Transformers Short Story

The Letter

Beat chuckled to himself as he watched bots chase each other around the campus. He was situated in the library, facing the courtyard, which had the best possible view points of the active game of Cube. A red bot dived and caught the ball from the opposing team, cheering as he raced down to the other goal. Beat shook himself before returning back to his textbooks. The pile was stacked high and it took quite a bit of effort for the mech to move the books by himself. His optics wandered over the nearest book with an ex-vent. It was the end of his four-year Medic degree and they all had just completed their Cybertronian Medic Registry to hopefully become the newest faces of the Academy's alumni. Beat chewed at his derma before giving up his studies, he was just trying to keep his mind off his results anyway. The letter would be in his inbox later this evening and he wasn't sure if he was more excited for it or dreading it. He glanced around the library, noting how it seemed to be unusually empty, but he surmised, everyone was out celebrating or enjoying their time off. All classes at the Academy had come to a sudden halt with the completion of their Registry test, meaning even the Professors were taking the needed time off. Beat checked his internal chronometer and ex-vented, picking up his books and sub-spacing them before making his way out of the quiet study hall and into the equally empty school. He waved at a few classmates as he bounced down the stairs and into the main entrance walkway. A larger group of bots were standing near the door, chatting with each other pleasantly and seemed at ease with themselves. Beat shared their content and waved them off politely when they shouted for him to join them, "I've got to catch my shift in a few goons, good luck tonight!" His peers nodding in understanding, wishing him the same luck with his own results, although as one of the mechs pointed out, "We're not worried about you Beat, you're top of our class and if you don't pass I'll eat a scaplet." The rest of the group laughed at his remark but they ultimately agreed, putting some of the worry out of Beat's spark. Beat flushed before rolling his optics, quickly pushing the doors open to stand on the Academy's front steps. He looked over the entrance fondly before taking the rest of the steps to the street where he caught the nearest trolley. A goon later and he was standing in front of Ratchet's clinic, playing nervously with his servos. He still hadn't told either of his mentors that he'd taken his Registry and was hoping to stall that particular conversation till he got his letter. Beat checked the countdown he'd set for the letter to arrive, 1 hour, 30 minutes, 35 seconds. He forced his optics away from the meter and opened the door, making quick work of the distance to the admin desk from the waiting room. He pulled his textbooks out of his subspace with a relieved ex-vent, placing the books neatly to the side as he clocked on. He checked over the clinic's main monitor for any updates but ultimately settled to watching the front door or waiting room for patients and either of his mentors. A soft giggle met his audio fins and Beat smirked, slowly spinning in his chair to catch sight of the femme who'd made the noise. Another giggle and Beat had successfully pinpointed her location with a chuckle of his own. The intern glanced at the empty waiting room before raising from his chair, stalking to the bots hiding spot, another admin chair. He pulled the chair out to reveal a laughing white and gold femme. The femme laughed louder when Beat picked her up and whisked her from her hiding spot, landing in his own chair with a humph, "GoldLine, what trouble have you been getting into today?" GoldLine studied him with her one blue, one green optics, "Nothin, Bet--no trouble." Beat gushed at her cute warble, ignoring the mispronunciation of his designation; her voice box was still developing which meant she could only say a couple words at a time. Beat placed the femme in his lap and furrowed his optic ridges, "You sure about that? If I ask Ratchet he won't say anything different will he?" GoldLine's optics grew wide and she quickly moved to cover his comm system, "No---no Carrier." Beat hummed, taking her small servos off his delicate systems, "Okay-okay no Ratchet...where is he anyway?" GoldLine blinked before looking out at the waiting room, "He gone." Beat chuckled at her serious tone, "Oh is that so? Where'd he go?" GoldLine shrugged but then brightened up, "We find him?" Beat rolled his optics at her pleading look, "Yes, let's go look." GoldLine chirped happily, clambering down from his lap to the floor and tottering on unsteady pedes to the door of the admin area. She pulled at the handle cleverly and opened