his pointed denta, "Five years already!? It feels like it has been decades." Nightspot nodded his agreement silently, "Time really does fly by down here...Ratchet was right." Rose sent them a soft smile, "It seems like it is, yes...and don't worry about the assessment tomorrow it'll be just like all the other ones." Both Preadcons nodded in understanding, they'd been through plenty of assessments before at Rose's side. Rose checked her internal clock, "I'll see you tonight for dinner?" Blackswitch nodded fervently while Nightspot shook his head, almost woefully, "Predaking scheduled Cinder at the tower tonight, so I'll be a tad bit late...I've got to pick up Stormrunner first." Blackswitch wiggled his optic ridges at him playfully, "Your such a sire, Spot." Nightspot rolled his optics, "Maybe because I am a sire, Blackswitch." Blackswitch scoffed, "That's not the point...besides better you than me." Nightspot shook his head, a sudden smirk on his lips, "Yeah, I pray to Primus when you get a sparkling they're an exact carbon copy of you...maybe then you'll see how annoying you truly are." Blackswitch hummed, "You forgot quickwitted and charming!" Nightspot sighed heavily, "I don't know how Comet puts up with you." Blackswitch shrugged, "He likes my charm I guess." Rose furrowed her optic ridges, "Comet huh? I'd love to tease you about him but I've got to run...keep me posted about tomorrow." Both Predacons stopped their bantering to wave Rose off as she made her way to Ratchet's medical bay. She glanced out the window as she passed, pleased to see the bustle of Cybterton thrum jovially through the streets and in the air. She watched as a group of seekers carrying cargo docked in the upper ports before unloading and taking off again, presumably to load more shipments; Rose would have to remind Sideview to send out more seekers for docking shipments rather than flight training. She shook herself some of her thoughts and hurried down the hall, she dared not keep Ratchet waiting long. She knocked on the door politely, stepping back to wait on Ratchet's call. She checked her internal clock when Ratchet didn't answer, reverting to poking their bond in hopes of an answer. Ratchet's voice washed over her after a few klicks, "What? The door's open isn't it? And you've got two working servos!" Rose wrinkled her olfactory apparatus, "You seem like you're in a good mood...what's up?" Ratchet suddenly became deadly quiet on their bond and Rose could tell something had taken up his thoughts but he answered scarily gently, "Sorry...long day...I've got something important to discuss with you." Rose sent the medical bay a perplexed look as she entered, what could Ratchet possibly want to discuss with her; could it not wait till tomorrow's council meeting? She brought herself out of her musings to greet her carrier in person, "Ratchet, you wanted to see me?" Ratchet stashed the last of his work into a neat pile on his shelf and motioned to one of the chairs usually filled by his patients, "Sit down." Rose raised an optic ridge but settled in the plush chair anyway, "Okay...?" Ratchet fiddled with his servos for a second before overlooking a datapad Rose hadn't noticed before. He was scrolling back and forth between the pages until he stopped abruptly, glancing back at Rose, "When I did Drift's yearly exam I found something stuffed behind some of his other codings...it could just be a flux after his heat but I needed to be certain..." Rose titled her helm, "Is it serious if he does have whatever coding error?" Ratchet grimaced, "Not really to him...more to you." Rose sent him a rather bland look, "Are you going to tell me if I have a deadly coding virus or are you just gonna let it kill me first?" Ratchet snorted and reassured, "It shouldn't kill you." Ratchet picked up one of his portable scanners, powering it on with a click, "Did your Med Bot say anything popped up on your screenings, that she found alarming? It could be anything at all." Rose blinked before going over her appointment one week earlier, "The only thing she was having a hard time reading was my Energon levels...Said that I had a low nutrition count after she tested it...she sent it in for more testing but she hasn't heard back yet." Ratchet adjusted his scan to go over her entire frame. Once he was done the scanner beeped once before going silent. Ratchet stared at the scanner, perplexed before his mood sobered, "Did she prescribe medical grade to up your nutrition intake?" He placed the scan down on the counter and transferred the image onto his display screen while Rose answered, "Yes, she gave me a low dose to try for a couple of weeks to up my nutrition intake...she said that if I felt anything off that I should go to you since your closest." Ratchet peered over her blown-up frame, "Have you?" Rose shook her head, "Nothing." Ratchet narrowed his optics, "Not even extra tiredness after meetings or training sessions? Any soreness of the joints or missed heats?" Rose raised her optic ridge, "Not that I can remember...I'm still getting used to this frame so sometimes it's hard for me to distinguish between soreness and whatever else Cybertronains can experience." Ratchet hummed before turning his attention back to her scan, "How did your training session with your guards go?" Rose smiled, "Good, I had them bet until Nightspot got the best of me...must have miscalculated his strength when I dodged his counter." Ratchet nodded, "I'm pleased to see them becoming a part of your team...were you hurt at all?" Rose shook her helm, "Nothing sleep can't fix." Ratchet mumbled something under his breath before dimming his monitor, blocking her view of her scan. Rose tugged at their bond before quipping, "Find anything Doc?" Ratchet rolled his optics at the nickname, "You know not to call me that." Rose shrugged, "And you know not to stall with me." Ratchet sighed, "The coding I found was Sire coding." Rose blinked, "Sire coding? I thought that only........slag." Ratchet nodded, "Only activated when their Conjunx is sparked and their Carrier coding has started the whole process?" Rose rubbed her face tiredly before wincing, "This is..." Ratchet looked over her with gentle sympathy, "Have you talked to Drift about sparklings?" Rose shook her head, "He has his hands full with Jetstorm and Slipstream and I've got my Prima duties so we never...talked about it." Ratchet huffed, "Well you're going to have to now." Rose perked up, "How far along am I? Will this affect my duties? What...do I do?" Ratchet put a calming servo on her shoulder plating, "I'd say two months now.... and you've raised Miko, you can handle this. As for your duties...you'll have to start sacrificing some of them for your family. No more training sessions; nothing too extraneous. I'll save the rest for your first spark appointment. You'll have to delegate leadership to Optimus when the time comes but for now, go home, tell Drift, and then tell Optimus. He'll be delighted to know that we're having a grandsparkling!" Ratchet's usual stoic appearance slipped and he hugged Rose lightly, "I am so excited for you Rose! I know this may seem...like...well not the best time for this but Optimus and I will always support you. I'll be here when you need me." Ratchet slowly pulled out of their embrace before shooing her away, "Go find Drift." Rose rolled her optics, "Okay, okay Mommabird, I'm going" Ratchet sniffed at the nickname but let it slip with an affectionate tap to their bond. Rose breathed deeply, her thoughts in scrambles. She never imagined getting to this moment in her life, not that she hasn't thought about but being Prima for only 15 years was hardly an accomplishment compared to the average Cybertronain lifespan. She sighed before making her way to her shared hab-suit. Drift wouldn't be sent home via space bridge until another hour, something Ratchet must have forgotten in his excitement. Rose shook herself and opened the hab-suit, breathing in the familiar cold air of her home away from home. She glanced around the living room before settling on the couch, deciding to pass the time finishing schedules for tomorrow's council meeting.