the door for Beat as he made to help her. The intern shook his helm in amusement but stilled to wait patiently for the femme to shut the door and catch up to him. GoldLine glanced at both the A and B Halls before pointing at A first, "Carrier?" Beat hummed, his engines purring at the concentrated look on the femme's face plates, "We can check there first, do you want me to carry you?" GoldLine looked at the A hall again before nodding, letting the intern pick her up and settle her on his hip. Beat made his way down A Hall quickly, keeping a look out for the white and orange mech as he checked how many rooms where occupied by there scroll markee's. All boards remained blank and Beat noted that everything was quiet down this Hall. With GoldLine in tow, he checked the back break room, the Protoform reconstruction unit and some other storage rooms before calling it quits; guessing his mentors must be in the meeting room going through paperwork or maybe even the tools supply. GoldLine warbled something unintelligible but Beat could tell she was disappointed. He twinkled her ear fins and the femme shirked with laughter, batting his servo away as he tried for the other one, "Not sad--good now." Beat chuckled but let her ear fins be, opting to retrace his steps to the waiting room with a ex-vent, B Hall it was then. GoldLine squirmed and Beat let her down, watching her carefully as she ran to the entrance of the next Hall, "Too slow---hurry up." Beat raised his optics ridges at her demanding tone but ex-vented again, catching up the femme as she raced down the hall, laughing at him. Beat shook his helm and chased after her, noting the rest of the rooms were empty too. GoldLine came to an abrupt stop at the end of the Hall and pointed to the meeting room where two voices could be heard, talking over patient records. Beat nodded, his tone warm, "Well done Goldie...do you think Ratchet's in there?" GoldLine pursed her derma and pressed her helm to the door labeled Meeting In Progress: Staff Only. The femme listened for a few clicks before chirping happily, "Carrier and Fist Aid." Beat snorted at her pronunciation of First Aid's name but the femme paid him no mind, "Can we see?" Beat shrugged, "Why don't you knock and find out?" GoldLine curled her small servo and knocked loudly on the door, halting the flow of conversation in the room as a bot approached the door. GoldLine humphed when the door wasn't opened fast enough for her liking and she banged on the door again, almost hitting the Medic who answered. The femme almost fell forward but caught herself at the last minute, shrieking in joy when she saw the familiar paint job of her Carrier, "Carrier, Carrier!!! Found you!!!" Ratchet bent down on one new joint to check over his sparkling in half-concealed amusement, "It seems you have...what are you up to sweetspark?" GoldLine hugged herself to his pede with a grin, "Looking you---no that not right." The femme paused to collect her words, "Looking for you!" She giggled at her own correction before turning to where Beat was standing in the hallway, "Bet here too!" Beat chuckled at her infectious mood though he wasn't the only one affected by the femme's cuteness. "Awww she's so cute at this age Ratch...I wish they stayed this small forever." First Aid joined them at the door, his optics blown wide in adoration at the mini-bot. Ratchet chuckled, patting GoldLine on the helm before raising to his full height, addressing his coworker, "She's always on her best behavior here at the clinic, just wait till she's at home." GoldLine shook her helm at his words, "I'm good." First Aid snorted, motioning all of them into the meeting room, "I don't think so, she said she's good Ratchet." Ratchet rolled his optics, holding onto the femme's servo as she practically bounced into the room, Beat trailing behind, "She gets that from her Sire...don't fall for the cute act." Beat watched as GoldLine slipped from her Carrier's servo and climbed into a chair, standing on the plush cushion to look over the data-pads littering the table, "What's that?" Ratchet glanced at where she was pointing too with a ex-vent, falling into his own chair nearest hers and patiently explained, "It's a data-pad...about our patients that we work on." GoldLine turned towards her Carrier with a curious twinkle in her optic, "A lot of-of pai-." GoldLine huffed when her voice box caught and she wasn't able to say the word. Ratchet waited, rubbing at her ear fins to ease her frustration, "Yes a lot of patients today...not as many as we usually have but today's a half-day so that's to be expected." GoldLine swatted his servo away from her ear fins with a sassy look on her face plates, "Say word again." Ratchet raised his optic ridges in amusement, "Patients." GoldLine watched his intake closely before mimicking the word to herself, "Pa-tients." The femme pursed her derma, "Say again." Ratchet huffed, trying to tune out the laughter from Beat and First Aid as he complied, "Patients." GoldLine hummed, thinking over the word for a couple of clicks before replying quietly, "Patients." She tilted her helm and shouted, "PATIENTS!" Ratchet winced as the sound met his sensitive audio fins but couldn't help the fond look that crossed his features, "Inside voice GoldLine." GoldLine covered her intake with wide optics and whispered, "Sorry--no loud, look." She shut off her voice box with a click and look apologetically up at her Carrier with her best puppy dog optics. First Aid clutched his side as he let full laughter escape his intake, "Oh my Primus, she's adorable...and she-she's got you wrapped around her digits Ratch." Ratchet rolled his optics at the Medic, glaring at Beat when the intern joined in with his own laughter. There laughter subsided and Ratchet snarked, "You done?" First Aid straightened with a dramatic gasp, "Yes, yes...you know she must get that sass from you Ratchet." GoldLine's voice box clicked on with a pop as she giggled at her Carrier's foul expression. Ratchet glanced between the two but gave up on arguing, deciding to settle further into his chair and pull the last couple data-pad's towards him, "Yeah, yeah whatever you say Aid." First Aid chuckled but soon dissolved into more laughter when GoldLine said in a reprimanding tone, "Carrier nice to Fist Aid." Ratchet raised his optic ridges and huffed, twinkling the serious look off the femme's face plates, "Oh don't tell me to be nice little one." GoldLine wiggled out of his deft servo's with a squeal, "Bet help!" Beat chuckled into his servo as Ratchet's unimpressed look landed on him but he reached forward to sweep the femme into his arms anyway. GoldLine giggled, "Thanks---set me down now." He placed the femmeling on the ground and she rushed to Ratchet's pedes, crawling up into his lap and facing the taller mech, "Sorry Carrier--I'm good now." Ratchet chuckled, powering on the nearest data-pad, "Good, I'm glad you got it out of your system." GoldLine hummed and snuggled into his abdomen plating, looking up at the information on the screen, "What's that?" Ratchet kept his optics focused on the data-pad but allowed his frame to heat up for the younger femme, "It's patient records." GoldLine blinked, "Carrier work now?" Ratchet hummed in acknowledgement and the younger bot fell silent, watching him work from her comfortable spot. First Aid caught Beat's optics and the two settled into chairs opposite the pair, talking lightly about the Academy and school, "It's been good...we've just finished up so you can imagine how bots are celebrating." Beat chuckled to himself, "Our Professors are even taking the rest of the semester off, they've canceled classes from now on." First Aid shook his helm fondly, "I remember dead week...the parties we had back then were wild." Beat nodded teasingly, "You mean all the parties were wild?" First Aid smiled, "Yes that too...though dead week was worse since everyone had taken their Registry and was over school." Beat stiffened at the mention of the Registry but relaxed when his mentor didn't push the subject. The intern looked over the data-pads, "Was it really bad this morning?" Ratchet answered before First Aid could, "Not horrible but we had a couple peds patients you would have loved." Beat smiled, knowing he usually got placed on youngling patients and in his absence Ratchet handled them; the mech was a lot better with sparklings than he cared to admit. First Aid hummed, his tone full of mirth, "We had GoldLine greet patients today...I think they were all smitten with the little femme." GoldLine poked her helm up above the table from where she'd been resting and agreed excitedly, "I made friends!" Beat nodded, his spark warm, "Did you now? How many bots did you meet today?" GoldLine looked up at her Carrier before looking back to her servos, counting the digits quietly, "1...2..3..4,5...6...7...8...9.........10....." She trailed off when she ran out of digits and then pointed to Ratchet's, tapping each one when she said the number, "11....12...13...14...15!" The femme paused and then nodded her helm, "15 bots." Ratchet slowly moved his servos out of his sparklings grip with a proud smile in her direction, "It was 15, good job GoldLine." GoldLine preened under her Carrier's praise and chirped, "Thanks!", before falling back into his lap. Beat chuckled at their display but a timer in his HUB went off, startling the intern. He quickly set off the alarm and blinked uneasily, his letter would be sent any second now. First Aid stared at the intern curiously, "What'd you set an alarm for? Got a hot date?" Beat sent him a dirty look, making the older mech chuckle good-naturally, "No...it was for my Registry Letter." The room went silent and Beat meet the red and white Medics optics nervously. First Aid pursed his derma, "Well do you want to open it around us or on your own?" Beat hummed, thinking over the offer with a small smile; he'd rather be surrounded by his mentors in case...His thoughts trailed off and he shook his helm to rid the thoughts away, "No, I can open if with you guys here." GoldLine poked her helm back up, "Opening what?" Beat smiled at her curiosoty, "A very important letter from my school...saying if I'm a Medic or not." GoldLine seemed to understand the seriousness of his tone, "You'll pass." Beat chuckled at her bluntness, "Thank you Goldie." GoldLine nodded before poking her Carrier, "Say something nice." Ratchet huffed before turning towards the intern, a small smile gracing his features, "Alright, alright...I have no doubt that you will pass Beat...Remedy says your top of your class." Beat flushed with embarrassment, "He told you that?" Ratchet's optics glimmered, "You think I don't keep in contact with old Rem? He sends me weekly updates about you...he sends them to First Aid too." Beat hid his face plates in his servos with a groan, "That's embarrassing." First Aid chuckled at his wilted expression, "Oh it's not that bad, we like to hear from him about you." Beat peeked out of his servos, before lifting his helm, realizing the Medic was serious but a notification of something in his inbox made him wince, "My letter..." He glanced at the two Medics and the little femme before pulling up his monitor on his forearm, letting them all view his inbox. He hesitated but ultimately scrolled to the top where Registry Results was clearly stamped. Beat hovered his digit over the letter and GoldLine spoke up, "Do you want me to open?" Beat blinked at the femme, letting out an ex-vent he didn't know he was holding but Ratchet shushed her before he could answer, "Let Beat do this little one." GoldLine didn't protest and turned her optics curiously to his inbox as he clicked it open and practically jumped from his seat when the message let out a burst of confetti and shouted, "CONGRATULATIONS ON PASSING YOUR REGISTRY! WE WOULD LIKE TO BE THE FIRST TO WELCOME YOU TO THE IACON MEDICAL ACADEMY'S HALL OF FAME AS THE HIGHEST ACHIEVING MECH IN YOUR CYCLING CLASS! WELCOME MEDIC BEAT! Your scores are attached to this message." The voice shut off with a click, leaving the room in silence. Beat recycled his optics as First Aid shook his shoulder plating excitedly, "You passed!!!! Oh my Primus I'm so proud of you Beat!" Beat sat in his seat stunned, trying and failing to wrap his processor around the news, "I passed...I-" First Aid shook his shoulder plating once more, "You passed, I--I-" His mentor cut off with a sniff and Beat turned to the mech, surprised to see lubricate at the corner of his optics. First Aid harshly wiped at his optics but more flowed down and he launched himself at the intern, "I'm so p-proud of you Beat!" Beat accepted the hug, a lump forming in his throat pipes as multiple emotions rose up. Another form joined him and Beat looked to his left to see both Ratchet and GoldLine hugging him tightly. Ratchet pulled back with a guff clearing of his throat pipes but GoldLine clutched onto him with a giggle, "You passed! Con-grad-" GoldLine's voice box clicked as her excitement rose and the femme reset it with a squeal, "Congrats!" First Aid finally extracted himself from Beat's form, turning away to rub lubricate from his face plates with an embarrassed chuckle, "Yes he did Goldline...we've got another Medic at our clinic Ratch." Ratchet smiled genuinely at Beat, "Medic Beat...it has a nice ring to it, huh?" Beat shook his helm in amazement, repeating, "Medic Beat, wow." Beat looked patted GoldLine as she finally let go of him and scampered to be at her Carrier's side, "Carrier is proud...Medic Bet." She laughed to herself, "You gonna be a good Medic." Beat softened, "You think so?" GoldLine nodded thoughtfully and pointed out, "Not as good as Carrier or Fist Aid but good Medic too." First Aid shook his helm with a roll of his optics, "He's got a long way to go till then." Ratchet and First Aid locked optics and they seemed to communicate something over their comm because Ratchet turned towards him with a twinkle in his optics, "Beat, these may be a lot to ask of you after this...exciting day...but I would like to offer you a full position on my staff, you can have as much time as you want to think about it." Beat felt his intake open in shock but quickly recovered, leaping from his seat, "You mean it?" Ratchet chuckled at his excitement, "I mean it." Beat shook his head in bewilderment, "Yes, I mean there's nothing to consider, I'd love to!"